Page 55 of Destined By Dragonblood
Instant red hazed my eyesight, and I fought to keep my inner beast tamed as he roused in a flare of heat.
“He tied me up and beat the hell out of me, promising me I would like it. He played at being a Dom, bruising me, taking every last bit of my innocence.”
I clenched my teeth to keep my roar contained but couldn’t help the fire in my eyes and how my skin and bones itched to expand and shift.
She studied my flaming eyes closely but didn’t back away at what must be a strange phenomenon to her. Vanni hadn’t been put off by my dragon attempting to make himself known either, which gave me hope they would come to accept the truth sooner than later.
“Who was it?” I growled, ready to rip through the building and go in search of the one who’d traumatized my female.
“The pastor of the church I attended as a child.” She shuddered.
“Where?” I bit the word out, fully intending to file the information in the back of my mind for further musing.
“A small town in Jonestown. We were the only independent bible church there, and it was more of a cult than an actual following of Christ.”
I would peel the skin from the man’s bones.
Incinerate him to ash with a blast of dragon fire.
“But I’ve been going to therapy for years because the thought of a man’s hands on me made me sick,” Ashley continued. “I’ve only recently found pleasure—through pain.”
“Vanni,” I said through clenched teeth, angry for a whole other reason. I could appreciate he was able to help her in a way I never could, but I hated she required enduring torture in order to find release.
“Yes. Master Vanni.”
“He isn’t your master,” I spat, my insides still fire and smoke over her trauma, my claws and aching jaw desperate to tear into flesh.
“He is when I submit here in this club,” Ashley said. “Outside, he is my friend. Confidant. And I care for him deeply.”
I didn’t need the bonding to recognize she spoke truth.
“How do you know him?” Ashley questioned.
I couldn’t tell her how he and I had met. She would see me as unworthy to be her alpha, a weaker vessel than I’d been destined to attain.
Lying now would only cause mistrust later once we’d bonded as she might find out the truth.
But Ashley wasn’t aware of Blood Born history, she knew nothing of our people, or the dynamic in a triad of dragonblood. And, while communication would be easy once bonded, neither Vanni or Ashley need ever hear or read an alpha never submitted to another.
My beast snickered, and I slapped his muzzle in place, firm and unyielding, my ire still burning.
“I followed you here a few weeks ago,” I answered, my voice surprisingly calm. “Vanni and I…met and spoke briefly.”
Ashley continued to study my face without a hint of fear. “Why didn’t I see you?”
My female had already been through a lot tonight, but one more upheaval of her reality might be exactly what she needed. Honesty—evidence of my non-human blood—would sway her toward accepting the truth.
I shimmered out of sight, and she gasped, stumbling backward. Leaping forward, I revealed myself, grasping her forearm to keep her from falling over.
She blinked at me, pulse throbbing in her neck, swallowing hard. “I’m dreaming.” She pinched her hand and laughed, near hysterical. “I’m losing my damned mind is what I’m doing.”
“Ashley.” I cupped her cheek, hoping to calm her.
“Do it again.”
I obeyed without thought, and her gaze went hazy once I shimmered back before her eyes. “Listen to the inner creature whispering my honesty,” I begged what I hoped to be true—that her beast had woken from my touch, same as Vanni’s had.
“Dragonblood—you’re a shifter, and I’m your mate.” She woodenly echoed what I’d declared.
