Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
He paused with his mouth open. “Yes.”
“That’s so cool! What color are you? Do you glitter? Is your stomach a different color than your body? I just saw one like that and had never known that was a thing. Do you know the phoenix? What’s he like?”
“You finally got to the babbling, I see,” my wolf said dryly. “Much better than my plan, yes. Not at all embarrassing.”
I snapped my mouth closed and was thankful to see him grinning.
“Come on, Captive Lady.” He jerked his head in the opposite direction of the tower. “I know what we can do to pass the time.”
I followed him like a little lamb, a habit from the village I couldn’t seem to shake. Then again, it was better than being chased by him.
“My dragon is blue, and in the sun, yes, he glitters,” the man said. “His stomach is a little lighter. He’s preening to hear how excited you are about him.”
“Do people ride on dragons?” I asked softly.
“Typically, no. For you, though, I feel like my dragon would find a way to make that happen.”
I crossed my fingers. I really wanted to fly.
“Yesterday was my first time seeing a dragon,” I said. “They are really fucking cool. I mean, you are, I guess. And big. I half hoped to be one, but I’ve been told I am a wolf.”
“It would not be easy for a male wolf to fuck a dragon, so be happy you are a wolf like our mate,” my animal said.
“You are definitely not a dragon, no,” the man said. “Much too . . . calm, we’ll say. You have this way about you—you make me feel very comfortable just now, even though you’re obviously dangerous.”
I chuckled. “I’m flattered, but I’m not dangerous. To you, I mean. Well . . . probably to anyone.” I shrugged. “I’ve never had any training.”
He looked down at me as he stuck out his arm, nearly the same length as my damn leg. I’d thought Weston was big, but this guy was fucking enormous.
Up ahead someone crested the flight of stairs onto the landing. Once they were out of the way, the man retracted his arm so we could pass the landing within the hallway.
“I think you lack confidence,” he finally said. “As I said, in a solo match, a wolf will not beat a dragon. But we are humans. Maybe you don’t know it yet, Captive Lady, but you are dangerous. It’s in the way you walk, in your fearlessness. Let Weston guide you. He’s the best non-dragon I have ever known. He’ll bring out the ferocity that I saw furled within you as you approached me a moment ago. It made me nervous.”
My middle warmed and I smiled, but my eyes got watery, and it made me frustrated because I had told myself the crying was over.
The man stopped at a closed door, his hand on the handle. “Are you laughing or crying? I can’t tell.”
“Nothing. Both? Neither. I don’t know. It’s just . . . Everyone in your pack has been so nice. That’s not normally the case for me. It makes me a little sappy.”
His eyes softened and he pulled his hand from the door, sticking it out for me to shake. “I’m Vemar. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. I’m Aurelia.”
“Yes, I heard. Come on, Hadriel said you liked his jackets. Let’s get you one so that you and he match. It will drive him crazy. It’s endless fun.”
“Oh . . .” I blew out a breath but followed him anyway, unsure about the whole jacket situation. This guy wasn’t immediately bold and crass with the sexual talk, so that was something.
The room was an explosion of color with fabric everywhere, piled on chairs and heaping on tables. Some slid off into a bright puddle onto the ground, the early light catching the sequins and shooting flares of colored reflections across the ceiling.
“What are you doing?” A middle-aged man with a rounded belly stepped back from a human-shaped dress form half draped in a red sash. He had an accent, but I didn’t know enough about the world to know where it might’ve come from. “Oh, it’s you. Did we have an appointment? Who is this with you? You don’t want your night to end? I don’t care. She is much too small for you. Your peen would split her in two.”
I froze on the spot. Vemar bumped into the back of me.
“It’s fine.” He patted my shoulder. “He says outlandish things all the time. Don’t worry about it.”
The man scoffed in indignation. “That is not outlandish. Look at you! You’re twice her size!”
“Honestly, it’s a lot nicer when Hadriel comes and distracts him,” Vemar murmured, stepping around me and gesturing toward the man. “Aurelia, this is Cecil, the seamster. Cecil, she’s our captive. Haven’t you heard? She’s the beta’s true mate.”