Filed to story: Wolf Crying Mate of the Alpha by Jazz Ford
The dragon lets out a kind of snort, with small clouds of steam emitting from its nostrils.
‘Oh! You thought that was funny, hey?’ I say.
The dragon stares at me. I’m so close to his face that I slowly reach out and gently place my hand on his snout. He closes his eyes, and I very slowly and gently begin to caress the area and move my hand up towards his forehead. He makes a few gruff sounds before a loud rumbling purr can be heard in his chest.
‘See, I’m not going to harm you. You’re a good boy, aren’t you?’ I say. His rumbling purr becomes louder.
‘Nina, it’s a dragon. Not a dog,’ Alec says, leaning against one of the trees the dragon is stuck between.
The dragon yanks his head up and tilts it to see Alec. He glares at him, and smoke begins to emit from his partially open mouth. I quickly place my hand on his chest, and he turns his head to look back at me.
‘It’s okay, Dragon. That’s Alec. He’s my Blood Flame, and he’s here to help me help you,’ I assure him. ‘Now that we’re acquainted, perhaps you will allow me to look at that leg of yours?’
The dragon doesn’t keep my eyes off me, and after a few moments, he lifts his injured front leg. He knows what I’m saying. I beam a smile at him and place a hand under his leg. His scales are in tones of brown and red. The brightest red scales shine like rubies. He is so majestic. His long black claws should scare me, but they don’t. Perhaps I’m desensitised since I already live with a beast who’s an alpha werewolf and the other who’s a vampire. There’s a large gash on the dragon’s leg. It looks like a s***h from a sword. It must have been from Sir Hugo’s sword when the dragons attacked us. The scales and skin of the dragon are much too thick to sew up. The only way to seal the wound is by cauterising it.
I look into the dragon’s vertical pupils that dilate as we make eye contact. His large green eyes are bright and remind me of Magnus’s.
‘I have to cauterise it. It’s the only way to seal it,’ I say to him.
A large dagger suddenly lands in the dirt by my feet. I pick it up and look at Alec.
‘Use your fire spell to heat it,’ he says.
But as I hold it out, the dragon breathes a low fire, careful not to burn my hand. Alec and I give each other a look of surprise.
‘Okay, here goes,’ I say, giving the dragon a sympathetic look.
Alec quickly dashes and stands beside me to help hold the dragon’s leg. I smile at him in appreciation and thanks and quickly press the dagger onto the wound. A loud groan comes from the dragon, followed by smoke from his mouth and nostrils. I remove the dagger and drop it on the ground before tearing off another strip from the bottom of my white dress and wrapping it around his leg.
‘You know, you won’t have much dress left to wear if you keep ripping it up like that to help every injury you encounter,’ Alex frowns.
I shrug my shoulders at him making his frown deepen.
‘Now let’s get you out of these trees,’ I say, scratching the dragon behind his ear.
I walk over to the trees and look them up and down. ‘These trees are massive. The only way to free the dragon is to cut them down,’ I say, placing one hand under my chin and the other holding my elbow.
‘You could use my dagger, but you’ll be here for a month carving through it,’ Alec says.
A thought comes to mind, ‘What if we strike it down with lightning?’ I suggest.
‘It could work,’ Alec replies.
‘All right, stand back,’ I say, cracking my knuckles and trying to think of the spell Yiselda had cast. I raise my hands at one of the trees, ‘Electrous Flaros!’ I shout.
A lightning strike flies down from the sky and hits the tree with a loud c***k sound. The tree begins to fall back, and the dragon moves forward and flaps his wings.
‘We did it! You’re free!’ I shout out in glee.
The dragon nudges his head against me. I wrap my arms against his chest. His rumbling purr vibrates through his chest, making me giggle.
‘Okay, now that your good deed for the day is done, let’s go find Sir Hugo,’ Alec says.
I smile, nod and wave goodbye to the dragon, but he begins to follow us.
Alec and I glance at each other and turn to face the dragon.
Alec points behind him, ‘That way, off you go now. I already share my Blood Flame with another hairy beast and a feathery one at that too,’ he says, referring to Magnus and Reaper.
‘You probably would prefer to be back in the company of the other dragons,’ I say to him.
He makes a whiney sound like a puppy. Alec and I turn and walk away, only for the dragon to follow us out of the forest.
Alec mind-links me, ‘Perhaps if we ignore him, he might disappear.’
I nod and point in the distance in front of us, ‘Sir Hugo, he finally caught up,’ I smile.
Sir Hugo pulls his long sword from its sheath as he runs towards us.
‘Watch out,’ he shouts.
As he runs past us, I cast a spell as he swings his sword toward the dragon, ‘Restraino Detainous.’
Sir Hugo is frozen in place, except for his head.
‘What are you doing? Can’t you see this dragon, or are you blind?’ He growls.
The dragon emits a rumbling growl at Sir Hugo as a warning.
‘You mean this dragon?’ I reply, walking up to it and begin rubbing his chest. He purrs and falls to his side like a dog so that I can reach his belly.
‘Whose a good dragon! Yes, you are!’ I say to him.
Sir Hugo pales, and his mouth gapes open.
‘What in the wands is going on? Why isn’t it trying to kill you?’ He asks in confusion at the situation.
I click my fingers, releasing him from his stilled position. Alec laughs as he falls to the ground with a decent thump.
I step away from the dragon and approach Sir Hugo, ‘ Thornwell is just over that mountain. We’re going to go there and then make a portal there. You can return to Mystic Pride while Alec and I return to our castle on Emerald Island. I need my spell books to try and find a spell to help defeat Thypon. You can let Queen Maia know of our plans,’ I explain to him.
The dragon’s tail begins to wag profusely, and black spikes I didn’t know he has, point up along his spine and down his tail. He runs towards me with a knowing look.
I step back with worry, and within a blink of an eye, he flings me into the air, making me land on his back near his neck. I scream and cling onto the spike in front of me for dear life as his wings shoot out, and he flies high into the air.
I look down to see Alec with his hands on his hips, glaring at the very dragon that has taken off with me. He becomes smaller as the dragon continues to fly higher.
‘Okay, dragon, thanks for the ride, but I think I’d like to be back on the ground now,’ I say in a nervous tone.
The dragon huffs, letting out steam and smoke from its nostrils, only to fly faster and twirl around numerous times. I scream and cling even tighter onto his spike, closing my eyes.
The dragon lets out a whine. I open an eye to see his sad look. He twirls again, but time is much slower. As we bypass clouds, I gain the courage to reach my hand out and glide it across the cloud. I let out a breath of excitement which seems to have pleased the dragon. He soars high above the large mountains and hovers in the air, breathing a large gulf of fire. I laugh at his playfulness and then look down and lose my breath momentarily as I see Moon Crest Castle, and the land toward it that was once lush and beautiful is now dark and dreary.
‘I need to stop this poison from spreading to the rest of Mysteria. I have to stop, Thypon,’ I say with determination.
The dragon whimpers at the mention of the monster God’s name.