Caged by Her Dragons (The Inmate of the Dreki Dragons Book 1)

by Ginna Moran

  Rose laughs again and scoops a rock from the ground, chucking it far too fast in his direction for him to catch. It collides into his forehead and knocks him off the bench he sits on with a few others and onto the ground.

  “Bow down before royalty, peasant.” Rose drapes her arm over my shoulders. “This doll is off limits.”

  I frown and glance at Rose, wondering if maybe we’ve had a bit of a miscommunication, because she’s acting as possessive as any of the shifters around here. I try to pull myself from her arm, but she digs his nails tighter into my shoulder.

  “These douches only understand like three concepts around here. Don’t touch what isn’t yours. Fight to make it yours. And stake a claim,” she whispers. “You—and those fiery dragon COs of yours will thank me later. Perhaps enough to get me something I want.”

  “Oh.” I don’t know how I should feel. Of course she would want something. I mean, she told me as much already. I’m just afraid that she’ll flip a switch and act like the other inmates who don’t get their way. Quillon is a big fucking example.

  “It’s the same thing you want,” she adds. “To go to the Mortal World.”

  Shit. How the hell will I pull that off? Maddox will burst a cornea if I even suggest it...which means I should ask his brothers what they think first.

  “I—I can try my best. I don’t even know how I’m going to pull it off.” I lower my voice. “It seems impossible.”

  She smirks. “Just promise me that if you go, you’ll take me with you.”

  I know I shouldn’t agree, but fuck it. If a fairy wants to escape this magical prison to run away to the Mortal World, I’m all for it. I could use a magical being on my side.

  “If you promise not to plot Mortal World domination, then okay,” I say.

  She laughs, tipping her head back. “Damn it. I was going to offer you a position on my new court.”

  I shake my head. “No thanks. I already have plans.”

  “That’s too bad. Your dragon man-servants would have made great guardians.” She slows down as we near the pits.

  It’s my turn to bark a laugh. Because really. I can’t see the Drekis bowing or serving anyone. “Yeah, they are far from my servants.”

  “You just have to teach them. I’ll help.”

  I don’t get a chance to respond, because a groan sounds out from one of the pits. My feet automatically start walking without my consent. Straightening my shoulders, I put on my invisible armor and close the distance to the first pit.

  It’s not Quillon.

  The unfamiliar inmate roars and tries to jump up to get to me but falls short. I stumble back in surprise, hating myself that Rose catches my ass before I hit the ground. None of the inmates close in around us, but I’m certain whoever is watching us saw it. Now I look like someone who can be pushed around.

  Rose purses her lips and whistles softly. “Quillon, you here?”

  She closes her eyes and listens, her wings trying to flap against the rings. I can’t hear anything, so I strut past her, determined not to get scared by those stuck in the pits. Approaching the next grate, I peer down. Another man sits cross-legged at the bottom. He tips his head back and smiles at me with flared nostrils. Then the perv whips out his dick to get a rise out of me. I scoop up a handful of dirt and chuck it at him, getting him right in the face. Before he can react, I move back.

  Rose laughs. “That was ugly. Please don’t tell me that hideous man-worm is the norm among shifters. It was so...tiny. And hairy. The only thing the Spring Court prince had going for him was his delicious body.”

  “You’re right about that thing being repulsive. And absolutely not. The Dr—” I snap my mouth shut, realizing the words about to fall out of me.

  “So you have had some fun with the COs. I knew it. Babycakes over there thinks he’s being inconspicuous, but I can practically feel the burn of his claim on you. Smell it too. You going to let them knock you up? Is that your plan after you get out of here? I bet you’re coming into season soon, too. All shifters in Magaelorum do. It’s fucking nuts around here when the Woodland Shadow pride females go into heat. One of them always manages to have a litter. Their pride still expects it and waits for the young to be released.” Rose bumps her shoulder to mine. “At least your offspring won’t have automatic life sentences.”

