Page 19 of Claimed By the Sinful Dragon
I snorted.Since when are you the expert on wolf shifters?
Since when areyou?
Well, he had me there. I knew almost nothing of wolf shifters—other than how to kill them—and no interest in changing that. Alina’s friendship, whilst treasured, didn’t change my opinion of the rest of her species. They were nothing but trouble, and I only kept claiming my Tribute from the pack for the sake of appearances.
And because you can’t operate a mop.
I grunted in acknowledgement. It was convenient to have someone handle the day-to-day chores, but despite what I’d told Kaylee, a human would have been more than sufficient for the task. Some even worshipped dragons—granted, few, after my brethren had terrorized them for a few centuries, but human memories were short. It would have been easy enough to lure one here with the promise of food and shelter. But the pack owed me a debt, and I couldn’t appear to let it go uncollected. No matter how little regard I had for Uther, his power couldn’t be ignored, and appearances had to be kept up. From without, at least. There was a reason few dragons were ever invited into mypersonal space, and it wasn’t just because my beast was highly territorial.
Most of my kind would not approve of my lifestyle. The fact that I was reclusive enough that the pack on my land—forbidden to leave it by law—saw me seldom enough for its young generations to believe I was a myth would be incomprehensible to them. Many of my kind lived for adoration, or to torment the lesser species. I had no such interest, and some might mistake that for weakness. Weakness invited attacks, and attacks disrupted my peace. I had no interest in the politics of this new world, but I was starting to get the sense they were taking an interest in me.
With an irritated snarl, I stalked along the corridor, following the wolf’s scent until I tracked her to the kitchen—her preferred daytime hideaway, though I had no idea why, given the chaos she caused here. Her brow was furrowed in a little ‘v’ of concentration as she carefully savaged what might once have been a rutabaga with a bread knife.
“What did you do for work in your pack?”
She jumped with a yelp and spun around to glare at me, brandishing the bread knife in front of her. I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms over my chest, and gave her the kind of smug look I knew riled her.
“I think we can safely assume it was neither cooking nor security,” I said, arching my brow at her weapon of choice.
“Hey, if you wanted someone who could cook, thenmaybeyou should have abducted the pack’s chef, did you ever think of that?” she demanded, still glaring at me as she tossed the knife down on the worktop.
I frowned. “Do you mean to tell me there’s only one person in your pack who can cook? It’d hardly be fair if I took them as Tribute now, would it? I might condemn your entire pack to starve.”
She sent a filthy look in my direction, and I swallowed the chuckle that threatened to slip out, and this time, my frown was at myself. I wasn’t supposed to be getting close to the wolf, or finding her company amusing. I had no interest in forming that kind of bond with thestaffagain.
“I’m going out,” I told her abruptly. “Try not to accidentally kill yourself while I’m gone.”
She opened her mouth to spit what I’m sure she believed would be a witty retort, and I cut across her, meeting her eye with a glare. “And donotmake me come looking for you when I get back. Leaving the grounds has consequences that you do not want to discover.”
With that, I turned on my heel and marched away, making straight for the front door. It was time to get this over with.
You are being unnecessarily harsh with her.
And you’re being too damned soft, dragon.
You’re being cruel.
My stride faltered. Was I? Had my attempts to keep myself from getting close to the girl crossed over into the territory of cruelty? I shook my head, clearing it of the ridiculous notion.
You need a good fight,I told my dragon.You’re turning into a bunny.
I felt a tingle of anticipation run through him at the mention of a fight, and for a moment, the bloodlust I’d worshippedfor centuries roared through my mind, urging me to unleash myself, my dragon, on whatever creature dared to defy us. To soar through the air on dark wings, raining death and terror on those below. To taste their panic in my maw, to rend flesh with wickedly sharp talons as screams of pain and pleas for mercy fell on death ears, bathing my soul in a cacophony of—
I drew in a sharp breath, getting a hold on myself. Not today. There might come a time to be that version of myself again, but that time was not today. Today was just a preview.
The front door opened into my vast courtyard, and it wasn’t until I was fully clear of the building that I reached into myself and drew my dragon form to the surface. The change rushed over me seamlessly—one breath I wore the flesh of man, the next, dragon. With one last warning glare at the house—and the little wolf lurking somewhere within—I flared my wings and beat them twice, launching myself effortlessly into the air.
The sky embraced me like an old lover, drawing me home into its welcoming expanse. I felt my dragon’s amusement at the direction of my thoughts, and peeled back my lips in a snarl.
Yes. Taste your rage. Vent it.
My mouth opened wide and a roar erupted from it, echoing across the mountain. In the semi-distance I heard birds squawk in alarm, and deer bolt in panic. Instinctively they understood that I meant danger and death, but they weren’t my prey. Not today, at any rate. Though the way my little wolf was working through my meat supplies, bringing home a deer might not be such a bad idea. On the other hand, I’d seen her going at the rutabaga with that bread knife. I didn’t have the first idea what she’d try if I dropped an undressed deer carcass in front of her. But a part of me wanted to find out.
I quashed the urge as I soared, my yellow eyes locked onto the horizon. It had been a mistake to allow my existence to fade into mere myth for hundreds of those residing in my own territory. One of several I seemed to have made while I’d been locked away enjoying my peaceful existence with Alina.
It’s not a crime to be happy.
Isn’t it?I shot back. ‘Happiness’ didn’t secure the borders. It didn’t keep intruders from eyeing what was mine, or rebellions from springing up under my nose. And I didn’t think that the rebellion Gaheris had spoken of could have reached this far, but there was only one way to be sure.
