The Dragon King's Obsession

SEVEN

He let out an animalistic sound when he saw me. A low and deep rumble that made my steps falter. The others at the table sat up straighter and the man escorting me gripped my forearm a little tighter. His eyes zeroed in on the arm clutching me and the sound got much worse.

“All hail King Nicokreon Pendragon, the king of dragons blah blah blah. A man who never shares his toys,” A man at the table said. The grip of my hand vanished and the beast was calmed. But not completely.

“Where is it?” His anger was directed at me. My hands moved to my throat subconsciously.

“I did not want it,” I snapped, holding his gaze. The look he gave me made me swallow. His golden eyes hardened. They burned like flames of fire

“You would defy me like that?” He asked in a low, hard voice. I stood at the entrance to the hall, my chaperone quietly slinking away. My heartbeat from my stomach as I walked two steps forward, gauging his reaction.

“I’m afraid you left me no choice,” I answered with all the bravado I could muster.

The silk of my dress clung to my skin. I started to sweat even through the icy weather of the mountains. The weather did not change but the atmosphere did. The air charged with electricity, with danger, and my hunting senses sharpened. His anger sucked the air from the room. The only guard in the room fingered his collar.

“I could kill you for that,” He whispered and because he was the Tor Drakis, his words carried. My breathing shallowed out and my heart slammed. He gripped the edge of the table cloth and I watched as the cutleries quivered with his rage.

“But you are not going to,” I answered and as I said the words, I knew them to be true. He had had several chances. He could have let his men kill me as a sport. He could have let me fall to my death. He could have strangled me the previous night but he had not.

His eyeballs doubled in size and blazed with rage as I sauntered in. That was my third strike. If he would not kill me now then any murder between us would be by my hands.

With him at the table was a girl and his brother. They gawked at me as I took a seat, wondering at such audacity.

The table was a big oval one with hundreds of seats. Fresh bread of varying kinds, cheese, turkeys and bacon, bottles of red wine, grape juice and a bowl of pineapple juice, avocados, carrots, olives and more. A banquet fit only for a king. Yet there were only four of us at the table.

From the little part of the large table that was not occupied by dishes, there were plates with fancy designs, cutleries of gold, cups that I could see my reflection on. Four girls stood to the side and they rushed to serve me as I sat.

“Who are you?” The prince’s voice betrayed his intrigue. I smiled. He hated me. I just knew it and it gave me a grim sort of pleasure knowing he was about to loath me.

“Mystique Hunter.“ My inner man purred in satisfaction as he grew tense, coiling at the mention of my name. The other girl at the table that had been eating quietly with hair curtaining off her face jerked up to gaze at me.

The prince's body relaxed too easily. He uncoiled like a serpent and then he smiled. It was a bland smile, without mirth nor anger, merely teeth. But when he turned to his brother who was still murdering me with his eyes, I felt the chill of ill-concealed rage.

“f*****g the enemy now, brother?” He said in a conversational manner with his mouth in an ugly twist. He blew out a breath, pushing his plate away an inch, a subtle gesture that only I caught.

“None of your business, Mikhail,” The king answered, transferring his aggression from me to his brother.

Mikhail Pendragon.

The second most wanted kill for every hunter. His brother was dark and dangerous but this man was downright cruel. Sitting there with him, he looked nothing more than an overly pompous lord with a vast fortune but I had heard his stories.

The king was calculated, efficient. His rage was quick and explosive and his moves were unpredictable. His brother was a barbarian.

“It is my business if you are keeping a Hunter amongst us, brother.” He sneered. “Putting our lives at risk for a lay?” He scoffed and it was in anger. “Tell me, brother, does she taste as good as she looks? Does she scream your name and milk you better than all your other whores!? Tell me what has gripped your interest in humans!” Mikhail exploded, pounding his fist against the table.

I saw red. I pushed away from the piece of meat I had been devouring in hunger before he opened his mouth and then I stood. Through the haze of red at the degrading comment, I heard a cool voice.

“You will apologize.”

“Make me,” A taunting voice answered.

“Nico pl –“

The most marvellous thing happened. Rage burst in the air as the king rose. His tattoos rippled more than ever and they started to bleed out. Like an exorcism, dark ink rose into the air like an evil ghost escaping the king’s body. Then the ghost solidified.

The king stood tall and beside him was a dragon that covered the space from ground to a dangerous point. It was a black dragon with scaly wings and golden yellow eyes, webbed feet that crushed things as it started to move. Its wings were partially extended beside it. When it fully spread, it almost touched the two ends of the room.

I blinked my eyes. Once. Then twice. It was impossible and yet –

There was a blue-eyed man without his tattoos and beside him was a black dragon with golden yellow eyes and rich black scales.