  Shit. I couldn’t imagine myself getting impregnated as a mortal, and now? Fuck. The Drekis words about bearing their children flit through my mind. They live here. I’m imprisoned here. Rose is wrong. Either way, if that crazy shit happened...I can’t even think about it.

  “They won’t anyway.” Quillon’s voice sounds through the air, coming from the last pit of the line. “We won’t be here much longer. Her clan is coming to retrieve her.”

  I hate that he supposedly knew my mom. Quillon barely looks older than me, but maybe he doesn’t age since he’s a lycan. Fuck. There is so much I want to know about this world and all the creatures I thought were myths. I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I’m supposedly a dragon. Or that I tore a man apart in that form.

  “Oh, this is perfect,” Rose says, clapping her hands. Skipping forward, she beats me to the grate covering Quillon’s pit. “Remember, you owe me. If you plan to take Nova, I expect you to take me with you.”

  “We’re not going to the Mortal World, Rose,” Quillon says.

  “You owe me. You will get me there,” she snaps, trying to flutter her wings. Placing her hands on her hips, she looks ready to start a fight, the vine tattoos on her arms move and twirl, coming alive in her annoyance.

  “You passed my debt onto Delphia already. You can’t hold me to it,” Quillon mutters.

  Rose spins to face me, her eyes sparkling with pink light that matches the vibrant color of her hair. “He’s right. You will take me with you and demand your clan get me to the Mortal World. Either way, I’m getting there and you will ensure it.”

  I blink a few times at the sudden depth of her voice. Wind blows around her, wafting a floral scent in my direction, permeating the air in a fragrance far sweeter than the earthiness of the dirt pits.

  “I told you I would do my best. The Drekis—”

  “I need your word for the Darkonian Clan too. They will be the ones to take you regardless of the Dreki claim. Our odds are far greater with the ones opposed to the High Council and willing to wage a war. If Quillon is correct, your bond will not matter. It’s more than that. You will strengthen the clan your ancestors planned for you. It is the dragon way. It’s a shame they didn’t find a high priestess to sever any chance of you discovering your real mates.” Rose steps away from the pit and holds out her hands to me. “But perhaps if you speak up, the Darkonians will help with your transition.”

  It’s like once I grasp one concept, someone shatters it, mixing everything up. It sounds like some witch or warlock or whatever can go against the supposed fates the Drekis believe made me their fated mate. A part of me is intrigued by the idea that someone can change destiny, but another part of me aches with despair at the thought. It’s so strange how I’ve already accepted the possibility of a future with these three sexy beast men.

  “They will do more than that,” Quillon says, drawing my attention back to the pit. “The Darkonians will ensure the Drekis will cease to exist. They will not risk their mate and their future bloodlines in hopes that magic can extinguish any sort of bond, especially since she has already allowed a claim.”

  Anger rushes over me, and I stomp my way to the pit and glare down at Quillon. He meets me with green-flashing eyes, his lycan form half peeking through his human exterior. Whatever magic Lazlo had intended for me hasn’t worn off, and Quillon can still shift into his powerful monster form.

  “I thought you’d have better standards than fucking the very assholes that keep you imprisoned here, Delphia,” Quillon adds.

  My anger ignites into fury, and I bend down and link my fingers to the grate. It’s like the strength of the caged dragon inside me break
s free, and I manage to hoist the heavy grate up and toss it aside.

  Quillon’s eyes widen, and he backs away from beneath the opening of the pit to take cover against the dirt wall and out of my sight.

  “Inmate, no!” Kash yells from somewhere behind me.

  I jump into Quillon’s pit, landing in a crouch with a thump. My dumbass doesn’t have time to prepare, and Quillon crashes into me, knocking me onto my back. His face morphs with his glowing eyes. Fangs push over his teeth as they spread and widen with the formation of his snout. I gasp, his weight pressing hard against me. Snarling, Quillon slobbers on my face. I cringe and buck my body, trying to summon the same strength I used to open his pit. But my rage fizzles away, cooling with my fear. Raising my arms, I protect my face. Quillon tears at my sleeves with his fangs, ripping and shredding the fabric of my jumpsuit.

