The Dragon King's Substitute Bride [ON HIATUS]

Don't Misunderstand.... This Is Not A Date pt 2

[Zane’s Pov]

this is not a date. It could be mistaken for one but it isn’t. It’s not a date. Regardless of what people thought. If I had to shut off my mind, I can be honest. There’s a reason I loved Soleria as a kid. Before Rylan handed it to me. The people there were stronger, they were the barbarians who followed the Triple F rules. Fight, f**k, and feed. We f****d, we fought, and we ate.

They were bigger in body size, they were taller than most draconians... they were like animals. I grew up like an animal. I loved the dirt, I loved the nest, I loved acting as though I didn’t have anything but my bare hands to survive. It’s why I was cannibalistic.

I ate my enemies and frightened them as they knew I could eat pieces of them while I made them watch. It sicked them, it scared them.

That made me one of the scariest people in the world. And it made solerians hungry for my animalistic rule. When I first took over and started my reform of this section, I found myself loving a woman who could kill me. A woman who could wrap her arms around my neck, flex it, and hurt me. It was...... it was hot.

It was the first fantasy I had that really fueled my hunger for s*x. When I first met Roanna, I thought she was stunning. She looked like the type of girl I dreamt of. She was fighting off guards she couldn’t win against. She was defending a bunch of thieves who thought pissing off Rylan Valtero’s dragon warriors was the smartest move.

My older brother is a born killer. He wanted them beheaded or dosed in acid while their lower halves were buried alive. He didn’t care what we did with them. My excitement to have a child is what spared them. And aspen.

Roanna had clouds in her eyes. From when I saw Aspen. I thought her eyes were stunning. The most unique. Us dragons aren’t built that way. But descendants.... I knew Rainbow. The one Aspen was reincarnated from. She was great, her eyes were something wonderful too.

But clouds? Imagine blue.... a sea of blue eyes... with tiny white clouds. I liked it. I wanted to stare at them more.

The reason I hadn’t chosen her was the reason I was upset now. Roanna was an alpha. And while Solerians were the only people okay f*****g another alpha, most of them didn’t marry one. I don’t care what people think but two alphas... they could make a relationship work, agreeing not to have children unless it’s through adoption... and let me tell you, solerians seemed to possess a breeding kink.

What I’m trying to say is.... once my anger cleared, the desire I had for Roanna returned. She used to have that fight in her. It made me want to fight her, have us tussle in mud in front of the whole kingdom then when one of us pinned the other to the ground, we’d f**k. We’d f**k hard and the kingdom would watch in awe.

Yes, that’s something Solerians did. Don’t be shocked if you walked out on the street and saw people f*****g.

Some signs said it was allowed in certain areas. I had to make sure there were forbidden areas so children could roam freely. I’m not as dumb as I present myself.

I’m losing my thoughts. The moment my mind cleared of the rage I possessed for her family, and her sister, most especially that b***h, the desire threatened to consume me.

But I stole that fight from her. That pissy comeback and the several ways she tried to kill me whenever we glanced at each other while she was imprisoned.

I watched her walk around the festival, she was getting stared at. And not in a bad way. I didn’t tell the entire kingdom that I was getting married- sort of. Some of the guards in my palace noticed the hostility I showed her and immediately ran with it.

They followed me.

But they didn’t know why I had been upset. Why had I been upset? My anger was irrational sometimes.

Roanna was being stared at because she was the type of alpha female Solerians loved. Her white hair with blue streaks was braided, and her skirt was below her belly button revealing a hardened stomach only gotten from workouts or fights.

She was tall, not as tall as me, but tall enough to reach... what the f**k am I thinking?

So people stared. Some out of hunger, others curious. She paused by a large black ball, behind it was a hole. A man stood next to it. He grinned.

“My king, what brings you and your guest to my game?”

“tell me what your game is about.”

“Of course. The test of strengths. As we solerians say, a good fight makes the day seem better. You throw your hardest punch at the ball, if it doesn’t move, you are weak. If it falls into the hole... you’re alright, in between. If it flies past the hole then you are strong. It’s a good way to release stress or get insulted.” the solerians close by laughed.

“I’ll pass,” I say, and the man chuckled.

“I’m not shocked, my king. I would have begged you not to play. But the pretty lady can take a chance.” The word pretty seemed to snap Roanna out of her thoughts. But she contained it. ‘

she inhaled and walked closer to the ball. My heart started to beat even faster. We all watched, she wasn’t one of us and the ball was made of something exclusive to Soleria.

