Azlo

by Maia Starr

  Then I would wake up and work, enduring a day with the man I’d given my body and nearly my heart to, keeping silent company and being reminded every moment we were together how much he hated me.

  His attitude adjusted a little after he’d met with his mother. By then he’d changed from staring daggers into my soul to never looking at me at all. In truth, I didn’t know what was preferable anymore. All I knew was that when I lost his eyes, I missed him.

  “It seems there’s going to be a war after all,” he said quietly; resigned as he turned to look at me from his desk.

  His eyes were pale blue and sad, and I rushed to him. The words shook me to my core, and I placed both of my hands on his cheeks and brushed the white stands of his thick brows so they all ran in the same direction.

  He’d been spending months trying to ensure that a resolution could be met between the two warring sides; that the alliance with Earth wouldn’t be in jeopardy. He’d been working on the fate of our planets, and I’d been screwing around. I thought I couldn’t have hit a lower low – but here I was.

  “Are you sure?” I breathed desperately, my eyes flicking back and forth from his with a dawning terror. He breathed in heavily and nodded, pressing my hands harder against his cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I tried everything I could to push this away, but the rebels are growing. We’re pushing in tonight.”

  “Earth?”

  “Supplied weapons,” he nodded. “But I don’t want you to worry, my love. You will be safe.”

  “Do you have to go?” I asked with a sharp pain suddenly hitting my stomach at the thought of him heading into battle. “Please say you won’t be on the field.”

  He shook his head and nearly scoffed with sarcasm at the thought. “I would do anything to support our soldiers, but the odds my father or the Koth would let me into battle is…” He shrugged. “An impossible dream.”

  “Good,” I blurted out, and his eyes snapped up to me with a sincere chuckle. “I’m sorry,” I frowned. Sometimes I said the dumbest things. “I don’t mean… I mean, I know you want to lead the battle but… you know,” I shrugged helplessly, and my lip began to shake. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  It was true.

  As soon as the words came out, I crumbled into a mess of tears and he pulled me into his arms, wrapping his wings around me to drown out all the light from the room.

  “Hey, hey,” he cooed and smiled at my silliness. His thick lips placed tender kisses all along my forehead before pressing his nose against mine. “I’ll be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  “So you’ll stay?”

  He smiled gently at me and closed his eyes, the feel of his warm breath against my skin instantly calming me.

  “I have to go to headquarters, give a speech,” he said slowly, unspoken apologies thickly coating his words as tears began rolling down my cheeks once more, my heart pounding so loud I swore he could hear it. “Don’t worry, please,” he pleaded in his strong voice, laughing despite himself. “Please, you’re too beautiful for these tears. I’ll be fine. I’ll go, give the speech, rally the soldier’s morale, and then there’s a chance I’ll be able to come back right after.”

  “Promise?” I blinked a tear, and he wiped it away, touching my lips with the sweetest kiss.

  “I promise. And don’t worry,” he said, and then the words that I dreaded: “We’ll have security here to look after you.”

  “No,” I protested deeply, fixing my hands over my heart as I tried not to sound too suspicious. “Please, let me come with you. I can stay in the offices until you’re done.”

  He shook his head and brushed his hands comfortingly up my arms. “It’s too dangerous. I won’t risk it. Be patient with me, please, my Rosalyn.”

  My stomach sank and seemed to swirl a tornado through my body. If they were sending the best, then I knew exactly who was coming. The thought terrified me in different layers, yet I could feel my limbs coming to life with an anticipation that was already racked with guilt.

  “Please let me come with you,” I pouted. “Please, darling.”

  “If something happens, I couldn’t live with myself.”

  His words were so sincere that they stopped my heart in its tracks. I shook my head slowly at my mate and exhaled shakily as I begged, “And if something happens to you, there will be nothing left for me to live for so, please.”

  “Are we really having an ‘If you die, I die’ argument?” he teased and retracted his wings. He grabbed my hand and began leading me to the front door. It was then I knew he was really leaving. Nothing I said mattered.

