Captured By The Dragon
Episode 20

Malcom – third

“She called me, I know it was her!”

Sherry and her husband came to the police station as soon as they got the call. When they answered, they heard a male voice screaming and their daughters cries in the background before the line went dead.

Malcom took the phone and was able to get the last location the call came from before it was destroyed—which was no easy task. The crew was up all night trying to pinpoint the exact location, but all they got was the area. And that was enough for Malcom.

“Where is she? Where is my daughter?” Sherry cried. It was starting to seem like she might have cared less about the spotlight and more about the safety of her daughter.

But Malcom could never be sure.

Malcom had to ignore her repeated cries as he studied the map of the location. Something familiar stuck out to him. But—it couldn’t be. Could it?

“I think I know exactly what area this is. This is the dragon territory.” Malcom said. He furrowed his brows and looked at his personal map of the shifter land. It didn’t make sense… the shifter that lived in this area was against human trafficking. Why would he have Patara there?

“Do you know who took her?” Sherry asked again.

“I’m not sure yet until I investigate. But I know where this area is.” He glanced up at the parents. “This phone call is an excellent lead. I haven’t found anything that might lead to Patara in days, but now I believe we have the area we need.”

And what a dangerous area it was.

The phone pinged near not only the dragon territory, but near a rising king in the shifter world. Dylan’s mother was trafficked in the world and horribly abused until she was saved by his father. Why would he have a human there? Did Dylan secretly traffic women for his pleasure?

Malcom heard that he refused to ever touch human trafficking and usually stopped those he saw do it. It didn’t make sense why the phone would be near his property when he lived pretty secluded.

Unless… unless Dylan decided he liked Patara for himself and let the dark side of him win. No, that couldn’t be…. unless it was exactly what happened. Human girls were hard to resist for the shifters. Even noble seeming ones like Dylan.

Malcom had no choice, he had to go see for himself if Dylan was holding Patara there against her will. And if he wasn’t, perhaps the future king might be willing to say who was.

It was a dangerous game, but it was one that Malcom had to play if he wanted to get this girl back alive to her parents.

It was time to start preparing their next move.

Patara

I woke early the next day when I heard the sound of running water. Slowly, I sat up to see a scruffy Dylan leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom with a towel in his hand. He scratched the back of his neck as if he was nervous.

“I made a bath for you… it’s nice and warm right now.” He cleared his throat.

“You did?” I asked shyly before I got up, holding a sheet to my body. It might have been silly since he had already seen me naked the night before, but I couldn’t help it.

Dylan kept his eyes on my face as I wandered into the bathroom to see the tub filled with bubbles. It smelled like roses and vanilla, I don’t know why the sight made my heart leap in my chest when I should only feel shame.

I knew the shame would replace me later when I was alone.

I glanced back at him and he turned away before I dropped the sheet and stepped into the warm water. I let out a small sigh at how good it felt against my skin.

Dylan only turned back when I was fully emerged in the tub. All of the bubbles covered the areas I was most shy about but I still couldn’t tame the blush on my cheeks. Especially when he looked at me like that.

His blue eyes softened as he came closer. I held my breath when he dropped to his knee and took the sponge in his hand.

For once, the bad boy hesitated. “May I?” He asked.

I could say nothing, only nod at his question. I shouldn’t want him this close to me–should I? What was wrong with me?

Dylan gently rubbed the sponge across my back. I shivered whenever I felt his skin touch mine as if it was an electric shock. He brushed my wet hair from my face and ran his thumb along my jaw as I looked up at him. I held completely still when he leaned forward to k**s my jaw, and then my lips. The k**s was so light, it was like a ghost of all the ones he gave me last night.

After a few moments, he handed me the sponge and stood. A soft smile lit up his face as he backed out of the room. I didn’t breathe once until he was gone.

How could he be so soft and so rough at the same time? I just couldn’t understand it.

I finished my bath and stood on wobbly legs. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much down there, but it did. It was sore and each step reminded me of how it felt to have him inside me.

I quickly dressed before he could come back in here and wondered if he would still be in the room when I was done.

And he was.

Dylan sat on the edge of the bed with his clothes set perfectly right. The bed was still a mess and I couldn’t help but blush at the sight of it.

“Good morning.” He said huskily. I wrapped my arms around myself but was surprised to see his face was still just as soft as it was in the bathroom.

I said nothing. He stood but kept his distance. “I know I might have been too rough yesterday and I wanted to apologize.”

I leaned against the door frame and picked at my sweater as he spoke. “I’ve… I’ve been fighting my urges since I met you. But when you begged me… that cord snapped inside me and I did my best to hold it in. I shouldn’t have been so rough with you—I know it must have been a little painful for your first time.”

I bit my l*p and stayed silent. Shame started to creep in.

“It was basically our wedding night, so I allowed myself—”

“Wait, what did you say?” I said quickly. “I don’t understand—“

“I branded you as the dragon’s wife. I told you that you were my one and only and you agreed to it the day I saved you.” Dylan raked his fingers through his dark hair. “A dragon can only have one person to brand for life. You are mine.”

My fingers started to shake at his words. I did not agree to be his wife!

“I… I don’t understand why you would do this… I didn’t agree.” I said helplessly.

“You did agree. When I asked if you would walk by my side forever, you agreed.” Dylan took a step closer and suddenly all I wanted to do was jump out the nearest window. “I told you that you could never leave my side and you came with me. Don’t pretend that you didn’t expect this outcome.”

My lips parted, tears streamed down my face but nothing came out. He stepped up to wipe them from my cheeks and I had to stop myself from moving away from him.

“I regret the way yesterday went down, but I don’t regret branding you. You’re mine.” He said gently with a small smile on his face. If this was under different circumstances, I could see myself swooning for this boy. This beautiful boy.

But I wasn’t swooning. I was terrified.

Slowly, he brushed the hair from my face and leaned forward to k**s my nose.

“I promise I won’t be so rough next time.”