A Dragon's Heart: (Dragons of Paragon - Book 1)

by Jan Dockter

  “Alright, let’s get this day started,” she said as she dusted herself off and stepped out into the corridor.

  She hurried down the spiral staircase, the train of her dress floating behind her. “Good morning,” she said to Analise on her way down. Isabel had gotten used to life at the mansion. It had only been a couple of weeks, but she had already gotten to know the people. She had come across a bunch of unfamiliar faces on the way, and she made a mental note to ask Analise who they were the next time she saw her. Tonight, Gavin and Oz had promised her a threesome, and she couldn’t wait. The whole thing never seemed to lose its luster— Isabel figured it was just a product of mind control— but she didn’t really mind it. She was having the best sex of her life with two of the most attractive men at the mansion; she wasn’t complaining. The temptation to feed on other men was almost completely gone, and that had the power to both comfort and terrify her.

  Just as Isabel was about to barge into the kitchen, she felt something tugging at the sleeve of her dress. “Yes?” she said, turning around. Suddenly she felt an unsettling feeling in her stomach. The woman tugging at her dress looked familiar. She had red hair, freckles, and wore a long-sleeved dress like her. The girl from the club.

  “Can we have a moment in private?” the woman asked, her eyes wide. Isabel wasn’t sure whether she should be scared or just roll with it. She definitely recognized the girl, but somehow, she looked different to when she had seen her outside the club. Her skin was paler, looking almost like porcelain, her hair had grown longer and her lips were extremely chapped. Isabel wondered if they were keeping her well-fed, because according to her own experiences, succubi weren’t supposed to look like that.

  “Sure,” Isabel nodded, following her down the hall. The woman hurried past several rooms, looking right and left, before she stopped at one of them, dusting herself off before walking inside. She popped her head out the inched open door and cocked it to the side, motioning for Isabel to come in. Isabel hesitated for a moment, but then she remembered; no one could hurt her. Hell, she was the most powerful succubus in this mansion. She lifted her dress off the floor and walked inside, taking a seat at the makeup table. “What’s wrong?” she asked, raising her eyes to the woman. There was something about the look in her eyes that was more fearful than anything else.

  “My name is Ava,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’m not sure why I’m here, but they brought me here… and I don’t feel like myself.” She paused for a moment, looking around her. Isabel watched as she paced the room back and forth. She was obviously confused. Her hands were balled up into fists, and when she seemed to have caught her own reflection in the mirror, she sprung back. “Can you help me?”

  Isabel rose to her feet. A part of her didn’t have a good feeling about this at all. “Listen, who took you and why?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

  “I... I don’t remember,” Ava said. “The last thing I remember is waking up and not recognizing myself in the mirror, and then I was told to come here.”

  “Who told you to come here?” Isabel asked. But she had a pretty good idea of who it was.

  “This man,” Ava said. “I don’t remember what he looks like, but if I saw him I’d recognize him.”

  “Listen, Ava,” Isabel said, her eyes fixated on hers. “Do you remember meeting that same man who told you to come here at a club, just a couple of weeks ago?”

  Ava paused for a bit. Suddenly, her hand flew to her mouth, like she had just remembered something. “Oh my God, yes, I... I remember.” Isabel watched her go through a chain reaction of realizations in her head. At one point, she was mouthing some things to herself, and Isabel couldn’t wait, apprehensive as she was, to get something out of her.

  “That man, Ava, what did he do?” she asked.

  “I remember,” the redhead said. “We hooked up in the bathroom stall of the club that night… I haven’t been feeling well ever since.”

  “Did he do anything unusual?” Isabel asked.

  “Actually,” Ava said. “He... he bit me.”

  “He bit you?”

  “He bit me. I remember I was really drunk that night, but the next day, I had bite marks on my right hip and it was bleeding.”

  Isabel couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She just needed one more tiny detail to confirm her doubts. “And that man, are you sure you don’t remember what he looked like?” she asked, hoping against hope that Ava would have something else to say.

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t quite remember what he looked like… but I do remember he was quite broad across the shoulders.”

  Isabel pursed her lips. “Okay,” she nodded. “I’m going to talk to Analise right now… she knows more about how this whole place operates than I do,” she said.

  “No, wait,” Ava said. “Don’t leave me here, I have no idea where I am and what brought me here.”

  Isabel started pacing the room. Her brain was on overdrive. If Oz was the person that woman hooked up with, then how the hell could she have ended up with those bite marks? “Ava,” Isabel said again. “Did you hook up with anyone else on that same night?”

  “No,” she was quick to recall. “Just this one guy… that’s the only detail I remember out of everything that happened that night. I remember because he was pretty handsome… I even went out to call my friend, to tell her all about it.”

  Holy fuck, it’s really her! At the beginning, she wasn’t certain it was the same woman she had seen slumped down on the sidewalk outside the club, but that little detail confirmed it. Only question was, where did the bite marks come from? Oz had some explaining to do. “I’m going to ask you one last question,” Isabel said. “And I don’t want to sound too intrusive or anything… but did you go all the way with him?” she asked.

