Dragon 6 Chapter 18 (Patreon)

I wiped my brow as I finished chopping the wood. If I had just been allowed to shift into my hybrid form, the manual labor would have been a joke.

But I took the advice I was given and held myself back. I’d draw too much attention if I used too much of my strength. All the other males had their dragons sealed. And like hell I was going to let the women here ambush me and try to seal mine away again.

“Come on. My Tindrel would love to meet you. She’s such a sweetheart once you get to know her.” Mortius pulled at my sack-like clothing.

It wasn’t the softest material, and it definitely didn’t give much support. I missed my jeans already.

Mortius led me out of the area. We walked past the boars that had been cooked and were now split open. Men were grabbing food, bringing plates out to the women or those that were claimed were rapidly pulled into their families. There simply weren't enough men to go around. I suspected many of these men hopped from woman to woman.

Mortius saw me eyeing the food. “We can grab some food in a minute.”

It became clear where he was leading me. A woman with a proud jawline grinned at Mortius as we drew closer.

“Dear, who is this? I’ve never seen him before.” Tindrel put down her meat and grabbed my jaw, roughly pulling me down to her level so she could get a better look at me. “You have such soft skin, like a babes. But your muscles look like you’ve worked hard your whole life.”

She licked her lips, and I tried not to sneer. I was being measured up. She wasn't like Regina and the other young hunters, I felt like she was treating me like a show dog.

“Zach,” Regina’s voice came over my shoulder. “What are you doing with that old hag?”

“Making friends with Mortius. He wanted to introduce me to Tindrel here,” I replied, not liking her tone.

“Yes. Just making new friends.” Tindrel ripped me off my feet and placed me in her lap. Her arms wrapped around my chest like steel bands.

“Is that so?” Regina glared at Tindrel. “Zach, I believe we had been discussing something prior to dinner and should continue.” She shifted to me, and her words were dripping with hidden meaning.

Not that I particularly wanted to be in Tindrel's lap right now. But I couldn't quite get out without showing too much strength.

I prefered Regina who leered at me, but treated me like a human. We had a deal, and I did believe that she would uphold it. Besides gathering intel, the only reason I had come to the village was to meet my mother.

“It was nice meeting you, Tindrel, but I came to the village with Regina.” Trying to get out of her grasp, she only squeezed tighter. I wanted to use my dragon strength to push further, but I managed to swallow my anger and sit still. It was taking everything in me not to break the bones in the arms holding me.

“We were just getting to know each other.” Tindrel squeezed hard enough that I felt my ribs starting to rearrange themselves. “Stay. I insist.”

Mortius was wringing his hands next to Tindrel. I wasn’t sure if he was worried about me escaping or a fight breaking out. Now I saw him for what he was.

“Regina, what’s happening over here?” Britanica stepped over. Her large frame loomed over the shorter woman. “Isn’t that the man you brought home today?”

I noticed that she’d said it loud enough for everybody to hear and understand why Regina was staking her claim.

Tindrel hugged me to her chest. “He likes it here better.”

“I’d rather not have to mend his bones tomorrow. You have a reputation, Tindrel. Not a good one.” Fauldina joined the conversation.

I was so over being treated like some pet. I fought her grip, making my voice clear. “I don’t wish to go home with you. Let me go.”

She clicked her tongue and relinquished her grip on me. “Fine. Be that way.” Apparently, she wasn’t going to force a scene.

Regina grabbed my arm. “What did I tell you?”

“To blend in,” I hissed back. “And that’s what I was doing. Mortius was helping me find something to do to make myself useful, and I thought it would be wise to make friends.”

“Only the poisonous move that quickly,” she hissed, seeming to blame me for the current situation.

I took a deep breath. One more fucking day. Then I’d meet my mother and leave this village and its women behind me. The dragon in me wanted to fight. Badly. It was ready to prove to these women that it was not one of the typical males. I was the fucking Dragon King.

“Come, sit. You can share my meal.” Regina pulled me further away. The other dragons that had hunted with her joined us, seeming to circle up in protection of me.

“Getting yourself into trouble already, king?” Hiplina laughed.

Regina had a large plate with a high lip filled with shredded pork. “Eat.”

She shoved it in my arms. As I held the piece, she started to pull pieces out and eat them. A few seemed to note her behavior as odd, but left it alone.

Britanica leaned in on my other side. “You should feed her, especially after she stood up for you.”

I grabbed a piece of meat and shoved it into her mouth. “Thank you.”

She tried not to choke, and I ignored her, eating some meat myself.

The others laughed as she swallowed. “You are welcome, but normally, you offer up the meat and let me eat it out of your hands.”

“My bad,” I said sarcastically. “New at this.”

The other dragons just howled in laughter, unfortunately drawing the attention of the nearby women.

“You should not draw so much attention. Tindrel is not the only one who is watching you,” Regina warned me.

