The first difference in Rosey.

Without waiting for Theovin to finish his explanation, Rosey snatched her hand away and scurried to the other side of Ralph, seeking refuge from the man's unsettling presence.

Ralph's eyes widened at her sudden movement, but a sly smile crept across his lips as he realized that he could use the situation to his advantage.

Theovin had been keeping this human close, whoever she was, and Ralph knew that standing between them would irk him.

Ralph flashed a grin at Rosey, his voice laced with amusement.

"Hey there, little Rose. Don't worry, Theovin can be a handful. But I've got your back."

He slung his arm around her shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

Theovin felt a surge of anger towards Ralph, his fists clenching at his sides.

He wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face and wring him like a wet cloth.

The thought of Ralph being so close to Rosey made Theovin's blood boil. He wanted nothing more than to fling him far away from her, to protect her from his slimy grasp.

But he knew he had to be careful not to scare her even more. So instead, he took a deep breath and tried to approach her in a gentler manner.

"Rosey," Theovin called out in a gentle voice, "Can you come over here for a moment? I promise to ask for your permission before touching you."

He took a step back, giving her space to approach him. "We need to fly home, and Ralph can't do that."

Theovin's voice was honey-coated as he extended his invitation to Rosey, but she refused to budge.

He waited patiently, hoping she would change her mind, but she remained rooted in place.

As Theovin mentioned the word 'fly,' Rosey couldn't help but think he was crazy. 'Fly? What does he mean by fly?' she mused to herself, her eyes darting between Theovin and Ralph nervously.

Instead, she shrunk even further behind Ralph's back, seeking safety.

"Theovin, what do you mean by I cannot fly?" Ralph questioned Theovin with his hands on his hips like an angry mother.

"Don't pay attention to him," Ralph said, his voice carrying on the breeze as he turned to face Rosey. "I can fly just as well as he can."

Rosey's eyes darted between the two of them, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'What fly?' she wondered, the question hanging in the air like a storm cloud.

Theovin's skull throbbed with rage, the mere thought of his mate flying with someone else enough to ignite a fire within him.

The image of her soaring through the sky with anyone but him made his blood boil.

"Ralph! Just shut the hell up!" Theovin yelled, his temper flaring as the golden threads of his dragon soul tinged with red seeped out from his skin. His veins pulsed with anger, his fists clenching at his sides.

Struggling to contain Gold Song's fury, he faced Ralph with a determined expression, his body tense as he tried to hold back the urge to let his anger burst out.

Ralph tensed up as he noticed the golden-red tendrils seeping out of Theovin, a clear sign that he was teetering on the edge of losing control.

Recognizing the danger of the situation, Ralph knew better than to speak up and remained silent.

Theovin was stunned into silence as he felt a gentle touch on his arm, something he wouldn't have noticed if not for his heightened state of alertness.

It was as light as a feather, but it sparked a jolt of electricity through his body, all the more powerful because his dragon was close to the surface.

Theovin's gaze slowly drifted downwards, and his eyes widened as he spotted Rosey clinging to him with a look of hunger in her eyes that he couldn't quite explain.

Her eyes seemed to hold something else too.

Theovin stammered, "Are you okay?" but was met with silence as Rosey looked at him with a hungry expression, as if she wanted to devour him.

No man would not want to be looked at like that by a woman.

Rosey's innocent doe-like eyes were wide open as she stared at Theovin hungrily, as if he were a delicious meal she had stumbled upon and was about to devour.

Theovin's feeling intensified as Rosey ran her fingers up his arm, her movements slow and trance-like as if she were trying to catch hold of the golden threads that seemed to emanate from his body.

"Rosey," Ralph called out, trying to get her attention. She was behaving strangely and Theovin seemed to be in a trance-like state, just staring at her and not stopping her from running her fingers up his arm.

Ralph found Rosey's behavior strange, but he was soon hit with an even stranger occurrence…

Rosey lowered her head to Theovin's arm and rubbed her nose against his masculine skin, tracing the veins that rose and fell with each beat of his heart.

From this close distance, she could see the golden liquid pulsating inside them.

Rosy lowered her head and pressed her nose against Theovin's muscular forearm.

She inhaled deeply, savoring the heady scent of his skin and the metallic tang of his blood pulsing through his veins.

With delicate sniffs, she traced the bulging, sinewy veins that crisscrossed his arm, searching for the perfect angle where the aroma was most intense.

She lingered there, lost in the intoxicating fragrance that enveloped her senses, completely entranced by Theovin's masculine allure.

THEOVIN~

Theovin was on edge, his mind racing as he watched Rosy's behavior.

Was she reacting this way because of the Mating Bond? He tried to focus, to think clearly about what was happening, but his thoughts were scattered and unfocused.

Theovin tried to clear his mind as he considered Rosy's behavior. They had been close to each other for some time now, so it couldn't be the Mating Bond driving her actions.

A guttural groan of pain erupted from Theovin's throat as he felt Gold Song straining to break free.

His veins bulged and pulsated against his skin, as if trying to contain the powerful force within him.

With a fierce determination, Theovin hollered at Gold Song, his voice edged with anger.

"What's wrong with you?" Theovin shouted, his voice laced with pain and frustration. "You said your presence could harm our mate. So why are you trying to break free?"

Theovin's veins continued to bulge and writhe against his skin, as if struggling against an invisible force within him. He glared at the invisible entity within him, his eyes blazing with anger.

Theovin screamed at Gold Song in his mind, his body wracked with discomfort and pain. He felt a searing heat spreading through his body, making him grind his teeth together in agony.

Despite the pain, Theovin refused to let go, determined to keep Gold Song contained within him.

Sweat dripped down his forehead, his muscles tensed with the effort of holding the force at bay.

As time passed, he began to glow with a brilliant golden light, feeling an intense heat emanating from within him.

Even his hair took on the same radiant glow, and his eyes flickered with a new shade of golden brilliance.

His clothes began to slowly burn off, and he knew he needed to move away from his mate.

He was aware of his own intense heat more than anyone else and didn't want to harm her.

Despite the waves of searing heat emanating from him, it seemed that Rosey was completely unphased.

She didn't even flinch or cry out in pain, as if the intense heat didn't affect her at all.

He tilted his head down to get a closer look at her face, noticing how she seemed a bit dim compared to the surrounding glow emanating from him.

His own radiant light seemed to cast a golden shadow over her features, making them appear slightly muted in comparison.

Seeing the look on her face made him feel both baffled and excited, although he couldn't quite explain why.

Rosey looked almost intoxicated, like she was under the influence of alcohol. It was as if she was drunk on his essence, completely lost in his essence.

Theovin was at a loss for what to do, his hands hovering uncertainly at his sides.

'Should I try pushing Rosey away, or keep her close despite the intense heat radiating from my body?'

At the very thought of pushing Rosey away, Theovin felt a violent roar in his head, causing golden blood to gush out of his ears in a sudden and alarming burst.

The intense heat inside him seemed to react to the thought, triggering a physical response that was as frightening as it was unexpected.