Chapter Two

Seline

The Alpha is advancing on me, forcing me to retreat until my back hits the rough bark of a massive tree. I can see the lust in his dark gaze, and I know he will take what he wants from me. He will easily overpower me with his larger size and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.

"Don't fight me, female. I don't want to hurt you."

"Liar," I hiss. "You would love nothing more than to hurt me."

The dark smile that graces his face has pure, unfiltered fear roaring through me. This man means to cause more than harm, he wants to decimate me, perhaps even kill me. No one will even know where to look for my body, not that there is anyone left to care. I know I need to run but I also know I will never be able to get away from him, not with my injuries.

As I stare at him, I see a stunning green and gold dragon emerge from between the trees. I watch as his massive form moves closer to the Alpha before he grabs him from behind and rips him in two, separating his torso from his lower half. Blood sprays everywhere, coating me in the warm crimson liquid. A strange sort of calm settles over me as I stare up at the gigantic beast before me, his golden gaze searing and locking me in place.

My heartbeat calms back to normal as he breathes smoke through his nostrils, his imposing form looming over me. I feel inexplicably drawn to him, wanting to touch this magnificent beast. Never have I felt the need to be close to any Alpha or a damn dragon, but now I must fight the urge to approach this stranger.

"Who are you?" I ask, my voice nothing but a whisper.

He doesn't reply and doesn't shift to his human form. All he does is stare. For long moments neither of us do anything until the enormous beast bows before me. I don't understand what is happening, nothing makes sense.

I've never heard of an Alpha bowing to a female, much less in his dragon form. I must be delirious. My father strangled me, and between the lack of oxygen and my injury, I must be imagining things.

I watch as the magic shimmers over his form, his dragon flickering in and out of reality before my eyes as he shifts back to his human form. Before me now stands a man I have seen before. He is one of the richest and most powerful Alpha Nobles of this generation.

Liam Virago.

He is beautiful in his Alpha power. Dark hair that hangs below his shoulder blades, a muscular frame with broad shoulders and thick thighs, and tattoos that pepper his arms and torso. He is as naked as the day he was born, and I cannot help but let my gaze take in his entire physique, including the impressive erection straining in my direction from between his muscular thighs.

"What are you?" he asks, his deep voice curling around my insides and squeezing.

"I'm Seline," I reply.

"Not who, female. What?"

"I … I don't understand the question," I stammer. I can't seem to form a cohesive sentence with him glaring at me.

"I could smell you for miles. You have bewitched my dragon."

I shake my head as he strides up to me, my back pressed harder against the rough bark of the tree behind me. I stare up into his dark gaze waiting for him to say or do something.

"I don't know what you want me to say."

"Not a fucking word. I want you to do what females are made fo r— submit, and spread your thighs," he replies, sending fear running through my system once more while arousal simmers in the background.

"I don't belong here. I didn't offer as a tribute for the hunt," I interject, praying I will be able to appeal to him. "He forced me to be here."

He frowns, glaring down at me. "Why would anyone do such a thing? Tributes are easy enough to find."

I want to laugh at the fact he believes any female is here of her own free will. I want to say something, but he presses his torso against me, and I can't hold back the hiss of pain. My side screams in defiance of the pressure. He takes my face in his hand harshly as he continues to stare.

"What is the matter with you? Why do you smell like burnt flowers?"

Flowers? What the fuck is he talking about? It takes me a moment, but I remember something my mother once said. A fated mate would smell different than any other living being, an enticing scent that cannot be denied, no matter what. But that can't be what is happening here. Can it?

Risking a chance, I take his hand and gingerly place it on the burn my father caused. "I smell like that because he burned me."

I see his rage burn through him like wildfire through a dry brush. His dragon pushes to the forefront, his features moving beneath Liam's skin, fighting for dominance, but he easily fights his beast back. His touch remains gentle as he feels the extent of my wound.

"Who did this?" he demands, his voice low and menacing.

"It doesn't matter."

"Tell me!" he roars to the heavens, making me jump. "I will not have you harmed by anyone."

Will not have me harmed? I must be dreaming. Why would this alpha care if I got hurt?

"My father." The words are a whispered curse as they fall from my lips.

He nods before removing his hand and placing it around my neck. For a moment, I wanted to believe I could be free, safe even, but that was only a moment in time. He stares at me, lust filling his gaze as his thumb rubs along my bottom lip. Slowly, he lowers his head to mine, brushing his lips over mine in a kiss so gentle I never would have thought it possible of a man his size.

His scen t— dark rich coffe e— permeates my senses and has an involuntary gasp falling from my lips. He uses the opportunity to plunder my mouth with his tongue. He kisses me at a leisurely pace, taking what he wants and sending my hormones on a rampage of their own.

"This is going to hurt," he says but I am too wrapped up in my arousal to hear his words.

In seconds, I am flat on my back, the hard earth beneath me as the air leaves my lungs. Before I have a chance to orientate myself, Liam pulls my jean shorts from my body and discards them behind him. I push at his hands, trying to get him off me but I know it is futile.