  “If I’m not back in three hours…” He went to speak but seemed to think better of it. “Six hours,” he corrected, “then I will send for you.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.” He smiled and kissed me. “Be safe, my Rosalyn.”

  And with that, he was gone. The door clicked hard behind him and my throat filled with a deep sob that refused to surface. It wasn’t long before I could hear the rustling of the Udorian security standing firm against their posts outside the door, protecting the apartment like great warriors… incasing me in a fortress of my mistakes.

  I sat on the couch staring out the window in a fog, occasionally glancing around the carefully curated apartment. My mate had designed his home like a palace, and I was the rotten princess inside. Memories of my times with Galsthenn flooded the space, and I gasped for breath as the weight of my time here finally fell in on me, circling around my mind like a spell. I lay down on the plush couch and brought my legs to my chest as I fought my sudden urge to open the front door.

  One hour passed and it had been so long since I’d moved that the sudden twitch of my leg startled me. My body creaked as I sat up from my pity party and suddenly I grew perfectly numb.

  I stared out the glass wall, suddenly resolute as I stood and shakily strode to the door. I ripped the door open and looked at the guards in front of me and the anticipation that I’d given into suddenly dissipated.

  Tardis stood before me, eyes wide and nearly as startled as I was as I narrowed my eyes toward the blue and yellow shifter. He watched me with a fixed gaze before looking to the red dragon, Zevram, who stood down the hall. He gave me a look that silently invited me to go ahead with whatever I had to say.

  I stared deeply into the blue shifters eyes and felt my soul rise up out of my body as though I was watching myself from the air.

  “Where is he?” I demanded in a whisper.

  Tardis shifted uncomfortably and bit his lip. “Your chosen?” he asked spitefully.

  “Don’t play games with me,” I snapped, my eyes darting to the hallway to see if I’d alerted the red dragon’s attention before focusing back on the narrow face of the man before me. He fluttered his wings and with some sense of pride ignored my request for information.

  “Do you know what’s happening?” I seethed in a whisper. “They’re attacking the rebels. They could kill him.”

  The shifter breathed. News of the attack didn’t seem to have any effect on him.

  “Just tell me he isn’t in the battle.” Our eyes locked as though we were at war, but he offered only a smirk. I lunged toward him and pushed my hand against his chest as I began to snap: “Do you know the power I hold now? Do you know who chose me?” I boiled. “Do you know how quickly I could get rid of you? Stop screwing me around. Where is he?”

  “Relax,” he said with a small laugh and backed away from me in surprise. “He’s downstairs.”

  “Oh.” My face flushed and I blinked in surprise. “Well… good then. Send him to me.”

  He raised a curious brow and his gaze shifted to Zevram for just a moment before stubbornly nodding to my request. “As you wish.”

  I walked back into the apartment with a furious slam of the door and felt a rush of guilt once more. I didn’t know what I wanted. I pressed my eyes shut and backed up against the far wall near the fireplace. My b
ody racked with emotion as I stared intently at the door. I just wanted to see that he was okay. That was all. Then he could leave…

  Minutes went by, and suddenly voices could be heard outside the door. I couldn’t make out what they were saying; I knew by their tones that they were arguing. My stomach went sick, and I began to shake as I willed the door to open.

  And then it did.

  I watched as a mess of deep red hair stepped into the room, and Rilark appeared. He flung the door closed with his boot and turned to regard me. His horns curved above his head in their usual way and he wore dark leather armor with a laser weapon holstered at his side. The shifter didn’t move from the entryway as he caught sight of me cowering by the fireplace.

  “Hi.” My voice sounded small and meek, even to me.

  I swallowed hard at the sight of him and felt a buzz flow through my sides as I looked at his perfectly formed physique, and smug brows began to rise.

  He stared at me with fury and anger and set his jaw so hard that I could see it clenched from where I stood.

