Short Werewolf Stories

The Dragon's unexpected mate

Warning!!!!

This is a preview of a book I am currently writing for another platform. I would love to give it a chance if you have the app. It's called Good... novel and I have the same name: Steph. If you don't, please don't mind this chapter, I do my best to promote myself as an author and I truly don't want to bother anyone.

Thank you a lot for reading my books and feedback is always welcomed. Much love!

The man looks bored. A beauty is trying to whisper something into his ear, but no words could reach him. Because the king is empty on the inside. He has nothing to wish for. Because there is nothing he doesn't have already.

Until his eyes fall on one of the slave girls that were brought to him as a coronation gift. They all look small and pathetic; terrified.

Except for this one. Her eyes don't fall to the ground when he notices her. She does not tremble or turn.

She stares at him. Her eyes holding a fire that burns him inside. Excitement. It's been too long since he felt that.

#One day earlier#

The old ship tilts as the sea attempts to drown the sinners that took refuge on it. Astrid smiles at the thought.

"God, if you hear us. Sink this ship and let the screams of those animals be the last thing I hear!" The beautiful woman prays out loud looking straight at the captain.

One of his loyal monkeys takes a step toward her.

"Let her be. If God would listen to her she wouldn't be here." The captain stops his man with a bored tone in his voice.

Astrid bites her tongue. It is true. If God would be out there, she would be home with her family. Laughing with her brothers as her mother makes dinner while singing their old song. Her father would read his book near the big window and smile from time to time looking at them. Now they are all dead. Only unlucky Astrid is alive.

A solitary tear falls on the wet floor. It gets lost through the many other before it. A lot of women cried here. A slave ship has this curse.

"Astrid... They will kill you if you talk like that!" Lanna whispers, pinching her arm.

"I can only hope they do." Astrid answers with venom in her voice. How can Lanna be quiet now? They both lost their parents in the same way. Murdered by those animals. Now they have to bow to them?

A thunder pulls her out of her dark thoughts. She is terrified by them.

"We are almost there. And just in time. They started the celebration." The captain says looking out of the window.

The girls huddle together to see the outside.

Astrid turns her head in the opposite direction. She wants nothing to do with whatever they're seeing. But the excited screams and whispers make her curious. She takes a peak.

The sky is covered in shining flowers. They appear and disappear with a rumble of loud thunder.

Dragons fly in between them. Dancing in between the colorful flames.

Their beauty is undeniable. But so is the fear they bring. They are creatures of destruction.... and no beauty can hide that.

The dance is over when they arrive in port. It is quite late. The celebrations will continue tomorrow.

They are chained and guided towards a small building close by.

Astrid doesn't fight it. What's the point? They are here. In their land.

A few older women take the girls in to make them presentable. They even act king when they untie their hands. But there is no kindness in their job.

"Look at the state of them! Why don't those savages understand that they need to bring them in good condition?" One of them whispers to another.

"Hush and do your job! It doesn't matter anyway. The king already has enough beautiful women. And with better blood. These will be just servants."

This is Astrid's only hope. To never have to meet the cruel king. Or if she meets him... to have a knife to slit his throat.

They are stripped of anything they came with. They are washed thoroughly. No piece of dirt on their bodies. No trace of home. They are left an entire hour to soak in warm rose water before being covered in fragrant lotions. Their hair is combed in complicated braids and their faces are painted black and red. The colors of the dragons. The colors of death and fire.

"Dress them quickly!" Someone screams as the first ray of sunshine comes through the windows. "He has arrived!"

"But we don't need to present them until noon!" The oldest woman says, looking at the girls and then at the man that just came in. He is dressed in golden clothes and wears a tall hat. the woman bows deeply.

"The king already rejected the first three sets. It took him seconds." The man says not looking too surprised.

"All the beauties from east, west and south?" The woman asks with her voice barely hiding her fear. "But they were... The north is the last..."

