The Twin Dragons Series: Dragon's Pet

Minx

There’s something about running away into a snowy forest that makes the whole “running away” thing kind of fun. But I’m not talking about the kind of running away where you’re hiding from someone.

I don’t hide. And I don’t always fight, either.

One bite from my venomous fangs could kill any Dragon, mortal, or mage—though that’s the most boring way to go about it.

I’m a pretty fierce fighter, whether I’m in my mortal form or my Dragon form. I can outrun and outsmart anyone. That’s why I like to make my escapes more like games of cat and mouse.

I like to trick, steal, confuse, and tease anyone who thinks they’re the predator.

Naturally, I have a lot of enemies. My breed of Dragon isn’t exactly popular.

I’m small, but I’m fast, precise, and powerful. I can even spit venomous fire. I might be tiny, but I’m deadly—in more ways than one.

Because of these traits, everyone assumes Fire-Spitters are dangerous. And with our volatile mental states, we’re often seen as crazy.

And yeah, we are…at least when we’re young. But once we grow up and mellow out, we become more stable.

I’m a lot more laid-back than I used to be. I used to kill for no reason and provoke others just for the fun of it.

Now? I’m secretly…lonely. There, I said it. I’m lonely.

Not for my annoying mates. I just want some company. Any kind of friend would do. But girls don’t seem to like me and most boys are too scared of me.

And Lotus? He’s dead. Because Zoraul just had to go and kill a male friend of mine…probably because he’s male or because he saw me naked.

That’s just how my mate’s Tempest Breed is raised.

Even though I’ve run through all of the Tempest Lands to avoid my mates—I hate the Tempest Lands because I hate Tempest Breeds.

“Cave-Dragons,” I mutter to myself from a snowy tree I’ve climbed, almost at the top where the branches start to get thin.

I’ve been watching the town at the bottom of the slope I climbed. The town is bustling, but some hunters have gone into the forest…

And then I see two giant Silver Breeds rise above the town and fly toward me. Their exact forms are blurred, but I catch a glimpse of their sizes.

They’re huge. Next to the twin brothers, I’d look like a mouse.

Now their blurred forms dissolve into silver dust, magical and sparkling as they magically appear as humans right under my tree.

Perfect. I left a clear scent trail to my hiding spot on purpose. I watch now as each twin solidifies too close to each other.

Rawk and Zoraul barely touch shoulders, but it’s enough for them to slowly turn to each other and glare with all the hate they can muster.

Both have bloody foreheads from getting a hit in on each other with their weapons. Before, of course, they had to go track me down because I actually got away.

As they look up together, I slowly smile down at them, locking eyes with my mates.

I’m leaning off the branch, my purple hair hanging down, my eyes wide and happy as I prepare to slide to the next branch below me.

Both of them watch me with narrowed eyes as I innocently slide down to the branch a little bit closer to them.

As I do so, my hand keeps a firm hold of the branch I was just on, holding it at a steady tension.

As I let it go, a shower of heavy snow falls off the pine needles and plummets onto the brothers.

“Ha ha!” I shriek with laughter as I jump to my feet and hop along a few branches to run to the nearby trees. I watch them both trip into the snow.

I hear them snarl out, and as they swipe the snow off and run after me to the next tree, I simply kick a few more branches, perfectly timed.

I manage to get a few more showers of snow to fall onto my Twin Dragon Lords’ shoulders before they realize running after me under the trees isn’t going to work.

And I’m not going to stop laughing.

The moment both twins start to shift, I also shift, grabbing my clothes with my claws. I swoop out of my tree and fly like a sparrow between the tightly packed trees as my purple Dragon.

I know with their natural sizes they’ll only be able to stay in their Dragon forms above the forest or down below where the pines are further apart.

Is this how you greet your mates? Zoraul asks me, sounding tired.

You’re both lying Tempest scum bags. I connect to each mind boldly and snarl at them.

Deep down, though, I’m filled with an unexpected joy. It’s fun playing with my mates! If I could do this every day, maybe I could tolerate them keeping me company.

We could play chase all day—that’s something I’d be willing to consider. They could be my pets!

Just as I think that, I feel like an avalanche of ice-cold snow lands on my back. I’m shocked as my wings can’t hold me up and I plummet to the snowy ground.

As I tumble to a painful stop, my tail just rolls over my eyes before I land on my back—and I see multiple trees around me bent, broken, and destroyed.

The little bit of sun is blocked out by the massive silver-scaled Dragons looking down at me.

To my right, Rawk takes up almost my entire field of vision, his wings outstretched, his talons slicing through the trees he’s balancing on.

I know this is him because of the black scar—it looks better on his Dragon face than his human face.

Zoraul is balancing on the trees to the left, his black scar jagged across his stomach toward his wing.

