Destined Mate

~Two colossal winged behemoths.~

~Each leg was a tree trunk, and each claw a scythe.~

~Their leathery wings retracted and sat like giant spindles on their backs.~

~One was green, with shiny scales. The other black, with spikes and a rough exterior.~

~Both with piercing emerald eyes.~

~I stood dwarfed in their presence as the moonlight spotlighted our tribunal.~

~They demanded I bow—prostrate myself in the dirt and beg for mercy.~

~I would not.~

~A pissed-off dragon was a force to be reckoned with, but two was apocalyptic.~

~As I stood in front of them, shaking, I remembered one thing…~

~I was their destined mate.~

~I may have been their captive, but I would never be their slave.~

~The last thing I remembered was Loch smashing his wrecking ball of a foot into the ground.~

~I was launched backward into a tree, and everything went dark.~

***

~Where…where the hell am I?~

I awoke to unfamiliar surroundings in a room so large, and with ceilings so high, that it must’ve been a Dobrzycka mansion.

Pillars stood tall in each corner, and gold-plated banisters flanked both sides of a grand staircase.

~Where does that staircase even lead? It just keeps going…~

The daybed I was reclining on was so plush it felt like lying on a cloud. The room was sparsely furnished, definitely no weapons to be found.

I peered over the bed and could almost make out my reflection in the polished marble floor.

I glanced down at myself, only to find that I had been cleaned of the dirt and blood I’d picked up in the forest. And instead of my torn dress, I was wearing a white nightgown, practically see through, like some Victorian-era virgin bride.

~Bride…or sacrifice?~

Miraculously, the cuts and scrapes along my arms and legs were closed up, almost like I’d never been hurt in the first place.

~What happened while I was asleep? Who changed me? And how did I heal so quickly?~

I cautiously stood and looked around, but there was no sign of Loch or Hael.

Why was I unguarded?

Why wasn’t I chained to the bed?

For all their talk of submission and slavery, they were surprisingly lax with their slaves.

What was to stop me from walking out the front door? If I could find it anyway—based on this room alone, this place was massive.

I started wandering down the halls, turning first left, then right, lost in the labyrinth of the mansion and hoping I wouldn’t run into my mates.

I still wasn’t over the shock of seeing them in their true forms. If I hadn’t already felt helpless enough around them, I sure as hell did when they were sixty feet tall and breathing fire.

When I didn’t run into anyone, I picked up my pace, my bare feet making soft slapping sounds on the floor.

One hallway led to another, and another. I went faster and faster. The rooms I passed were a blur; I didn’t stop long enough to take any of it in, only wanting to find an exit.

An image of two dragons flashed in front of me, one black, one green, forcing me to stop abruptly. There was a tingle coming from my tattoo, and that’s when I knew I wouldn’t be able to escape them. Not right now.

My body moved forward without any input from me. Then left, then another left.

I suddenly heard a feminine giggle echo through the corridor—several actually.

~There are other girls here?~

I was overcome with a sense of jealousy.

~I’m Loch and Hael’s mate, not these girls, so why are they here?~

I shook my head of that thought. It was totally unprompted, and unwanted. I didn’t want to feel jealous. I didn’t want to be their mates.

Why was I so drawn to them?

I turned another corner and slowly walked down the corridor, which opened into a parlor area.

I immediately froze in my tracks.

~What.~

~The.~

~Shit?~

Zayda and Thea were sitting on a huge couch, sipping tea with Adara and laughing like everything was normal.

Loch and Hael watched the group, their signature smirks plastered on their faces.

“Maddie, you’re awake!” Zayda said cheerily. “Come join us for tea.”

“Shit, Maddie, you could’ve told us you knew the Dobrzyckas,” Thea said a little bitterly. “You didn’t have to keep it a secret. It’s not like we’d fangirl out or whatever.”

“Well…I might have a poster of them in our room,” Zayda said, embarrassed. “So, there would have been some fangirling.”

What was going on? Why were my friends here?

Why weren’t Loch and Hael whipping me or tying me up or whatever the hell it was they did?

“Morning, Madeline,” Hael said, giving me a soft smile. “I hope you slept okay. You had a few too many drinks last night.”

“Same,” Thea said, slouching into the couch.

~What drinks?~

And why were they acting completely normal? Were they just gaslighting me? Or had they forgotten to mind-wipe me like they did a year ago?

None of this made any sense.

“Don’t just stand there gawking,” Loch said in a teasing tone, looking me up and down. “Come join us. Hael and I have ~really~ been enjoying your friends. They’re quite delightful.”

I glanced down and could see that my nipples were showing through the nightgown. I quickly crossed my arms in front of my breasts before stepping into the room.

Zayda giggled, but neither she nor Thea said anything as I walked to the side table and poured myself a glass of water.

I narrowed my eyes at the brothers, watching them silently. Whatever was going on, I wasn’t falling for it.

They could be so charming, so hospitable—when they wanted to fool you.