"Doesn't matter! The king does as he pleases. And by the look of it. Those will become sacrifices for the dragons too..." He answers looking at the trembling girls in front of him.

"We will die? I thought we are going to become servants?" One of the girls asks and the man answers with a knowing smirk.

"Get them ready. We leave in ten minutes!" He orders as he gets out.

The next few minutes are a mess. the women are screaming at the girls, the girls are crying. No one wants to get dressed to go to their deaths.

Except for Astrid. For the first time in days, she's excited. She will soon join her family.

After being forcefully dressed, they are pushed into carriages. Some cry, some pray, some simply wait in silence. Such a difference in between the slave girls and the people already celebrating their new king in the streets. I guess is fair... They have no reason to fear or hate him. They are just happy they have a reason to drink.

"Astrid..." Lanna calls her while taking her hand. "I am scared."

"Death will free us, Lanna." Astrid answers, comforting her only friend.

"But death will not come quickly. It will come by fire and pain."

The two girls just stare at each other. They can do nothing. Just wait.

Once arrived at the palace, they are given no time to admire the golden halls that will become their coffin. The opulence, the luxury. Breathtaking, but cold as the souls that own it.

They are all rushed in the throne room, right in the middle. They are sorted, the tall ones in the back, the more beautiful ones in the middle. They are ordered to kneel down with their heads on the ground and wait for the king to come.

And in that uncomfortable position, they sit for an hour.

Some servants whisper. The king got bored and left with his favorite woman. The mother of his heir. The most beautiful woman in the empire. But still... just another slave at his mercy.

Astrid sighs. Her father was a priest of the old ways. He thought her that life, whether we want it or not is a gift from God. There is no forgiveness for the ones that end it themselves. She thought at the time that that's beautiful. It has a meaning. Now... She hates it. The idea of betraying her father's faith is the only thing that kept her from taking her own miserable life.

"His Majesty, King Loras!" A guard announces and a deadly silence falls over the room.

Astrid sneaks a peek at the man that takes his seat on the throne. He is tall, with broad shoulders and a strong body. The only way a warrior king can be. But all of that can be expected. What Astrid didn’t expect is his face. Not beautiful in a common way. The lines are not soft, the eyes are not clear. His long hair falls in a wild cascade under the heave crown that rests on his forehead. He looks like... and old god.

Astrid scolds herself. How can she admire such a man? The man that is at fault for her family's death.

Her eyes burn with hate. She disregards all orders and keeps her head straight. She will die anyway, but she won't die with her head down.

But something unbelievable. The king rises his eyes. And looks straight at Astrid. The world stops as they both stare at one another.

The king gets up from his throne and slowly comes down the stairs. Astrid's heart is shaking at each of his steps, but she won't move her eyes.

She prays death will be fast.

But it isn't. Fate doesn't offer her this kindness.

Instead, the king grabs her chin and forces her to get up.

With a smirk on his face, he looks at her up and down. Astrid holds her breath, as everyone else around, it seems.

"You are mine now!" He says and with that seals her fate.

The entire court gasps as they all look at Astrid.

"Get in line! Come on, stop moving around!" The chaperone says clapping her hands. A few eunuchs shove the girls together. "You are not kids anymore. Your life from before is gone. You are now the property of King Loras. You are his concubines. His women. You have to act accordingly."

Astrid feels nauseous. How on earth did this happen?

On a balcony, above the shared bedroom of the new girls, the favorites are staring down, laughing, and pointing at the skinny slaves. No competition for them, only maids to help around. After all, they are legendary beauties from the southern tribes. Those girls are nothing but northern savages.

"Is that the one?" A caramel-skinned woman, dressed all in gold asks the chaperone from above.

"Your Grace! Is...this is the... girl." The chaperone answers with a trembling voice.

The woman approaches Astrid slowly, her steps so light and inaudible that she seems to be floating. Once face to face, the two women look at each other.