That’s the only real difference between them, besides Rawk being a burnt silver and Zoraul a bright, brilliant silver.

And now, with my wings surely leaving a Dragon–snow angel figure behind me, and my mates perched above in the destroyed trees, I feel like a mouse.

After they landed on the trees above and stopped my flight by using my own trick against me, I’m now trapped looking up at them with a silly snarl on my Dragon face.

At least neither of you are stupid. I try to distract them as I roll to my feet and arch my back like a cat, trying to look scary as I spread out my wings.

I prance around, spitting my deadly fire out in a warning.

I expect my display to be terrifying—I haven’t met one being on this planet who didn’t run screaming when they saw my war dance before I went in for the kill. Fire-Spitters are famous for it.

I let out a loud growl, my tail whipping back and forth in a furious dance.

Rawk and Zoraul stop in their tracks. Then they both start laughing.

Their deep, rumbling laughter fills my mind as they lift their wings and tilt their dragon heads, looking at me like I’m the most hilarious thing they’ve ever seen.

Laugh all you want, but if my venomous fire is the last thing you see, don’t blame me, Tempest scum, I snap at them, lowering my wings and my snout, ready to attack.

You’re dancing like a frightened rat. Zoraul tilts his head even more as he studies me. ~Keep going, mate. It’s quite entertaining to see something so wild and untamed.~

At Zoraul’s words, Rawk lunges forward, his massive head swinging and his teeth snapping shut, knocking Zoraul off his perch.

I snort fire out of my nostrils as Zoraul crashes through about ten trees. While he’s trying to get back on his feet, Rawk disappears in a mist. He reappears in front of me in the blink of an eye.

He’s now in his fully clothed human form. Despite Rawk’s towering height, I lift my dragon head until it’s level with his and lock eyes with him. His golden eyes are filled with amusement.

“Unlike my brother, I don’t encourage such mischief,” Rawk says in a deep, rumbling voice. My gaze is drawn to the jagged black scar marring his face, a face that might have been handsome once.

Now, it’s marked by the black scar. I’ve always wondered how each twin ended up with such strange and violent markings.

I don’t respond to Rawk as I wait for him to make his pitch. I’ll listen, but only for a little while.

“If you choose me, Minx, I’ll teach you how to see the beauty in your life—how to explore the possibilities as my mate.”

Rawk reaches out a hand to my snout, and I snort at him as he lightly touches my nose. One touch—and my magic recoils from the sheer power of his.

It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt, and suddenly I’m shrinking and transforming into my human form.

Naked and on all fours, I quickly grab the clothes I brought with me and hold them protectively over my chest as I stay kneeling on the ground.

I don’t mind pretending to be even smaller—as if I’m starting to submit. It’s all I need to lower their guard before I take them both out—before they take me away.

I see a strange fire in Rawk’s eyes in response to my kneeling position and I pretend to be terrified.

“Always so dramatic.” Zoraul suddenly appears behind Rawk, also in his clothed human form.

Those annoying twins have somehow learned the rare ability to appear and disappear in their clothes. I have no idea how they do it.

“And you,” I say, “you kill for fun? Lotus was my friend. You skewered him…like a kebab. I like kebabs, but I don’t like my friends being turned into kebabs.”

I spit this out and Zoraul squats down in front of me while Rawk just rolls his eyes, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Say your piece and leave, you pathetic fool,” Rawk taunts his twin while Zoraul ignores the insults, looking straight into my eyes, meeting me at my level.

“Little Minx, if you choose Rawk, you’ll be his Student of Feeling. Do you know what that means?” Zoraul asks.

“He’ll teach you how to feel everything you don’t want to. But me? If you choose me, Minx, you can be my Student of Disobedience.”

“Why that?” I ask, simply. But as Zoraul tries to move closer, I snarl, “Don’t try to trick me,” and I hear Rawk snort in disbelief at me or his twin or both of us, I’m not sure.

“Why disobedience?” Zoraul responds.

“Why not, Minx? We can travel together, not tied down to any Horde. We can see sights most mortals will never see, we can go on quests for treasure… Don’t you like treasure?”

“Only Twin Breeds like shiny things,” I murmur quietly. “Both offers are amusing… I like amusing. I’ll decide in a year.” I slowly raise an eyebrow at both of them.

I appreciate that neither of them has tried to manhandle me or kidnap me yet. The fact that they’ve both tried to make a pitch to me has given me a bit of confidence.

“Wait another year, hiding in the shadows, waiting for you to pick a fight you can’t win and get yourself killed?” Rawk retorts, completely ignoring my offer.

“You’re a wild beast that needs to be tamed.”

Whoa. Not okay.

“I. Am. A. Woman!” I jump to my feet, dropping my clothes. I stand there, completely naked, but now I stand tall and proud.

