Mated to the Dragon

Freja held her horn of warm mead in her hands, the drink chasing the chill from her skin and bones brought on by the harsh winter outside. Her furs and cloak was dusted with half melted snow, soaked against her skin beneath. She was sure she'd catch ill if she didn't find a warm bed to sleep for the night. Men and women filled the hall with their laughter, drunken songs, and tales.In the center of the great hall roared a large fire where a sow was slowly being turned by a young lad no older than eight, his youthful face covered in dirt. Some people huddled together in groups at tables while others, like her, sat alone. Toward the back of the hall, cooks prepared the meals that the tavern sold while the servants brought out dishes to the tables.For weeks Freja hadn't seen this much vibrancy and warmth. She kept to herself as she traveled; a true lone wolf. Keeping ties with people wasn't something she was skilled at, p

Freja and Zarek were leaving the tavern when they heard a scream pierce the air, the sound coming from behind the building. Freja pinpointed the location of the feminine scream and ran towards the source. Her feet flew over the ground as she ran at full speed to the backside of the two story tavern they had just left. Above the first floor was where the tavern’s owner and family resided, the stairwell coming into view once Zarek and Freja rounded the corner of the wooden building. Before them lay quite the scene. On the second floor balcony a young woman about Freja’s age leaned over the banister holding on to the tiny clawed hand of an infant dragon. Her other arm was held in a sling leaving her free arm to struggle to pull the youngling back to safety. The infant creature made whimpering noises like

“I’m sorry, my lady and gent, but there is only one room left available. For your troubles, I’ll add in vouchers for a free meal at the tavern down the row. My brother runs the place.” Explained the woman behind the desk at the inn that Zarek and Freja stood in.   Due to an incoming blizzard, together they had decided it was better to rent rooms for the night rather than sleep under the stars.   Zarek wanted to keep going but Freja had grown used to having him as a companion, coming to enjoy his company. After giving Zarek puppy eyes and pleading as sweetly as she could, he gave in.   She didn’t like keeping up relationships with other people, but he was different somehow. There wasn’t an explanation she could think of, so she chose to go with the flow for once. This man was like a drug to her senses and she couldn’t get enough.   After a brief arg

The storm did not lessen but worsened instead. After Zarek and Freja had their heart to heart the previous night, they both retired for the night. Zarek added wood to the fire, Freja stirring in her sleep behind him. He swept his hair out of his eyes as he sat on his haunches, warming the morning chill in his body. Being the early riser that he was, he had been awake since before sunrise. For a while he watched Freja slumber peacefully. When he had his fill of drinking in her face he decided to stoke the fire. The room had grown cold and he didn’t want his mate freezing in her sleep. Even in sleep, she wore weariness and exhaustion on her face. Most people wouldn’t notice but he wasn’t most people. He was a predator and his eyes took in every detail of her face and even the way she held herself.

:: ⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ ::     Chapter contains scene of rape and violent abuse! Proceed with caution! Skip this chapter if the aforementioned topics are hard for you, the reader, to handle!   A TLDR of this chapter is basically character development for Tauric and his spiral down from fear of Zarek returning to take revenge. Tauric shows us his twisted side that he’s tried to hide.                   The maiden slowly unlaced her corset, her blue-gray eyes cautiously watching Tauric’s. Piece by piece he had her remove her clothing. Piece by piece more skin showed itself, her creamy pale skin blushing with pink beneath his heated gaze. Fire