The Draglen Brothers - DRAKEN (BK 1) (18 page)

“Princess, I-”

“Wait, are you getting married? Who
was that lady? What . . . I need to go home. You can have this
mess,” Princess says, but Layern sends me her true feelings and she
is really hurting, her heart is broken. She really does love
me.

“Yes, and no. I’m scheduled to be
married, but I’m cancelling it. I love you, Princess, and I want
you, I want you to choose me,” I say, begging. Who would have
thought I would be begging a human to choose me?

“I . . . choose you? I did choose you,
but you’re engaged, and you still have not said who that other
woman is. I guess cheating on me is what guys do. I give you my
heart and you do me like Travis. D told me it was too soon, not to
mention you are a dragon.”

“Please, Princess.”

“Are you holding me captive, or can I
go home? Don’t worry, it’s too embarrassing to say I fell in love
with a dragon man who is married and obviously has women on the
side. You disgust me,” she says, letting the tears roll down her
face. I look at my brothers. I will let her think she’s home,
creating a fake image when she leaves. I’m too hurt to get enough
power to do it. I need to go handle Ravla, and protest this
marriage. I will go visit Princess in her mind until it’s all
sorted out. I think the best thing, now, is to make her think she
is at home, and I’ll handle my world. If she chooses to leave me,
then I have to take the only option left to me, death.

“Okay, okay, you can go home.” I look
at Showken and he nods, letting me know it’s done. Now, when
Princess goes home, it will be the same, only it’s not real. She
rises very slowly and backs away from me, and I feel my heart being
ripped out. She’s still crying, and as soon as she leaves, I hear
her running out the door. I close my eyes and tears flow down. I
have never cried in my life. If I can’t have Princess, death is
what I want. I walk into my bedroom and pack all that I have,
opening the portal and leaving for home, never to
return.

***

Walking to my room, passing servants
who are bowing and speaking kind words, assures me of my being
home. I place my things in order and go to the garden, where I find
my mother in her favorite place in the castle.

“Queen Nala, Mother of Draglen
Descendants, permission to speak,” I ask, looking around my land
and seeing other dragons flying freely. Everything is so beautiful
and free, yet I feel ugly and trapped.

“My son, please come,” my mother opens
her arms and I walk into her arms for comfort. She holds me,
knowing the decision I have made, and I hear her sob.

“Mother, don’t cry,
please.”

“Just marry your wife to be, my son,
don’t do this, please. My heart will rip a thousand times.” I pull
back and see my mother’s face. She is beautiful. I can’t stop her
pain, because everything rests on Princess choosing me.

“My heart is ripping right now,
mother. I love her, and she may not want me because of what I am,
and if she can’t, I won’t live without her.”

“Bring her, then, son, I will accept
her. I can’t lose my son, the heir to this throne. The land will be
in chaos, making us vulnerable, it can subject us to other lands
trying to come and take ours.”

“I won’t force her; I will try to
convince her. I do have to decide on a punishment for Ravla, she
should never have showed up without my sending for her.”

“You do what you must to Ravla, just
remember, she is probably hurt, too. She has always loved you,” my
mother says, rubbing my hair. When she rubs my hair I feel so much
better, usually, but today, I feel worse.

“I will, mother.” I nod, and walk
across the garden, heading for the caves where Ravla waits for her
punishment. I am close when I see the sorrow birds following me. I
guess they sense my feelings. I get to the gate where Ravla is, and
I see her pacing. There are two of the guardians outside her gate.
She is frightened when she sees me coming. I will not show one
ounce of mercy with Ravla, she disobeyed the rules.

“Ravla, why did you come?” I ask,
folding my arms across my chest.

“Dra . . . Prince Draken, I was
concerned for your sexual needs. Plus I, I needed you, too. You
know I’m not allowed to touch another, being your
Giver.”

“YOUR NEEDS ARE NOT MY CONCERN, RAVLA!
YOU! ARE! A! GIVER! NOTHING MORE!” I yell, and feel the ground
shake. I see the sky clear from happy flyers to very frightened
dragons. I glance back at the guardians and they are nervous. I
forgot my voice makes people scared. Ravla starts backing up
against the wall, and her eyes are changing from human to dragon
form. I don’t give a fuck.

“You will stay here until I decide
your punishment, and you are not allowed to transform into your
dragon until I say, or that around your neck will choke you to
death before you can stretch your wings,” I say. I turn and walk
away. I hear her cries. I’m hurting, too. She will be let loose if
I die, anyway. I close my eyes, transforming into my beast, and
take off into the sky. Our sky changes colors every few seconds,
forming a great show all the time. I take my time sweeping the
land. My people are so happy, dancing and playing music. I fly past
a group of Youngs trying to learn how to fly high. Finally, I come
upon my father, on the cliff of Hulin. I land next to him and he is
in human form, yet I bow my head waiting to hear him
talk.

“Draken my son, heir to the throne,
why do you break my heart? You mother told you to end it with that
human, now you’re in love, you say. I’m glad you are in your true
form, but I don’t want to hear you speak. I’m angry, because you
are choosing her over your family. She should not be this
important, son, only if . . . is she the Key?” I nod, meeting my
father’s gaze. I know he understands. A Key is rare, and only a few
have ever found one, but it’s when a dragon shifter’s true love is
human. It has to happen to keep the portal open to travel back and
forth. The human can then be allowed into the land. “Who else knows
this? Oh, you’re in dragon form, shift.” I quickly shift into
human, getting ready to do an official introduction, but my father
stops me.

“Draken, speak freely.”

“Well, Father, yes, I think she is my
Key, I can’t live without her. I can sense her even in our land. I
miss her now, and want her so badly. I want her with me every
night. I won’t live without her.”