  “No,” Ava said. “I stopped him the second he bit me… he didn’t seem too bothered by it. I don’t remember him being rude or anything.”

  “Alright,” Isabel said, folding both arms across her chest. She didn’t know what it was that was making her so uncomfortable. It was like she was missing a piece of the puzzle. One thing was for sure: she needed to have a little talk with Oz. And she needed to have it straight away. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” she said, stepping closer to Ava and looking into her eyes. The woman looked significantly weaker than the last time she saw her. “I’m going to talk to the man you met that night, he might have some explaining to do.”

  “How do you know him?” Ava asked, her voice falling to a whisper.

  For a while, Isabel didn’t say anything. She didn’t know whether she should come clean about this whole thing, or whether she should come up with a more convincing story. This was her life now; this was her reality. But a part of her still held onto that time when she couldn’t bring herself to believe any of it. And she knew that, if she were to bombard Ava with all of this information at once, she was pretty likely to go insane. Isabel had a hard time believing that she didn’t go crazy, herself. And she didn’t really want to put anyone else through it. But first, she had to make sure who this woman was, and if she really did hook up with Oz that night. Isabel could feel the hunger gnawing at her again, but this time, it blended in with a feeling of jealousy, of contempt. In her head, Oz was hers, and she was his. He had become such an integral part of her everyday life that it was literally impossible to survive without him. The thought of him going around sleeping with other women made her sick to her stomach, and she didn’t know why that was. Was it because she was secretly afraid she would starve if he didn’t make time for her? Or was there something else? Was it something deeper, almost like a connection that she felt for him? Or was it all just a game of mind control? Isabel didn’t even know anymore, and she figured that, if she wasn’t sure herself, then she shouldn’t be putting anyone else through it, either. “I know him from around here,” Isabel said finally, trying to gather her thoughts. “Alright, Ava, do you want me to get you something to eat?” she asked.
r />   “Yeah, I’m starving,” Ava said. “But I don’t want you to leave me here, if that’s okay.”

  Isabel nodded. “Alright, I’ll take you to the main kitchen downstairs,” she said, reaching her hand out to Ava. “I don’t want you to be afraid. I know it’s confusing, but everything will fall into place, it’s only a matter of time.” The truth was, she didn’t know what else to say. The girl looked completely petrified. Every now and again, she would turn to look at herself in the mirror. She would run her pointer finger along her jawline, brush a hand through her hair and then start stroking the side of her face with her thumb. She would move in closer, inspecting her now flawless skin, searching for any pimples, any blemishes, anything to remind her of the girl she once was. Isabel just stared at her, and all at once she was reminded of that dark time in her life, when she didn’t even know who she was anymore. She wanted so desperately to tell Ava that it was pointless, that her body would never go back to the way it was. But she couldn’t. She decided she was just going to let her figure it out on her own. They stepped out of the room, Isabel taking Ava’s hand as they walked down the hall and hurried down the stairs. On her way down, Ava was scanning the sea of faces around her, desperate to make out a face she knew. But it was useless. She was never going to bump into someone she knew in a place like this.

  “I’m not comfortable,” she said, her voice trailing off.

  “What?” Isabel asked, holding onto her hand. She could feel Ava stop dead in her tracks, and when she turned around, she found her completely petrified, like she had just seen a ghost. “What’s wrong?” Isabel asked, her eyes darting back and forth frantically.

  “Good morning,” Oz said, appearing at the stairway. He had an unusual glow about him, like he had been expecting to see Isabel with Ava. “I see the two of you have met,” he said with a smirk on his face.

  “I... I want to get out of here,” Ava said, turning away and trying to squeeze past the people behind her.

  “No, no, wait,” Isabel said, trying to grab hold of her wrist. The girl stumbled a few steps, almost falling to the floor, but then she rose to her feet again and hurried in the opposite direction back to her room. “What was that?” Isabel asked, turning to Oz. “What did you do to her?”

  Oz stared at Isabel knowingly. “Doesn’t she remind you of yourself not so long ago?” he asked, his pearly teeth showing through his smile. Isabel almost found it disturbing, but she nodded regardless.

  “She does,” she said. “But there’s something different about her… and besides, she said she only hooked up with you.”

  Oz’s face drooped to a scowl. Isabel could sense that he was taken aback. “She was drunk,” he said, clenching his jaw. “I don’t think she remembers much.”

  “But so was I when I first slept with you and Gavin,” Isabel said, shaking her head. “I woke up the next day and I remembered everything.” She paused for a second, clearing her throat. “Well, maybe not everything, but I was at least able to recall that I had slept with not one, but two men.”

  Oz let out a sigh. “Isabel,” he said. “Not everyone is able to regain full recollection when they’re sober. You, of all people, should know that.”

