The Dungeon

~No!~

I took a step back and turned for the door, but it swung shut before I reached it.

I heard a clicking sound—the spinner locking into place.

My heart raced as I ran to the door and pounded on the black steel, but it didn’t budge.

I was trapped. Trapped in what was most likely Loch and Hael’s personal fuck-a-torium.

I ran a nervous hand through my hair. My hand was shaking, and I was sweating.

And yet, the tingling in my brand turned to a calming sensation that extended down my back and arms, through my body, and settled in my most private core.

My clit throbbed, and I suppressed the shudder that threatened to undo me.

At least I was all alone…

“~That’s what you think, little mouse~,” Loch’s voice said in my head.

The throbbing in my clit intensified, and a heat rose though me.

~No, no, no, no!~

I backed away from the door—and right into waiting hands. Loch spun me around to face him, Hael misting into sight just over his shoulder.

I struggled in Loch’s iron grip, beating my fists into his obnoxiously chiseled torso.

Loch just chuckled. “You can’t fight fate, little mouse,” he said. “You entered this room for a reason.”

I looked around at the implements on the shelves and hanging on the walls.

Why didn’t I think to grab one of them when I could?

Loch chuckled. “You didn’t grab them, mouse, because you’re not meant to wield them. We are.”

I shook my head, but my body involuntarily moved into Loch’s embrace, savoring his touch, his warmth.

Hael moved so he was behind me, and I rested my back against his torso. Why was it so difficult to resist them?

“This is your new home, mouse,” Hael said, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke. “You better learn to like it.”

The lamps suddenly flickered with green light. It was the same flame from the night I was marked.

My heart began to race once again, and I struggled against the brothers.

Suddenly, the strong arms loosened their grip. I turned around…

Both Loch and Hael were gone.

~Great. Now they’re just fucking with me.~

I heard the brothers’ dark laughter in my mind, and I wanted to reach out and slap them for playing tricks on me like this.

“What is this?” I shouted, scanning the room. Wisps of black mist congregated in the shadows. I knew they were around here somewhere.

“~Training~,” Hael answered. “~You walked right into your cage, Madeline. You’re a very good girl.~”

“~From this day on, little mouse~,” said Loch, “~you will learn to worship us as gods. You will learn to respect and fear us. We will bring meaning to your pathetic life.~”

I turned in circles as their words seemed to float at me, coming from different corners of the room.

“~That’s a bit melodramatic, Loch~,” said Hael. “~Don’t panic, Madeline. We only intend to teach you what it means to be our mate and, of course, enlighten you in the art of sex.~”

“~Not without my consent~,” I raged back through our mind-link.

“~We will not take your virginity without your consent, sweet mouse~,” Hael answered, his voice laced with…was that affection? “~But before you know it, you’ll be riding our thighs, begging for us to fill you up. We’ll have no choice but to oblige.~”

“~You’ll want us to caress every inch of your soft skin~,” Loch added hungrily. “~To service your sex truly and thoroughly…~”

“~I highly doubt that~,” I said firmly, much more firmly than I felt.

These arrogant assholes made me want to scream. How could they be so confident that I’d fall under their control?

I hated their guts.

But also, I didn’t.

Some part of me wanted what they were saying, wanted to have them fill me up, to possess me, to make me theirs.

Maybe it was just my brand, but I still remembered the kind things Loch and Hael had done for me a year ago.

I wouldn’t mind being their mate so much if they hadn’t become such jerks.

I wasn’t a sex doll. I wanted respect.

“~I want a choice~,” I demanded. “~The right to choose you two…or refuse and leave if I wish. I’m your mate. You owe me that.~”

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Was it possible I’d gotten through to them?

Laughter filled my mind, and I tried not to collapse at the sound.

“~The thing is, little one~,” Hael finally answered, “~we are destined to be together. The prophecy commands it.~”

“What prophecy?” I shouted out loud. “What do you mean?”

Hael materialized in front of me, and I cowered, fearful that I’d upset him so much that he would start using the implements on the shelves on me.

“Have you not paid attention to the stories, Madeline?” he asked, taking a step closer. “The myths. The legends. There’s truth to them, you know.”

I shook my head. “No. They’re just stories.”

Dark mist flew at me, and then Loch was standing between his brother and me, his face so close I could make out the reptilian slits in his pupils, even in the dim light.

“They’re not stories, little mouse. They’re history. Our history. ~Your~ history.”

His lips almost brushed mine as he spoke, and I struggled to resist the urge to lean closer and feel them press against me. Then he suddenly took a step back, and it was like I could breathe again.

