Page 69 of Isla

Isla

Ihadnotime to spare. I dashed forward, my feet going faster than I ever imagined they could, my lungs threatening to explode in my chest.

Still, I ran.

A classic warning sounded in my brain as I pushed my way past berry bushes and stung my feet on hidden saw edged nettles. As much as I was afraid, anticipation of being caught by these dragons surpassed the feeling of dread that first found me.

Whoa, where did that thought come from?

Keep running, they’ll kill you.

The sound of cracking branches above and leaves crushed by the winged creatures searching for me broke the hush.

I froze to the spot, my eyes opened wide and my hearing honed into the beasts’ wings as they thumped above me, but I still couldn’t see them. I held my hand over my chest as I caught my breath, then I made a run for the next tree trunk.

They were so close that I could feel the heat of their breath as I slammed against another tree. My chest heaving as I pressed my back against the jagged bark and I stopped and listened for them, trying to decide my next plan of action.

I had worked my way around the forest and now the castle was ahead of me. Just one triumphant dash across open fields was all it would take to get me to freedom. My heart pounded wildly now. I was so close, but so far from my home. But in the dense forest, I was safe unless they followed me on foot—out there I was prime pickings. They could swoop down and capture me.

“Omega,” a beastly voice grunted behind me.

I pushed myself off the tree and sprinted to the next, but seeing a thicket of bushes to my right, I threw myself on the ground and scurried underneath the shrub. Seething as my limbs scraped over the prickly branches.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and sunk my teeth into the pad of my palm to stop myself from crying. But I still pushed under the bushes as much as I could, and stilled myself and waited. All I needed was enough time for them to give up on the chase. Enough time for them to get bored and leave.

Though I knew they would try to find me another day.

The sound of a branch cracked nearby, and I sucked in a deep, silent breath and held it, trying to stay still and not make a sound, not a whimper, nor a sniffle, not another breath.

But there was at least one beast close by, as he inhaled and groaned. “I smell you. I can smell my mate.”

They kept saying that I was theirs, but I was a princess. I was not a dragon. Also, I was a princess betrothed to another.

They didn’t listen.

I didn’t either.

My father told me not to tempt the beasts, but something in me wanted to know them. Wanted to taste—just once.

There was a chuckle of sorts above me. I tried to find deeper coverage, but hissed as my arm caught on a thorn and I whimpered as I pulled out the spike, licking over the wound to curb the sting.

It couldn’t be.I stilled.

It was. A large clawed hand came toward me. I pushed away, my heels digging into the floor, trying to scamper away. But I stopped as I hit something and glanced up and behind to see two more dragons standing above me.

I screamed as talons sheathed my arm and a scaly palm encased around my leg, as they slowly shifted me out of my hiding space until I was on the ground, staring at the beast with brown eyes.

I pulled away as he stroked over my scratches, then again as he lifted his talon to his mouth, sucking his gnarly finger and tasting my blood.

“Argh!” I cried and thrashed my arms, trying to escape, but suddenly stopped still as they hoisted me in the air. The one with green eyes picked me up, his large claw-like hands holding me tight. The dragons growled as they looked at my cuts. Blue eyes nuzzled his snout into my hair, around my face and down to my breasts. The other two beasts joined him and instead of being frightened, I let go of the fight and buried my head in the corded muscles of the chest of the one holding me.

He smelled simply edible this close.

“We would’ve loved to drag this out for you, but your perfume is too powerful and we can’t wait any longer?” The voice behind me said.

Another dragon hovered in front of me, his blue eyes raked boldly over my body. He roared, but he didn’t frighten me. I touched his leathery wings and sighed. My heart raced as I looked at the three of them, as blue eyes flicked his sharp talon under my panties and snapped the material clean away, pushing open my legs and inhaling my sex.

I should’ve been outraged.

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