Page 58 of Brutal Alpha Dragon

“Yeah?” I quip a brow at him, genuinely interested. “What’s your solution?”

“Remember when I came back? Well, no one knew I’d come through the dome…”

A long moment of silence passes as I digest what he’s just revealed. In the chaos of everything that was going on with Lily, I hadn’t noticed.

“You’re saying no one detected you?” I frown.

He winks at me. “Not even you, Alpha Draco.”

“How?” All the siblings ask in unison.

Aragon reaches into his jacket pocket and produces a clear liquid vial. He sets it down on the coffee table, then leans back and says, “Perhaps I met a witch in the human world.”

Chapter 24 - Lily

My appetite is non-existent as I stare at the bowl of porridge blankly. It’s only my tummy that rumbles because I haven’t had a morsel of food since the snack bar.

This morning? Afternoon? Last night?

I’m not even sure of the time or how long I’d been unconscious before waking up. My concept of time is blurred. I can only tell that it’s morning because of the meal option in front of me.

Without craving the food, I drag the tray over and pick up the spoon. Memories of my time in Aurora Island come rushing back. And though I didn’t have much time to explore the island itself, just gazing at it from the balcony was a thousand times better than this.

Being locked in some dreary dungeon, treated like a prisoner in a maximum security prison. With a foul-smelling guard whose eyes twinkle at me like I’m next on his list of meal choices.

As I push aside any thoughts of the vile man—who I’m still convinced is not a dragon—I bring to mind my only saving grace in all of this.

Draco…

His face appears in my mind, and when I open my eyes, I can conjure his image in front of me. Lifting a weak hand in the air, I reach out and touch his cheek.

Though it’s only air running through my fingers, I imagine the heat of his flesh. The warmth I’d grown accustomed to. The flushed skin beneath my touch. Sighing with a heavy heart, I tilt my head to one side and fondly gaze at him with a smile.

“Hey,” I whisper with a frail voice, a lump lodging in my throat. My eyes glaze with moisture, threatening to sever the image of his face I’d manifested with my thoughts.

Because of this, I sniff back on my tears and refuse to cry. I don’t want to lose this picture of him, alive in my imagination and breathing the same air as I am.

His eyes flit to the bowl on my lap. “You need to eat,” he says, his voice echoing in my eardrums.

I’m too fixated on being able to hear his voice. Even if it’s unclear, I hold onto it like a thread of hope.

“Lily…” he husks, and I feel immersed in his voice's comfort.

“Draco…” I whisper with a smile. When his eyes flit to the bowl again, I sigh.

He’s right. Draco is right even if he isn’t real and just a figment of my imagination. And that’s what prompts me to lift a spoonful of porridge to my lips.

The voice I hear sounds like Draco's, and it might just be my own inner voice. The voice of reason that reminds me that I need to fill my tummy. It seems to have a life of its own, growling as the porridge goes down my throat. As if thanking me for the food.

It isn’t much in terms of taste. But as Draco watches me intently, I find the courage to keep eating.

When I’m done, I set the bowl down on the floor. Draco nods to show me he’s proud, and pride fills my chest as I take a deep breath.

“I’m glad you listened,” he praises.

“I had to. It is for my own good, isn’t it?” I muse.

Draco chuckles, the sound reverberating in my chest. As if his spirit were inside me, offering me comfort during this helpless time.

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