I wanted to tell her to stop, but the moon was out tonight. Stronger. A sense of cold filled the air, and that never happened. Some parts of soleria got cold sometimes, but they were mostly hot. This was the capital, it didn’t get a breeze that wasn’t warm or even hotter than the weather.

She clenched her fist, then I saw her break into a smile before she threw the punch.

Remember the rules.

If the ball doesn’t move, weak.

If it rolls into the hole, medium. Not considered strong or weak.

If it flies off across or into the sky, then you are strong.

Now what does it make you, when you shatter it?

That ball broke like it was made of glass. The man was so stunned, his jaw slacked and he fell to the side. Where the hole was dug. I swung my tail, grabbing his leg and yanking him out.

My eyes remained on Roanna who was staring at the spot where the ball had been with an expression I could not read.

“Holy crap. Go wolf.” Mona hollers, and the crowd that formed screamed. Solerians were loud, so f*****g loud...I loved them.

Roanna shakes as she laughs, and covers her face. She’s not a bad person.

We spent the rest of the night trying out festival games. I arm-wrestled Mona because she asked, and won. Easily.

But that was when I loosened up because Mona talked the most s**t, and I would not let her sit there without dishing it back.

By the time Roanna and I had returned, she was happy. Drunk on spicy wine, and full of meat. She’d gotten the respect of the solerian soldiers. That was the reason for the festival. Not her getting respect. The soldiers.

They were being celebrated.

And they’d asked her to try out for the army. She’d learn to be a rider, I was shocked they’d issue that out to a wolf. But my people didn’t really judge that much. Well, they didn’t know she’d upset me before. I’d like to keep it that way.

“Imagine as a dragon rider of soleria.” she laughs, and I cackle along with her. What a pretty sound. She holds on to the battle axe she one in a game against one of the actual riders. He had fun losing to her.

She spun the axe with skill. I noticed a scar, an X on the base of her spine.

“Where did you get that?”

I asked, and she turned to me. Those clouds were back. How the goddess of the moon thought of this was incredible.

“What? The x there?” I nod, and she sighs. “My parents tried to sell me when I was a kid. Thirteen to be exact.”

“Did they change their mind?”

“Uh no, the guy they wanted to sell me to branded me as an unwanted product. He asked if they’d been trying to sell a boy to him. My father was so mad.”

I opened my mouth to say he had a right too. It was so obvious Roanna was all female. She just had muscle, and she didn’t have a profound hip curve, but she was... well she was sexy.

“He was mad at the way I looked. I don’t know, I grew up like this. I was always fighting, training myself, sleeping in the doghouse. I turned out this way.” she still smiled though. “I didn’t think female alphas were a thing until I saw your guards. Some female alphas look like.... people.” I scowled at that. What the f**k does that mean? “But your people look like me. Today was nice, King Zane. Thank you. I shouldn’t have drank because of the meds, but I’m sure it’s fine.”

she turned to leave and I had a moment to think. I was no better. I worried that my preference for an alpha female over an omega would make me an outcast amongst the people I treasured. Rylan is with a beta, and Malek will probably never marry.... but Roanna was saying something.

There was pain in her voice. In the wolf community, a girl like her didn’t get people who liked her.

“Roanna, I think you should consider Mona’s preposition,” I spoke before thinking. She froze halfway up the stairs.

“What?”

“I can help train you. if... let’s work on the positive that you make it out of it, you give me children and you get a life of your own. Being a dragon rider is fulfilling for Alpha. You would love it.”

She frowned a little.... her fingers tightened around the axe. “I can try.”

“Good.” I sigh. “I owe you an apology.”

“You don’t. My compulsion to say yes is something I can't shake, and my sister gets engaged every month.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Ouch, so I’m not special.” I saw her eyes light up as she snorted. She realized it sounded rude and moved to apologize. I didn’t stop her, it will take a little bit more than this to undo what I’ve done. And there’s only one person I can talk to about matters like this.

My big brother. Rylan is a great king, a father figure, and an amazing brother. He does it so well. When he liked Aspen, he was comfortable letting people know it. I’ve never hidden any part of myself. But this.

To desire an alpha like Roanna isn’t new in Soleria, but to want one as your partner is rare. And especially since my greatest desire is still to have children. I don’t want to keep her, so why am I so bothered by this thought?

I just need to talk to him. He might shed some light.