Page 21 of Samuel
It was the first time we’d eaten together like this.
In the past, I’d taken my meals back to the room, wanting to keep some distance between us.
But this… this felt more intimate. More real.
Samuel set a plate down in front of me and sat across from me, his own plate piled high.
We ate in silence for a few minutes, and I couldn’t help but savor the food.
It was good, really good, and the quiet between us was comfortable in a way I hadn’t expected.
“So,” I started, breaking the silence, “about those rogues…”
Samuel’s eyes flicked up to meet mine, his expression unreadable.
I hesitated, then pushed forward.
“Gordon and I were sent here on a mission to deal with a rogue wolf. Just one. We didn’t expect to run into an entire group of them. Honestly, we didn’t know what we were walking into,” I said.
Samuel’s jaw tightened slightly, and I wondered if I’d hit a nerve. Then he sighed and set his fork down.
“I was sent me here too,” he said. “But I wasn’t sent to deal with wolves.”
“What were you sent to deal with, then?” I asked, genuinely curious.
If he wasn’t here for the rogues, what could possibly be more dangerous than that?
Samuel paused, his eyes darkening for a moment. He looked at me with an intensity that made my breath hitch.
“A rogue dragon,” Samuel finally said.
I blinked, then laughed. “A dragon? Seriously? Those are extinct.”
Samuel didn’t laugh with me. His face remained dead serious, and something shifted in the air between us.
“We’re not extinct,” he said quietly, his eyes locking onto mine. “We’re still here.”
The room felt like it had suddenly dropped ten degrees.
I swallowed hard, and in that moment, I saw it—his eyes flickered gold, and I caught a glimpse of something beneath his skin.
Something massive, terrifying, and ancient. Scales, claws, wings…A dragon.
The bond between us pulsed, and through it, I felt the presence of his beast.
It was so different from the wolves I had faced before, so much more primal and dangerous.
I could feel its hunger, its rage, and its possessiveness.
My heart raced, my pulse quickening in a mixture of fear and something else… something darker. Something that thrilled me.
“You’re… a dragon shifter?” I whispered, my voice shaky.
Samuel nodded slowly, his eyes not leaving mine. “Yes.”
I pushed my plate away, my appetite vanishing.
“I didn’t even know dragon shifters still existed. They’re supposed to be legends, stories we tell kids to keep them from wandering too far into the woods,” I said.
