Chapter 11 - Draco

Handfuls of Lily’s plump rear feel marvelous to the touch. I would have never known this kind of perfection until I tasted it.

And I’m so glad I did.

Her sweet essence lingers on my tongue, distilling every second like it’s the finest wine on Earth, and I have tasted all the most exquisite brands the world has to offer.

This is, by far, the most intoxicating of them all.

I gaze deeply into her eyes while I roll my hips into her. And when her walls constrict around my length, I know she’s on the verge of exploding. It’s too tight, and I spill deeply into her as her walls milk me.

But as soon as I empty out my seed all over her belly, it’s regret that washes over me in an instant.

I drop my forehead on the pillow beside her head, my breath a series of staggered pants.

Beneath me, Lilys frame sinks into the bed as she sighs. Lifting my weight slowly, I realize shes asleep when I find her eyes closed.

“Lily?” I whisper gently, pursing my lips as I wait for a reply. But it doesnt come. She really is asleep.

Cautioning my movements, I lift myself over her and step on my feet on the carpet. I grab a few napkins from the box on the nightstand and use them to wipe off the slick on her belly. As the blood rushes from my core to its respective vein, logic returns, and Im filled with a deep sense of regret.

Dear gods… What have I done?

Lilys flushed skin and blushed cheeks only serve as a reminder of all that happened tonight. Running a hand through my hair, I am vexed and out of my mind.

I cant believe I caved and gave in to the most basic urges I could possibly succumb to. Like a feral beast in heat, Id just taken the virgin humans virtue.

Instead of taking a slow, deep breath, I stifle the urge to curse under my breath. To regain my composure. Once I do, Im clear-minded enough to decide on what to do with Lily.

Leaning over her, I slip my arms underneath her body and lift her off the bed. Just like Id carried her into the room after rescuing her from the fall, I carried her out this time.

My heart pounds as if punching my ribcage and demanding to be heard. But I ignore the protests, instead fulfilling logic as I lay Lily on her own bed.

Shes still sound asleep when I step back, much to my relief. As I leave the bedroom, I lock the door behind me. I have suspicions about how Lily got out in the first place. But it’s something that won’t happen again.

***

The chaos in the kitchen is evident from the loud clatter of dishes and utensils and the chatter that goes along with it. As I head down the corridor, I hear a familiar voice.

One I haven’t heard in months.

“Aragon?”I ask as I round the corner to enter the kitchen.

Sure enough, my younger brother peeks his head from the top of our family group huddled at the island table. His bright blue eyes sparkle when he spots me and instantly heads over.

“Brother!” he cheers as he comes bolting toward me. The wide grin on my face extends to the warm arms that pull him into a hug.

“When did you arrive?” I ask as I hold him at arm’s length, inspecting his face as if I’m not well-acquainted enough. But the months he’d spent away seemed to have aged him finely as he models a beard now.

He’s more mature.

Aragon’s lips lift into a smile. “Just this morning,” he chuckles as he slinks his arm around my shoulders and turns to the rest of the family. “I wanted to give you all a surprise.”

“This is a surprise indeed, Aragon,” Kairo giggles as she steps closer with a fruit basket. She picks out a glossy strawberry and holds it out to Aragon.

It’s tradition to sweeten the tongue of a traveler when they get back home. And even though it brings back fond memories of the time I’d spent traveling the world before taking up my place as Alpha, I can’t help but eye my sister suspiciously.

“Where’s the rest going?” I ask flatly as I nod at the basket.

A frown flits past Kairo’s face. “Lily, of co-”

“No,” I cut her off with a dismissive hand. Aragon senses the tension and removes his arm from around my shoulders. Any feeling of comfort he may have provided is gone when he walks away, leaving me to deal with my sister. “You’re not allowed to go to the human.”

“So she’s still ‘the human’?” Kairo scoffs as she clutches the basket to her chest.

“She is whatever I say she is,” I retort glumly. “And right now, she’s off limits.”

Kairo rolls her eyes defiantly. “She’s not yours to order around. It’s not like you want her.”

My sister’s words cut deep, slicing my insides like a sharp blade. But my stubbornness and denial won’t allow me to admit that she’s not just ‘the human’ anymore.

However, keeping that thought, it serves me well enough.

“You’re not to visit Lily today,” I instruct my sister, using the full extent of the Alpha dragonspirit within me to punctuate each word of the order. “I know you left her bedroom door open, and I won’t have that happening again.”

When Kairo realizes that I know what she’d done, she recoils and hangs her head. “Forgive me, Brother,” she apologizes pensively. “I was only trying to—”

“To what? Cause disruption?” I interject, fuming inside.

Kairo lifts her head, eyes full of remorse. She opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted when our father enters the kitchen.

“Aragon,” he addresses his younger son. “You’re back.”

“I am, Father,” Aragon bows his head as silence befalls the kitchen.