  “Quillon, stop. Please, you’re hurting me,” I say, my breath gasping. “Please.”

  “You do that, Dreki, and I’ll give her a matching scar to yours.” Quillon’s guttural voice sends a shiver through me. “I have a job to do. You will not get in the way of my freedom from this fucking world.”

  Claws cut into the flesh of my arm, and I scream in pain, my voice reverberating through the air to vibrate in my bones. Three deep, threatening growls rumble around the pit, shaking the ground beneath me. I can’t see them, but I can sense Maddox, Rowan, and Kash surrounding us like my soul cries for them to help me.

  “Release her, inmate. If you release her, we’ll do you one better than giving you the freedom the Darkonians promised you,” Maddox says, risking to move close enough that his silhouette blocks the sun shining from above.

  “Nothing is better than that, unless you promise me time with Delphia, so we can enjoy each other.” Quillon’s monstrous face softens as he shifts back into his human form. Locking his fingers through my hair, he pulls my head close enough that his lips hover a centimeter above my arm. Locking me in his gaze, he adds, “Wouldn’t you like that, Delphia? They might claim you, but you can still spend time with me. I’d make you—”

  Kash snarls and kicks Quillon hard enough that he rolls, taking me with him. I land on top of him, straddling his waist, but he still doesn’t let me go.

  “If you so much as move, you will never get the one thing you desire most in the world,” Rowan says, coming up to my side. He places his big hand on my back, preparing to rip me off Quillon. “The Darkonians might have offered you freedom, but they’ll never be able to give you what we have.”

  Quillon narrows his eyes. “The only other thing I want is Delphia.”

  This asshole.

  All three Drekis close in around us, and Maddox glowers down at Quillon. “We can get you a cure. We can release you from the lycan curse. All you have to do is get us to one of the gates.”

  “You’re lying,” Quillon growls.

  “Do you want to make a deal or not?” Kash touches my shoulder. “A cure for your help. No debts owed to anyone. The High Council will wipe your record clean and send you back to the Mortal World. They won’t have a choice.”

  Quillon inhales a few deep breaths. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

  “I’ll do a magic bind. If we fail, I’ll bow down to you.” Kash’s words send panic through me.

  “A cure or a dragon guardian,” Quillon says to himself. Glancing up, he meets my eyes. “If they fail, I want some of your time as well. It’s the only way I’ll accept a deal.”

  “Done,” Maddox says, cutting me off before I can even breathe a response.

  “What?” I say, my heart pounding in out of control beats.

  Quillon smiles. “Your mate also owes Rose freedom from here and entrance into the Mortal World.”

  “We are aware,” Rowan says, speaking up.

  “Good.” Quillon releases my hair, and Kash scoops me up. “You have yourself a deal, Drekis.”

  Chapter 16

  Power Plays and Compromises

  “FOR THE FIFTH time, hold still, damn it.” Maddox shifts on the medical cot beside me and snatches my wrist, locking my hand between his knees. “I can’t heal you if you keep moving.”

  Swinging my other hand, I whack him upside the head. “Just give me a fucking bandage and let me go, asshole.”

  He growls. “This requires more than that. A lycan’s scratch is toxic to us. It won’t kill you, but you’ll wish someone would cut your arm off if you don’t let me take care of it. Stop being stubborn. I don’t want to have to call one of my brothers in here. They will leave a scar. How do you think I got mine?”

  I grind my teeth at the explosion of heat flitting across my forearm. “I don’t care.”

  “Damn it, Delphia—”

  I smack his head again. “That’s not my name, Maddox. Quit calling me that.”

  “I will call you what I fucking want to. Now keep your ass still!”

  My hair blows from my face with his yell, and I once again swing my hand out to slap him, annoyed as all hell that he keeps my other hand between his knees and looks ready to skin me with the shiny scalpel on the tray next to us.

  Catching my wrist, Maddox laces his fingers around it to intervene. A rumbly noise escapes my lips, the sensation tickling my throat. Did I just growl? Fuck yeah I did. Since he captures my hands, I’m about to bite too.

