Page 37 of Brutal Alpha Dragon

“Open this door and let me leave,” I say sternly. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

There’s a moment of silence before I hear his footsteps behind me. I shudder from awareness as those footsteps grow louder. Then they stop. I gasp when I can feel him behind me, his heated presence enveloping me in an invisible embrace.

“I’m not gonna let you leave, Lily…” he drawls from behind, his breath a mere whisper at my ear.

“Wh-why not?”

He chuckles sardonically, the sinister sound coursing down my spine and settling in my core. Even though I don’t want it to affect me, it does.

“How do you plan on leaving an island full of dragons?” he challenges.

Straightening my spine, I curl my fists on my sides and hold my chin defiantly. “I’m not afraid.”

“You’re not?” he sneers as he walks around me. Towering in front of me, I have to look up only to find him glowering through narrowed eyes.

“You’re not afraid, huh?” he scoffs. “Is that why you fell off that ledge? ‘Cause you’re not afraid?”

I gulp hard, using that time to think up a suitable retort. Instead, I find myself mesmerized by the glow of his eyes, which seem to turn golden now. As if he’s staring at me blankly, I find myself being reeled into that infinite abyss—the gateway to his soul that appears much less frightening than he is.

Why I can see so far, I’m not sure. It almost feels like I’m an intruder, and I have to tear my gaze away quickly.

“What’s wrong, Lily? Cat got your tongue?”

When I look back up at him, the golden glow is gone. Frowning, I reply, “I want to leave.” It’s not much of a retort, but it’s all I can come up with.

He shakes his head, an eerie smile curling his lips. “I can’t let you leave. This is for your own good.”

“You keep telling me that,” I bite with venom. “And I don’t see how it is.”

“Trust me, when you’re not a weak, pathetic mortal anymore, you’ll know why.”

With that, Draco turns on his heel and opens the door. Stunned by what he’d just told me, I remain frozen on the spot as he leaves and shuts the door behind him.

What did he just mean with his parting remark?

Chapter 15 - Draco

Another evening of training means I’m distracted again. Brantley, one of the dragon soldiers in the clan, joins me as I wait on the bench, watching the others fighting.

“Alpha Draco,” he greets as he takes a seat.

“Brant,” I nod back. My brother, Felix, is up next in the fighting ring.

As the flash of his transformation and the roaring fire from his dragon lips ignite the air, I lean my elbows on my thighs, looking up at the sky.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Brantley comments.

“We’ve been so busy with training, we haven’t stopped to appreciate it much, have we?” I add.

“It’s not that any of us mind, Alpha,” Brantley assures me. I glance at him to find him smiling earnestly at me. “It’s just that we’ve been too busy to notice, don’t you think?”

I turn back to the sky littered with glowing stars and the waxing crescent moon. Sighing, I soak up the calmness that it brings. Like a soft quilt, it hugs me in the embrace of tranquility.

For some reason, appreciating the night sky stirs up memories of the night Lily fell from the ledge. I wonder if she’d been able to appreciate the beauty of the navy canvas painted with stars.

Or had she been so intent on running away that she hadn’t cared much for the beauty of the night? After all, there is much to be appreciated here in Aurora Island. The vast greenery and luscious gardens make the island picturesque and heavenly. The rest of the world has never seen such beauty—the closest thing to the Garden of Eden.

A pang of guilt grips my chest, then. It’s unfair to the human, who’d been kidnapped from her ordinary life and locked away in the castle.

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