The Selection: Bride Of The Dark Dragon

DEMIR

I excused myself early from the meeting that wasn’t going anywhere. No matter how much we pushed, the White Archipelago folk wasn’t going to give us Lara. And even though I was sure that her so-called brother would be resistant from the very beginning, I was surprised by the fact that their leader Marten was of the same opinion.

But why? Lara told me that she was some kind of an outcast here once. And I thought that they wouldn’t care if I asked for her hand in marriage in exchange for a peace treaty. A big miscalculation on my part…

Even though everyone seemed shocked when her brother announced that they were getting married, Keatar got over himself pretty quickly and was more for them being together than for her going to the Gerdian Empire with me. And I start to believe that everything is not that simple with my Angel…

Lara… I couldn’t imagine what she felt the moment her brother informed everyone that they were engaged. She seemed as shocked as I was. Maybe even more. Because at least I was suspecting something.

And I didn’t know what this guy was thinking. Even though they weren’t b***d-related, her love for him was that of a sibling and nothing more than that. She’d never accepted him as a husband. It would break her heart. And if he doesn’t see that – he is an i***t. But if he does – he is a monster!

We tried to reason with them at first and then we tried to threaten them. After all, we could afford to destroy them within a day and it was a very kind offer from our side. Considering we could just take what we wanted and be done with it. I even offered them money, but the damn brother seemed reluctant.

And when he hit his fist on the table and shouted that he was going to marry her tonight if he had to, I knew that negotiations were over. My dragon roamed inside of me asking for b***d. Because since the moment we kissed her, we knew that she was ours. The soulmate that we didn’t even hope to find after hundreds of years. I was already sure that it wasn’t written in the stars for me. Some dragons were born to live a happy family life, some were born to fight and I… I was born to rule an Empire. My advisors stopped looking for an empress for me a long time ago. I couldn’t attach to any woman and I didn’t want to tolerate them near me for longer than it was necessary. I always had lovers. As in multiple lovers. So that they all knew one thing for sure – none of them were my favourites and couldn’t count on anything more than occasional pleasure and the gifts they were getting for it. For the best ones, I could even throw a title into the mix. But all of them knew that I would never call them my Queen. That required choosing a special type of women – calculating social climbers who knew how to keep their mouths shut.

When I was younger, I tried being with all types of girls. But not everyone could be suitable to sleep with a Prince and then Emperor. Some were getting all those ideas in their heads and it always ended badly. After yet another murder in my name, I had to stop it.

It didn’t bother me that I never found my soulmate. Even when most of my brothers and sisters were finding theirs. I was happy for them but that was about it. Our paths were different. My life was different.

Only my parents smiled when I told them that it was for the best that I was alone. As if they knew something that I didn’t. And now I am starting to understand what it was.

The moment I met Lara she felt so not like everybody else. I had a perfect explanation, of course. She bathed in my b***d and gave some of hers to me unknowingly. But I shared b***d before. In battle, I had to share b***d with men and women. And although it always helped to build some kind of bond, it never had such an effect on me!

Lara attracted me more than anyone else and for some time I could be in denial about it. When I went to the White Archipelago, my aim was to simply sleep with her and get her out of my head. But somehow deep inside I knew that it wouldn’t work. And also, I enjoyed playing with her. More than I should have.

So, I came back again. With a plan to spend more time with her and check everything. But that one k**s changed everything… Everything fell into places the moment our lips touched and I felt her body against mine. She was my soulmate! Mine! And mine only! And from that moment getting her for myself became my first priority.

And now, with everything that was going on I needed to get her out of the White Archipelago. And I needed to do that fast. I couldn’t let this Gideon guy have her. If he touched her I could kill him of course. But because she is mine, my first instinct is to protect her from pain. And it would break her to become her brother’s woman. She is too innocent to comprehend the way he looks at her…

No, that wasn’t going to happen! Not on my watch!

I ordered Ryker to stall for time and transport as soon as I order them to. I also told him to be ready to fight if the need arose. And then I excused myself since they all thought that Ryker was the one in charge.

Her scent told me at once that she was already back in her house and I wasted no time. The dragon urged me to get her and I obeyed. Although who was I kidding?! I wanted it even more than he did.

She was standing on the rails of her balcony, so small and glowing, spreading her wings and ready to fly. And I wanted to join her. However, when she saw me and fell back, it upset me. More than I could admit. So, when her “saviours” arrived, I was properly furious and ready to kill. And chaos knew that I would have done it! Only that she stopped me.

And then she flew away and I chased her. I knew very well what she was doing, distracting me from killing those boys… I hated that she was trying so hard to help them. None of them cared for her feelings back at the negotiations!

Yet she was moving in the right direction and I decided to indulge her. And when she realized that she trapped herself, all I had to do is to keep making her fly to my lands. Where she’d be safe.

Her strength wasn’t enough to complete the whole flight, so I grabbed her in my claws and took her over the mountains. When she lost conciseness, I landed to check if she was fine. I chose the most beautiful flower field for her. So, it would be soft and pretty around my angel. Shifting back into a human, I came closer and froze… Because my angel’s red locks were gone.

Before me lay a girl in the same silver dress from the feast, with the same long lashes and rosy lips, same birthmark on the right collarbone… But her hair was golden!

I swore under my breath seeing that. Sitting next to her, I was touching it, again and again, to check if I was dreaming and realizing that I wasn’t.

That stupid prophecy…I never even believed in it. And I didn’t think I believed in it now. But… the Palace was full of people who did. And who would stop at nothing to make sure that the Prophecy never came true.

What do I do now?

Her lips twitched as if she was about to wake up and I had to make her asleep again so that I had more time. I needed to think and weigh everything. I needed a plan.

So, I lifted her up and transported her to the castle through my dark flames. I chose a guest room not far from my bedroom. We rarely had guests here as it was my personal wing, so no one should be checking the room. But just in case I put two guards outside, prohibiting them to let anyone in. I ordered them to call me if they hear any noises from the inside and left.

Lara slept for almost a day but I still didn’t find a solution…

And when one of the guards appeared before me, shaking with fear, I knew Lara was in trouble!