A One Night Stand With The Alpha Kings

Chapter 3

Eliza

"We will give you a five-minute head start," Brandon informs me with an evil smile on his lips. "Use it well, Eliza, because I won't hesitate to dig my teeth into your skin."

Wolves can't snicker, but I swear it's what the big, dopey wolves behind Brandon are doing. They are already celebrating their victory and my stomach clenches with anxiety.

The voice inside my head, that one they call logic, tells me I can't outrun a pack of wolves. But then there's this little whisper from the heart, I believe it's called hope, and it's telling me to run for my life.

So, I waste no time and leap into action. I throw off my shoes since I run faster when I'm barefoot, and then I race down the slope, past the pine trees. I can hear Brandon laughing behind me, and I hurry on, desperate to make it home before I get caught.

It makes me feel the first twinge of fear, a tiny chill running down my spine. There is no telling what Brandon might do to me out here where there are no teachers or other people to keep him in line. I've yet to awaken as a wolf, which means I'm practically defenseless if he catches me.

Yet here I am, grabbing a loose stick and hoping it might be useful if a werewolf attacks me.

... what a joke.

I'm so dead if Brandon catches up with me. Still, I keep on running, panting when I hear the howls of the wolves behind me. Their paws sound like thunder, and I carry on, gasping when I realize I've taken a dead end.

A lake is snaking along the ground before me, a blackened mirror reflecting the starry sky and moon above.

Fuck.

What do I do now?!

My heart is racing inside my chest and the wolves are coming. Even if I turn around, I stand no chance. So do I just wait here? Or do I try to swim?

Another shudder sweeps down my spine when I see glowing eyes in the forest. It's all the motivation I need to plunge into the water and start swimming. It might be a dumb idea, but I rather drown in the chilly water than turn into wolf food!

I paddle faster, and kick with my legs. I don't even dare to look behind me. Brandon and his friends aren't far behind. I can hear the water splashing behind me, and the sound of wolfish grunts and snarls.

Do wolves swim faster than humans?

Probably if they aren't used to swimming, and I'm not. I'm terrible at it!

"Got to... keep going..." I say between strokes. I'm exhausted and my limbs are already going numb. There is a small island in the middle of the lake, but it feels like it's miles and miles away from me.

And I really should have checked my swimming abilities before I decided to plunge into icy waters.

If I had any sense, I would have just stayed on the ground and faced the wolves. I don't see how I can win this.

But I don't want to be eaten.

Just when my fingers are going numb, I feel something clamp around my ankle. I kick, but their teeth sink into my skin, digging themselves deeper into me. I try to free myself, but my arm is going numb, too.

"Let me go!" I shout, but the wolf doesn't respond. It won't let go of me, and suddenly I'm pulled down into the depths of water as it pulls me toward it. I can't do anything about it, and I swallow water when I try to scream.

"Stop... no.... please..."

The panic takes hold as I'm dragged below the surface again and again. I keep struggling, kicking with my legs and gasping for air while the wolf snarls behind me.

I'm certain this will be the death of me, but it's then I hear it: a song from the depths of the lake. It sounds like... no, it can't be!

If there is something more fearsome than a mere little werewolf it's a dragon, and a dragon is exactly what this melodic underwater song sounds like—if I'm to believe my bone-deep instincts that are telling me to run from the apex predator that is swimming in the lake.

And by now, even the wolf isn't pulling my leg anymore. Instead, it spits it out, which allows me to swim to the surface where Brandon and his gang are staring at the water. The song is louder now, as beautiful as it is terrifying.

But suddenly, the song stops and that's when the wolves focus their glowing eyes on me again. The one closest to me is Brandon, and I yelp when he grabs my arm.

"No, let me go!" I shout.

Brandon snarls at me. He isn't going to let me go if he gets to decide, but not a minute later, he is forced to do it as an enormous white dragon breaks the surface of the water. It rises behind me like a skyscraper and a large wave from its body sends the wolves under the surface.

The dragon roars and I can feel goosebumps prickle over my skin. It is the most terrifying sound I've ever heard, and it makes me want to run. But I can't. I'm floating in the water and there is nowhere to go, and I'm pretty sure that I stand no chance against a dragon.

Yet, the dragon doesn't seem to be interested in me. Instead, its glowing eyes are locked on Brandon, and the dragon charges at him with its jaws wide open.

"NO!" I shout, but the dragon closes its jaws around Brandon and then he is gone. The dragon just... swallows him! What the hell just happened? Is it going to eat Brandon?!

I must be out of my mind, but I swim toward the dragon, holding out my hands. "Please, don't hurt him! He is an asshole, but he doesn't deserve to be eaten!"

The dragon's orange glowing eyes turn to me and I feel the hairs on my arm rise. I didn't get a good look at the dragon before, but now I can see that it's larger than any building in the city. It's like a mountain made of white scales, but some areas are orange—the dragon has orange dots!

"Amazing..." I whisper, completely in awe of the enormous creature that is staring down at me.

There are no wings on its back, yet I have a feeling this thing can fly. It looks like a Jianlong dragon, but its coloring is strange: white with orange dots here and there. The dragon is beautiful, but it's glaring down at me. Brandon's friends have since long swam ashore, and the dragon dips its head into the water to scoop me up on its muzzle.

I gasp in surprise. "Oh my, you're big!"

The dragon narrows its eyes, and I stare into them as my new majestic friend carefully slithers through the water until the dragon is standing on land. It then gently lowers its head to the sand. I take it as my cue to climb off, and then, to my utter surprise, the dragon makes this "hairball stuck in my throat" sound before spitting up Brandon.

He lands on his arse in the sand, eyes huge and traumatized, and his hands tucked to his chest. Seriously, the guy looks like a hamster; even his nose won't stop twitching!

"I was... I was eaten by... a d-dragon..." he mumbles repeatedly, and I roll my eyes at him.

"Great, you turned Brandon into a vegetable."

The dragon seems to roll its eyes back at me, which takes me by surprise. I look up at the great creature, and that's when it seems to realize it shouldn’t stick around because it jumps back into the lake with a large splash.

I watch it swim away, and then turn to Brandon.

I can't really see any injuries on him, but the dragon swallowed him whole. He could be hurt, or worse!

"Brandon, are you alright?" I ask. It doesn't look like he's in pain, but I'm still worried. "Did the dragon hurt you?"

"I'm fine," he mumbles, then suddenly looks up at me. His eyes are like saucers, and I can tell that he is shocked.

"How the hell did you survive?!"

I have no idea, but the answer seems obvious. "Maybe you're not as awesome as you thought?"

Brandon ignores me, and instead struggles to his feet. He is a mess, and I can't help but giggle when he trips over his own feet.

"You're a mess!" I say and point at him.

Brandon glares at me. "So what? I was almost eaten! And while I don't like you one bit, Eliza, I still have to… I should… well… thank you... I'm not sure why the dragon didn't eat me, but I'm not dumb enough to think it was by chance: you must have said something to that monstrous creature."

I smirk. “So what if I did? Does that mean you won’t pick on me anymore?”

Brandon snorts. “Yeah, don’t push your luck, pal.” The big jock pushes himself back up on his feet, and without even looking at me, he heads for the woods.

I’m guessing we are still enemies? That’s okay. I dislike Brandon even more than he dislikes me, and realistically, you can’t cure Brandon’s level of toxicity. He will probably return to bullying me tomorrow, but tonight I’m safe.

All thanks to the dragon…

My eyes travel back to the glittering lake. “Why did you help me? Dragons are apex predators. We werewolves are supposed to be your natural enemy. So why didn’t you eat Brandon? And why didn’t you eat me?”