I can’t stand being called a beast. I hate that insult. Ever since I had my first period a couple of years ago, before I turned sixteen, I’ve had a few…mental issues.

I can’t stand anyone insulting my femininity. I’m still a woman and I’m proud of it. I don’t want to be called a beast.

I stand there in all my glory, waiting for each of them to assess my physical worth in this moment. They both seem taken aback for a moment. But as they both prepare to respond, I wait impatiently for a compliment.

“You look like a kid,” Rawk growls, defensively.

“Threatened by the beauty of our mate?” Zoraul scoffs at his brother. “I can see your aura, you fool—you’ve always been a terrible liar.”

“You’ve always been too good at lying. Which is better—being a bad liar or a good one?” Rawk chuckles, clearly pleased with his own cleverness. “Minx?”

“Kid?” I whisper. Despite the conversation, I’m hurt by his first comment.

“You think I look like a child? I’m eighteen winters old and I’m extremely feminine. I don’t drool when I eat raw meat anymore and I don’t tear my meals apart. I eat them properly, unlike the fledglings my age. You’re a fool, Rawk.”

I turn to Zoraul, my voice steady. “You were green with envy over a mere mortal. He might have been weak, but he was my friend. You two are not my mates.”

I point at them, my voice rising. “You’re both pitiful. You have a year to come up with a better offer than ‘Student of this’ and ‘Student of that.’ I don’t care for your silly games. I’m the one who creates the games…”

I bend down to pick up my clothes, clutching them in my hand as I slowly back away into the snow. I smirk at them, “And I don’t play by your rules.”

I keep backing away, hoping my strong words will make them back off too. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll start fighting. There’s nothing more appealing, nothing that gets my blood pumping like watching them move.

I bite my lip, hoping for it…forgetting for a moment that as Silver Breeds, they’re highly empathetic.

They can read my aura, my emotions, and sometimes even my thoughts—if they’re strong enough.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Rawk teases with a smile, “you’re so adorable, I could eat you up.”

“She didn’t choose you, don’t even think about touching her.” Zoraul steps forward, raising a hand to Rawk and extending one to me. “Be my Student of Disobedience.”

I stop backing away. I have one more question. “If I’m a student to one of you,” I ask, “what does that make you?”

“Master,” they both answer simultaneously, exchanging annoyed glances for being so perfectly in sync.

It’s clear they hate how well they work together—and would rather keep the animosity alive.

“Excuse me?” I ask, tilting my head and pretending to lean in. “Did you say…Master?” I slowly start walking towards them.

I’ve made up my mind. Running isn’t an option anymore. I won’t stand for hearing the word Master, not even a whisper of it.

“As your mates, we are your Masters…no matter the consequences,” Zoraul says calmly, with Rawk nodding in agreement.

“He’s right…we just need her to choose…and it seems my little sweetheart is changing her mind?” Rawk asks me, trying to sound as smooth as his brother but falling short.

“Our, sweetheart,” Zoraul corrects him under his breath, and they both momentarily lose focus as I slowly approach them.

They don’t realize I’m stalking them. I’m not coming closer for a chat.

The twins share a look—a fleeting moment—of a better time in the past. Maybe even love… I seize the opportunity.

I pounce.

I latch onto Rawk’s arm, sinking my teeth into his shoulder, and swing my body around him. I land crouched behind him, then pounce again.

Zoraul tries to dodge, but I grab a handful of his long hair. I yank him towards me and sink my teeth into his thigh as I slide across the snow.

Both lethal bites could potentially kill my mates.

I don’t care.

I slide to my feet gracefully, hands on my hips, watching each brother grimace and hunch over from the slow-spreading venom that will eventually turn their blood black.

“I gave you both my strongest dose,” I whisper.

“Welcome to my games—if you survive. And Rawk? Just so you know…if I had to choose, I would have chosen Zoraul. No one controls me. No one. I’ll pray for you in the afterlife—when you’re both dead. Now I’m a free woman and a free Fire-Spitter. Goodbye.”

I turn and stride off into the trees, a spring in my step.

But before I go, I overhear their conversation.

“So…she’s living up to her reputation,” I hear Rawk growl.

“She chose me,” Zoraul laughs, “You’ll be alone forever—you’ll be like Storm, spending at least seven centuries alone, before I even let you see our mate’s face again.”

“Harsh words, brother. I’ll kill you and take her for myself. Just you watch.”

“But what if we die first from our mate’s brutal attack?” Zoraul asks.

Rawk responds, but I don’t hear his words. I refuse to stick around any longer. And truth be told, I don’t really want them to die.

Fire-Spitters have a long history of testing their mate’s worth… And there are plenty more challenges for them to face—if they survive my venom.

But for now? I’m going to hunt. I’m hungry.

Then I’ll run.