Chapter 4 - Sierra

"...Whether you believe me or not changes nothing," my father says sternly. "Weredragons exist, and your mate will be here to pick you up soon. Get it together."

There it is—the traces of the man I know and resent. Wanting things done his way or the highway. I would have chosen the latter, but it doesn't seem to be an option now. I chose it before when I left home as a fresh-eyed eighteen-year-old.

Now, I'm back at square one, and there's no way out.

According to my dad, I'm meant to be a weredragon's mate, to have his children, and to probably be his slave. Having been enslaved to the brutalities of this world for so long, I don't see the dangers in the idea.

Except for the part where weredragons don't really exist.

I think my father has lost his marbles, and he's plotting my demise. Dropping my head in shame for my circumstances, the tears that had been pooling in my eyes flow uncontrollably. My heart sinks internally, feeling utterly defeated when my father leaves the room.

Sniffing when I'm alone, I lift my head to look around the living room. What was once a happy place for me is now just an empty shell of horror. It's been that way since Mama passed on, empty without a mother's love.

As empty as I felt for a very long time until I ran off to Charlottesville and found the love of my life in human form. When he left, I was forced to face the only truth that exists—that finding love within myself was more powerful than the absence of a mother.

Or a father whose absence followed my mother's death.

Though my thoughts are bitterly cold, a wave of warmth spreads around the room, enveloping me in imaginary arms. Startled, I search for the source of that warmth to no avail.

There's no one else in the room except for me. Suddenly, the chair I'm tied to levitates in the air, the presence of some powerful force evident from the heat surrounding me.

I want to scream, but no sound escapes me when I part my lips. My breath hitches in my throat, eyes flitting around to see how it's possible that the chair and my weight are being lifted like a feather. A million thoughts race in my mind.

Maybe my dad wasn't all that crazy.

Maybe he's being haunted by something that's caused him to lose his mind and make up a crazy story about weredragons.

Except, a malevolent spirit would be cold. Whatever this is feels warm. Safe, even.

When I look up, its face suddenly emerges out of nowhere.

The sharp snout with a flat nose and the slitted eyes are frightening. Not because its warmth is gone. But because the blue depths reel me in with the daunting realization that weredragons do exist.

"What?!" I exclaim, the weredragon's eyes fixed on mine as it whimpers before carrying me higher with scaly ivory arms.

I can't get past the fact that this is real. I want to pinch myself, but my arms are tied behind me to the chair. My breath hitches again, this time when the weredragon flaps its webbed wings, the crystalized spikes matching its eyes on the tips glowing with the rhythm of the movement.

Somehow, we can pass through the living room ceiling, soaring out over the roof of my dad's house without touching a single tile. It goes against the laws of physics, but so does the existence of this creature.

What's more frightening is that I'm not afraid. Not the way I should be. We're hovering over the house, high enough for bones to rapture if I fell from up here. Yet, I feel safe in the weredragon's arms. Safer than I felt with Dad. Maybe it's because I just wanted to run away again, and this is the highway to that.

When dexterous, scaly fingers nimbly rip the chair out from under me, I feel a wave of panicked slumber wash over me. Succumbing to the overwhelming feeling of everything I've been through today, my eyes loll to the back of my head, and darkness washes over me.

***

Gasping for air, my eyes spring open, and I'm met with the crystalline sight of the blue sky. Instinct kicks in, and I wrestle against my rubbery constraints until I sigh defeatedly. The weredragon's arms are too strong, holding me tightly to its armored chest.

I take a deep breath to compose myself, breathing in the crisp scent of the air above the clouds. When I finally have the gall to look up at the dragon, his eyes meet mine, and again, I'm momentarily hypnotized while my breath is stolen.

He's almost too beautiful to be real but still frightening because of his magnificent size and radiating power. Lost in his eyes, I no longer need to escape him. I feel strangely protected, as if I'm meant to be right here.

I do believe in coincidences orchestrated by the higher powers. Perhaps that's why I'd been saved from my father. But then again, the fear of the unknown lingers. What does the weredragon really want? Was my dad right when he said the weredragon wanted me to be his mate? Or was it just another lie?

Tearing my gaze away, I can't help but wonder if my life is really in danger. I can settle for having the weredragons babies, even if I'm unfamiliar with the logistics behind it. If it saves my father's life, then sure. I just wish Dad hadn't tricked me. He should have given me time to wrap my head around the revelations and allowed me to decide. But if his life was in danger, he probably didn't have time.

It's not like any of it matters, anyway. I'm here now, in the arms of the dragon who makes me feel safe. Maybe it's because I've been let down by humans so many times in the past that a preternatural being feels easy to trust. To feel safe around. If he decided to let go, I'd plunder somewhere outside the continent, my body splattering out of recognition.

It seems highly impossible that the weredragon would do that. Not with his arms wound so tightly around my frame, cradling me like a baby to his chest. Suddenly, I'm eager to see him shift to his human form. But my excitement bubbles to the surface when we fly through the air and enter an island that magically appears beneath us.

Wow! I gasped in awe; the bright colors all around were so vivid and rich. Unlike the world I know, this one is picturesque, the kind of deep shades that only exist in dreams and paintings. Appearing untainted by global warming and pollution, the grass is greener, each blade glimmering as it sways in the warm wind.

Even from up here, the extraordinary health of the land is evident from the fullness of fruit-bearing trees and flowers spreading the fields in their bright shades of pastels. Along the coast, the waves crash marvelously on the shore, and the beach sand is so white that it's almost unreal. A tropical forest frames one side of the island, the row of trees tapering toward the mountainous area.

