Page 76 of Anaki

“We will not have her reject us; we will not give her a chance to. She. Is. Ours.”

He didn’t let out a roar like I was expecting, instead, his feet quickened, the fins on our back and tail lowered to our body as he speedily raced through the woods. Our long neck looked behind bushes, around trees. He even dared to climb a tree.

Water dragons don’t typically climb trees, our caves are lower to the ground, at least a body length or two high, but he was climbing three or four body lengths up.

There was no fear felt, just determination, when he climbed high to the top of the swaying tree. The sun was touching the tops of the trees, ready to set in the distance. The territory was vast, but Elena was human, and shewasn’t used to running. She couldn’t have gone far.

“I urge you to stop this,”I begged. “Don’t claim her. Give me back control.”

My dragon ignored me and climbed down from the tree. He began stalking through the foliage. He was now concentrating on the hunt. It was a more primitive form of the dragons; it wasn’t practiced anymore. Our mates accepted the bond within our clan, but with our history, this had sparked something new and different that I was never taught in the teachings of our history.

I don’t know what to do.If I could pull at my hair, I would. The thought of being rejected by Elena was strong in the beginning, but the warmth and, dare I say, love that I felt for her was strong, and how she clung to me made me know she would accept us.

My dragon didn’t understand that.

And now he was hunting her because he was afraid of the potential rejection.

The deeper we went into the forest, the more frantic he became. Her scent had faded to near nonexistent, and even I became worried. Where the fuck did she go?

As darkness fell over the forest, our senses heightened, and we could hear the smallest of sounds. Our dragon's nose twitched in the air, still focused on Elena's scent. The tension between us was palpable. Elena was nowhere, and I had no way to call for her or members from the Iron Fang. I was utterly alone with my asshole of a dragon.

Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes ahead caught our attention. Our dragon's eyes narrowed, and he stood completely still for a moment, listening intently. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he leaped forward quietly when we heard growls and pants.

“So big!” I heard a female whine. “Shit, I’m going to be ripped in half!” My dragon’s head perked up and stalked forward. The voice was familiar,and when we peered through the tops of the trees, we saw a sight that will forever be ingrained into our minds.

It was Elena’s sister, Emm being fucked by… Locke. I could smell his scent, but I had never seen him like the beast he was now.

His hairy, two-legged figure hovered over her, his breath heaved and was taken in ragged breaths. Emm back was pushed over a log, the moonlight lighting her face. Her eyes were shut while he fucked her into oblivion.

I could have gone without ever seeing this.

“Fuck me!” she cried, her voice hoarse with passion. “Fuck me harder!”

I’m going to be sick. That’s my mate’s sister.

My dragon shuddered in disgust, and I heard dry heaving come from the other side of the clearing. My dragon’s head lifted, and I felt our lips curling over our fangs.

Elena.

“So gross!” she whispered and covered her eyes. Her scent was very muted, and it was because of the mud and the hormones that had surrounded the area. She had run right toward her sister’s camper, where she had been staying. No wonder we hadn’t smelled her.

While Locke continued to… do whatever he was doing to the Iron Fang’s future Luna, we hid in the forest and slithered to the other side. I screamed inside my dragon, trying to warn her to get away, but it was all futile.

He had one desire, and that was to grab Elena. I just hope to the goddess he wouldn’t do it right here alongside Locke and Emm.

Elena’s eyes were closed, her hands next to her ears. Her body was completely naked, and my heart was crushed to see that she had to be freezing all afternoon out in the open, no longer in the fae’s territory.

My dragon chuckled deeply. His nose lowered and brushed the side of her face. She stilled and her eyes opened slowly, lifted her head, and stared back at us.

“Mine,” he whispered, and she opened her mouth to scream.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elena

When I saw Anaki in pain, a part of me was desperate to reach out and help him, yet those ungodly sounds he made were terrifying beyond belief. I felt torn between wanting to comfort him and the fear that I would do more harm than good.

My heart raced, and any arousal that had plagued me vanished when I saw his bones break, his neck arch and lengthen. The screams and the roars were unbearable. My body trembled in fear for him, not for my life, but for his.