  “You rang.”

  I smiled, but he didn’t. There was nothing playful in his tone as the words left his mouth. He soul looked as dead as mine.

  “I just wanted to make sure you were alright,” I breathed out carefully; fearfully. “With all that’s going on,” I gestured around the room. “With… you know… the attack. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

  “Safe?” he repeated and finally took a step farther into the penthouse. His eyes skimmed the room, and I could tell he was disgusted to be there. “Safe from what?” he said coyly. “You think my own brother would have me killed? Brothers look out for one another.”

  I gaped incredulously. “Is that so?”

  He gave an arrogant nod and a smile. He stepped farther into the apartment, and my heart began to race. “That is so,” he enunciated.

  “I wanted to make sure you were alright. You should be thanking me,” I snapped.

  He stopped in his tracks, thick spikes of red hair shaking at the sudden halt. “Thank you,” he said forcefully. We glared at each other for endless moments, and I wasn’t sure how we’d suddenly turned to hating one another. I never hated him. I hated myself, but never him.

  “What else should I be thanking you for?” he quipped and extended his palm, getting ready to count on his claws.

  “Don’t.”

  “Thank you…” he bowed and seemed to think on his sentence, “for being so loyal to my brother. Our Koth.” He protracted his claw and pulled one finger back with it. “Thank you for being so committed to the alliance between Udora and Earth. I know nothing would ever lead you to betray your political sensibilities. You would never put anyone in harm’s way.”

  “Rilark, stop.”

  “And thank you…” he breathed shakily and locked his gaze on me with the most hatred I’d ever felt from another person, “so much,” he forced the words out, “for letting me use you on the side.”

  My jaw dropped, and a mix of emotions came over me. He could see it in my face. “I didn’t use you, I–”

  “What, you loved me?” He scoffed, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer him. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “You threw me away!” He shouted, a roar shadowing his voice and escaping his throat as his fury mounted.

  I flinched at his response and began to shake in my corner. His wings began to flare and glow as they extended on either side of him. It was at this moment I realized he wasn’t the same person I knew. This was Rilark, the warrior. The rebel. There was nothing left in him that was mine. Even his eyes were lost to me and… maybe that was my fault, I thought, or maybe this is how things always were and I was too stupid to see him for what he really was.

  “I loved you,” I said tersely. “I just didn’t want you to love me back.”

  He heaved heavy breaths in and out until the man I knew seemed to return.

  “Why.” It wasn’t a question; it was a demand.

  “Because I belong to your brother and he is a good man.”

  “A good man,” he said slowly. “And do you love this good man?”

  “I think so,” I shrugged and inwardly cringed, wishing it had been said differently. “I do. I love him,” I quickly corrected.

  “As you love me?”

  “Love is love is love,” I muttered. “Does it matter?”

  “So you love him,” he said matter-of-factly as he approached. “But here I am, at your behest.”

  He put his hands on either side of me and leaned in to entice me, smirking with sudden arrogance. My head shook as I pushed myself against the wall, putting as much distance between us as possible. “I wanted to make sure you were safe.”

  “That’s not what you wanted,” he whispered and neared my face.

  His countenance washed over with fire: the lust that I had grown to crave. Suddenly, I couldn’t believe what his tone implied. That was it? This was our big reunion? His usual arrogance and not even a hint of consent? I didn’t want him to know how badly I wanted him, yet the words tumbled forth from my mouth. “You’re not even going to seduce me?” I scoffed. “You think you can just come in here and take me?”

  “I don’t have to seduce you,” he snapped. “You called for me, remember?”

  “Y-yes, to see if you were safe,” I stammered, taking in the scent of him.

  He whispered “Bullshit” and reached his hand up my dress, keeping his free hand pushed firmly against the wall beside me.

  I wanted to scream. I wanted the guards to rush in and take him away; I wanted to tell Galsthenn that his brother was nothing but a dirty rebel… but as his fingers touched me in the way only he knew how, I knew it was already too late.

