Page 68 of Isla

“Do you have questions?”

“Do I believe the dragons are real in the virtual world?” I asked.

“Yes, for you, everything is real.” Miss Trimble wrote notes in her book.

“But it’s only me that thinks they are dragons. Do they think they are?”

“This is your experience. We cannot take the risk of an alpha thinking they are anything other than what they are. Most alphas that hunt in the virtual room try to make it as realistic as possible for the omega. The game allows for who they are, for instance, how big a dragon is, especially in flight. But once your senses change, you don't know it’s anything other than what you believe.”

“Do you still want to do it?” King asked, stroking his hand over my back.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“We’re ready,” he said.

Miss Trimble smiled and handed over the paperwork to sign and we departed the room to get ready for the hunt.

The sound of the buzzer blasted in the background and I stood as still as a deer hearing the snap of a branch, my feet welded to the spot as I wondered which way to go.

I didn’t know if it was excitement or fear that froze my body there, but I moved when I heard grunting and flapping of wings.

“You better start running and running fast.” A growl came from behind me and I glanced around to see fire breathe from a dragon’s mouth. More flaps and I blinked hard as another two dragons stood waiting about to pounce.

Oh fuck.

I glanced ahead at the rocky outlook toward the hills. I needed to find cover from the winged beasts, or should I run toward the forest, the trees would hinder their flight?

My feet were already running faster than they’d ever gone before as I darted in the forest's direction. Once I was there, I planned to run toward the cover of the rocks. Somehow I would find a way back to the castle that was now behind me and as the sounds of the beasts were too, I knew I could only find cover away from my true haven.

I didn’t know how long I was running, fleeing from the scene when a din thundered through the hills and into the forest, causing a stab of apprehension to race through me.

I was running out of time.

My long skirt was hindering my escape, and I pulled at the ribbons holding it together, trying to keep running but also not wanting to fall.

The dragons couldn’t get inside this forest unless they came in on foot. The treetops were too close together, and I was not expecting one to swoop down on me, so I stopped and stood still for a moment, listening for an interruption to the silence that enveloped me.

Then quickly I dragged the skirt off my body, kicking it away and my feet sped off again, this time much faster, as I tried to catch up on the time I lost.

I shoved under low-hanging branches, pushing myself before I stumbled upon a clearing. My heart raced. I was now out in the open.

An ear-splitting roar sounded up above me.

I tried to calm my racing heart, needing to think for a moment, and work out my plan. But my anxiety deepened looking at the openness of the fields and I crept back inside the safety of the forest coverage. Pressing my back against the trunk of a tree as I waited for my heart to calm its beat.

My body had cooled a little from losing the thick fabric of the skirt, but as I looked at my heaving chest and the glisten of my skin in the moonlight. I shivered. Because the dragons could scent me, they had the most powerful scent seeking noses of the entire kingdom.

Go!

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