Dragon's Revenge
2.

Her body trembles with a mix of terror and rage. Everyone in the room bows to the black dragon. He turns to look at her, speaking into her mind. "Well?" She realizes she hasn't bowed.

Elodie lifts her chin, standing straight and tall in the face of the dragon.

"What are you doing?! Bow. Are you crazy?" Jessica tugs on her arm.

She glares at Jessica, then at the dragon prince. He chuckles, the sound even raspier in his dragon voice. "Interesting. I can see that you and I are going to have some fun." Before she can comprehend what's happening, Jonah turns back into a man. "My queen, I've chosen the Jebel Clan's next human."

"Who will it be, my son?"

"Her." He points, leveling his finger directly at Elodie. She freezes in surprise.

"What is your name, human?" Morgan asks.

She clears her throat. The Jebels never knew about her, so it's safe to give her first name. "Elodie."

Jonah narrows his eyes. She gulps, wondering if she made a grave error. "Elodie, you have been chosen. You will endure a period of captivity on the Jebel compound to prove your loyalty." She nods. She knew that was part of the deal and also knew it would be a perfect way to gain the Jebels' trust. The crowd parts as she's led away. Jonah glances down at her, frowning. "You seem troubled. I thought you would be pleased. You got what you wanted."

"I'm just nervous."

"There's no need to be. I chose you. Now, do you have any questions?"

"I... noticed your dragon has silver eyes. But your human eyes aren't silver. Is that.... normal?"

"Yes. Every Jebel dragon has silver eyes, no matter their color in human form."

"I have another question. Why did you choose me?"

"You? Let's just say.... you were my favorite competitor." She raises a brow at him, but he just keeps giving her that cocky grin. He blindfolds her and takes her to a car. A while later, he removes her blindfold, guiding her out of the car.

"Holy shit. This place is amazing!"

"We like it. Seattle is close, but we're far enough in the woods that we don't get unwanted visitors." Suddenly, she hears the deafening blare of an alarm. At the gate, she sees a cop car and officers. "Idiots. They've set off the perimeter alarm. Which, by the way, you will also set off if you ever try to leave."

"Mr. Jebel! We need to talk to you. There have been some incidents in your part of the woods-"

"Yes, my woods. So, why are you here? I told the mayor not to send the police unless I called for them."

"You control the police?" She asks.

"We have a deal with the mayor. He stays out of dragon business and we don't make trouble. Maybe he needs reminding." The terrified cops leave, screeching away in their cars. "They never learn. Come on, I'll show you the inside." She follows him through the gate and into the building. It's the largest, most extravagant home she's ever seen. He leads her upstairs and throws open the first set of doors, leading into a luxurious bedroom. "This suite of rooms belongs to my brother, Morgan."

To her shock, she sees two figures tangled up in bed, very obviously in the middle of loud sex. When Morgan sees her and Jonah, he rolls off the woman and she averts her eyes. "Brother, dear. Does it ever occur to you to knock?"

"Did it ever occur to you to lock your door? See, brother, these things are why I'm crown prince and you're not."

Morgan snarls. The woman in his bed waves shyly. "Hi! You must be the new human. I'm Maria. I won the last Trials and was partnered with Morgan. I'm-"

"Quiet, Maria. They're leaving. We're busy." Morgan grabs the woman and pulls her back underneath him.

Elodie gasps and Jonah quickly leads her from the room. She's so lost in her thoughts she doesn't notice when Jonah leads her into another room. A room with chains on the bed and floor. "This is where you will stay, for now."

"Jonah, what are the chains for?"

He raises a brow, glancing from the chains to her. "Perhaps nothing. Perhaps.... several things." She takes a slow breath at his words, but he seems unaffected. "You'll be able to decorate this space however you want, if you earn it."

"How do I do that?"

He looks her up and down, a slow smirk on his face. "I want to mindlink with you. That way I can trust you to be free of the chains."

Her mouth goes dry. "You want to mindlink with me?"

