Page 20 of Brutal Dragon King

The escalation of her tone is vexing, and I feel the blood rush out of my hands and race through my arms with how tightly my fists are curled. I uncurl one to slam it against the tree beside her head, but even the force of the tree shaking doesn’t cause her to flinch.

It’s frustrating, but at the same time, it’s also what sparks more desire in me.

How is that possible? Why is her disobedience so thrilling when I have never had to force it out of others?

“Obey me, Althea! I am your king!” I roar, drawing my face closer until I’m a mere an inch away. Our faces are so close, that I feel our breaths mingling in the air between us, and can almost taste the sweetness of her mouth against the stern muskiness of my own.

“No,” she says, challenging me with a twinkle in her eyes.

Her one-word reply is all it takes to turn irritation into fury. Without a second thought or warning, my nostrils flare as I step back and shift on impulse, my dragon spreading out and webbed wings sprouting from my shoulder blades. I give one powerful flap of my wings in front of her face, and it sends herhair blowing out behind her. This time, she flinches, the human clearly afraid of the magnificent beast I stand in now.

I lift my dragon head and roar toward the sky, then grab Althea with dexterous claws, clamping her waist to pick her up off her feet. She feels featherlight between my claws, even when she wiggles and claws with her dainty fingers at my arms.

“Let go of me! Put me down!” Her yelping and screaming only spurs me on to fly higher, over the clouds, until the kingdom below is barely visible.

Sliding my claws under her arms and holding her out in front of me like an insolent child, I unleash my power with a mighty roar over her head that's followed by a breath of hot, fiery air that blows out over the top of her head. I watch the way her eyes flicker up, and the way her bottom lip quivers. Between my talons, her body trembles from fear.

That's all I needed to instill fear into her—shift into dragon form and show her the magnitude of my powers. As if this isn't enough, I throw her over my shoulder as if she's weightless, and fly at full speed toward the hockey rink.

Ignoring the prying eyes of the kingdom's dragon shifters gathered I'm the rink, I glide down to the front row of the bleachers, plant Althea on her feet, and shift back to human form. Her breath comes in hot pants, her chest heaving unsteadily as I grab her shoulders between my human hands and push her onto the seat.

Satisfied with how wide her eyes have become, and how pale her face is, I lean down and stare into her eyes with firm conviction. Her breath hitches, and she doesn't even move.

“Do. Not. Move,” I command firmly, noticing her gulping. “That is an order from your king, do you understand?”

She nods timidly, the little color left on her face draining along with the last semblance of my patience. With a grunt, I spin and unclip the buckle on my waist, holding my sword, then fling the holster off toward the side. One of the guards catches it swiftly, each one of my men effortlessly on standby and at my beck and call whenever I need them.

It's only Althea Waters who dares to disobey me, but I will have none of that anymore.

Shifting into dragon form and flying her to the highest peaks of the kingdom seemed to do the trick. The only trouble is that I can feel her presence behind me, and it's unnerving.

I can't stand Althea, but I also need her under my nose, the possessiveness I feel consuming my being.

I shouldn't be feeling this way.

Chapter 7 - Althea

My throat dries the longer I hold my breath, gulping at long last and feeling air finally entering my lungs with a wheeze. My heart pounds in my chest, and now it heaves when I've begun breathing again. Gripping the edge of the steel bench with paling knuckles, I stare at the king's back as he unbuckles his belt and tosses his sword with the harness to a nearby, attentive, loyal guard.

He doesn't need to breathe a word to his men to have them do his bidding, but it isn't as frightening to watch as the experience I just had.

When King Haidën grabbed me and flew me up over the palace grounds, I was the most frightened I've ever been in my life. My first time flying in a dragon's claws was terrifying, an experience I don't wish to relive or even think about right now.

To distract myself from the aftermath of fear skittering down my spine, I keep my eyes fixed on the king's back, glowering as I mentally plot his murder as revenge. Logically, I stand no chance against him, especially after experiencing just how powerful he is, and capable of burning me like a witch at a stake only by breathing through the triangles of his dragon nose.

A girl can dream, even if this fantasy of exacting my revenge on the king slowly begins to fade and become just that—a fantasy. What happened just now only proved that I am nothing more than a human whose only real purpose is obeying the king and his mission to produce an heir for the Kingdom.

The cold shiver that runs through me keeps me frozen in place, eyes stuck on King Haidën's back when suddenly, he pulls his navy blue blazer off and flings it over his shoulder. It lands ina pile just in front of my feet, but I'm unable to tear my gaze away when the next thing that comes off is his matching shirt.

I gasp, my lips parting to allow my jaw to drop when perfectly contoured back muscles pull taut against smooth, tanned honey-golden skin. My mouth waters as if I'm staring at the most delectable slice of the richest dessert, but that's not the only part of me that waters.

I only move to clamp my thighs shut, feeling arousal pooling between my legs. When my thighs snap shut, I'm inadvertently snapped out of my daze of ogling the dragon king and heinously tracing my eyes across his broad shoulders. I gulp when my eyes reach his tiny, well-defined waist, and I quickly peel my gaze away while mentally chastising myself for such a crime as to become aroused by the dragon king.

I should fear him after today, and I should hate him for murdering my parents. I shouldn't be considering the pleasures of spreading my legs for him to consume me and plant a child in me to fulfill a duty I'm bound to, thanks to the reaping.

Scoffing, I gather my senses and peel my eyes away just as more dragon shifter guards join the king on the field to prepare for their game of sports—whatever it is. I haven't been warned about the game, so when a thunderous crack bursts out, I snap my head toward the field and, to my surprise, witness King Haidën shifting into dragon form.

Only this time, it's more purposeful, more calculated when the shift in the palace garden was more abrupt. Now on the field, King Haidën spreads bulging arms out at his sides, his muscles flexing as he curls his fists inwards and prompts scales to distend across his flesh. Bones crack and rip as his limbs distend, and he grows out into dragon form, standing mighty and tall in ice-white scales adorned with golden briolette crystalsthat reflect the sunlight and send rays of gold all around the field. The large, majestic wings of ice-white and gold spread out behind him.

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