"How dare you, girl? Bow your head in front of Lady Tamara!" One eunuch shots at Astrid.

"No need." Lady Tamara answers. "You can't expect them to know the rules of the court. They are northeners after all."

She smiles at Astrid and although her words stung a bit, she does seem... almost kind.

"Lady Chaperone, put this one in my service." Lady Tamara requires throwing one more look at Astrid.

"But, Your Grace... She was noticed by the King, she may be asked to..."

"I will talk with my brother if necessary. For now, she is in my service."

With that, Lady Tamara leaves the room.

Before Astrid could say anything, she is rushed out of the room, into the bathhouse. Where the Lady Chaperone began showering her with instructions:

"You do not talk without permission, you bow your head to everyone, you leave the room when you are asked and you run when you are requested. You do not question any order Lady Tamara gives."

"No!" Astrid answers as a few maids hurry to wash her body.

"What?"

"I won't do any of those things. I don't want to serve a murderer's family. I prefer to die." Astrid says.

The Lady Chaperone sighs, looking at the girl.

"Leave us!" She asks the maids and they all hurry to comply. "Girl, do you think you are the first who says that to me?"

Astrid looks at her curious. Why would that matter?

"I was one of the girls who said that, once. A really, really long time ago."

"And what happened?" Astrid asks as the old woman seems caught in her bad memories.

"The Lady Chaperone that was here at the time, after a few days seeing me struggle took me by my shoulders and told me: Girl, this palace is either a heaven or a hell and it is on you to choose which of the two. But remember this sad truth..." She says, looking in the distance. "You are here, you already lost everything. But the girls that will come to replace you did not. They have what you lost. They were you from a month ago. So you can either try to live life as it is or die, leaving them to take your place. Over and over again."

"Why would I care?" Astrid asks, but knowing she wouldn't want this fate for anyone else.

"Because your death will change nothing. But your life has a chance to save many." Lady Chaperone answers and the weight of her words fall on Astrid's shoulders.

She says nothing else for the rest of the day. She listens to the instructions, she does what she is asked, she holds the cups, the plates, the clothes the jewelry as she is instructed to.

Her soul died. But if her body keeps moving around she can save others... Well, she considers it.

In the evening, she is brought into a luxurious room. The colors are not as opulent as in the rest of the palace and the tones are warmer.

"Your Grace, the maid you required." Lady Chaperone says and Astrid bows her head.

Lady Tamara is sitting on a couch with a comfy blanket wrapped around her shoulders. So much different from her elegant appearance earlier.

"Come, sit next to me." She invites Astrid gesturing at a pillow on the floor.

When Lady Chaperone leaves them alone, she smiles to Astrid.

"What is your name?" She asks.

"Astrid."

"A beautiful name. It suits you."

"Why did you pick me?" Astrid asks directly and Tamara chuckles.

"Being this direct cand bring your death here. But I find it refreshing, so you are in luck. I insisted to have you in my service to protect you. You have no idea how many you have offended with your simple presence. They would have killed you in your sleep in a blink of an eye." Tamara answers.

"Who?"

"Who would have gotten to you first ? Lysa, the king's favorite. You saw her fist in the throne room. Sansa, my older sister, who wants to keep the favorites' number down so she won't lose her influence. Or Tommen, the king's half-brother, who wants to ensure the only women in the harem are the ones he sends. He already has too many heirs to worry about for his liking."

"And you?" Astrid asks. She heard stories about the palace. Everyone follows their interests.

"My brother has been miserable since Luna died. His misery was bad enough while he was a prince. But a miserable king... I haven't seen him show any emotion since her funeral. Until today."

"Luna?"

"His first love." Tamara answers, suddenly saddened. "She died giving birth to her first child. The little prince died shortly after. And my brother's heart froze."

"I don't think I can do anything about it." Astrid answers dreading the thought of replacing someone close to the king. She can follow orders like a maid, but being with him... No!