He steps in so that he's close, tracing her cheek with one knuckle. "Yes, I want it very much. Besides, how can I trust you if you don't let me in?"

"Fine. I'll mindlink with you."

"Good." She closes her eyes, remembering her training and preparing the shield. "Give me your hands." He takes her hands in his. The fire she felt during the trials flares at his touch and she hears his voice in her mind. "Elodie."

"Jonah?" She takes a breath and pulls an invisible shield over her deepest thoughts.

"Good. I commend you for your loyalty. You're already proving yourself to the Jebels." He allows her to redecorate her room, taking her to a storage area where she chooses furniture, then back to her room to place it. He takes her to replace food and shows her the rest of the Sanctuary. Later, the room has been redecorated, but the chains are still there.

"I see you didn't change everything."

He gives her a dangerous smirk, his voice a low growl that sends shivers across her spine. "No." He steps close, his fingers rising to trail across her cheek. Then he drops his hand, obviously irritated with himself.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"It looked like you wanted to kiss me."

"Maybe I did."

"You did?"

Someone pushes open the door. They both jerk away from each other as a shifter named Jeremiah enters the room. "Your Highness! Wyverns have been spotted in our territory. It's time to hunt."

"Wyverns? And here I thought, humans were the better prey."

"We've never hunted humans or shifters. Anyone who did would be brought before a global tribunal." Jeremiah leaves and Jonah grabs clothes from the wardrobe, oblivious to her internal monologue. "We hunt animals, but sometimes wyverns appear in our territories. They're incredibly rare and dangerous and whoever kills one becomes an instant hero." He tosses her the clothes. "Change and meet me in the foyer, don't forget to bring a weapon."

She catches the clothes. He leaves and she studies the outfits. She grabs the ax she won during the Trials and heads downstairs. She heads to the foyer, where Jonah waits for her along with Morgan, Mino, Maria and another female shifter named Nori.

"Ugh. You're bringing her, Jonah? She's fucking useless. And in that outfit, one scratch and she's done for." Nori looks Elodie up and down, her lips curled in a derisive sneer.

Elodie tosses her ax up in the air. It flips end over end, then she catches it with her opposite hand. "We'll see who's fucking useless when I replace the wyvern and kill it first."

They split into pairs as they head out into the forest. Mino and Nori, Morgan and Maria, Elodie and Jonah.

Once her and Jonah are far enough from the Sanctuary, he begins the hunt in earnest. "Listen to me. There are a few things that can help us track the wyvern. First, we have to stay quiet." He lowers his voice, leaning in to whisper the rest against her ear.

"What else?"

He lifts his head, scenting the breeze, then speaks into her ear again. "Follow the scent of the fire. Look for broken branches. Most of all, watch for dead animals. The larger or deadlier the animal is, the closer we are to the wyvern."

She grips the ax in her hand as they move silently through the woods. She inhales, scenting the breeze. It carries a copper tang. "I don't smell fire, but I smell blood. Look! There's a trail on the ground." She points to a dark trail of liquid that glints in the moonlight. Nodding, Jonah takes the lead. She follows him, scrambling over the rough terrain. When they finally reach the end, it isn't a wyvern, but a decapitated deer. All of a sudden, an ominous snarl fills the air. "What is that?"

"Shit, that's the wyvern. They make that sound when they're about to attack!"

"I have a plan. You need to change into a dragon and distract it. Then I'll hit it from behind."

"I'm only supposed to change into a dragon if my life is in danger."

"Okay, I guess let's sit here and wait for it to kill one of us, then."

He smirks. "I suppose you have a point. You're sure you want to do this? If you attack, you'll be in danger."

"Absolutely positive. I can handle it. Trust me." Jonah's eyes glow silver and he shifts into a dragon. Just as he settles into the form, a wyvern bursts from the trees above. "Holy shit!"

Jonah lets out a roar. The wyvern, shocked to replace an adult dragon waiting, snarls and tries to fly away. "Now, Elodie!" She charges the monster and takes a running leap. She lands on its back, gripping it with her knees as it bucks. "Be careful!"