I ate more meat, using my peripheral vision to look for myself. Sure enough, a few of the other Amazonian women dragons were watching me.

“Should I worry?” I asked.

“Not if you stay close. Eat. Then we’ll return to my hut.” Regina had a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, and Britanica smacked her on the back in congratulations.

“So smooth,” the blonde teased her.

I rolled my eyes and filled my stomach, not realizing just how hungry I had been. And it didn’t hurt that the meat was tasty. I could feel the mana in it nourishing my dragon, which was still injured from being knocked out of the sky by Regina earlier.

“Is it that much tastier than what you normally eat?” Regina watched me dig in with a fascination.

I paused, considering how much I wanted to tell her. But ultimately, I couldn’t think of a way she’d be able to use it against me. “Most of Earth is filled with humans, and we hide our natures. So I don’t often get to eat things this rich in mana.”

“What about the beasts?” Hiplina asked with a frown.

I laughed. “About the biggest we normally eat is a cow, and that is about half the size of one of those boars. It has just the barest trickle of mana.”

“Then are you considered big for a dragon outside?” Regina asked.

“Yes. There aren’t many bigger than me. The former king, Brom, is still alive and he’s comparable to your size. Why?” I suddenly had a dreadful thought. “How much bigger do the dragons here get?”

They looked around at each other with mirthful smiles.

“Much bigger,” was all Regina said, turning to the others. “Gretch, get us some more.”

The other dragon hopped up to get me more food, coming back with a bowl that she upturned over my plate, piling it high.

“Eat. Mana rich meat is nothing we lack here,” Regina commented, continuing to eat off my plate but leaving most for me.

I packed on the meat, happy to continue eating. I listened as the other dragons chatted about this or that around the village. I was left out of the conversation and happy to just relax into the meal.

They mostly gossiped, talking about which males were available for breeding. It seemed as if men often left households and rejoined other women when the one hosting them got pregnant.

I took another bite, scanning around the area as subtly as I could. The men continued to move about the dinner area as if everything was normal. I knew it was normal for them, but it was hard to watch.

“Come with me. We are done.” Regina took the last of the meat and put the plate down. “We will see all of you tomorrow.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, dragging me from the communal dinner.

“That was sudden,” I commented.

“I am tired, and the stares you are getting do not make me eager to stick around. You are new and interesting.” She pulled me through the quiet village and to her hut.

“Should we prepare for someone to come bother us tonight?” I asked.

“Of course not.” She frowned. “Why would someone be so cowardly as to attack us at night?”

“Never mind,” I sighed and went into her hut. At least their sense of amazonian pride would prevent that.

The sun was close to setting, casting a warm light over her bed. I looked around, realizing for the first time that there was only one bed in the small hut. And there was barely any floor space unless I moved the basin and slept in the wet bathroom.

“You’ll sleep in the bed.” She had noticed my scanning of the room.

I let out a small sigh of relief. I needed a good night’s sleep. Slipping out of my sack clothing, I slipped under the fur covers. They were extremely soft and felt like a luxury after being out in the Wilds. My polyester tents were a modern comfort, but I didn’t have such cozy blankets.

Regina slid in on the other side.

“Excuse me?” I balked, wondering what she was planning.

“The bed is big enough for two. I assume you aren’t going to kick me out of my own bed. Besides, I’m not some animal that will take advantage of you in your sleep. Calm down.” She treated me like an idiot and fluffed the roll of furs that we were both using as a pillow.

I tried to calm myself down. “Right. Just sleeping in the bed.”

Regina didn’t answer me. She’d already curled up under the covers, and her heavy breathing told me that she was already asleep.

I hadn’t considered how exhausted she probably had been after all the days in the jungle hunting me. She was also in her own home. I couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling of being in an unknown place. I tossed and turned for a bit, my mind whirling.

I was going to meet my mother the next morning. I had so many questions for her. I played it out, running through all the possible outcomes as I struggled to fall asleep.

***

Rays of sunlight reached me, waking me from my sleep.

I’d managed to fall asleep at some point during the night. Reaching out groggily, I expected myself to have company, but no one was in the bed.

“You are a terrible sleeper. You toss too much in your sleep.” Regina was sitting on a chair watching me sleep.

“Creep. Are you just watching me sleep?”

“Yes? You calmed down when I watched over you. Many males do; it is the protection we offer that calms them. You’ll understand in time.” She spoke as if I was going to be in the village for a long time.

And that definitely wasn’t my plan. “Is it time to go meet Tiamat?”

“Have some breakfast first.” She pushed a plate of some fishy smelling meat into my hands as I sat up in the bed.

I took a small taste. It was rich with both mana and flavor. “Damn, this is good food.”

“Mana tastes good to dragons.” She grinned. “Eat, then we can go bathe under the waterfall.”

“I want to go see Tiamat.”

“Not smelling like that.” Her nostrils flared, and I was reminded of dragons’ enhanced senses.

