Chapter 7
Harlow
The dragon’s claws tighten around me as we crash through the jungle canopy. I scream, squeezing my eyes shut. Branches snap like twigs, leaves and debris raining down as we descend through the thick green foliage.
We hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud that knocks the breath from my lungs. The beast’s grip loosens, and I’m dropped onto the jungle floor, landing hard on my ass.
“Ow!” I yell. It takes me a few seconds to take stock. I don’t think I’m badly injured, but that could be adrenaline masking the pain. I lift myself up onto my elbows.
Then I look up.
And up.
And up.
Holy shit.
The dragon towers above me. This is beyond anything I could have imagined.
I have to crane my neck just to see his head, and even then, I feel like I’m only seeing part of him.
He’s gi-freaking-normous. His scales shimmer in the filtered sunlight, a gorgeous copper color that catches the light like polished metal.
But it’s his eyes that steal my breath. They’re a vivid blue, with pupils that are vertical slits.
If I weren’t terrified, I might actually find him beautiful. From the impressive horns jutting from his neck and head to the sharp spikes running down his tail, he’s magnificent. His great wings are folded against his sides.
Then my gaze drifts to his mouth, and my blood runs cold.
Holy crapballs.
It’s more of a maw than a mouth, filled with razor-sharp fangs that could tear me apart without effort. Smoke curls from his nostrils, reminding me that dragons breathe fire. That this creature could incinerate me in seconds if he wanted to.
I force myself to breathe more slowly.
His gaze is fixed directly on me, unblinking and intense.
My heart beats hard against my ribs as I scramble to sit up properly, brushing dirt from my hands.
“Please don’t hurt me,” I say, my voice a hoarse whisper. I clear my throat and try again, louder this time. “Maybe we can be friends? I mean, you seem nice enough. You did save me, after all. I’m nice, too; I promise.”
The dragon cocks his massive head to one side, his eyes narrowing as he studies me. He doesn’t look impressed by my attempt at making friends.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Think, Harlow. What calms animals?
“My neighbor has a dog,” I continue, my voice shaking. “He likes it when I scratch him behind his ears. I could scratch you…um…” I look up at the dragon’s head, searching. “I don’t see any ears. But those horn things look nice. I could scratch you behind those? Can you understand me?”
Yes.
The word echoes clearly in my mind, and I blink in surprise. Did I imagine that?
“Oh, good,” I say automatically, then frown as what just happened sinks in. “Wait. Did you speak to me? In my head?”
The dragon looks…confused? Can a dragon look confused? This one definitely does, his great head tilting further to the side.
“Did you just…did you…um…talk to me?” I ask again, more slowly this time. I carefully get to my feet, moving slowly and deliberately. “The last thing I want to do is spook a fire-breathing dragon,” I mutter to myself.
You can’t spook me.
He grunts, looking agitated. More smoke wafts from his nostrils.
Then it registers: I heard the words in my mind again, clear as day. I clasp my chest with one hand as panic rises.
“You’re talking to me. What the hell!?” I take an involuntary step backward.
The dragon looks even more confused now, his eyes narrowing to slits.
“Did you just speak inside my head? If so, please stop; I don’t like it,” I tell the dragon, praying he doesn’t incinerate me. He looks angry.
And then, before my eyes, the impossible happens.
The dragon begins to fold in on himself, scales melting away, wings retracting, his huge form shrinking down and down until…
Drake is standing in front of me.
A very naked Drake.
Wait a minute! Drake!
I make a weird choking noise in the back of my throat, my brain short-circuiting as I try to process what I just witnessed. For several long moments, I can’t speak, can’t move, can’t do anything but stare in awe.
Then my brain comes back online, and I realize I’m staring at the naked Academy leader.
And he’s gorgeous.
My eyes start at his feet and travel up his solid, muscular thighs.
Then I hit his man-bits. But “bit” is definitely not an accurate description; his you-know-what is too large to be called a bit.
I quickly jerk my gaze upward to his tight abs, and the defined “V” that disappears— Nope, not going there again.
His chest is broad, shoulders impossibly wide, all of it covered in those tattoos that seem to shift and move in the dappled sunlight.
His eyes – the same-colored eyes as the dragon – are blazing as they lock onto mine.
“What the hell have you done?” he growls, his voice rough with anger.
Fear rushes through me at his tone, and every instinct screams at me to move away, to put distance between myself and this furious man. But I force myself to stand my ground, to hold his burning gaze.
“What just happened?” I ask, my voice higher-pitched than normal. “What the hell just happened?”
“You fell and I saved you,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Not that part!” I snap. “The part where you turned from a dragon into a human. That’s not normal! That’s not… That doesn’t…”
I’m breathing heavily now, the full weight of what I just witnessed finally sinking in. Dragons can turn into people. People can turn into dragons. The world as I know it has just been turned completely upside down.
