Page 6 of Bound to the Dragon
“Miss Madison?”
Lillian appears in the doorway of the bathroom, and I collect myself as she holds out one of my favorite blue dresses. “Will this suffice for dinner tonight?”
I envision myself walking down the stairs in the slinky cobalt dress, hugging my every curve. Will that get Blaze to look at me with anything other than those disdainful eyes? I doubt it.
He doesn’t want this union any more than I do. Probably less so. I am mating up. He’s mating down, even if it will ensure he bears an heir.
I nod. “Yes, that will do.”
I turn back to take in my reflection in the oval glass mirrors over the sink. My solemn brown eyes peer back at me intently. Once, they had been filled with so much optimism, so much hope for the future. Now they’re faded to a near black. There is no light left in them. Not since my father and Granger had ruined my faith in the pack. My loyalty to them is unwavering, but I can’t help but remember how we achieved the status we have.
“Miss Madison, your dress is laid out for you.”
I turn away from the glass to dress for my evening affair.
This is my life now. Abiding by my Alpha’s requests.
And now it’s dinnertime.
CHAPTER 2
BLAZE
Ihate every moment of preparing for this union, and I have since the moment it was proposed to me at a council meeting, more than two months ago.
What the hell had possessed me to agree to mate with this female? The elders had been in consensus that I needed a mate, and that time was running out for me to bring an heir into the crumbling pack dynamic.
Of course, I know the answer to my own question.
It’s necessary to secure our pack’s unstable future. The rogue faction wreaking havoc has made everything more difficult, and we need a show of solidarity.
The infertility curse plaguing our bloodline is only making things worse—no Alpha in our pack has successfully produced an heir since my great-grandfather. When he died childless, his nephew took over. Then another nephew, then another. For three generations, the Alpha position has passed sideways through the family because no one could produce sons.
I’m the first direct descendant to claim the Alpha position in three generations, but only through my grandmother’s line—which means I still carry the same cursed blood. No one in our pack has shown any promise in breaking the streak.
And that is why I have to look outside Shadow Pine for new blood.
The pack elders keep records of bloodline magic going back generations. Crow shifters have ancient fertility magic that can rebirth what dragons have lost. And that is why mating with this crow shifter is necessary.
Her lineage could break the curse plaguing my dragon lineage.
I could have done worse than Madison. She is beautiful, with those dark bedroom eyes and mane of black hair, although I would have preferred a stronger mate. A mere crow shifter doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me. She’s no warrior, that’s for certain, but at least she’s easy on the eyes. But her animal form won’t do much good if we go into battle.
I vaguely recall meeting her at that full moon party, but she struck me like so many other females did. Flighty, distant, undisciplined. It was no wonder she hadn’t made that much of an impression on me that time, but looking at her on the driveway of my estate, I had a hard time looking away from her. And it wasn’t just because of her ethereal prettiness.
Dropping back against the high back of my office chair, I lose my gaze in the flickering light of the flames from the fireplace. Usually, I find peace in the sanctity of fire, but my mind is too restless this evening. With Madison’s floor above me, I’m distracted.
A part of me wants to have her dine alone and avoid her entirely until the ceremony, but what good will that do? It’s better to get it over with and spend the time with her now. Sooner or later, we have to get to know one another.
I’m stuck with her whether or not I avoid her.
Smothering a grunt of dissatisfaction, I rise to dress for dinner, striding across the thick carpeting toward the heavy oakdoors and finding my house manager on the other side of the threshold.
I barely look at him as I pass. “Any issues with the newcomer?”
“No, Alpha. Lillian is with her now. She seems to be settling in well.”
She better be. I’d spared no expense setting up her suite. I don’t have time to listen to a spoiled brat nagging about some forgotten luxury. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder how she’s faring up there, all by herself, without even one of her pack members to help her get settled.