The dragon's breathing in my eardrums becomes faint as I train on the sounds of nature greeting us as we fly forward. The chirping of birds, the crashing of waves, the gush of water cascading from the waterfall in the valley. It's almost as if I've walked into a fairytale—or flown into one. As we fly toward a stoned building, the air in my lungs is stolen again. This time, because the building is the tallest one on the island, bigger than any mansion I've ever seen with my own eyes.

It's more like a castle, with dark cedar wood oak balconies littered across most of the top. It's one of those balconies we're headed for, the dragon slowing down as we near the castle.

He uses his wings to keep us hovering above the balcony, his grip on me loosening before he lifts me over the rails. Surprisingly, he's gentle as he allows me to get to my feet. When I'm safely on the ground, the dragon turns its head and makes to leave.

I rush forward, gripping the rails and leaning over. "Wait! Don't go!" I call out, wondering if he can understand me in his dragon form.

It appears he does when he pauses, turning his magnificent head to face me, his eyes meeting mine. It's only now that I see how rich his cobalt blue eyes are, circled by a ring of ivory that glimmers.

The dragon's slitted eyes appear sad, the scales on its forehead wrinkling as if it's frowning. He drops his gaze, almost as if in shame. I'm not sure.

"Wh—who are you?" I whisper gently. I'm sure my life isn't in danger, and now curiosity has gotten the best of me. "I mean… Are you really a weredragon?"

The dragon's eyes lift again as he nods his head.

"Okay…" I digest this before taking a deep breath. "That means you have a human form too, right?"

The dragon seems to hesitate before nodding reluctantly. That same spark of excitement from before ignites inside me again. If I'm meant to be his mate, I'd like to know what he looks like in human form. I doubt the mating thing means it's done while he's at least ten times my size.

Unless…

No! That's absurd!

Stifling my amusement when the thought crosses my mind, I say, "Show me."

Again, I'm met with reluctance when the dragon hangs his head. Though he's the stronger creature between the two of us, I feel more courageous in this moment. With everything I've learned today, the protection he's offered in our short time together makes me trust him.

I definitely trust him more than my father. I trust him more than the man who broke my heart. Perhaps I'm not fully healed from what the two men in my life did to me. Dad's ruthlessness while I was growing up was understandable in some ways. But the man I fell in love with—Felix—his betrayal never made sense to me.

It could be the remnants of that trauma that draws me toward the dragon. Human men aren't capable of love. On the other hand, a dragon man could just turn out to be the Prince Charming I wasn't looking for.

I learned that miracles can happen when you least expect them. I was doing fine on my own, but now I feel like a princess in a castle, about to meet her prince.

Except, the weredragon prince refuses to show his human form with a shake of his head. Frowning fiercely, I take a stance against him, standing taller and gripping the rails firmly.

"Listen here, dragon man…" I say sternly. "... I get that I'm supposed to be your mate. But my whole life has just been uprooted. All I ask for in exchange is your cooperation."

The dragon sighs, his warm breath fanning my face as he comes closer. The peaked shoulders of his large form droop sullenly, and he appears as despondent as a dragon could be.

I didn't think it was possible, but I actually pity the dragon. Could it be that he's so horrible-looking? I can't imagine how a creature so stunning could be a stark contrast in human form.

Curiosity wins over as I step back to clear space for him. He avidly avoids making eye contact with me. I maintain my composure, waiting with bated breath as the dragon glides over the rails and closes his reptilian eyes.

His scales ripple over his arms and disappear, leaving behind creamy golden skin on bulging forearms just as his claws retract into human fingers. His armored chest folds in, replaced by a broad human chest clothed in a black t-shirt. I gulp, eyes fixed on how tautly the cotton fabric pulls against his muscles, pectorals so heavily defined, he might just burst out of his clothing.

When his feet touch the ground in sneakers, my eyes travel up his muscular thighs, heat rushing through me when I notice the prominent bulge at the apex. My jaw drops, his body so well-defined that it barely leaves much to the imagination. He's a walking Adonis, and I eagerly anticipate seeing what treasures his face possesses as my gaze travels further upward.

His wings close in behind him, disappearing at his back while his face shifts. My heart races with my anticipation, watching as platinum blonde waves erupt from the top of his head. They lengthen out until the tips touch his ears, cascading around his face like a frame. When his face morphs completely and all that's left standing in front of me is a human man, I feel the blood rushing from every nerve ending as horror takes over.

His blue eyes meet mine, and I forget how to breathe altogether.

It can't be…

I refuse to believe it…

Yet, he's standing right in front of me, as real as he was seven years ago.

That's how long it's been since I last saw Felix.

It all comes back in a split second. The memories, the joys, the unforgiving heartbreak he'd caused me.

I open my mouth to say his name as soon as I remember to breathe, but nothing escapes my lips. My throat feels dry, the life sucked out from me by the past I thought I had tucked away for good.

"Sierra…" he whimpers softly, taking a step toward me.

Reminded of all the pain as the floodgates of the past part to unleash their terror on me, I take a step back on feet that feel foreign. My quivering knees can barely hold me upright, my ankles caving beneath me. I fall hideously on my rear, my unsteady heartbeat threatening to beat out of my chest.

"N-no!" I bellow, lifting a hand in midair when he attempts to come forward and help me. "Leave me alone!"

"Sierra, I—"

"Please!" I plead, unwilling to hear his voice again when it took me forever to drain it out of my system. I can't bear it—any of it. Seeing Felix again, learning that he wasn't the man I thought he was.

Scrambling to my feet, it's a highway I need again. A way out. I rush through the parted sliding doors in front of me, pulling it shut and throwing myself behind the wall. This way, I can't see him. This way, he can't see me.

He has no right, not after what he did to me.

Sinking to the floor, I hug my knees to my chest as the pain rears its ugly head and crashes into me all over again. Memories of the times I spent with Felix come back, the heartbreak of his abandonment fueling the sob that escapes me.