I turned back to the room to see it empty. Again, I had been left alone with a mental beast. I turned to flee like the rest, stopping to look behind me when I heard a crash. It was a terrible mistake. I tripped on my dress and almost face-planted into a plate of cheese when hands gripped me.

I looked before me to see golden eyes of a crouched dragon and a pool of saliva. I turned to the hands gripping me and I met an unfamiliar blue on a familiar face.

“Y – y – you.” It was a world I had never considered. Dragons could not come out of tattoos and shifters could not – could not call forth their other shape like – like – The mind-boggling discovery made me blackout.

***

Icy drops of water fell on my face. I blinked, wrinkling my nose and pursing my lips, fighting off consciousness. Something big and terrible awaited me and although I knew not what in my current state, it terrified me enough for fear to follow to my sleep.

“Wake up.” Someone was saying in my ears. Someone was purring. Something tickled my face and I jerked awake to swat it off.

I swallowed when I saw the man above me. His eyes were back to being a brilliant golden yellow and the tattoos were back on his bare chest like I was used to. But the fear on my tongue was new and bitter, closing up my throat and tying my tongue. I jerked and his grip on my waist tightened.

“How dare you?” He whispered. I perceived the anger of the beast in him and death was sure for me.

“I – I did not – Please, spare my life.” My throat was parched, my eyes heavy, heart dying.

“You have poked my dragon in the eye. You have insulted my kindness.” He growled, his face uncomfortably close to mine. “Then you question my power, paint me weak in the presence of lesser men.” His voice was low, his body caged mine along with fear.

“I should never – Oh, please don’t kill me.”

“Did you enjoy angering me so?” His eyes were alarmingly bright.

“M –me? It was – it was your brother who – who angered you!” I exclaimed.

“I should kill you.” He pressed harder into me. I was pressed into a small bit of the table that was left standing after the stumbling of the beast. Wood poked into my bottom.

I felt something small and sharp on the table. A blade. It cut into my fingertip as I grabbed it, hidden from his view by my body.

“So why don’t you?” I wanted to smirk. My hands quivered behind me, poking my spine. The steak knife would not kill him but if I acted fast enough, it would cause damage, leaving me enough time to flee his captivity.

“You want a pound of my flesh? Take it, Kayda. I dare you,” He hissed into my ear.

The sick pervert. I noted the tell-tale signs of an arousal as he ground against me in the destroyed hall of his dining room. And because he dared me to, somehow knowing what I was planning behind both our backs, I did. I pushed his weight off me by a fraction, raised my body and pulled up the knife in a second, aiming at his chest.

His gripped my wrist, almost crushing the bone. My eyes stung but I gritted my teeth to fight the pain. “You do not know when to retreat, do you?” He asked. “This is the third time I have saved your life, little dragon, I must have something in return.”

“If you are going to kill me then –“ My back slammed against a wall, knocking out the wind in my lungs. I clawed at the hand gripping my neck, crushing my windpipes. My legs dangled off the ground as he glared at me.

He glared at me, holding me at his eye level. I drew blood from his wrists as I fought off his hold, feeling my eyes bulge.

“And this is the fourth.” He let his hand drop from my neck to grip my wrist. “You will be too easy to kill, Kayda. Do. Not. Tempt. Me.” Then he pushed his tongue into my mouth and I lost all senses. But not immediately.

First I fought against his hold on me, pushing his hands off my waist. Then I found my hands tangled in his hair.

Elliott had found out how crazy I got with a tongue in my mouth and he had exploited that. He exploited it until I found myself being used like a fool and then I shoved his head into a pile of dung and never let his tongue come near me again.

But I had never worked on my weakness and it was about to be exploited again. Because it was not long before the beast put his tongue in my mouth, thrusting roughly and taking my breath, that I forgot who I was, who he was and what I stood for.

My mind went blank for a moment as he fondled my breasts, squeezing roughly until it hurt and I gasped. His tongue left my mouth and I am ashamed to say that I whimpered.

Then he did the strangest thing. He kissed all over my face, from my forehead to both my eyelids and then to my nose. The sensation was foreign and unexpected. It killed the burning in the depth of my stomach and my senses started to return. Until he pushed a finger into my mouth.

“Suck.” I bristled at the command. Then he added a second and I felt saliva pool in my mouth.

I sucked.

He jerked against me before letting go of my waist, only to bend and gather my dress from the bottom.

“Hold this.” He said in a gruff voice and like a dunderhead, I gripped my bunched dress, holding it up as he parted my legs. “Are you going to scream prettier than my whores, Kayda?” He whispered with blazing eyes.