Page 80 of Alpha Dragon's Mating Contract
“Oh no,” Walren groaned.
“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Raptor said, rubbing Walren’s back. “I trust Hassel’s taste.”
Which meant the caption would be utterly horrifying.
Hassel tapped excitedly on his phone. Then Raptor’s phone buzzed, and Walren cringed.
“I don’t know if I want to know,” Walren said.
Raptor checked his phone, a smile exploding across his face. “Oh! It’s perfect!”
“What... kind of pickup line did he choose?” Walren asked warily. “I’ve seen some in 699 Pickup Lines. They’re... not what I would use.”
Raptor smirked and tapped on his phone, keeping it angled away so Walren couldn’t see. “I’ll show it to you when you’re ready to look, Walry-babe.”
Walren was sure he would never be ready, not even in his next life.
That night,Walren had a nightmare.
In it, he was in his old apartment, trying out a new recipe with instructions that were too blurry to read. Larei had thrown it at him and demanded he make it.
No matter what Walren did, the dish kept tasting terrible.
He was in the middle of chopping some onions when Larei stepped into the kitchen, his face scrunched in disgust.
“What is that smell?” Larei sneered.
“It’s this recipe,” Walren said. “I followed the instructions!”
“Did you really? Or did you read them wrong? You worthless lump of an omega!”
Larei didn’t even look at the recipe. He grabbed the pot of bubbling stew and poured it on Walren. Then he picked up a knife, aiming for Walren’s leg.
Walren woke with a choked-off scream, tears streaming down his cheeks. For a moment, he thrashed around, his limbs tangled in the sheets.
I need to get away! Larei’s going to—
Larei was not here. This wasn’t the old apartment.
Walren closed his fists around the silky, luxurious sheets. Larei would never spend his precious money on things like this for Walren.
In the darkness, he saw a sturdy crib, and Zebbie sleeping peacefully in it.
They were in Raptor’s mansion. Everything was quiet around them.
Walren drew slow, deep breaths, trying to calm himself. It took a while. He wrapped himself tight in the sheets, only noticing then that his bad leg was hurting. When he tried to rub it with his other foot, the ache didn’t go away.
Maybe it would fade if he waited long enough.
Walren pulled the huge, fluffy pillow over his head, burying his damp face against the mattress.
Ten minutes later, he was still awake. His leg hurt more than ever, phantom pains firing up and down from the dream.I don’t dare to fall asleep,he realized.I don’t want to see Larei in my dreams again.
You can always come to me if you’re feeling scared,Raptor had said.It doesn’t matter what time it is. I’ll make sure you’re safe.
Did he really mean that?
For a long time, he debated whether he should take Raptor up on it. Then his leg gave another painful twinge.
