Chapter 7 A livid Dragon
The Dragon was already on his way out.
My eyes bounced from his retreating silhouette to the Alpha now staring down at me in sympathy.
My face flushed. “Wait. Please wait.”
Was being a virgin such a bad thing? Would I be condemned as a forever-cripple because of a hymen?
“Please, it means nothing. I don’t mind.”
“We do, fairy.”
I stared up into the Alpha’s face, my dread at being abandoned again, greater than my terror of his appearance.
“That’s a hard line for Draki.”
My pulse kicked, “And you? Is it for you?”
With him, I had zero hesitation. Despite his appearance, he was gentle. Housed more humanity than his partner.
But the Alpha’s eyes flashed, seemingly offended that I would assume he would go against the dragon. “We’re one.”
I blinked, heat creeping up my skin in embarrassment. The quieter rumors were just as true. These gods were lovers.
They shared more than immortality and leadership over the supernaturals of California. They shared their hearts and bodies.
"I'm sorry." I spat out in panic. “I meant no offense. But...” my eyes watered. “Don’t leave me like this. I’ll handle the hymen business if you prefer.”
To my surprise, the giant leaned down and swept me into his arms. My body bounced with every step he took towards the cave entrance.
I held my breath, trying not to look down. The floor seemed so far away.
Was this how they saw me the whole time? Tiny. Breakable.
Weak.
“I’ll need just my middle finger to rip the veil between your legs,” The Alpha whispered. My breath caught.
The light outside was bright, blinding, after the near-darkness.
“It’s the principle of it.” He moved past the dragon who had his back to us. “It’s extremely cruel to take your life before you have experienced the joys and pleasures of this world.”
I winced. Even his whisper was still loud enough to make my ears hurt.
“There are no joys for someone like me,” I muttered. “My life is over. Does it not count that I am the one offering it?”
He made no response as my last flicker of hope went out. My tears ran down and soaked into my shirt.
On the rocky road, he turned left, and we were in my bedroom.
My head jerked, my eyes jumping around us. What did he just do?
I looked over his shoulder, and that was my bedroom door, burgundy painted mahogany.
He lowered me into the bed, adjusting my hospital gown. If he smelled the urine on me, he did not show it.
I stared after him as he turned for the door, sadness gnawing at the pit of my belly at the thought of never seeing them again.
Sniffing, I turned my gaze to the opposite wall.
Maybe this was the most I deserved. These were gods after all. It was enough to have seen them, felt their powers and spoken with them.
I would beg grandma for euthanasia.
The door gave a low whine as the Alpha pulled it open, and I could not resist one last look at him. Our gazes locked.
“It should count, Lys. It should.” He responded to my question, and then he was gone.
I burst into loud tears, wretched sobs that made my eyes burn and my head ached.
An hour later, there was a sudden commotion downstairs. The front door slammed with a bang that reverberated round the house, and Gianna’s screams carried upstairs. Glasses, ceramics and other things I could not identify crashed loudly.
“She’s not where I left her. You are certain no one brought her here? Fentone, Arthur, did you even check?”
And then I heard footsteps running upstairs.
My heart jumped, and I felt like I would throw up.
She would kill me this time to make sure no one found out what happened in that cave.
The door burst open, but it was not Gianna standing there.
“How did you do it?” The Dragon bellowed, and the floor seemed to creak beneath us.
I dropped my gaze to the floor immediately. Do what? How did I do what?
“You dare cast spells on me?”
My eyes snapped up as he marched forward. Rhea was trashing inside me, as terrified as I was. He would kill me. He would pluck my head from my body, like the Alpha did that cobra.
“I didn’t. I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“I blink in my car and find myself in your bedroom. Summoned. And you don’t know what I’m talking about?”
My jaw dropped. I tried to speak, defend myself, but no words came out.
He leaned over me where I lay flat on my back, his fist pushing into my bed. The spot charred immediately, smoke drifting upward, making my throat itch.
He stared down into my eyes, the fire from his face singed off the fine hairs on my cheeks. Hot, like I sat too close to an open fireplace. But I did not look away, that would be a sign of guilt.
At that moment, with a sudden chill, I realized something odd. This was a mirage.
Their faces were a mirage, a well-made, terrifying magic mask, but a mask nonetheless. These were not their real faces.
“I did not summon you.” I spoke up finally, because despite Grandma being an elder, I only knew enough to recognize magic when I stared hard enough at it like this. But not enough to summon a creature as powerful and fearsome as a dragon.
The fire in his eyes seemed to burn low, and he pulled away.
His gaze dropped to my chest then, and if I could move my hands, I would have covered my breasts immediately, embarrassed at such direct stares.
But I could only lay there as he stared. He brought his hand forward and rested it against the spot my heart was beating. His eyes were shooting literal sparks now, hot gold dust.
Without warning, he hauled me off the bed onto his shoulders, and walked out of my bedroom.