“Good,” Father says. “Meeting in five,” he announces as he glances over at his children in the room.

Felix and I exchange concerned looks as Father leaves the kitchen. But none of us say a word, and I’m reticent as I enter Father’s study with the others in tow.

I’m not in the mood for a lecture about the human mating process. So it is a relief when Father announces what the meeting is about.

“The Dragon Council has received word that an impending threat is on the horizon.”

“A threat?” I ask with a raised brow, sitting forward and steepling my fingers on the edge of Father’s oak desk. “What kind of threat?”

“We’re not certain at this time, but the Council received an encrypted message this morning.”

“What did it say?” Felix asks as he leans in.

Father sighs heavily as he leans back into the leather chair. “It was only a warning.” He turns his eyes to me as if what he’s about to say is personal. “Someone isn’t happy about the human mate process we’ve embarked on.”

A moment of tense silence fills the air as Father allows this information to settle.

Raising a terse brow, I’m the one to cut that silence. “So we have someone opposing our methods?” I grouch. Not because I’m upset that we have opposition.

But because I’m the only dragon-shifter who can say I saw this coming.

“Yes,” Father relents with a huff.

“Wait,” Aragon interjects. “I’m not sure I follow.”

We all turn our heads in Aragon’s direction, realizing that he hadn’t witnessed the first trial of the human mate selection process. He had no idea about the Dragon Council’s new ideal while he was away traveling the world.

And it’s the twins who have fun taking turns explaining the situation.

“Oh…” Aragon mutters as he turns to me. He’s probably just as vexed about it as I was when I heard about it. Or even how upset I currently am.

He’s the only one of my siblings who’s exactly like me. He thinks the same way, and acts almost the same. One would swear we were the twins of the family. That’s why I know exactly what’s going through his mind.

All I do is give him a knowing look before turning back to my father.

“Perhaps the Cube of Knowledge can intercept the message,” I suggest, even if my suggestion has undertones of sarcasm. After all, the Cube sifted through every database known to man to find a suitable mate to have my babies. “Surely it can determine where the message came from.”

Father shakes his head slowly. “Wherever that message came from, they’re using systems as secure as ours. That’s why we need you all on board.”

I glance around at my siblings in the room, then nod. “The Aurora Dragons will be prepared for anything that comes our way,” I declare courageously. “Now that Aragon is back, we’ll resume training. Tightening up any loose ends.”

“Good,” Father praises with little excitement. He rises from his chair, and my brothers soon follow as they file out of the study.

Only Kairo remains seated at the desk, her head hanging with remnants of the shame from earlier this morning.

“What is it, Kai?” I ask, annoyed. Kairo shrugs her shoulders, only further infuriating me until I grunt to draw her attention to me.

When she looks up, I notice the corners of her eyes softened with wariness.

“Forgive me, Brother,” she apologizes again. This time, it’s earnest and genuine, with no hidden connotations of irritation. “I know what I did was wrong, but something needed to happen.”

I swallow down the lump that threatens to form in my throat. If I could, I would completely forget last night’s commotion.

Not so much about Lily escaping her bedroom. But what that led me to do…

“Don’t you see, Kai?” I gesture to Father’s empty seat. “Already, we’re facing backlash because of this program. If anything, we shouldn’t be going ahead with it.”

“Wait…” Kai frowns. “So you’re telling me that my brother, the Alpha of the Aurora Dragons, is prepared to back down in the face of adversity?”

“That’s not—” I begin to protest but press my lips tight when I realize that Kairo is right.

She huffs her disbelief. “That’s exactly what you’re doing Draco,” she argues. “You’re the first of us to embark on this journey. And if I was a male, I would have followed through. I would have been honored to pave the way for the clan. For all the dragons.”

My jaw drops when another realization dawns on me. Kairo doesn’t have the option of taking a human mate. As a female, she cannot carry human seed. And her choices for a mate amongst the clan aren’t promising.

I dip my head in shame. “I’m being selfish, aren’t I?”

Kairo gets off her chair, pushing the basket of fruit under my nose. “I don’t know what you’re being, but it’s not the Alpha of the Aurora Dragons.”

With her parting remark, Kairo leaves me in the study alone to ponder my recent behavior. She’s right. Of course, she’s right. And though I hate to admit it, it’s time I faced my biggest fear.

Impregnating a human with the dragonspirit seed…

As much as I detest the idea, it’s something I will have to do. I will have to accept this fate and forget my disdain for the human race.

That’s why I pick up the fruit basket and head back upstairs. Taking a deep breath for composure outside Lily’s bedroom door, I decide to be diplomatic about this whole thing.

Firstly, she needs to know why she’s really here. Apart from our mistake last night, she needs to know what I am and what she’s here for.

But as soon as I unlock the door, a shimmering silver blade is held to my neck.