004
Draco.
Draco held his hand aloft in the air, his heart pounding against the wall of his chest.
Were his eyes deceiving him? Was the female in front of him the one he once knew?
Draco's hand trailed close to the female's face, her round blue eyes sparkling. He wanted to touch her face to confirm his eyes weren't fooling him.
The air crackled between them, electrifying.
Draco's hand nearly settled on her face when the female barked, "What are you doing? Is this how you prowl around females? Gods be damned!" She cursed.
Upon hearing those words, Draco's mind snapped back. He retracted his hand as if it had burned him.
His heart rate surged as he berated himself inwardly for almost making a mistake. What was he thinking? That he could touch a female without triggering his monster?
Draco kissed his teeth viciously and put a great distance between himself and the female. He schooled his disoriented features and glared daggers at her.
She stood poised as if ready to attack, which almost made him laugh. Did she think she could defeat a man as huge as him? What a cruel joke!
"What do you think you were doing climbing down the ledge and trellis into my balcony?" He boomed.
He could have sworn he noticed how his voice sent a shudder down her body. Everyone who encountered him had the same reaction, believing his voice sounded like that of an ancient god, Gharok, the god he believed cursed him.
"I am escaping from this hellhole, as you can see. Or are you blind?" The female blurted out. Her boldness amazed him, making him examine her more closely.
The moment he recalled Alfos' description of his new breeder, reality dawned on him. It was her-the new breeder.
"And why do you want to escape? What makes you think you can escape, hmm?" He ground out, putting more distance between them.
The female sighed and rolled her eyes. The guts she had! Draco fisted his hands, leading her on.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to run away from this place before the cursed lord catches up with me. I was brought here as a breeder, but to what end? I'll eventually die in his hands..." She paused her endless prattle briefly and took another sigh. Her fearful eyes glanced up to his, and she blinked. Then she continued her tirade. "I'd rather die trying to escape than let myself die in the hands of a monster."
Draco felt the words like a stab to his chest. A muscle twitched in his chin as he glared.
"So you plan on escaping through my balcony?" He asked, and the female quickly nodded.
"Alright, I understand. You're one hell of a broody man, but can you please help a lady in distress? Could you maybe lend me your clothing? Disguise me so I can find my way out of this tower? Possibly the kingdom." She clicked her tongue again, slapping a hand over her forehead. "I have to hurry back to my parents."
Parents, Draco hummed inwardly, mentally noting things about the female. She had parents, but Andriandita lost hers during and after the...
Draco paused his train of thought, watching the female as she blabbered on.
"Hey, broody man, I promise I'm going to pay you. Once I get back to my parents, I'll retrieve my savings. All the money I made while serving in Kalingrad."
So much temerity, Draco shook his head. None of the males in Abbator had the guts to speak to him in such a manner. Well, except for two people. Alfos and one other man...
But this petite bird here thought she could whine endlessly. Soon, all her words would drain from her, and she'd turn pale.
"Are you going to do it? Huh?" She smacked her head again, growing frustrated when Draco didn't respond. "Oh, I see you're dumb now."
Only the twitch of his brows told the female that her words were getting to him. She seemed to revel in it as she laughed.
"You hated being called dumb?" She laughed. But suddenly she paused, her eyes returning to him. "I called you dumb, and you reacted, but you didn't react when I called you a broody man?" She cocked her head in thought.
"Because I am broody. Something worse than broody," Draco answered inwardly. While the female was still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, the tower bell rang.
Alarm bells, informing the sentinels that someone had escaped. And that someone was the breeder.
She seemed to have noticed, given the hordes of sentinels meandering the grounds.
"Find the breeder!" Their voices echoed.
Alarmed, Isolde began to panic. She skidded past him with speed. Draco reared back, stunned. She had nearly touched him. Their skin was just this close to coming into contact.
Holy gods. She would have died. Well, she would still die anyway...
"Please, don't stand there while they look for me. Hide me. Help me escape, broody, please...?"
Draco only turned and watched as she ran around his room, seeking where to hide. This female! What exactly was she thinking, penetrating his chamber?
Exhaling as the female restlessly roamed around, Draco prepared to inform his men that the fugitive they were looking for was in his chamber. But the door to his chambers fluttered open in haste as Alfos and a few sentinels stormed inside.
"Dracolian, the breeder has escaped..." Alfos's words halted mid-speech when he saw the breeder in the room.
His hand let go of the door handle, and he marched inside, trailing toward the breeder. She was visibly shaking, her head rotating around as if daring Alfos not to inch closer.
The beta dared her and moved closer. With pinched lips, he nabbed the breeder by the arm, slamming her against his chest as he looked back at Draco.
"How did she get here, Lord Draco?" Alfos growled.
That was when Draco moved from the balcony doorway into his chambers, his hands clasped behind him as he shrugged.
"My lord?" It was the breeder who spoke. She cast Draco a shocked, betrayed look as everything made sense to her. "You're the lord of Abbator?"
Draco's iridescent eyes stared at her, and he nodded. "I wonder what took you so long to figure it out," he said coldly.
A sheen of tears brimmed her eyes as the dread she felt for him doubled. She had revealed everything to the man who would spell her death. No more dreaming of going back to her parents.
In Abbator, her life would end. In the hands of the male she had insulted.
The tears rained down her cheeks as Alfos asked, "What are we going to do with her?"
Draco ran his eyes down her frame and murmured, "Lock her up. Feed her only once a day. That's her punishment for trying to escape. And make sure there are no windows this time that will guarantee an escape."
"No!" The female struggled in Alfos' hold, trying to get free.
"Stop trying to escape! You'll go nowhere!" Alfos hissed as he handed her over to his men.
Nabbing her arms, the sentinels shoved her toward the exit. Just before they left, the breeder turned back and howled, "I hate you! Monster!"
Draco remained still as they took her away. Alfos stared a moment longer at the lord before muttering, "What are you thinking?"
For a while, Draco didn't speak. But he later stalked toward Alfos and said, his voice barely above a whisper, "She looked just like her. My Andriandita."
Hearing that, Alfos turned, staring at the place the breeder once stood, his mind frazzled.
"It couldn't be her, Dracolian. It cannot be," Alfos said as his eyes watered.
Still gazing at the door, Draco muttered, "Find out the truth about this female. I want to know all about her."
TBC.