Page 33 of Brutal Alpha Dragon

And just like that, she’s out of this round.

“Next,” I call out to the entire group, staring expectantly at Skarlett to vacate the ring.

She huffs ferociously as she picks herself up, taking on human form in the pit. She purposely tosses the long tendrils of blazing red hair over her shoulder and stares up at me through hooded eyes, saying, “Nice one, Alpha Draco. Until we meet again in the arena.”

This time, her mind link is only shared with me. Her point is made when she saunters out of the ring with calculated steps.

All of which has no effect on me apart from infuriating me at the core. My mind goes to Lily then—the human girl to who I’m destined to be mated. And somehow, I’m grateful for her even if I haven’t accepted her yet.

Satisfied with today’s training, I relieve the group of dragon soldiers and thank them for their efforts. The day draws to an end when I’m the only one left in the arena; the stillness of the open expanse gives me some time alone to think about my current disposition.

Lily Turner.

If anyone told me a week ago that I’d be wallowing in self-loathing because of a human, I would have called them crazy. My whole life, I’d spent believing that they were weak creatures. Built solely for the purpose of self-destruction, needing the help of the dragonspirit race to step in when we were needed.

To aid them in wars and outside threats. That’s been the cycle of both our existences for millennia.

Now, we’re meant to breed with them. Though I cannot see how Lily will be able to carry my offspring, I can’t help but wonder if the fighter’s spirit I glimpsed in her is enough to permit the hand of immortality to hold her heart.

If it doesn’t work, and her body rejects immortality, she’ll never be able to carry to full-term. It would kill her.

So much for the Cube of Knowledge’s plethora of impeccable information, there was one thing it couldn’t guarantee—if the human would become immortal when she becomes pregnant.

It’s something I’ll never know for sure. Not unless she’s pregnant. What happened last night isn’t nearly enough to conceive. After all, my mind hadn’t been set on conception.

It’d been somewhere else. A place I refuse to go to right now. With that denial, I head back to the castle.

“Draco.” Mother smiles warmly at me when I enter the dining room. The used dinner plates on the table indicate that dinner was already had. Only my mother remains seated on her designated chair, polishing off Father’s leftover bits of meat around the bone.

“Hello, Mother,” I greet her as I sit at the foot of the table. Though I don’t have much of an appetite, I need to refuel the dragonspirit, so I pile my plate with two generous helpings of T-bone steaks.

“I heard all about today’s training,” Mother titters.

“The Vulkan family leaves no stone unturned, I’m sure,” I chuckle.

Mother shakes her head, a giggle playing on her lips. “Of course not,” she concedes joyfully. “I heard Skarlett was up to her antics again.”

“When is she not?” I quip dryly.

“It doesn’t bother you?”

I look up from my meal to find Mother gazing at me with peculiar interest. Frowning, I shake my head. “Still as uninterested as ever.”

My mother accepts this with a nod, turning her face to the table as she toys with her fork. “Does the human girl have anything to do with it?”

When I don’t immediately reply, Mother looks back at me with a raised brow. I avert her questioning eyes, even if I know she only means good.

I haven’t told a single soul about what transpired between Lily and me. And though I feel called to tell my mother, I can’t.

Not until I’ve figured out what any of it means.

“No,” I lie with a shrug. I know it’s a lie because my tongue burns with the scorching heat of guilt that always rears its ugly head when I’m not being honest. “I’ve always opposed Skarlett’s brazen attempts at charming me.”

“Of course,” Mother agrees.

From my periphery, I catch the way she’s still staring at me and sigh. Swallowing the mouthful, I place my utensils on either side of my plate and lift the napkin to dab the corners of my mouth.

“I know you want to say something, Mother,” I say gently.

---