Page 20 of The Exiled Dragon

Getting my voice fixed had never been a priority, not since my brother took it away. Now I had a reason, and she wanted me to speak. I would make it so, just for her, but I would talk to no one else. Only she deserved it.

"Sleep," my Dragon spoke, laying her into the nest. It was too early to rise, especially since she had not slept. Tucking her into the furs, I turned to tend the fire, but her hand pulled me back.

"Stay a little?" her voice hung in the air. "I know you will keep the Vampires away." A blush crept up her cheeks. Her fingers let go of my calloused hands, but I gripped them tightly, followed by my forehead kissing hers.

Touching foreheads was a sign of affection amongst Dragons. Odessa wouldn't understand it yet, but her accepting it burned my heart with an eternal flame. My Dragon roared inside me, wanting nothing more to make her ours. In time, I certainly hope so.

Crawling into the nest, I lay beside her, not wanting to put pressure that she needed to touch me. Still, to my delight, her body scooted closer to mine, so close I thought my heart would beat out of my chest.

"Thank you, Creed," she yawned, her body facing mine. The beast inside took over; he rolled to her, pulling her into our chest. The vibrations, the purring we had of contentment, made Odessa nestle closer. "So warm," she muttered before she fell asleep.

Chapter Fourteen

Creed

Odessacontinuedtosleep;I lay waiting. Her breaths came in steadily; her eyelashes twitched as her sleep cycles shifted. Laying here for hours, feeling parts of my body numb, was but little suffering I endured while holding her. My Dragon lulled her back to sleep with the deep rumbling.

Odessa gripped my vest tightly each time her body turned restless until the rumbling began, and she would sigh, lulled back to sleep. My rough fingers trailed her cheeks, her pouty dry lips, and back into her hair. Her hair was fanned entirely out onto the furs. Her smell had seeped into the deepest part of my nest. The citrus and now lilac scent radiating off her gave me deep pleasure. For once, my Dragon was sated. No rage had built in my gut; no need to shift to let the beast take control for the day.

It had been many days since I had shifted; my Dragon spirit was old and needed his time to be free. This time, since Odessa had stayed in our home for three days and had no signs of her leaving, he was content. Sighing, I played more with her hair until Razak stood up from the base of the nest. His hair stood upon his neck and back, soft growls radiating from him, not to disturb Odessa.

My Dragon vibrated in my chest. Sitting up on my elbow, I tightened the furs around my fawn, my treasure and climbed gently from the bed. Grabbing a spear, I gently clicked my tongue for Razak to follow. I couldn't have him waking Odessa, not when she was finally healing, sleeping.

The sun was close to setting. We spent the majority day in bed, and not once did I feel guilty about not getting any work done around the cave. Even with winter coming, there was much to do. Finding enough furs to cover the cave was one, but being with Odessa was much more gratifying.

"Ho!" a loud voice yelled through the cave. Gritting my teeth, tightening the hold on my spear, I finally emerged in just my loincloth and vest. My feet were bare, not that it mattered to the cold ground; my beast kept me warm. My Dragon growled, deep enough to shake the ground.

A young Dragon, thirteen, hands high, stood outside my cave. He was just in his cloth, with no weapons or shields in his possession. Not a single scar on his body; his Dragon was not old in the slightest. Adam must have sent him because no other Dragon would dare come here to deliver a message. Not to the monster.

The young Dragon cleared his throat, backing up two paces as I strode forward. My Dragon didn't like the threat; I didn't either. Odessa was on the opposite side of the cave, oblivious of the danger. This young male would have nothing on me; I could snap him with my two fingers. As I advanced, the Dragon hit his back to the tree, eyes darting away from me, his neck in clear view.

Growling, my Dragon's tongue escaped my lips, tasting the little fledgling’s neck. His breathing sputtered, trying to hold still. One short leaf's blade in either direction and my fangs would have sliced through his throat.

"P-please, I only bring a m-message." My tongue stopped; stepping back, I stood at least two heads taller than the Dragon. Was this overkill? Maybe? But my potential mate was too close for his own good.

"From Alpha Adam, Toboki Dragon tribe?" Snarling, I pushed him back into the tree.

"Speak," my Dragon growled. The cursed name haunted my dreams. Too many nights, I dreamed of the hell hole where I grew up. Out of all the tribes, the Toboki tribe was stuck in its old ways. If I had grown up anywhere but here, I would have been treated as an equal. However, Toboki was one of the largest and most influential; no one wanted to fight against Adam.

"Alpha Adam, he wishes you to attend the tribe meeting regarding the safety of the Dragon Shifters. It will be at the next new moon," he rushed. Before I could reply with my teeth gnashing together, he was gone, shifted into a serpent-like Dragon, already in the sky.

Adam had not invited me to a tribe meeting since King Osirus requested the Dragon’s help with the spat of his nobles. Adam, being a Dragon with a whole tree up his ass, only sent the bare minimum for rescue. I stayed, protecting a tribe that didn't consider me part of it.

Adam used me because of our mother. She told Adam never to banish me on her deathbed, but Adam did something worse. He exiled me and only used me when he needed me—knowing that mother made me give the same promise to keep the tribe safe, not to abandon each other or the tribe. I knew I was not a part of the tribe once our parents died. Mother wanted me to live and coexist with everyone, to protect what mother had loved or claimed to love until the tribe elders told her to have me killed. Did she mean it? Or was it just words in the back of her mind wanting, longing for the tribe to be whole again? She tried to see the good even in the evilest of our kind. Unfortunately, one of them being her own son. It had been too many years for me even to remember the emotions.

My eyes dropped to the ground; I had two days until the new moon, the meeting most likely held when the second light source was high in the sky.

I would be gone for most of the day, alone, without Odessa. What could that fool want now? What more suffering does he want to instill upon me?

Razak followed behind me, still sniffing the air for unwanted predators until he heard something fall within the cave. Racing inside, I found Odessa sitting at the small table in her new chair, sipping on some water. "Hi, Prince Charming," she chirped. "Sorry, I was thirsty. I figured you were out hunting or doing other manly stuff." She laughed.

Coming over to the table, she had not only drunk water but pulled scraps of leather, laying them on the table. An old, sharpened quill laid at the side. Scratches made into the leather formed letters. They looked familiar to me, but I was unsure where to place them.

"I think it's time we work on communicating better. I don't know sign language, and it would take me forever to come up with something. Writing is what I did before I came here and what I do. So, I'm teaching you how to read and write." Odessa beamed. My forehead instantly went down to hers, her eyes closed until I pulled away, taking the heat with me. "That's okay, right?" I nodded, now taking a better look at what she wrote. She wanted to communicate with me so badly, and I felt the same. I’d do anything for her.

"These are the first three letters of my Alphabet." Odessa pointed. "I'm not sure what this world uses, but this is what we will use. This is 'A,' 'B,' and 'C.'"

While Odessa talked about her "letters," I recalled my mother teaching me to read. She didn't teach me the typical Dragon symbols of writing; I was banned from knowing. Being the product of rape had cursed me. Since I was not disposed of, I didn't deserve a more acceptable quality of education. Just the ability to fight.

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