Page 68 of Brutal Alpha Dragon

Though I’ve never met her, a pang of sympathy grips my chest. I relegate it to carrying the Alpha’s child. That’s the only reason I would feel remorse while my life is seemingly in danger.

And why I don’t feel an ounce of fear as she threatens my life.

Keeping my eyes trained on her, I see the tears surfacing in her dragon eyes. I hear the sounds of wings flapping as other dragons join us in the air, but I’m suddenly compelled to feel sorry for her.

“I’ve loved you too long to let this human be your mate.”

“There is nothing you can do, Skarlett,” Draco admits. “She is my fated mate.”

Draco’s revelation holds a magnitude of profound meaning that just makes so much sense to me. Though I know little about the world of dragon shifters, all the puzzle pieces suddenly fit together.

It’s why I’d dreamt about him long before I met him. Or why I’d been drawn to him from the very beginning.

Fated…

It was destiny that crossed our paths, regardless of how twisted it may have seemed in the beginning. And even if I’d only just heard the term ‘fated mates,’ I know what it implies.

That’s why I’ve been able to hear his voice in my mind. It’s why I can hear hers.

“I don’t believe you!” Skarlett roars, still circling the mountain. I feel the presence of the other dragons looming below us as she breathes out fire through the gritted, sharp teeth of the dragon.

“Skarlett…” I gently coerce through the telepathic mind link. “It’s me, the human. Can you hear me?”

Skarlett abruptly stops her circling, turning her pointed muzzle down at me. Her eyes widened with shock, and the curved scales above her eyes knitted.

“You?”

“Yes, me,” I nod. “I don’t know what history you share with your Alpha, but I know he wouldn’t have hurt you intentionally.”

Behind me, Draco wheezes in agreement.

“He’s hurt me nonetheless!” she crows. “It is I that should have been Lady Dragon!”

“It’s impossible now, Skarlett!” Draco wails. “She is fated to be my mate!” He tells her again.

“Then she will die!” Skarlett roars as she turns her face to me, lips peeling over her teeth as she snarls. The heat of the fumes of her breath alone prickles my skin. And I know what she’s about to do.

She’s going to set me on fire.

“Skarlett!” I command mentally, a surge of impulsive strength rushing through me. The kind of strength I’d felt when Draco held my hand in the hall is evident now, even without his physical touch. And when the red dragon turns horror-stricken eyes on me, I know that my command works.

The dragonspirit growing inside me gives me that feeling of invincible might, like I am a force to be reckoned with even as a human.

I’d never felt so powerful before. And now that I have a taste of it, I know what I am capable of.

“You will listen to me now,” I order the red dragon. Her eyes begin to swirl with white streaks as she stops circling the mountain. Simply levitating in the air, she becomes entranced by my voice. Not because she wasn’t expecting a human to be able to speak to her telepathically, but because my voice becomes hypnotic.

“Let. Me. Go,” I command fiercely but gently enough to maintain the hold I have on her. She nods with a whimper before the tendrils of her claws loosen around my waist.

“Draco…” I call out to him mentally just as Skarlett releases me from her clutches. I close my eyes, surrendering to the fall and trusting whatever fate has in the cards for me. After all, it was fate that led me to him.

And it’s fate that leads me back to him.

Just as I’d anticipated, Draco swiftly catches me in the warmth of his familiar arms. I smile before opening my eyes, the floral sweetness of his essence surrounding me.

Above us, Skarlett shrieks when she snaps out of the daze and realizes she’d let me go. Draco’s siblings rush upward to block her path to Draco and me.

“Don’t let her get away,” he tells the others. He immediately sets off toward the castle behind the mountain. Leaving Skarlett behind while anger grows inside him.

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