  My body bucked against his hand, and I leaned forward to kiss him, moaning as his lips lightly brushed against mine. I breathed heavily as his wrist moved in circles under my dress and spread my legs farther apart to give him a better reach.

  “Kiss me,” I said.

  But he wouldn’t lean in.

  “I tried that,” he said with an expression that was lost on me. “You don’t want sweet, remember? You want this. You, up against a wall and me taking you without so much as asking. Touching you and enjoying you as I see fit. Isn’t that right?”

  My eyes burned into him and I pursed my lips in defense. “You’re supposed to be a sweet girl, aren’t you?” He grinned and began slipping his fingers into my wetness. “Innocent. Loyal. Trustworthy.”

  “Just shut up,” I whispered through my desire and ran my hands along his leathers, racing to remove them. He grabbed my hands with his free grip and pulled them away from his the straps on his clothes.

  I let out a loud moan and glared at him. What was this supposed to be? A tease? I ripped my hands from his palm and traced my fingers over his glowing red scales, scraping them relentlessly as though we were in a standoff.

  He let out a husky breath that was laced with lust and then inhaled as he jolted forward, pressing his body clean against mine. He met my eyes and pulled my underwear down with two fingers. “Say you want it,” he demanded in a whisper.

  I set my jaw. He wasn’t getting that from me, I resolved. My hand traced over his hard length and felt his power as he whipped his tail against the floor behind him in a tapping motion.

  “Say it,” he repeated.

  “I won’t.”

  “Say you love me.”

  I shook my head and raised a brow that dared him to ask again. Silence followed, and I took the opportunity to lean in and kiss him. My full lips were met with his teeth as he bit my bottom lip. The kiss ended there.

  Gray eyes followed mine relentlessly as though he were still waiting for an answer, but one never came.

  “Does he get you off?”

  “No,” I breathed.

  “Still?” came his laughter. “And does he let you touch him? Enjoy him?”

  With that, he extended his wings once more and I could feel his scales glow with desir
e. He knew what I wanted and I both hated and loved that in the same breath. I wanted to be with a shifter who knew his own power. To be with someone who wasn’t afraid to spread his wings, bare his fangs, cry and roar. Someone who would let me embrace a Weredragon for all that he was, in the bedroom and otherwise.

  “Just do it,” I said with a breath, leaning my head back against the wall to give him a better view of my neck.

  His breath ghosted against my skin and it seemed like his lips would make contact, but then he stopped. “Say you want it,” he demanded.

  “I want it,” I nodded and closed my eyes.

  Rilark drew his tongue up my neck and my skin raised from the chill in the air against my now wet skin. He turned me around and bent me over the embroidered sofa nearest to the fireplace. I listened to his leather shifting to the side with anticipation before he raised my skirt and entered me. He grabbed a firm hold of my hips, and I let out a loud breath and felt my body shudder against the rough thrusts.

  I put my hands over his to steady our bodies, and he hissed with excitement at the sensation. My heart pounded hard against the sofa below me and I wanted to cry and laugh all at the same time. His body felt like it soothed everything that was aching in me.

  He reached forward to touch me and never lost his rhythm, even as my body writhed against his. Our bodies grew hot with friction, the warmth between our skin incredible. And just like that, a decision that has taken weeks to manifest and nights of self-torment to accept was all coming to an end.

  I could hear myself calling out in loud moans as my body climaxed and waves of pleasure washed over my anxieties. My whole body went warm as Rilark followed my lead, grunting with effort as he finished.

  I collapsed onto the back of the sofa, and the shifter behind me swallowed nervously. Both of us grew deathly still until he dismounted and gingerly pulled my skirt back down, his fingertips trailing the fabric as it fell.

  Tired breaths escaped my lips before I finally stood and turned to Rilark.

  He looked defeated somehow, the emotion washed from his face and an unreadable expression taking its place. “So…” he began.