“What do I have to do with any of this?”

The two brothers began circling me, forcing me to split my attention between them.

“The enemy approaches, fearful yet strong,” Hael said. “Threatening the flames of the ancient warriors.”

“But if the brothers unearth their siren’s song,” Loch continues, “their enemy’s downfall begins with the father.”

“She who withstands the fire within will rise and forge a thunder so great.”

“Mastery will prevail. Adversaries will be conquered. The thunder begins with the joint soul’s mate.”

The brothers stopped circling with Hael in front of me and Loch behind me. They moved closer, almost touching me, but not quite.

“I-I don’t understand,” I whispered.

“We’ve been fighting our enemies for centuries, little mouse, and you stumbled into our laps,” Loch said.

“We felt it immediately, Madeline, this connection between us,” Hael said. “And then you withstood our flames, proving you are our chosen. The one meant to help us fight our enemies. The one to birth our thunder and stop the extinction of our species.”

“‘Birth your thunder’?” I questioned. “‘Stop the extinction’?” I shook my head. “I’m not ready for children.”

“Well, of course not,” Loch said, his breath ghosting against my neck. “There’s so much we need to do first.”

His hands gripped my hips and pulled me back until I was flush against his groin.

“We want to enjoy you to the fullest before we settle down with a brood of little ones.”

I gasped at the feel of his growing erection, both wanting to run from it and wanting more of it.

“You cannot escape us, dear Madeline,” said Loch. “And you do not wish to do so. We know it, and you know it.”

Hael moved closer, until his torso was flush against mine. “Give us a chance to prove it to you, little mouse.” His lips lingered against my jaw, and I tilted my head, giving him greater access.

He chuckled, and both brothers tightened their hold on me.

Then, without warning, I was surrounded by mist. It floated for a minute, then dissipated.

I paced the dungeon furiously.

How could Loch and Hael think I’d fall for them just because of a stupid prophecy?

And what was that about a thunder? Was I truly expected to give them dragon babies? I’d never thought about having children before, never thought I’d want them.

Why would I when I was raised on the streets and had no future? Who would want to raise children in that life?

My brand tingled, and my hands went to my abdomen. But it would be different with the brothers. Our children would be raised in luxury, not squalor.

~No! What am I thinking?~

I was their prisoner, their slave. They may have used the word ~mate~, but I knew what I was to them.

They didn’t care about me. They only wanted me because of the stupid prophecy.

And sure, they claimed they wouldn’t take my virginity without my consent, but they also promised I’d spread my legs for them in no time. It didn’t make sense.

I paced the room, my mind in shambles. I both wanted them and didn’t want them. Needed to feel them inside me as they claimed me and wanted to run away and never see them again.

I took a closer look at the implements on the shelves. Handcuffs made of what looked like supple leather. A collar with a tag in the shape of a dragon. Metal chains. Multitailed whips. Paddles. Things meant for…insertion.

I itched to touch them, to run my fingers over them, to hold them in my hands and feel the weight of them.

Not because I wanted to use them.

But because I wanted them used on me.

I shuddered at the thought. I wasn’t repulsed by it.

In fact, I wanted it.

There was a pallet with a mattress in the corner, and I sat on it, my knees pulled tight to my chest, trying not to think about what I truly wanted from the brothers.

***

There was a metallic creak coming from the direction of the door. The spinner.

Someone was opening the door.

The lamps went out, plunging the room into pitch-darkness.

My eyes hardened with resolve.

I didn’t know if it had been one hour or three since they’d left me here alone, but I was furious.

Those cocky Dragon Lords thought they could snap their fingers and have me on my knees and back, and who knew where else, fulfilling their every fucked-up sex fantasy.

~Think again, Dobrzyckas. I’d grown up on the mean streets of Requiem City.~

The dungeon door swung open, and I briefly identified Loch’s and Hael’s towering silhouettes in the light from the hallway before the door shut behind them.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. “Why can’t I see?”

“Because you’re a sneaky little mouse, Madeline,” Loch said, closer than I expected. I felt his hot breath on my neck. He pecked me with moist and tender lips, making my whole body tingle.

I hated myself for feeling turned on, and yet I wanted more of his touch. That stupid brand was making me putty in their hands.

I tried to swat at Loch, but he’d already moved away.

I tried to focus, to push down the feelings of arousal they sparked in me.

I had to keep my guard up. I couldn’t let them get to me. There was no way I’d give these horndogs what they wanted, despite what my brand was telling me.