Dragons and Dreams

~Dragons.~

~And I’m their mate?~

~Are my ears ringing?~

~Is this just another dream?~

~DRAGONS.~

~What the fuck!~

~Did they just tell me they’re honest-to-god dragons?~

~Like fire breathing…~

~Flying…~

~People-eating…~

~Scaly serpents?~

I wanted to burst out laughing, but I couldn’t. Why couldn’t I?

It was because, as insane as it would be, so many things would finally make sense.

Was it really possible that dragons weren’t just a load of fairytale bull?

I’d scoffed at those legends my entire life, but now I was lying in bed with two men who I would truthfully describe as the living embodiment of dragons.

And the dragon tattoo that mysteriously showed up on my back…

That must be connected too. Because I’m their mate?

And what does that even mean, being their mate?

This was all too crazy to be true…wasn’t it?

“Nothing to say, mouse?” Loch droned impatiently. “Have you lost your ability to speak?”

“Give her a moment to process, brother,” Hael reprimanded. “She wasn’t even aware of our kind’s existence.”

“Of course she was,” Loch snapped. “We’re the very fabric of history itself!”

“Yes, but she never believed in the legends.” Hael sighed.

Were they reading my mind?

“How…how do I know you’re telling the truth? How do I know you aren’t just messing with me?” I asked, finally finding my voice.

“Should we give her a demonstration?” Loch grinned. “Shift into our true forms?”

“No, Loch, she’d probably pass out,” Hael responded bluntly. “There are ways that we can prove our claims that are less…uncouth.”

Loch rolled his eyes. “Fine, you take the lead then.”

“Madeline,” Hael said softly, placing his hand on my bare shoulder. “Let me show you my powers.”

I suddenly remembered I was only wearing a bra and became extremely self-conscious. Even more so because both brothers were shirtless, and when they touched me, I felt a stirring in my body that made me unbelievably horny.

“You’re thinking about my bare torso and how it gives you a pleasurable feeling in your loins,” Hael said casually.

“Huh, no, what?” I said, completely flustered. “What are you even talking about?”

And seriously, why were they always wearing tight leather pants? They left nothing to the imagination.

“The leather pants aren’t part of our corporeal forms,” Hael said, interrupting my thoughts. “We create them, along with these bodies. We can materialize any clothing, but this is the most aesthetically pleasing to us.”

Okay, so they ~can~ read minds. Unless…

“That’s a neat trick, but how do I know you aren’t just a really good guesser?” I challenged.

Hael’s nostrils flared, and smoke spilled out. “I’ll leave the next one to you, brother.”

Loch’s eyes lit up with a glint of mischief, and he rubbed his hands together.

“Time for the real show.”

Loch continued to rub his palms against each other, and emerald fire erupted between them. He tossed the fire around, playing with it as if it were a baseball.

He then inhaled a deep breath and blew out, shooting the fire in an incredible burst all the way across the room.

I had to admit it was breathtaking, but I’d seen fire breathers on the streets before, dressed in plastic dragon masks, trying to make a quick buck.

It was a parlor trick at best. A manipulation of the mind.

I still wasn’t convinced.

“I’ve seen that shit before. Any street performer in Requiem City worth their salt can do something similar,” I said, crossing my arms.

I really was beginning to doubt their claims. In fact, I was feeling foolish for even believing they could be true in the first place.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Loch glared at me, aggravated. “I don’t have to prove anything to you, street rat.”

I glared at Loch. “~Street rat~ again? I thought we talked about this.”

Loch shrugged. “Stop acting like a brat, and I’ll stop insulting you.”

Hael just shook his head and sighed. I turned toward him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, when he suddenly vanished from his spot on the bed.

In his place was a thin veil of mist.

~How the hell…~

“Where…where did he go?” I stammered. “He was just…”

Loch shot me a smirk and pulled the exact same move, vanishing in a distorted mist.

Suddenly, both brothers reappeared, their particles materializing into physical forms.

And not only that, they were both ~hovering~. Neither’s feet touched the ground.

“Okay,” I said, clutching my hair a bit manically. “I believe you. You’re…you’re ~dragons~.”

“Dragon Lords,” Hael corrected me.

“But what does all this have to do with me?” I asked, confused. “You said I’m your mate. What does that mean?

“She’s not ready to know the truth, Loch,” Hael said carefully. “We’ve said too much already. I still think that we must wait until she’s eighteen.”

“That’s over a year away!” Loch protested.

“I’ve already made the arrangements,” Hael said, smirking. “And found somewhere to keep Madeline until she’s ready.”

“What do you mean, ‘keep me until I’m ready’? What are you planning?” I shouted at the brothers, but they ignored me.

“Don’t be coy, brother. What’s your plan?” Loch demanded.

“Don’t I get a say in any of this?” I said, exasperated. “You’re talking about ~me~.”

Loch and Hael exchanged devious smirks that sent a chill down my spine.

Before I knew what was happening, they were both spooning me and my tattoo was heating up. The warmth from their bodies felt amazing, and I just wanted to melt away.

