Days passed like moments. Winter came, and then it transformed to spring. It was almost summer, and things weren't evolving as much as Hope and Drake wanted.

The woman made a seeming connection with the Fire Dragon, and the Old God said he would play along. Then she went through talks and meditation sessions with Drake to find his inner balance and commune with himself and the dragon. But something was holding him back. He was trying, but Hope sensed he wasn't trying enough.

Drake's information regarding Aegis was scarce and primarily out of legends and stories passed from mouth to mouth. Nothing was truly reliable, and all the data gathered was mostly contradictory. Hope felt like she had hit a dead end. Nothing was working. She didn't find anything useful, Drake's training was useless, and he had become even colder than ever in her presence.

One day, Hope decided to change tactics. She went into Drake's study room, where she found him on his chair with his eyes closed and meditating. This was one of her demands. Daily he went inside to talk with the Fire Dragon and to try to reach a consensus.

For a few minutes, Hope stood in the doorway, admiring him. Despite having relatively short hair, it was long enough to appear out of place next to men of his stature and enhanced his attractiveness. Some longer strands of black hair were always coming to caress his cheeks. Drake's handsome face was completed by a sharp jawline and high cheekbones. But his personality and the way he carried himself in each situation, seeming to exert no effort, also added to his charm.

Hope leaned with her hip against the desk, standing next to him, and so she waited until he opened his eyes. "Now, if you are done, I want to talk with him too."

Drake nodded with indifference. Suddenly, his eyes went full red, flickering with anger and disappointment. His voice was out of this world, filling the whole room with his bloodlust. "I am fed up with this kid. He is arrogant and bossy. His weakness makes me sick. We are in a shape way worse than six months ago. The boy erected a wall around his heart, and I can't get through. If you want this to work, you must break his frozen shield. Create a connection with him, and you can be the buffer that will tether us forever. I don't see any other way."

Hope sighed in disbelief. "I don't think I can anymore."

"You must," shouted the Fire Dragon. "You are the only one who can do it. I still sense a vague vulnerability in his defense when he is around you. It is faint, but we must exploit it because it is our last chance."

"Ok, I will try to open up to him and hope he will do the same. Also, I think I know a method that can connect two people faster."

The Old God nodded, closing his eyes. When Drake opened his smokey eyes again, the first thing he saw was Hope. She asked him bluntly, "What do you think about sex?"

"What?" he managed to murmur, puzzled.

"You see, sex is not taboo in the animal world. They can mate on the spot if they feel like it, no matter how many eyes are watching. Some do it to clench the thirst of their instincts; others see it as a means to an end, while others do it for passion, anger, submission, domination, lust, or jealousy. You see, animals are not all primal as humans tend to think. Some mate for life, while others see their partners as objects. They talk about sex with as much ease as humans talk about what they had for breakfast."

Drake smiled mischievously. "Then why are you still a virgin? I have sensed how tight you were when I touched you in my study room. If you are so open-minded regarding this topic, why haven't you tried it?"

Hope sat on his lap, imprisoning him beneath her and pressing him harder onto the chair. "Because I've never felt like it. I have experienced the sensation an animal has when he meets his mate. I even sensed heat and desire through my connection with them, but never anything similar coming from inside me. Till I saw you. I wasn't certain at first, but now I am. No day passes by without me thinking of your hands on my body, of your lips on mine. And there is a burning desire to feel your naked body next to mine. My innards ache every time I see you, no matter how cold you are or how hard you try to push me away."

The visual images of their bodies close together naked instantly made his member harden. He could feel her desire washing his body, making his pores open and slithering inside him. This woman in front of him was his for the taking, and yet he was still suppressing his urges. Drake wanted her even more badly, but there was still something holding him back.

His mind was suddenly thinking clearly for the first time in a long while. At that moment, Drake realized what was wrong with this picture. Hope was talking about sex, but that wasn't what he wanted. He could find that anywhere.

Then the answer hit him. Both of them were wanting something they never had. The woman wished for sex and passion, and he wanted to love and be loved. They were still worlds apart from each other. "Thank you, but I'll pass. You can find another monster to clench your thirst. I have better things to do than to tend to your needs."

Letting out a bored sigh, he pushed her aside and nonchalantly walked away, leaving her dumbstruck. Hope had thought that the worst-case scenario would be Drake taking her too forcefully and greedy, but not this. She never took into consideration something like this happening.

The woman closed her eyes, reliving the moments of passion from the day she returned to the castle. She knew that he was capable of passion and desire. Why was he shutting her out?