“I’m a dragon shifter,” Drake says. “All the trainers are shifters. All the dragons on this island are shifters. You would have found that out before attempting to bond with one. All of you would have. But you had to go and fall,” he barks, still angry with me.
“You’re saying it like I fell on purpose.
I didn’t! This is insane,” I tell him, shaking my head.
“This is absolutely insane. Dragon shifters? That’s…
it’s not real. That’s fairy tale nonsense and fantasy novels.
That’s not… It can’t be real life…” As I say it, I know I’m being an idiot. I saw it with my own eyes.
“It’s all true,” he says in a monotone.
“Of course it’s true!” I snap back. “I just witnessed it. But that doesn’t make it any less insane! Or difficult for me to process.”
I pace a few steps, tugging on my ponytail and chewing on my lower lip as I try to calm myself down. Panic won’t help anything right now. I need to think, need to process this rationally.
“What was that voice inside my head?” I ask, turning back to face him. “Was that you…him…it? The drag—”
Drake swears and starts pacing. His entire body is tense, agitated, like a caged animal ready to strike. His muscles bulge.
I try very hard not to notice how amazing he looks naked, but it’s impossible. All those muscles and naked skin. His ass is a thing of sheer beauty.
I have to force myself not to stare, even though he doesn’t seem to care.
“What was the voice?” I ask again when he doesn’t answer.
“It was me,” he barks.
“You?” I frown. “Oh, shit.” I clap a hand over my mouth for a moment, my eyes going wide. “The dragon…you…we…um… We bonded, didn’t we? I just bonded with your dragon, didn’t I?” I drop my hand, pointing at him accusingly. “It was the offer to scratch you behind the ear that did it, wasn’t it?”
“No, it absolutely was not,” he growls. Drake looks genuinely upset now, his face contorting with what looks like barely controlled rage. “This is a nightmare. This is the absolute last thing I wanted or needed.”
He starts pacing again, and I can’t help but notice how the muscles in his ass flex with each step. I picture myself grabbing onto his meaty ass while he— No! I really need to get a grip.
“Why the hell did you have to fall?” he demands, whirling to face me.
“I already told you I didn’t do it on purpose!” I snap back, anger flaring to match his. “And for the record, I don’t like that I bonded with you either. I want to go home. I don’t want to stay on this stupid island.”
“Well, I don’t want you here. I fucking hate that we bonded,” he snarls.
“You know what?” I yell.
“What?” he snarls back.
“I liked you better as a dragon! I would prefer it if you shifted back.”
For just a moment, his mouth twitches like he might actually smile, but the expression is gone so fast I’m sure I imagined it. He’s too wound up, too tense, too much of an asshole to find anything amusing right now.
“I’m not shifting back,” he grumbles. “I’m not permitted to shift. We might have accidentally mind-bonded, but you are not a trained rider. That means that I would pose a threat to you and others in my dragon form.”
“No, you would not.” I wave a hand at him.
“Yes, I would, Harlow. It doesn’t matter what either of us thinks. It would be against the rules. Since I’ve broken too many of those today already, I’m going to stick with not shifting. It is the safer course of action.”
“What now, then?” I ask. “What are we going to do? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“We have to hike back,” he says. “Hopefully, we’ll get picked up along the way, but that isn’t a guarantee.” He shrugs.
My mouth falls open. “How far are we from the Academy?”
“At least a day’s hike. Chances are we’ll have to sleep in the jungle tonight.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You mean sleep…out here…in the open? I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” he asks. “You’ve been training for months. You can make it. It won’t be as bad as you think.”
“I know I can make it,” I shoot back, folding my arms across my chest. “What I don’t know is if I can survive that long out here with you.” I try to stand tall.
His eyes drop to my chest for just a second or two before snapping back to my face.
Wait. Was he just looking at my breasts?
Surely not. Can’t be. Naaahhh.
His jaw tightens, and his eyes turn dark and stormy as his gaze locks with mine.
“I’m all that stands between you and the creatures in this jungle. Keep up with me and keep quiet, and we’ll be just fine.”
“And if I don’t?” I ask, not sure why I’m goading him, but unable to stop myself.
“I’ll leave you behind, Tribute,” he says with a dangerous smile. “Or I might just eat you myself.”
“Sounds like fun,” I say and wink at him.
Oh, shit. I’m flirting with him. Why? Oh, why? Abort! Abort!
“Don’t,” he warns, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl.
“Or what?” I challenge, apparently having lost all sense of self-preservation. “I already know you won’t leave me to die because you saved me once already today.”
“A decision I’m regretting, I assure you,” he says in a low rasp.
Then the big asshole starts walking away at a pace that has me scrambling to catch up.