Page 3 of Sacrificed to the Dragon

She might be a grown woman, but her family had a tradition that Mel still looked forward to. Every year they took a trip to Scotland, and every year they visited a different castle. Her parents were determined to visit each and every one before they died, and the thought of her missing out on the trip for the first time in over twenty-years made her chest tighten.

Mel cleared her throat. “Just make sure it’s one of the dodgy, crap castles, and then I won’t be that upset to miss it.”

Her British dad then pulled her into a hug, the action very much the influence of Mel’s American mother. He murmured against her hair, “I love you, Mel-bell, and I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you for saving Oliver’s life.”

Mel squeezed and stepped back from her father. “Just take care of him.” She looked over to her mother, who was being unusually quiet. “Mom?”

Without saying a word, her mother rushed over and embraced her. Mel closed her eyes and held her mom tight, memorizing the light lilac scent of her mother’s lotion before saying, “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, dear.” Her mother pulled back and took Mel’s face in her hands. “You can call us and let us know about anything, anything at all, once you have access to a phone.”

She fought the tears in her eyes and forced a smile. “Of course.”

Her mother’s face went stern. “I mean it. I don’t care if my grandchild ends up being half-dragon, I will love him or her with all of my heart.”

At that remark, tears started to roll down Mel’s cheeks. “You don’t know how much that means to me, Mom.”

Her mother patted her cheek. “I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks; my family comes first, no matter what their genetic heritage.”

Mel pulled her mother into another hug. While pregnancy was highly likely, she’d been afraid her parents wouldn’t approve if she did have a child. But she should have known better than to doubt her parents.

She had taken them for granted all these years. If she survived the birth and ever got out, she’d treasure them, as they deserved to be treasured.

A deep, unfamiliar male voice spoke up behind her. “Ms. Melanie Hall?”

Mel pulled away from her mom and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan before she turned around to find a tall man with dark hair and eyes, looking at her and her parents with what could only be called suspicion. The thick, black tattoo that crawled out from beneath his short sleeves to just above his elbow told her the man was a dragon-shifter.

The only question was whether he was to be her dragon-shifter or not.

Regardless, she had decided over the last two weeks that she wouldn’t be afraid of them unless they gave her a reason. Even then, she’d do everything in her power not to show her fear. She had a feeling the dragon-shifters would appreciate a show of strength.

She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. “That’s me.”

“I’ll give you three minutes to say your final goodbyes. Come to me when you’re done.”

With that, the man went over to a patch of trees, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared. Even from fifteen feet away, she felt the intensity of his gaze, and she was starting to understand how most women would freak out at it. However, Mel had dealt with worse during her part-time jobs all throughout university; first at a bar and later at a restaurant. A grumpy, verbally stunted jerk would be like a walk in the park in comparison.

Determined not to waste what precious time she had left with her family, Mel turned back to her parents and tried to ignore the heat of the dragon-shifter’s gaze that was undoubtedly still trained on her back.

* * *

Tristan watched the short,curvy woman with reddish brown hair and green eyes as she hugged her parents. She was a bit rounder and softer than the females of his people, but at first glance, he didn’t find it unappealing. The woman’s tits alone should be able to get his cock hard enough to do his job.

Provided he could get her naked first. He wouldn’t force her, but thanks to Bram’s choice of sacrifice, it was probably going to take more than a few caresses to get her willing. He glared in Melanie’s direction as down payment for the trouble the woman was going to cause him.

If Bram thought Tristan was going to turn into a gentle, flattering male for the human female, his clan leader was in for a surprise. The human female was here for one purpose, and one purpose only—to breed. He’d do his duty and fuck her until she became pregnant. Then he could go back to his life until the child was born. If she managed to survive the birth, he could only hope the woman would flee back to the humans and leave the child’s upbringing to him.

Like most dragon-shifters, Tristan cherished the gift of children, even if his would be half-human.

However, he was getting ahead of himself. Melanie would have a two-day adjustment period before she was required to have sex with him. He just wanted to hurry up and get it over with. But he’d signed the sacrifice contract and he wouldn’t embarrass his clan by breaking it.

The woman’s time was up. He was about to go fetch her when she gave a wave to her parents, picked up her suitcase, and strutted toward him. He’d discovered one thing about her—she was punctual.

When she was only a few feet away, he put out a hand. “I can carry your bag.”

She shook her head. “I don’t even know your name, so how am I supposed to trust you with my things?”

No matter how much trouble it’d be later, he still preferred feisty to whimpering or scared shitless. “I’m Tristan MacLeod of Clan Stonefire.”

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