Page 2 of Devoted to the Dragon

My dragon bursts from my skin, leaping for the outer rock wall of the courtyard. The jagged mountain rips into the scales on my belly in the too-small space. My wings scrape and tear as they beat, but I can’t find the wind to fly from this angle. The whizz of the arrows is drowned out by the blazing screamI launch at my pursuers. That forces them back for a moment, allowing me to scramble higher on the rock walls.

An arrow lances my side, then another, until it’s too many to count. The pain of it is nothing compared to the tearing of my heart.

But the need to live burns in my chest.

I claw forward until the sky opens up, the sunrise waiting, and I launch into a shaky flight.

We have been betrayed.

Chapter 1

Randi

Present Day

Vandera’s newest arrival can work the cage; I’ll give the man that.

The pink-and-purple lights on the raised platform behind the bar catch the oil between his cheeks each time the lithe human rolls his hips to the throbbing electronic mix. The steel cage doesn’t so much as creak when he sits back on his ankles and braces himself on his outstretched hands. On the drop of the beat, the man stops teasing the crowd and lets himself take the knotted toy he’s been working for the last two songs.

He is the perfect fantasy of an omega in heat come to life. Around me, the bar clouds with spicy alpha-wolf pheromones. Though the man is human, sweet floral notes pour off him in waves, pushing the crowd closer to rut with each lift of his hips.

Another one of Vandera’s ingenious spells.This one she crafted for the human individually—to enhance his natural scent to mimic the pheromones of an omega wolf. It’s a slight of the nose, powerful enough to subdue most alphas from turning feral during their oncoming mating rut and a way to weed out the rest.

Even my body responds the moment the new arrival takes the knot. My insides tighten, coiling with an aching emptiness that rouses a whine from my dragon. I’m restless tonight, though I can’t pinpoint why.

I hide my desire and study the human instead, looking for signs of how he might perform later. It’s one thing for a human to dance and fuck alone in a cage for an audience of wolves. To be in the nest downstairs and take ten or more wolves is quite another.

But as usual, Vandera’s spell has lured a wanton and willing soul. The delicate-looking man’s face relaxes as he works the knot, his lips falling open on a breathy moan. I can tell he loves it, and that desire will serve him well when he has trained enough to descend to the nest below the bar to ride out the wolves’ rut.

Delia sets a napkin on the wooden bar top in front of me and settles my martini atop it with a flourish.

“What’s this?” I lift my brow in question at the delicate pink rose petals floating on the surface of my gin martini.

“Fennik told me I could add a drink special to the menu tonight. Isn’t it pretty, boss?” she asks. Delia is bubble gum incarnate, bouncing on her toes as she looks at me hopefully.

When she first arrived, the curvy brunette human was skittish and shy. She never looked anyone in the eye, always trying to make herself disappear. A year and two mates later, nothing of that brittle woman remains. It’s a testament to her bravery and the power of Vandera’s calling spell.

Like all who hear the witch’s call, Delia was lost for one reason or another. The spell whispered of a new life on the breeze, and when she arrived at the edge of shifter territory, the wards repelling humans didn’t keep her out.

I would appreciate the beauty of her transformation more if the human in front of me would stop messing with my drinks.I’m convinced Fennik has given her free rein of the cocktail menu to torture me. Last week, it was blueberry-infused gin. I shudder at the memory. “And my usual lemon twist?”

Her body relaxes, and her full lips turn into a megawatt smile. “Boss! I’ve got you. There is a hint of citrus, but I added elderflower gin with a rose aroma for a more pleasant experience. This is one you’re going to like.” Delia watches eagerly as I take a sip.

I nod in recognition that it’s decent. It still doesn’t stop me from wishing it was the drink I ordered.

A deep rumble sounds near my ear, and the hair on the back of my neck takes flight, my heart stuttering at the sound.

“The child has come,” the deep voice whispers.

My eyes wrench shut. Pain slices through my heart and pleasure pumps through my veins, the dueling sensations at war.My mate. The man who isn’t mine.

I fight for air, practically choking as I call, “Thank you, Delia. It’s lovely.”

I wait until she dances off to serve a crowd of alphas down the bar, buying time to collect myself before I address Fennik.

“And?” I ask, my voice clipped of the raw emotions simmering in my throat.

His body heat blankets my back, his spicy amber-and-pine scent making my nipples tighten against the lace of my dress.My eyes prick and my throat spasms at the feel of him behind me, so close. The stupid, impossible desire to have him hold me traps me in its snare, making me wish for things that can’t be.

---