Before I can protest, he spears me with his cock, burying himself deep inside my virgin pussy. A scream tears from me at the pain between my thighs and in my side.

"Fuck!" he roars to the heavens, not once stopping his onslaught. "What have you done to me?"

He leans over my body, staring down at me with crazed eyes and a deep frown. The pain is fading and after long moments all I feel is full. Each thrust reaches deep within me, sending waves of pleasure throughout my system. Everything else falls away, even the pain in my side, everything except the ecstasy burning through my veins, pushing me higher and higher with each thrust.

****

Liam

I know I have hurt her even though it was never my intention. I never imagined this female would be untouched but the moment I shoved my cock inside her, I knew the truth. I felt her virgin barrier give way as I buried myself deep within her cunt.

She is far too tempting and much too beautiful for no other Alpha to have ever laid claim. And yet, there is blood coating my coat, proof that I am the first to ever enter her. It doesn't make any sense but there it is.

The tears that fall from her beautiful green eyes only send my dragon on a rampage, pushing to once more shift, but I am able to hold him back. Barely.

Now, I feel her walls tremble with her oncoming orgasm, the smell of lilies so strong it burns my nostrils. Never have I had a female react to my fucking this way. Even in the pleasure houses, the females cannot fake what is about to happen here. A female can't achieve an orgasm with anyone but her true fated mate. But things like that no longer exist. There are no fated mates anymore, now it's just a legend of a time long since passed.

Is that what this is?

My mind is a mess and I fuck her harder. If I can just reach my orgasm and be done with her, everything will return to normal. I can go on my way and forget about this tempting little female. But I never get the chance. Her orgasm slams into her, taking us both by surprise and forcing my own orgasm to explode from me.

Cum leaves me in long spurts, filling her, coating her from the inside.

What has me roaring to the heavens, the thing that surprises me above all else, is the fact that my length keeps swelling. Against my body, near the base of my cock, it swells to nearly twice the size, locking me inside her. She screams, her back bowing off the ground as her body convulses with a second, stronger orgasm.

Her pussy grips my cock so tight I wonder if she will rip the appendage clean off. For long moments, neither of us move as pleasure takes both of us for a ride neither of us was expecting. It's the best goddamned sex of my life and I can't wait to do it again.

Again? Fuck, I planned on walking away from her once I had my fill but now I want to keep her. Always.

Below me, the little female becomes pliant, sated after the two orgasms. A soft smile graces her face as she passes out. It takes me a few minutes to calm my heart rate and start to make sense of everything that happened. I catalog every moment, from the instant my dragon went on his rampage until now, and only one thing makes sense.

I have found my fated mate.

For the first time in a thousand years, a mated couple will be part of our realm. I don't know how any of this is possible but nothing else fits.

Turning my body, I hold her prone form close to my chest as I lay beneath her. The movement has a small moan falling from her lips as her sleeping form wiggles against me. My cock, my knot, is still locked inside her.

I want to wake her and fuck her again, but I need to give her time to rest. She has been wounded by her father, something I will be avenging soon enough, and I just stripped her of her innocence by rutting her in the ground like a fucking animal. When I said it would hurt, I meant her wounded side, not the sex.

Her pussy pulses on my length and I fight to remain still. She needs the rest. But her body has other plans. Slowly, she starts rocking her hips, moving an inch at a time, rubbing herself against me. My hands rub over her back, her shirt still covering her skin and barring me from touching her. Allowing my dragon a little room, I elongate my talons and ever so gently, cut the fabric from her body, allowing it to fall away.

The moment my skin touches hers, a loud moan falls from her, her lips kissing along my naked chest. I'm not sure whether she is awake or asleep but I'm not going to stop her in either case. Her hips writhe against me taking pleasure without any inhibitions. I feel her orgasm sweep through her, triggering my own. It's not overly passionate and it doesn't take long but it is the most intimate moment I have ever had. I feel connected to her in a way I have never felt with anyone else.

My dragon pushes forward once more, raising its head and clamping its jaw to her right shoulder, biting her. She moans and writhes, another less intense orgasm overtaking her. The coppery tang of her blood coats the inside of my mouth and I can't hold back my groan of pleasure. My dragon knows what he is doing better than I do, so I leave him to continue. Once my knot deflates, I lift her off my cock, cradling her against my chest, and allow my dragon to fully transform.

He wraps his wings around her as he holds her to his chest, fending off the freezing night air. Possessiveness soars through both of us as he uses the fire in his chest to heat her cold form. Affection is the second predominant emotion, wanting to see her safe and happy, with us.

Mine.

The last thing is pride. That we can claim this female as our own. To be able to share something with her that no other Alph a— Noble or lower clas s— can. To have the opportunity to build a life and a family with this beautiful creature.

Our mate.

Now, all we have to do is wait for this fucking hunt to end so we can take our little female mate home. We need to make sure her father hasn't caused irreparable damage to her body and her mind.