Draft Day Reckoning

They let a dragon back into the league. After everything.

I stood in the middle of the Obsidian Dome press pit, lights burning down on me like judgment, and my blood was already boiling. Four hundred years of blood and ash, and they just opened the cage.

"Jax, you good?" Jake Hart asked, clapping a hand on my shoulder. His voice was low, careful. He knew me too well.

I didn't look at him. My eyes stayed locked on the stage where the commissioner was about to make the worst decision in league history. "No. I'm not good. They're about to spit in the face of every pack that lost someone."

Jake shifted beside me, his own wolf close to the surface. "You knew this was coming. Rumors have been swirling for months."

"Rumors aren't the same as watching it happen." My jaw clenched so hard it ached. "Dragons don't belong here. Not after what they did."

A reporter shoved a mic toward my face before I could finish. "Captain Cole! Any comment on the possibility of Jude Stone being drafted tonight? First dragon in centuries. Historic moment."

I stared straight into the camera, letting my eyes flash gold for a second. Let them see the Alpha. Let them feel it. "Historic? Try catastrophic. Some history deserves to stay buried. If they put a dragon on any field I'm playing, blood's gonna spill. That's not a threat. That's a promise."

The reporter's eyes widened but she pushed anyway. "Strong words. Some fans are calling this progress."

"Progress?" I laughed, bitter and sharp. "Progress is forgetting what those scaled bastards did to my grandfather's entire pack. They burned them alive while they slept. You want progress? Keep them in the mountains where they belong."

Jake muttered under his breath, "Easy, Cap."

I shrugged his hand off. The arena buzzed around us, thousands of fans, players from every species, cameras everywhere. My heart hammered against my ribs like it wanted out. The wolf inside me paced, snarling, ready to tear through the crowd if needed.

The commissioner stepped up to the podium. The lights dimmed. My stomach dropped.

"After careful consideration and review of the ancient accords," he began, voice echoing through the dome, "the Monster League is proud to announce a new era of unity."

Unity. What a fucking joke.

I crossed my arms tight across my chest, claws already pressing against my palms.

"The first pick in this year's supplemental draft goes to... Jude Stone. The dragon."

The arena exploded. Cheers mixed with boos. Some fans started chanting my name. Others shouted slurs that made my skin crawl. I didn't move. Couldn't.

On the big screen, footage of Jude Stone played. Tall. Black hair with streaks of crimson that caught the light like fresh blood. Those golden eyes with vertical slits. Scales flickering across his forearms as he launched into an impossible aerial play. Power. Grace. Danger.

He looked like sin wrapped in muscle.

"Jax?" Jake's voice cut through the noise. "You breathing?"

"Barely." I swallowed hard. My throat felt raw. "They're really doing this. They're really putting one of them in our league."

A new voice came from behind us, smooth and edged with fire. "Got a problem with that, Alpha?"

I turned slowly. And there he was.

Jude Stone stood just ten feet away, flanked by league officials but looking like he owned the entire damn dome. Up close he was even worse. Taller than I expected. Shoulders broad under a crisp black jacket. That mouth curved in a smirk that made my wolf want to bite.

"You got something to say to me?" I stepped forward, ignoring Jake's warning growl.

Jude didn't back up. Not even an inch. "Heard your little speech. Real touching. Almost made me cry. Except my kind doesn't forget either. How many dragons did your packs hunt for sport? How many wings did they clip before we fought back?"

His voice was low, meant only for me, but every word hit like a punch. Those golden eyes locked on mine and didn't let go. Something twisted in my chest. Anger. Heat. Something I didn't want to name.

"You think you can just walk in here after what your people did?" I shot back, voice rough. "My grandfather's pack still has empty graves because of dragons like you."

Jude's jaw tightened. For a second I saw real pain flash across his face before the mask slammed back down. "And my mother watched her brother get torn apart by wolves when she was eight. We all lost something, Cole. Doesn't mean I came here to burn your precious league down."

"Then why the hell did you come?" I demanded, stepping closer. We were nearly chest to chest now. His scent hit me — smoke and ozone and something dangerously sweet. My wolf howled inside me.

Jude's eyes dropped to my mouth for half a second before snapping back up. "Because I'm tired of hiding. Because maybe we can be more than the worst parts of our history. Or maybe I just want to beat you on the field and watch that Alpha ego shatter."

A league official tried to step between us. "Gentlemen, this isn't the time—"

"Stay out of it," I snarled without looking away from Jude.

Jake grabbed my arm. "Jax, not here. Not with every camera in the league pointed at you."

But I couldn't look away. Jude's breathing had changed, matching mine. Fast. Shallow. His hands flexed at his sides like he wanted to grab me as badly as I wanted to grab him.

"You talk a big game for someone whose kind almost went extinct," I said, voice dropping. "Step on my field and I'll remind you why."

Jude leaned in, lips brushing close enough that I felt his breath on my skin. "Try it, Alpha. I'll burn bright enough to make you forget your own name."

The heat between us was unbearable. My wolf wanted to pin him down right there. Claim. Fight. Fuck. All of it at once. I hated how much I wanted it.

"Stone!" one of his new handlers called. "We need you for photos."

Jude held my gaze another long second, then stepped back. The loss of his closeness felt like cold water thrown on fevered skin. He gave me one last smirk, the kind that promised trouble. "See you on the pitch, Cole. Try not to chase your tail when I fly over you."

He turned and walked away, wings half-visible as shadows under the lights, and every instinct I had screamed at me to follow.

Jake let out a long breath beside me. "That was... intense. You okay?"

I watched Jude disappear into the crowd of reporters. My hands were shaking. "No. I'm not."

"What the hell was that?" Jake asked, voice tight with worry. "I could smell it on both of you. That's not just hate."

I didn't answer. Couldn't. Because deep down, some part of me already knew.

This dragon was going to ruin me.

And the worst part? I wasn't sure I wanted to stop him.

The arena lights felt hotter now. The cheers louder. My entire world had just tilted on its axis, and all I could think about was the way Jude Stone looked at me like he wanted to fight and fuck and fall apart all at once.

Draft night wasn't supposed to feel like the beginning of the end.

But as I stood there with Jake watching me carefully, I knew one thing for certain.

Jude Stone had just walked into my life.

And nothing was ever going to be the same again.