Savage Dragon’s Virgin Mate (Alpha Dragon Kings of Silver Peaks #2)

CHAPTER 1

Jakob

The mountains should have been quiet.

They usually were at this altitude. With all the stone and snow, the only thing that should have broken the silence was the sound of the lonely gales of wind that echoed through the peaks.

Jakob normally chose this hike for that very reason.

The area was remote and cold. Empty of the voices always directed at him.

No courtiers, no advisors, no townspeople with problems they wanted their king to fix.

There was only space to breathe in his human skin and let his dragon lie half-asleep beneath it.

But this morning, there was something off. Something that made his mind alert instead of quiet.

He moved along the ridge at an easy pace as he searched for the source of his unease.

His boots crunched through the crusty snow before he stopped to take a long look around.

The winter sky had a pale, washed-out blue, and the sun was muted over the jagged white peaks that jutted upwards in the distance.

Pine trees perched precariously on the slopes below with their dark green needles heavy with freshly fallen snow.

The air smelled clean and pure while snowflakes floated every which way.

It should have been absolute perfection.

Jakob tilted his head and listened to the wind. Even as he scanned the landscape for whatever bothered him, he still felt the peace settle around him that he normally experienced.

With a sigh, he turned to continue his search but froze mid-step when something suddenly cut through his senses like a blade.

Fear.

Sharp and sudden, it felt more like terror. His dragon surged awake instantly and heat flared in his chest. His muscles coiled as if preparing to launch skyward. Before Jakob could even process the feeling, his instincts had already seized control and hauled his attention downslope.

A sound quickly followed. Thin and raw, a startled cry that echoed off the cliffs and vanished into the open air.

Jakob swore under his breath and broke into a sprint.

Snow plumed around his boots as he tore along the ridge. He vaulted over a fallen pine and skidded around a jagged outcrop of stone. His lungs burned, but he barely noticed. The dragon pressed hard against his ribs, a constant, urgent push.

Protect. Protect. Protect.

He rounded the cliff and saw her.

A woman hung by both hands from a narrow, icy ledge several feet below the trail.

Her fingers were white with strain, knuckles locked tight around a thin shelf of rock glazed with ice.

Her boots scraped uselessly against the cliff face and dislodged small pebbles that clicked and skittered into the abyss below.

“Oh God—oh God—” she gasped, her voice breaking as her foot slipped again.

Jakob didn’t think.

He dropped to his knees and slid toward the edge. He dug his boots into the snow to stop himself just short of the drop.

“Hey,” he barked, sharp and commanding. “Look at me. Hold on.”

She jerked her head up.

Her eyes were wide with terror. Shades of blue and gray reflected the light even now in a moment of fear. Wind whipped strands of dark hair loose from her braid and slapped them against her cheek. Her breath came in frantic bursts, accompanied by a whimper that Jakob knew would haunt him.

“I—I can’t—” Her fingers slipped a fraction. She cried out. “I’m slipping!”

“I’ve got you,” Jakob said in a low, calm voice. “You hear me? I’ve got you.”

Jakob stretched out over the edge with one hand braced on the rock and the other reaching down. “What’s your name?” He needed her to calm down. Maybe small talk would work.

“Mal…Mallory.”

“Just Mallory?” He positioned himself the best he could.

“MacDougal,” she replied in a voice no more than a squeak. “Don’t let me fall.”

“That’s my plan.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Let go,” he ordered. “Now.”

Her gaze flicked to the drop beneath her, panic flaring anew. “I can’t—”

“You can.” His tone brooked no argument. “Trust me.”

For a heartbeat, she hesitated.

Then her numb fingers gave out.

Her eyes widened at the sudden release..

Jakob caught her around the wrist as his chest slammed into the ground from the sudden weight he held. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, but he kept his iron-tight grip. He grunted and his boots slid inches toward the edge, but his dragon surged and lent him impossible strength.

With one smooth, brutal pull, Jakob hauled her up and away from the cliff. They both rolled backwards onto solid ground and she landed half on top of him.

They lay there for a second, tangled in snow and breath and shock.

Her hands were fisted in his coat with her knuckles pressed hard against his chest as if she wasn’t entirely convinced gravity had let go of her yet. Her body trembled and fine shivers ran through her despite the thick layers she wore. She clung to him like she would never let go.

Jakob pushed up on one elbow. “Easy,” he murmured. “You’re safe.”

She sucked in a shaky breath and looked up at him.

Too close.

Close enough that he could see the tiny freckles dusting the bridge of her nose and the faint redness at the tip from the cold. Close enough to feel her heartbeat flutter fast and wild against his ribs.

Something inside him ignited.

Heat unfurled low in his core and rolled up his spine. Jakob swallowed hard, forcing it down.

“Are you hurt?” he asked as he searched her face.

She blinked, as if coming back into herself. Slowly, she shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.” Her voice wavered, then steadied. “Just… scared.”

“That makes sense,” he said quietly.

A breathless laugh escaped her. “You’re telling me.”

He helped her sit up and kept a hand at her back until she was steady. She didn’t pull away. Didn’t even seem to notice his touch.

“Thank you,” she said, finally. “I mean, seriously. You just… came out of nowhere.”

Jakob huffed a soft, humorless breath. “I was nearby.”

An understatement that bordered on a lie. His senses had dragged him here like a hook under his ribs.

Before she could respond, voices drifted up the trail, carried on the wind.

“Mallory?” a woman called. “Mal! Where are you?”

Another voice, higher. “Maaa-lllllorrrr-eeeeeee!”

She looked startled and twisted toward the sound. “I’m here!” she called back, then winced and looked at Jakob. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“It’s fine,” he said.

She rose to her feet and tested them. He watched closely, ready to catch her again if she so much as swayed. She didn’t, but she didn’t step away from him either.

“Your friends?” Jakob asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“Yeah, Brooke and Violet.” She hesitated and glanced between him and the trail. “We were hiking. I got a little ahead. Guess I wasn’t watching my footing.”

Jakob’s jaw tightened. “You should be more careful near the cliffs,” he said, softer now. “They’re unpredictable.”

Her cheeks flushed pink beneath the cold. “I’ll remember that.” She smiled and the sight of it hit him harder than the mountain wind.

The voices were closer now, crunching footsteps audible through the snow.

Mallory turned fully toward the trail this time, then paused and looked back at him. “Are you coming?”

He gestured with his head. “I’m heading that way.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

Jakob hesitated. Names had weight. Power.

“Jakob,” he said finally.

“I’m Mallory, again. I guess I already told you that.” She held his gaze a second longer and something unspoken passed between them. “Do you, uh, want to meet my friends?”

He shook his head. “Not to be rude, but I’m up here for a little peace and quiet.”

She tried to smile, but he could see the disappointment in her eyes. “I get that. Well, thank you again, Jakob. You saved my life.”

The dragon stirred, pleased and possessive.

Mine.

Jakob clenched his teeth. “Take care,” he said instead.

Her friends appeared around the bend moments later, relief written all over their faces. Mallory hurried toward them, answering questions and waving off concern. Once, just once, she glanced back over her shoulder but he had already walked off to put some distance between them.

Their eyes met and he felt a stir, unwelcome as it may be. His dragon, however, grunted with pleasure.

Then she was gone, swallowed by voices and distance as they took the winding trail down the mountain.

Jakob stood there long after the sound faded, until the cold finally seeped through his coat. He pressed a hand to his chest, where heat still thrummed, restless and alive.

The dragon rumbled deep inside him, satisfied.

Mine.

Jakob scowled at the empty trail. “No,” he muttered. “Absolutely not.”

But the spark in his heart only burned hotter, already certain of the truth.