Dragons Don't Love (2 page)

As amazing as I am in my
human form, it holds no comparison to my dragon, which is superior
to all others. My mind flashes to Acasia, Bastian’s mate. Yes, she
is beautiful, but all her damn rules ruin it. It doesn’t matter
that she is the only female dragon in existence. Today, I choose my
new bride at the claiming ceremony. The bride’s training will begin
immediately after our return to my lair. The sooner she stops the
waterworks and settles in, the better it will be for
her.

I turn and walk through the large
doors of my bedroom and stand on a rounded stone ledge looking over
my kingdom. I gaze down at smaller mountain tops, valleys, and
higher mountains in the distance that block the view of the ocean.
The wind whips across my naked body and blows hair into my eyes. It
needs trimming. I will gift my bride with the privilege, if she
cooperates. It will be her first reward, well… after I fuck her, of
course. Fucking always comes first. Bastian had no clue how to
control a human female and now he’s stuck with Acasia. I always
show the bride who’s boss and immediately put them in their place.
My way works best.

I spring from the ledge and dive off
headfirst in my human form. I pull in the magic and my dragon
bursts free—the small amount of pain completely overshadowed by my
majestic form. I spread my wings and admire their fifty-foot span
of beautiful blue against the morning sky. Fire erupts from deep in
my chest and shoots more than one-hundred feet in front of me. My
roar echoes through the canyon and reverberates off the
cliffs.

In all my blue glory, I fly to claim
my bride.

Chapter Three

Roxanne

I sharpen my two-foot steel blade
before holding it up against the morning sun. The light shines off
the blade, which fractures it into multiple beams of brilliance.
Soon it will bathe in blood—the magical blood of a dragon. I will
clean off the gore using my white bride’s dress and dance in the
red puddles after I kill him. No sister of mine will become a
dragon’s bride today. My death for this deed will be satisfying—the
ultimate sacrifice.

I’ve spent most of my life preparing.
No one in the village knows my true intentions. My parents think
I’m reconciled to my fate. I was born during the span of years that
established me as a claiming bride. A week ago, a proclamation went
up throughout town informing the brides that our time has come. Our
duty to keep the peace between dragons and humans demands our
presence at the claiming. Today.

Early on, I used my family’s need for
fresh meat and my father’s disability as the reason for learning to
hunt. Every minute of every day that I could safely get away from
home, I sharpened my skills. If the men of my town won’t defend the
women, I will.

Slipping off my dreary daily garments,
I don the beautiful, white, sacrificial gown required to entice my
enemy. I secure the sword into the hidden back sheath knowing I can
remove it and use it before anyone stops me. The virgins of this
town will truly have something to celebrate tonight. I adjust my
dark hair so it completely covers the blade’s grip. I walk from the
glade with my shoulders back and my head held high refusing to
acknowledge my racing heart and shaking knees.

I have a dragon to kill.

Chapter Four

Laryn

From the distance, I see the white
gowns of my frightened brides. My tail twitches in anticipation.
Only one is the chosen and I almost feel sympathy for the ones who
will continue their dreadful human existence without me. Almost,
but not quite. I’m waiting for the inner epiphany that declares my
bride.

Finally, an indescribable thrill
travels across my scales. It shoots into my gut with the intensity
of a hurricane. It’s been one-hundred years since I felt it last. I
will know my true bride the second I see her.

There are four dragons remaining and
twenty-five years separates each bride claiming. The village has
grown since my last quest for a bride. I swoop down low and watch
gleefully as the villagers cower in fear. My brides stand shivering
as I make another pass expecting to zero in on one blessed bride.
It’s strange that I have not singled her out yet. Suddenly, I feel
a jolt to my right leg. I can’t see the goliath appendage beneath
me, but I feel a sudden downward tug. A flash of billowing white
swings up from a rope that must be attached to my foot. I’m so
surprised that I don’t react.

The delay costs me nothing as a sharp
blade hits my scales. I would laugh at the puny attempt to wound me
if I wasn’t so instantly furious. Who would dare? I will kill them
slowly and roast the flesh from their bones with my dragon
fire.

The villagers scream and run for their
homes leaving their bride daughters behind. Not that running will
stop my wrath. I will kill them all.

“
Die, you blue demon from
hell, die!” is shouted from my back. I can just make out a white
gown flapping around me as I gain altitude. My heart lurches and
the thrill that enraptures me settles. My bride is riding on my
back.

She is also trying to kill
me.

So great is my surprise
that I let out a blaring roar of fire with my laughter. One of the
human homes goes up in flames and I watch as they run out to seek
safety where none can be had.
Stupid
humans, you cannot go far enough. I would find you even in
hell.

I stop all thought of having a human
barbeque when my bride stands on my back and creeps up my neck.
Does she not know that my scales stop any feeble attempt she makes
to cause me harm?

“
Desist, you foolish woman,”
I blare into her head.

She drops to her knees and I know it’s
because I did not temper my voice. She slams her blade against my
neck.

“
Why won’t you die?” she
screams, her frustration clear.

She’s misbehaved quite enough and my
patience is at an end. I point my large nose to the clouds. As we
rise, she grips me tightly with her legs. I’m angry and impressed.
My past brides have all worn saddles to ride me. And even with a
saddle it can take years of training before they are comfortable.
And then there are the ones who refuse entirely and I must carry in
my claws. I fight rolling my eyes at the thought of these shameless
weaklings.

With a flap of my giant wings, I pivot
my neck and flip upside down. As I planned, she can’t hold on. With
gleeful delight, I watch her arms and legs flail as she falls.
Turning sharply, I grab a chunk of material from the back of her
gown within my teeth. She thrashes around incessantly. I look down
at the village and wonder if I should go down and kill a few people
while I’m in the mood. It would serve them right.