Hael spoke to me in a soothing tone. “Sleep. We’ll resume this again when the time is right. You’re too young to know the truth, Madeline.”

“It would break you,” Loch said. “And we cannot allow that, little mouse.”

I wasn’t tired, but my eyelids began to feel heavy, as if something was forcing them shut, and a sinking sensation struck my chest.

“For ~when~ we break you…”

I didn’t hear him finish the sentence.

I was falling into a deep, dark hole.

And as I drifted off to sleep, I had a strange thought…

~What if all of this is just a dream?~

***

^PRESENT DAY^

Images floated through my mind.

Standing on the steps of a gothic-looking fortress in the middle of a forest.

Graceful Springs Academy.

Meeting my roommate, a girl named Zayda.

Walking the halls in my uniform.

Trying on a dress…

The memories hit me one after another until they slowed to a stop, and I found myself once more standing in the grand ballroom at my senior prom.

In this ridiculous dress, staring into the eyes of the twins who stole me from my friends, from my home…

And put me here.

Stole my memories.

~Oh my God, Darshan and Harry!~

~I haven’t spoken to them in over a year. They probably don’t even know I’m alive.~

Before I could begin processing that insane revelation, the brothers were by my side.

Each of them held out an arm, smiling at me.

“May we have this dance?” They both spoke in unison.

I wanted to say no. I ~tried~ to say no, but my body moved without my permission, right into their arms.

They led me to the dance floor, Hael pressed against my front, Loch pressed against my back.

“I’m sure you have questions,” Hael said as he pulled me closer to him. “Your memories have come back to you, I take it?”

“Y-yes,” I stammered.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “You’re…Dragon Lords,” I whispered, more to myself than to either of them.

Loch pressed close behind me, and the three of us moved around the dance floor in a slow waltz.

“But what do you want with ~me~?” I continued. “I’m nobody, a street rat. You said it yourselves.”

“And our destined mate,” Hael said quietly.

I stopped dead in my tracks, and Loch’s hands moved to my shoulders. “Careful, mouse.”

“Mate…” The word was foreign on my tongue.

I thought back to all of the stories I’d heard. The myths.

But if it was true, and I was their mate, their one true love, or whatever… How could they be so cruel to me? Removing me from everything I’d known, all my friends, my life in Requiem City?

“You had no right to take away my memories,” I said, suddenly feeling heated. “You changed my entire life without my consent!”

I took a step away, removing myself from being sandwiched between the brothers. They didn’t look remorseful at all. They were smirking.

“Dragon Lords don’t need your ~consent~.” Loch laughed. “We can take whatever the fuck we want.”

I didn’t like this side of Loch. In fact, both brothers were acting far colder than I was accustomed to.

“Loch, play nice,” Hael said, chuckling. “We have to remember that she’s a mortal who wasn’t taught our ways.”

“True, brother. We’ll have to teach the mouse our methods. We can’t have her thinking she has any sort of control.”

These superior attitudes were really starting to get old. The brothers were always kind of assholes, but they were taking it to another level tonight.

Loch grabbed me by the arm and pushed my back against Hael, and then he closed in so I was pressed between them once again.

He softly brushed my lip with his thumb and stared at me with his devious emerald-green eyes.

“You know, mouse, once we find out mate, we’re forbidden from fucking another woman. Do you know what that means? It means we haven’t had sex in over a year.”

Loch abruptly flipped me around so that I was facing Hael again, and I could feel his bulge pressed into my ass.

“I know my brother doesn’t mince his words, but I’m sure you can understand our…frustration,” Hael said, giving me the same devious look.

Loch’s tongue started licking the mark on my back, and my body shuddered with pleasure. I actually felt myself get wet, and I flushed with embarrassment. We were surrounded by the entire school.

“No…not here,” I moaned.

My mind and body were in conflict. I yearned for the pleasure and warmth of these two virile Dragon Lords, but I’d also never been more terrified.

The sexual tension between us was rising fast, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“How shall we fuck her, brother?” Loch said with childlike excitement. “One at a time or together?”

“I’m not ready for this.” I panted, trying to resist the wave of desire rolling down my spine.

“We already gave you a year of freedom,” Hael said with surprising severity. “But that time is over now. You’re ours.”

Why were they acting like they owned me?

Loch continued caressing my tattoo with his mouth, and I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped my lips.

“Loch, what are you doing? Please…,” I pleaded. “Don’t touch the tattoo.”

“Tattoo?” Loch let out a roaring laugh. “Silly mouse, this isn’t a tattoo.”

“What…what is it then?”

“It’s your brand,” Hael explained. “Your mark of possession. Every destined mate receives one to signify their servitude to their masters.”

Servitude?

Masters?

~What the hell is going on?~

“What are you saying, Hael?” I asked, a sense of dread creeping into my stomach.

“Freedom is no longer an option, Madeline. Only obedience.”

Loch placed a finger under my chin so that I was forced to stare into his emerald eyes.

“You’re bound to us—for eternity.”