  Throwing myself back, I attempt to break Maddox’s grip on me. The bastard is relentless, refusing to let go of me. I tug my arms so hard that my body screams in pain, yet I surprise the hell out of Maddox by yanking him forward. He catches himself on one hand, letting my hand go, but my other one rests between his legs, my wrist grazing against his junk. Freezing, Maddox stiffens, probably bracing himself for me to rip his damn dick off or something. His cinnamon breath blows in my ear, his heart pounding against mine.

  “Get off me, and I’ll let you go,” I whisper, my voice coming with my pant at the sensation of his dick hardening when I shift my hand to grab him.

  “You wouldn’t,” he mutters, leaning in closer.

  We glare at each other, me beneath him, cupping his balls through his pants while he pins my other hand over my head, so close that he could kiss me with a short bow forward. My gaze drops to his lips, and I watch his tongue dart out as he licks them.

  “Try me,” I say. “You’re a bastard and an asshole, and this could ensure I never bear your children.”

  “You want my children.” His eyes flicker with firelight. “You want me in you now. You love feeling my body awaken for you. You enjoy how hot I make you.”

  I narrow my eyes even more, shifting my fingers to adjust my hold. “I don’t. All that bullshit is in your head. It’s you who craves me. I don’t care if we ever have sex again.”

  “You can’t lie to me, cookie. I can feel your desire. Smell your need for me. If there wasn’t a magical mental block in place, I’m sure I’d be able to hear you begging me to fuck you senseless right this second.” His dick throbs under my touch, flexing to tease me through his pants.

  I suck in a breath and hold it so that he can’t hear or feel my breathing pick up. Because damn it. How we can go from cold to hot in a single moment...it drives me crazy. I’m still pissed off at him—and his brothers, for that matter—and the last thing I want is for Maddox to think he can have his way with me whenever the hell he wants.

  But maybe this is actually me. Maybe he’s getting me all hot and bothered and pretending this is all for him when a part of my very being feels how I’ve weakened his steely walls. With enough of a nudge, I can break through, and it’ll be him giving me whatever the hell I want. Which in this case is him.

  Leaning up, I close the space between us but don’t give in to a kiss. If he wants one, he will have to do it first. I will not be the one to give into my heated desire for him. I will tease him until he can’t stand it a moment longer. I don’t care if I provoke the beast within his muscular body. I want to see exactly what I do to him.

  “Nova,” he murmurs, his voice
going soft.

  It takes everything in me not to smile because he uses my Mortal World name. It’s enough to tell me that he’s seconds from giving in. Maddox might act like some tough-guy asshole—well, he might actually be one—but something about the fire in his eyes lighting just for me, how his heart picks up pace, thumping against mine, seemingly wanting to be closer, and how his fingers loosen around my wrist to cradle the back of my head shows that there is more to him than this. I just have to kick—or possibly fuck—his asshole tendencies out of him.

  Starting now.

  Stretching even closer, I graze my lips along his cheek to his ear and whisper, “You want to know what I’m really thinking, Maddox? Because it’s not how much I want you to fuck me senseless. That’s what you’re thinking.”

  He hums a throaty response, the depth of his voice vibrating against my throat. “You’re lying.”

  I tilt my head back to meet his gaze. “I’m not. What I’m really thinking is about how you’re about to be mine. All fucking mine. And there is nothing you can do about it no matter how much you try to resist. How much you want to control me. You’re mine, Maddox. You belong to me. Now tell me.”

  His hand tightens in my hair as he locks me in place. “No.”

  I graze my fingers away from his dick, gliding them up to his belt. I unfasten it with one hand and unclasp the button on his uniform. Maddox twists his hand more through my hair, training his gaze to mine. We stare at each other while I blindly navigate my hand into his pants until I find exactly what I want.

  I can’t lace my fingers completely around his thick shaft, but it doesn’t stop me from giving him a slow stroke. “Tell me.”