The tight hold my bride keeps on her
blade changes my mind. This one is feisty and I anticipate an
exciting night of sexual games. My cock swells and I release it
from its armored sheath below my belly. Sadly, I can’t do the many
things I want to with her while in dragon form. And sadder still,
she can’t see my cock to praise its glory. The spear between my
legs is magnificent in both my forms and my bride will kneel before
me begging for its attention. I give a last satisfying roar and
turn toward home.

I am the mightiest of dragons and I
hold my new bride within my talons.

Chapter Five

Roxanne

I had everything planned perfectly.
Climbing the village tower was easy. Listening to my parents
calling out for me—gut-wrenching. I hardened my heart against their
pleas because I knew I had to fulfill my destiny.

I hid beneath the shadowed
eaves of the tower and watched as the brides lined up to await
their fate. They couldn’t help themselves. All the diatribe fed to
us from birth made them think they played a special role in village
life. They could not see the larger picture. Their life mattered
for something bigger than a sacrifice they have no control over. I
alone was not blind to the injustice of it all. I would sacrifice
my life for theirs by killing the dragon.

I saw him approach and gave pause at
his regal beauty. My mother had told me of their allure, so I
thought I was immune to what came toward us. I was wrong, and for
just a moment, I wondered if I could do it. My entire body shook
with apprehension and I gripped the blade tighter. I would never
back away from my destiny.

I waited until he swooped in low and
threw a bola around his leg—my aim true, my goal to kill him within
my grasp. My landing on his back was perfect. I could feel his soft
scales beneath me. That is until I thrust my blade as hard as I
could between those scales. I forfeited my life to save my sisters
in white.

His damned scales hardened when my
blade met his body and the blade slid off. Pain lanced through my
arm and into my shoulder. I struck again in fury. No matter how
many times I tried, he remained unscathed. No dragon’s blood to
carry into death.

I failed.

Now, my humiliation complete, I hang
by my dress, flying through the sky at the mercy of a dragon. I am
too distraught to admire the view. I had planned to die. I swore an
oath to kill the dragon. All is lost. He carries me to a fate worse
than death. The clear sky gives me no warning as we pass through an
invisible sphere. Excruciating pain shoots through my head. I hate
myself and my human weakness that makes me cry out.

Then, I hate him more.

He tosses me high above him and spits
flame beneath me. My dress catches fire, but that doesn’t stop him
from grabbing it between his teeth again. I silently vow I will
succeed in killing him no matter what it takes. If my sword won’t
do the job, I will find another way.

When my hands and knees hit the cool
ground a short time later, my apprehension reaches a new level. I
sink wearily to my stomach and rest my face against my arms. My
blade. I must have my blade. I use every bit of my remaining
strength to move my head around in hope that it’s near.
Nothing.

A giant dragon nose lifts
me about three feet to the side and I collapse onto my belly
again.
   
Too despondent to
even cry, I simply roll over to my back. I will look death in the
face and spit in its eye.

He stands over me—the great beast I
spent my life hating. I was told my dragon captor would be blue and
he is. Though blue doesn’t quite cover the shades of color rippling
over his scales. From the fairest blue sky to the dark of the moon,
the light illuminates his incredible hide. His monstrous body is
larger than I ever imagined. And his eyes. Their stunning blue
depths hold nothing but death.

“
What are you staring at,
female?”

His voice startles me as much as it
pains my head. I cover my ears while squeezing my eyes closed even
though I know it will do no good. How does he yell into my mind
without moving his mouth? A few minutes pass without more blaring
and I manage to open one eye just in time to see a great claw from
his front leg descend. This is it. He will gut me and eat my
organs. Deep in my soul I find strength. I grab the claw and wrap
my arms and legs around it with the last bit of fight I have left.
He lifts me into the air and brings me closer to his wide
jaws.

I am stupid by playing directly into
his plans to eat me, but one crunch must be better than the slow
slice of claws through my flesh. His giant nostril puffs warm air
over me before he lifts me higher and brings me up to one of his
blue eyes.

This time his voice is slightly less
than a blare and doesn’t hurt my head as much. “Foolish woman. What
do you hope to accomplish by hanging from my talon?”

“
This,” I shout as I swing
myself up and leap for the bridge of his nose. My foot swings out
and I thrust it as hard as I can into his eye. Pain lances up my
leg as he rears back. My fall is short-lived. His mighty talons
grab me right before I land. I slide across the floor until I hit a
wall. The impact jars me and my teeth rattle. At the same time, it
knocks the breath from my body.

“
Are you happy?” he shouts
into my head again.

I curl into a tight ball and try to
gain my breath. Everything hurts.

“
So I do have a crybaby on
my hands; how un-refreshing.” he says in a lower tone. He sounds
completely disgusted.

After a minute, air enters my lungs
and I can think again. I uncurl myself slowly and using the wall
for support, I inch my way up until I stand tall and proud. “Did
you call me a crybaby?”

His body rears up, his front legs as
high as three men, and flames shoot from his mouth as he… laughs?
The idiot is laughing. I notice the lighter shade of his underbelly
and fist the hand that is missing a blade. His belly is the kill
zone where I will end his miserable life. I look around and see a
door about eight feet away. The heat from his laughing fire heats
my skin. I run for the door. With all the bad luck I’ve had it’s a
miracle that the door opens and I can slip inside.

“
What are you doing,
female?” he sing-songs into my head.

I slam the heavy door just as I see a
goliath foot slamming to the ground in front of the
door.