I wrinkled my nose. “Fine. But let’s at least go see if I can’t talk to the guards. We can bathe after.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and finally shrugged. “Fine. Let’s see if Tiamat is actually interested in you.”

I grinned, finally getting my way. I scooped the fish with my hands and shoveled it off the plate into my mouth. “Done,” I said with my mouthful, putting the plate down.

Regina frowned. “I worked hard to catch that for you this morning. The tulutu are a rare, mana rich fish.”

I froze, suddenly feeling ungrateful. “I appreciate it. It was absolutely delicious. I’m just excited.” I got up and threw on my sack, heading out of her hut.

She wasn’t far behind, ducking around the doorway. I noticed that she was wearing plainer clothes. She kept close to me as I moved through the village, heading straight for Tiamat’s temple.

With my goal being so close, I was vibrating with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

This was it. I was going to meet my mother. I felt a pang of guilt; I knew Maeve would be trying to save her mother. But I couldn’t turn away from this.

“You okay?” Regina asked.

“First time meeting my mother, sort of,” I said. “It’s weird.”

The red only grunted and continued to walk with me. “We don’t do a whole lot of mothering here. I just want to make sure you don’t expect too much. A female dragon is left in the care of the warriors once she’s five, and we don’t really respect the bonds of mother and daughter after she can hold a spear.”

I was half-heartedly listening, but after meeting Tia, it was hard to believe that’s what I would find. There was no way Tiamat would deny me. If anything, she would probably smother me.

I was charging forward. The temple was just ahead.

The two guards stood at ease, leaning on their spears. The way in was open. I moved forward, pushing straight through them.

“Whoa. Hold on.” One of them pivoted and snatched the back of my sack.

Instincts flared from training with Morgana, and I half-snapped a backhand into her face before stopping it short.

“Want to fight?” She grabbed my arm and wrenched it behind my back. “Regina, your male has a little fire in him.”

“Apologies. He wanted to pay his respects to Tiamat.” Regina came up behind me and whispered, “I’ll handle this; just stay calm.”

The beast was raging in my chest at being manhandled. I was getting pretty damn tired of pretending to be weak in the village. I would have their respect.

“You better keep a good leash on him. He’s very attractive. I’m not sure I could keep the girls’ hands off him if he needed to spend some time in jail to cool off,” the guard warned while the other snickered.

“You know, Tiff, I think he might need to go after all. How about I go drop him off? Cover my shift for an hour?” The other guard smirked.

It took a minute before I followed her implication. “Get off of me.” It came out a little growlier than I had intended.

I was shoved back, and Regina caught me.

“Calm down,” she reminded me.

“Either way,” Tiff said, leaning on her spear. “He doesn’t get to go see Tiamat. She doesn’t see men since that one broke her heart.”

I was done. I raised my eyes and glared at them, daring them to challenge me. As our eyes met, their demeanor immediately changed. Their faces grew deadly serious, and the shaft of their spear snapped at Regina and me.

The red took the blow as the other swept low with her spear taking out my legs. Both spears spun down, and their tips were pointed at me.

“What the fuck. I’m tired of this shit.” I grabbed one of the spears only for the butt to come around like the whip of a dragon tail and crack painfully against my arm.

“His eyes,” the guard growled.

I cursed. I hadn’t even thought about my dragon eyes. I must have gotten so worked up that they’d shifted.

“His dragon is rising to the surface. Did you know about this Regina?” The guard’s tone was full of warning. “If you did, there would be hell to pay.”

The red dragon stepped back with her hands up.

I looked up, realizing that several more of Tiamat’s guards had appeared. We were about to be in deep shit, and the only person that could help us was on the other side of the guards.

I looked behind me, not feeling better when Regina’s cool exterior was gone, replaced by genuine concern.

“He’s been rather feisty lately,” she admitted. “But that’s the first time I've seen his eyes shift like that.”

I realized she was being careful. She wasn’t lying, but she was trying to cover for me

“He’s a danger to us all,” a guard snapped.

Two guards moved forward, roughly grabbing me and lifting me up by my arms.

“I just need to meet Tiamat,” I growled.

“So you can attack her like some rabid man who's dragon is rising?” The guard holding me scoffed.

I was quickly running out of options, so I went with my backup plan. I may not know this reincarnation, but I knew a past one. I hoped I was right that they would be similar.

“Tiamat! Tia! I know where Bart is!” I put my full dragon strength into my yell, my voice booming across the village. I’d partially lied, but I knew how much he meant to her. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was the one that had helped me escape the village.

My words echoed against the cliffs, dying off. I waited, but there was no other noise in return. My heart sank as the whistle of a spear shaft sounded. It hit me in the head, and I tumbled back to the ground.

“Shut up,” the guard growled and pushed me down to the ground as they started to tie me.

Regina was in a similar situation, being pinned by four guards and cord being wrapped around her arms.

She glared at me. “You’re terrible at being calm.”