Page 2 of Brutal Alpha Dragon

I know it’s my destiny, but I refuse to accept this fate.

As if in response to my diffidence, a bolt of lightning rips through the sky. A thrashing from the Heavens itself, my wings shield me like an apologetic child. With one eye, I peep through the veil of my webbed wings at the castle. Nestled between the forestry, it's where the Dragon Council and my family members are gathered.

I take one last look up at the sky as the clouds open up, preparing to pour down blessings. I've never been one to question my fate before. Not in the thousand-and-two years that I've been breathing.

But as a dragon-shifter, I have to question if this is right. We're meant to be guardians of the world. Protectors of the human race, standing by until we're needed.

The frail creation of the human race cannot carry a dragonspirit baby. It's impossible. But I can't ignore the signs as the thunderstorm rages above me.

With my heart sinking, I glide down toward the castle. When my paws touch the ground, I reclaim my human-form and take a deep breath.

When I enter the hall, I find that the gathering is still present. My sister, Kairo, rushes forward.

“Draco.” she sighs with relief, her voice only loud enough for the two of us. “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine, Sister,” I assure her with a nod as I peek over her head. The Council members appear terse and stiff, awaiting my arrival. I turn back to Kairo, whose brows remain knitted tightly.

“Have you decided?” she asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. It's the same hand from before.

This time, I don't shrug her away. I welcome the comfort she offers as I stare blankly ahead. “I have.”

Kairo inhales haggardly as she steps aside. Marching to the rounded table where the Council members are seated, my fists remain clenched on my sides.

“I'll do it,” I relent, my voice flat and void of any emotion. If this is what the Heavens want for me, it's what I will have to accept. “I'll accept the human mate.”

The four Council members exchange concerned glances. It's my father who rises, offering me a stiff smile.

“You've made the right choice, Draco,” he praises with a curt nod. “The dragon-shifter race will be preserved because of this.”

“What if the human cannot handle a dragonspirit child?” I ask speculatively.

Nimbus, the representative from the African corner, stands up. He produces a white cube and sets it on the table. Not larger than my palm, it appears dull and lifeless. Until he taps the top square of the cube.

From each side of the small box, light emerges in the colors of the rainbow. It spreads out around the table, shedding light in the center of the room.

At the top of the cube, a brilliant white light extends to the ceiling. And when Nimbus reaches his hand into that light, a keyboard appears in the air.

With a tap of a few keys, a translucent screen materializes, projected by the light.

“Thanks to technological advances in the dragon world, we're able to hand-pick a suitable mate amongst the humans,” Nimbus explains. While he speaks, the screen flashes with images of human faces from all walks of life. “Using the dragon's unique DNA, we'll screen the humans until a match is found.”

“Has this been done before?” I ask as I frown at the screen. The more human faces I see, the less I feel like this will work.

“You will be the first of our kind to try out this method,” Father reveals. “But the human that will be chosen will become immortal.”

“So she'll become like us, then?”

Father shakes his head. “Not a dragon-shifter. But immortality through mating will occur.”

“Only if the dragon's seed is successfully planted through mating,” Nimbus adds. “There is a possibility that immortality may not take effect.”

Again, another heavy burden sets its weight on my shoulders. It's only the sounds of the powerful skies that spur me on. If this is my fate, I have no choice.

“Begin the process,” I tell my father as I sigh with a heavy heart. “Find me a suitable human to bear my children.”

The adoption of the idea is only because of my duties to my clan. The Aurora Dragons haven't been blessed with a dragonspirit child in almost a millennia. I know it's my parents’ wish to see me carry the legacy of the Vulkans.

And it's a duty I've been born to carry out.

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