“I won’t ask you to. You need to
convince her, son. I don’t want to lose you, and I’m sure your
brothers will not be happy, as it will involve them.”

“I will do my best, Father. I just
don’t know where to start.”

“She is a woman, son. Do what any
beast, man, or other would do. Agree with whatever she wants, say
yes to whatever she wants, and most of all, make sure she can’t
walk when you’re done pleasing her.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’m going to go lie in
my bed and go see my Princess in her mind. I need to comfort her, I
can feel her tears and I hate that I’m the cause of it. I just hope
she will be able to look past me being a dragon,” I say.

“I hope for your sake she does, too.”
I vanish, ending up lying on my bed. I close my eyes, going to
comfort my Princess. I feel her pain as I get close.

I find her in bed, crying. I call her
name, “Princess.”

“Draken?”

“Yes, Princess, talk to me, tell me
what you are thinking.”

“How are you communicating with
me?”

“I can communicate with you because
I’m connected to you.”

“So you’re not really
here?”

“Princess, I’m here for you,
always.”

“I mean you’re in my head, right?” She
is making this so hard. She has curled her body into a fetal
position, I don’t want to scare her, but here it goes. I want her
to feel me. I slide into her bed. In her mind I’m really in her
room, it’s just another advantage. I get right behind her, placing
my hand on her waist. “Draken,” she cries harder.

“Princess, yes, I’m here. I’m sorry
you are hurting, but I’m not sorry for loving you. I need you,
Princess, please, come share my world with me.”

“Draken, I love you, but you lied.
You’re getting married, and most important, you’re a dragon.” I
move in close, getting right up to her ear.

“I never lied, Princess, and I’m not
marrying anybody if it can’t be you.”

“Draken, just leave and go have your
life, I will never be the same.”

“Why?”

“How could I fall for a guy who loves
another?”

“Princess, I love you, and no-one
else. That bride was chosen for me before I could fly.” She tries
to turn, but I hold her tighter. I want her every night.

“So, you’re a dragon?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Can you shoot fire from your mouth?”
I hope she gets all her questions out. Many things about my people
are myths. We live in harmony among one another.

“Yes, I can shoot fire from my mouth,
hands, eyes, and if I get really angry, my entire body can become
fire without burning.” I feel her tense up as I’m talking. I have
to assure her I would never harm her. “I don’t have to use those
abilities most of the time. Because I’m a prince, most of the time
I’m working to ensure peace in our land. We don’t fight, only with
other lands, never among each other. Except me and my brothers, we
fight sometimes.” I say. I want to be inside her so badly, but I
can’t, she needs to know me.

“Draken, how can this be, you being a
dragon? I mean, I was taught you are bad, evil and ugly. I don’t
know how this will work. My family is not going to want me with a
dragon. Where is your land? Do you live here on earth?” My father’s
words come back into my thoughts, and I don’t hold back.

“My land is called Cortamagen, and
it’s in another realm, very far from Earth. We use a portal to
travel back and forth. We come to Earth because we do business
here, and one myth is right, we like treasure, so we are always
hunting for it. I’m not evil at all, Princess, I’m in love, with
you,” I say, placing a feather kiss on her shoulder. I feel her
shiver. She still wants me.

“Draken, please.”

“Please, what?”

“I can’t do this with you.” It feels
like I’m being stabbed over and over, in the same wound. I close my
eyes. I know she wants me. It’s her ideas of dragons that have her
mind all crazy.

“Draken, the dream, was that
you?”

“Yes, that was me.”

“So, that is you, the
dragon.”

“Yes, that’s my other, my beast, and
he loves you, too.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I know this is all
new and you need time.” I swallow hard, wanting her so badly it is
killing me.

“Who is that woman?”

“A jealous woman I used to sleep
with.”

“You mean have sex, right?”

“Yes, that is what we did, but it was
more like passing time. It meant nothing to me.” This is not
turning out good. She asking about Ravla, I swear if I die so will
Ravla. I will not let her live if she is the cause of my losing
Princess.

“She’s very pretty, why don’t you want
her?”

“Fuck her. She’s nothing compared to
you. You’re the most beautiful woman I know, and I love you,” I
say, wishing I could just go this very moment and choke the shit
out of Ravla. I thought she had more class than to do what she did,
but I guess not.

“Draken, I can’t be with you, this is
why I’m hurting so bad. I love you and you’re not even human. I
can’t travel back and forth to different realms, I mean, what do I
tell my parents about me being gone and they can’t call? If I was
to be with you, what if I get pregnant? I mean, can you even get me
pregnant?” These questions are driving me crazy, but she’s my Key,
and if my father is right, then I just keep her talking until I can
get her to come home with me.

“You would always be able to
communicate with your parents and your brother. Others, I’m not
sure. I could find out, though. As for children, I want to have
lots of babies with you. I’ve done my research, they would be like
me, shifters, my gene would overpower yours.”

“What? Draken.” I begin rubbing her
hip, slowly, in a circle. She moans “Ah, mmm.”

“Princess, I want you in my life, I
need you in my life, I can’t have one without you, and I refuse a
life without you.” I smell her arousal, and now I’m as hard as a
rock.

“Draken, I have to think. This is
really hard for me. I don’t know what to think right now, and you
touching me is making me lose my logic.”

“I want you to stop trying to convince
yourself, Princess. I love you, please, say you love me,
too.”

“I do love you, Draken, but I’m not
sure who you are, or if this is some sick trick that is being
played on me. I want you, in this world. I would not fit in your
world. I’m just me, not anything special.”

“You will be if you say
yes.”

“What does that mean? I’ll become a
dragon?”

“No, that is a birthright, but I will
share myself with you, which gives you more than some dragons,” I
say, wanting to show her, but I can’t until she is mine.