"I know you hate him now. His coronation is the reason you are not with your family and..."

"My family is dead, because they tried to hide me." Astrid answers, mad at Tamara's sugar-coated version.

"Oh... I am sorry." She seems sincere and Astrid calms down a bit, after all, it's not her fault. "I knew the slave-hunters became more and more aggressive, but I didn't know it's like this... An empire reflects his ruler and with my brother in this state... I fear the worst is yet to come."

"So you care about commoners? How noble." Astrid answers rolling her eyes.

"I show you respect. Do the same." Tamara answers with a scolding look. "Believe it or not, most of my family does. That's the purpose of the harem. The mothers of the royals are always commoners. They keep their children grounded."

Astrid keeps her mouth shut. She was rude enough and the princes seems to only want to help. She will deal with her ulterior motives as they come.

Tamara asks a few more questions. All while she analyses Astrid from head to toe. That is to be expected though. Everyone wonders what the king saw in this slave girl so fast that he would accept all the northern girls without a second thought.

And certainly, Astrid is not a breathtaking beauty. She doesn't have voluptuous curves or round and firm breasts. Neither long and fit legs or a flat belly. She looks mostly normal. Like any other common girl that you pass on the street only to forget a second later. Her parents called her Astrid, with means divinely beautiful, but her only feature that may hold on to that name is her eyes. Kids in her village used to mock her big grey eyes. They said her look can bring storms and chaos.

Tamara sighs.

Astrid was caught in her own thoughts and lost track of what the princess was saying.

"I was planning to organize some entertainment for my brother tonight, but I don't think you are ready to seduce him."

Astrid grimaces and Tamara laughs.

"I will not force anything on you. God knows, this palace will crush you enough without my help."

Before Astrid can answer, a eunuch comes in and whispers something into Tamara's ear.

"Already?" She asks and the eunuch nods.

Tamara gets up and rushes out the door, after telling Astrid to stay where she is. Not like she has anywhere else to go. But as minutes go by, she notices that the halls that seemed quite busy and noisy earlier are now deathly quiet.

It's not that late yet, as the sun had barely left the sky. Maybe the dragon court goes to sleep early? Should she make the bed for the princess?

While she thinks about that, the door slowly opens.

"Tamara? I mean... Your Grace?" Astrid asks.

A maid with a covered face jumps at her with a rope from behind the door.

Astrid screams and pushes the maid that falls on her back. While she gets up, Astrid runs into the other room. There's nothing around that she can use to protect herself. The maid runs after her as Astrid rushes to the balcony.

"What d... do you...?" Astrid tries to ask, but the maid doesn’t answer. In a blink of an eye, Astrid flies through the cold air, into the abyss of night. Pushed over the edge on her first night after deciding to live. How ironic.

But death proved enough times that doesn't want her.

The air trembles as a huge black beast rushes through the air, straight to Astrid. She can't figure out if it's a dream or not until the cold scales of the dragon touch her skin.

The last thing she sees before everything goes black is the face of the murderous king grinning at her.

strid wakes up in the morning. She enjoys how the soft silk brushes over her naked body for a moment.

Naked body?

She jumps out of bed, looking around. She doesn't recognize the room and as the memories of previous night come back, she is frozen in terror. What happened after she fell from the balcony? She is obviously alive... So she didn't dream about the dragon. But if she didn't dream about that how did she end up here? More than that. Why did she end up wearing nothing...

She takes a deep breath and starts looking for her clothes, but they aren't anywhere in sight. She wants to open the cabinets, but she doesn't know whose room is this and she doesn't want to steal clothes.

She sighs. She wraps the silk sheet over her chest and slowly opens the door. She takes a sneak peek outside, but it's just another empty room.

She looks around here too, hoping she can find her dress.

Focused on that, she doesn't notice when the door opens.

"Astrid?"

Astrid jumps out of her skin.