  “Yeah,” Isabel said, shrugging. But she still wasn’t convinced. Despite Oz’s great ability to control her thoughts, there was something about the way Ava reacted to him that made Isabel’s stomach churn. “So, has she began her transformation into a succubus? Does she need Analise to brief her on what’s gonna happen? I don’t want her— or anyone in this house— to go through this alone… it can be a very scary process,” Isabel said, sighing.

  “She’s begun her transformation,” Oz said. “I’m going to call Analise to sit with her, just like she sat with you, and she’s going to explain everything to her.”

  “I can sit with her,” Isabel said.

  “No,” Oz shook his head. “Analise will take care of it.” There was a pause. Isabel wondered why he was being so secretive about this, but she didn’t want to start a fight. After all, she was getting hungry, and although she hated that her life practically depended on two people, she realized she basically had no choice but to roll with it.

  “Alright,” she said, her eyes dropping to the floor. “I’ll come back to check up on her, though. She seemed pretty distressed.”

  “You can do whatever you want, Isabel,” Oz said. “This mansion is your safe place, you’re free to interact with the people however way you wish.” Isabel thought she would talk to Gavin about this, but until then, she was going to keep a close eye on this girl.

  ***

  The mansion was starting to fill up with unfamiliar faces. When Isabel first moved in, there was probably half the number or people— or succubi— that there were now. But there was something different about them. Isabel couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but the way they looked, the way they dealt with each other, was foreign to her. She hadn’t seen Ava in a while, and for some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about her. That horrified look on her face when she saw Oz, the way she was so sure that she hadn’t even slept with another man on that night. Isabel still wanted answers, and she still didn’t know how to get them.

  Isabel was just starting her day. As always, she took a shower, threw her silk robe on and walked downstairs, eager to find Gavin. She had been closer with Oz lately, and she was starting to crave Gavin’s company. “Oh, hey,” she said, bumping into Analise on her way down. “I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Of course,” she said. “Anything you need.”

  “Okay, well, it won’t take too long, but there’s a girl here, she’s new I think, and she… I don’t know how to describe it. She seems a little off.”

  Analise pursed her lips. “And who would that be?” she asked, her head cocked to the side. For a moment, Isabel hesitated. Analise looked flustered, like she had somewhere to be.

  “Her name is Ava?” Isabel asked.

  “Ah, Ava!” Analise said, her lips curving upwards. “She’s new here, what about her?”

  “I don’t know, she looks kind of traumatized, to be honest.”

  Analise let out a sigh. “You know, sometimes, new succubi don’t cope that well at first. You of all people should know that, Isabel,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed.

  “I, I know that, but she didn’t seem to be coping the same way I did. Like, at all,” Isabel said, shifting her weight to one leg. “I’d like you to sit down and talk to her, the same way you talked me through my transition.”

  Analise stared at her knowingly, and when Isabel didn’t seem to move, she let out a sigh, a grin settling back on her face. “Alright,” she said. “I’m going to talk to her, I promise you.”

  Isabel flashed Analise a sincere smile and then walked away. In the back of her mind, the fearful look in Ava’s eyes lingered, and she made a promise to herself that she would get to the bottom of this.

  CHAPTER 6

  The newcomers were still rolling in. Not a day passed by without Isabel waking up to the sound of people moving into the rooms below. She had made a routine of jerking out of bed, rushing downstairs to see who it was, and being absolutely taken by how different they looked to everybody else. But soon enough, the newcomers were everybody else, or at least they seemed to have outnumbered the people who Isabel thought were everybody else. They all had pale, almost white, porcelain skin, long straight dark hair and bloodshot eyes. The more Isabel looked at them, the more she realized they all looked the same. She had asked Gavin about it time and time again, but he never seemed to give her a definite answer. “It’s all a part of their transformation, it’s like when you’re still an infant and your skin has that purple tinge to it, it gets better over time,” he would say to her. What Isabel was worrying about, though, was Oz. There was something different about him. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it almost seemed as if he shifted characters whenever he was with her. He had developed a nervous tick that emerged whenever the
two of them had sex, one that made his neck jerk violently to the side. Something was off. She had tried talking to him about that, too, but he never really gave her an answer, either. Isabel was starting to think that maybe life at the mansion wasn’t as easy or luxurious as she thought it was.

  “Good morning,” she said, strutting down the hallway to check on the newcomers. But no one answered her. For some reason, everyone looked like zombies: unresponsive, pale-skinned, almost catatonic. In the distance, Isabel caught a glimpse of Analise, so she ran to her. “Analise, hi,” she said, faking a smile. “How are you?”

  “I’m good,” Analise said, not looking at Isabel. “Hey, hey, this window’s sealed shut, stop trying to open it, you’ll break it, please,” she snapped, diverting her gaze to one of the newcomers. Sealed windows? That’s new, Isabel thought to herself. It was like they were treating those succubi like animals. Analise had her arms folded across her chest, gawking at the newcomers as they unpacked their things. “Whoa, whoa, be careful, over there,” she said again. “Sorry, Isabel, I’m a bit distracted right now, can I meet you later?”