"I know what I'm doing!" She smashes the ax down, sinking it into the monster once, then twice. She wrenches it free and leaps away, but the beast chases.

"It's on you! Watch out!"

She dodges the monster's snapping teeth, rolling backward. It advances toward her, snapping its jaws. Then Jonah is there, sinking his teeth into its shoulder. The wyvern roars and slashes at Jonah. He lets go and leaps back.

"Jonah! Whip it with your tail!"

Jonah turns, lashing the beast. His tail slices across the wyvern's chest. "It's covered in injuries. We can do this!" He growls at the creature. "We have to act now, Elodie. Come on!" Footsteps pound through the forest. She can hear the voices of Morgan and Maria growing closer. "Shit. It's Morgan. Do it before he can steal our kill, or worse, fuck it all up." Instead of moving, she freezes. The wyvern screams in her face, then leaps into the air and begins to fly away. "No!"

An ice arrow sinks into the wyvern's neck. It screams and falls and she sees Maria step out of the forest, followed by Morgan with a bow. Jonah shifts back into a human, looking angry and disappointed. "Shit, Morgan got it. So much for a good hunt."

"Better luck next time, crown prince."

A few moments later, they're joined in the clearing by Mino and Nori. When Mino sees the dead wyvern, he whoops. "It's dead this early? Hell yeah! Let's go get some drinks to celebrate!"

They all take the wyvern's body back to the Sanctuary, then change and head to a bar in Seattle. "Everyone, you know the drill. Morgan and Maria drink for free tonight. Pay up!"

Glowering, Jonah pulls money out of his wallet to buy a smirking Morgan his drinks.

Morgan approaches Elodie, slipping between her and Jonah. Far too close for comfort. "I didn't expect you to be able to survive one minute in the woods, let alone do that well on a wyvern hunt."

There's something a little too... suggestive in his smile.

"Um, thank you?"

"I see I've caught you off-guard. I like my women that way."

Jonah's eyes spark with rage as he watches her and so do Nori's. "I'm going to get more drinks."

"Oh? I can help with that. I'd hate for the crown prince to have to do any kind of work." Clearly excited to keep annoying his brother, Morgan follows Jonah over to the bar. Nori follows them.

"God, those two drive me insane." Mino comments.

"Yeah. It can't be easy to be the youngest in the family."

Maria laughs and pats Mino on the head like an affectionate older sister. "Poor baby. It wasn't this bad, not until...." she stops herself, almost as if she said something she shouldn't.

"She might as well know. She's part of the family now." Mino looks at Maria. "Listen, Elodie. Jonah wasn't always the crown prince."

"He's right. It used to be Morgan."

"What.... what happened?"

"There was trouble with Clan Aelon. My mom, you know, the queen? She disinherited Morgan and made Jonah the heir instead."

Elodie stiffens at the mention of Clan Aelon, her clan. "Oh, my God. So what happened with Clan Aelon?"

They exchange glances. "Well, there was sort of this blood feud...." before they can finish the story, the others return with shots.

"You all look so serious. This is a celebration! In fact, we're going to have a drinking contest." Morgan grins.

"A drinking contest?"

"Yes. Unless being the crown prince has made you soft. I'd simply hate to embarrass you in public."

"Yeah, right. I'm game if Elodie is."

They all look at her expectantly. There's something in Jonah's eyes that says he needs this. Morgan can't get the better of him.

"She probably can't even hold her liquor. Look at her." Nori grins.

"Oh. Nah, I don't drink."

They ignore Elodie while they play games together, laughing and bonding over drinks. The six of them drink for a couple hours, getting rowdier and louder as time goes on. All of a sudden, her phone buzzes in her pocket. She looks down and sees an SOS text from her uncle Jebeem.

'I need to see you right now. It's an emergency.'

She glances at the others, but none of them are watching her. She walks quietly to the door and slips out of the bar. She pulls out her phone. Just then, a voice speaks right in her ear. "Just where do you think you're sneaking off to?"