Captured By The Dragon
Episode 17

Patara

The men left the car to give me a bit of privacy as I cleaned myself up. I wrapped the trash in a small bag and tossed it before I met Dylan on the top of a small hill. He stood tall, looking up at the sky with squinted eyes.

“It might rain.” He said as I approached him. His eyes were pure black when he turned to look at me—not even a bit of white.

I couldn’t help it, I stepped back at how inhuman they were. My hands started to tremble as his hands started to shift into—something else?

“Don’t be afraid.” He said in a deep, dark voice before the Dylan I knew became no more.

I wanted to scream and run as far as I could, but my feet were rooted to the spot. I watched Dylan shift before my eyes, but it still didn’t feel real. All of this felt like one big nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from no matter how many times I pinched myself.

Huge, black wings ripped from his back and spread wide behind him. His beautiful face twisted and scales formed across his head and down his body until he became shifted in his full form.

A large, glorious dragon stood before me. He flapped his wings once and blew my hair back away from my face. I had to stumble back when his tail swung towards me. I tripped over myself and fell back to the ground as I looked up at Dylan with wide, wondrous eyes.

“Oh my—“ I whispered.

Dylan lowered his head all the way to the floor as if he wanted me to… get on his back? Approach him? I pushed myself off the ground and cautiously walked up to him. His tail waved slowly, I raised my shaky hand to touch his smooth neck and flinched when he moved.

I could feel his impatience the longer I lingered. He nudged my side and a deep shiver rolled through my body. I gripped the ride of his neck and pulled myself up on his back. He let out a loud breath of air and I held on as tightly as I could.

He raised up in a swift motion. I gasped as he shot up into the sky without a hesitation. I don’t think I have ever screamed as loudly as I did when he raised above the ground and aimed for the clouds.

I closed my eyes tightly, the wind blew through my hair and I knew it must have been a glorious view—but I was too terrified to see if for myself. Dylan made a strange noise, almost as if he was telling me to look.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and it was like I was in a painting. Everything I saw was beautiful and unreal. Light purple skies, fluffy clouds and endless landscapes of green and orange. I felt so high up in the sky, like nothing could ever touch me even if it tried.

“Oh my—“ I shouted, but my words drowned in the wind. He swooped down low and I held on as tightly as I could.

He suddenly dipped straight down to the ground. I swore we were going to crash right into the pavement, but he landed smoothly. I shakily slid off his back and felt my insides try to re arrange themselves back to normal, but it was hard not to throw up everywhere the second my feet touched the ground.

Dylan shifted back into himself once I stepped away. By the time I turned back, he was fixing his coat as if nothing had happened. I swore I was losing my mind… how was any of this possible?

I glanced around and saw something that finally looked similar to the human world…. tombstones.

“Are we in a graveyard?” I asked quietly. Dylan had a blank look on his face as he stared forward.

“Yeah. This is where my parents are buried.” Dylan said. He stepped forward and it took me a moment to follow. His parents were dead? He didn’t look much older than me and he was an orphan?

I followed him quickly across the dead grass. The sky above turned darker and darker the further we went in. When he finally stopped, I saw the sadness in his gaze for the first time. There was no smirk, no flash of charm, only pure pain that pierced my heart.

It was easy to forget that a boy who acted like he was bulletproof, had his own shadows.

“How did they die? If you don’t mind me asking…” I spoke gently.

Dylan was silent for a long moment as he stared down at his parents’ tombstones. Dead veins wrapped up and around it, covering most of the lettering that was engraved into the stone. I almost swore he wasn’t going to respond before his soft voice broke the silence..

“My mother was a human, just like you. She was taken from your world and was trafficked when she was just a young girl.”

My lips parted in surprise at his words, but I said nothing as he leaned down to clear the dirt.

“She’s a big reason why I refuse to ever help any scum try to sell girls.”

“How did she meet your father?” I asked in a soft voice.

The side of his mouth tugged up just slightly. “My father rescued her—but not before she had already been badly abused. Sexually and physically. He was passing through the small village where she was being held and they didn’t have time to hide her. When he saw her there–broken and scarred—he knew he would do anything to get her out of there, and he did. He killed all the men that tried to stop him.”

Dylan stood but he didn’t take his eyes off the tombstone. “He took care of her and helped heal her trauma with his kindness. It took months and months before she was okay enough to allow him near him and when she finally did, they fell in love—thus resulting in me.” He gestured to himself as if he was a sad show of their love. I frowned a little and took a step closer but said nothing as he went on.

“One day, when my father was at work, I was taking a nap in my room while my mom was in the garden. I’ll never forget the sound of screams that woke me.” Dylan looked up at the sky and squinted his eyes.

“Your mother’s screams?” I asked, shocked.

Dylan nodded. “A few rogue crocodile shifters snuck in through the back gate. They held her down and gang raped her until she died from what they did to her. I only came out of hiding when I heard my father call my name.”

I silently covered my mouth in horror at his words. My heart cracked for the boy beside me. I couldn’t imagine something like that happening to my mother—I don’t know how I would have turned out. “That’s… that’s so horrible, I’m so sorry…” I whispered. “There was nothing you could have done, Dylan… You were just a child.”

Slowly, I took his hand. He glanced at me in surprise, but didn’t push me away. Instead, he squeezed back.

“My father almost died when he found her, but he ended up hunting them down and died then. I lost them both before I ever really knew them, but I still come to visit them when I can.”

“Thank you for bringing me here.” I said gently. “I know how much they must mean to you, I’m sure this is a sacred place for you.”

He turned his blue eyes down on me, it almost made me lose my breath for a moment. His long fingers caressed my jaw slowly as he studied my face.

“They may be gone, but I have only grown stronger from their example. I would do anything in my power to protect the ones I care about.”

I bit my l*p as I looked at him. The corner of his mouth pulled up as his eyes flickered to my lips. His thumb ran across my cheek slowly before he pulled me up to him.

Dylan claimed me with his lips, pulling me against him and letting the world around us fade to black.