The wool had been pulled over my eyes before, but now, I saw the wolves.

I knew what was really underneath that welcoming veneer. They were tricksters, messing with my mind, lulling me into a false sense of security before they showed their true intentions.

They hid their real personalities, just like they hid their true forms.

I wondered if Zayda and Thea would even believe me if I told them who the Dobrzyckas really were.

I didn’t think they’d understand, because truthfully, I didn’t even understand it.

Even standing there, taking sips of water, I felt a desire to cross the room and sandwich myself between the brothers, allowing them to pull me into their arms. To touch me. To arouse me. To make me theirs.

I was drawn to Loch and Hael yet utterly repulsed by them at the same time.

The brothers looked at me with identical glints in their eyes, like they knew exactly where my mind wandered to. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and pool in my groin.

I shook myself of those thoughts and placed my glass on the table. Whatever my convoluted feelings might be, we needed to have a serious chat. Now.

I glanced out the window and saw a manicured courtyard with topiaries and other plants I couldn’t identify. There were a few benches scattered about. It looked peaceful, and part of me wanted to sit out there and never worry about anything again.

But I couldn’t. Not yet. Right now, I needed answers.

“Can I speak to you two in the courtyard?” I said to Loch and Hael as I brushed past them.

“It would be our pleasure,” Loch said deviously.

I stepped through the double French doors leading into the courtyard and walked far enough away so my friends wouldn’t hear our conversation.

Once we were outside, Loch’s and Hael’s demeanors changed almost instantly.

The evil, sharp-toothed smiles appeared.

The menacing green eyes flashed with lust in the sunlight.

~Just as I’d thought—it’s all an illusion.~

“What do you have to say, street rat?” Loch circled me like I was his prey. “Choose your words carefully.”

“We talked about this, brother. She’s no longer a street rat,” Hael said before I could lay into Loch about the insult.

“Whatever, brother,” Loch replied. “Street rat, mouse, human—they’re all the same. All vermin not worth our time.”

Hael growled. “You know that’s not true. Didn’t we already prove this?”

My head whipped back and forth between the brothers. This was not why I wanted to talk to them.

“No one cares about the flame or the stupid prophecy,” Loch practically shouted. “She’s ours. We can do what we want with her.”

Hael’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Loch. “The prophecy is our destiny, brother. She was meant for us. Meant to build our strength. To build our thunder.”

~Prophecy? Thunder? What are they talking about?~

“Stop!” I shouted, forcing the brothers to focus on me instead of whatever petty feud they had going on.

I pointed toward the windows where my friends were sitting just on the other side. “Why did you bring them here? They have nothing to do with this,” I said, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady.

“They’re simply here as a reminder,” Hael said as he turned toward me, his lips curling into a smile.

“A reminder of what?”

“That we can have their pretty little necks plated and served whenever we please if you decide to step out of line again,” Loch snarled.

“We need you Madeline,” Hael said, “and you need us. If you try to escape again, just think of Dominic.”

“You wouldn’t,” I said, tears welling up in my eyes.

~Don’t let them see you cry. Ever.~

“If we need to use your friends to keep you in line, we will.” Loch shrugged. “We enjoy it, in fact. Pain and pleasure are the staples of the dragon diet.”

My tattoo burned at those words—pain and pleasure. I went to take a step toward Loch, to find the pain and pleasure in his arms, but I caught myself in time and forced my body to stop its forward movement.

“You weren’t like this before. What happened? Why are you doing this?” I pleaded.

Hael took a step toward me, his hands out in a placating manner. “You still don’t trust us, Madeline, but we’re running out of time. Our enemies have been circling for centuries, and they’re coming for us. We can feel it. And we need you to stop them.”

“Plus,” Loch added, “we needed to give you more time to…~ripen~…before we took you.”

“You’re our mate, Madeline,” Hael continued. “We know you can feel it.”

I shook my head, but I knew they were right. I did feel it, like a string pulled taut, drawing me ever closer to them.

“But if I’m your ~mate~, doesn’t that mean something?” I asked, trying to do the impossible by reasoning with dragons.

Loch growled with a hint of lust. “I’m not sure what you think that means, but to us, it means that we’re your masters, and you submit to our rule.”

He disappeared into thin air, leaving a trail of mist, and reappeared behind me.

His muscular arms locked around my waist, and he pulled my body into his.

“If I wanted to, little mouse, I could bend you over and fuck you right here. I could even bring out your friends to watch,” he hissed in my ear.

“You wouldn’t,” I said, my body shaking.

“Do you really want to test my limits?” Loch asked.

I silently shook my head “no,” and he let up, pushing me to the ground.

“Good, you’re already learning. Whenever I tell you to do something, it’s best to just submit.” Loch grinned.

“Submission is a learned trait—one you’ll master with training,” Hael added.

Shaking, I pulled myself to my feet and looked them dead in the eyes.

I wasn’t submitting…

I was just biding my time…

Until I could figure out a way to break our mating bond and escape from these dragon bastards.