Chapter Two
Mac
A dragon. A freaking dragon!
It had been over a century since anyone but the priestesses and temple workers had seen a dragon at this distance, close enough to marvel at their gorgeous glowing eyes like purple embers and the smoke rolling out of their nostrils as they exhaled. Their sleek black scales rippled with each breath, reflecting a sparkling blue sheen in the sunlight. They were the most magnificent creature I'd ever seen.
When they spoke, the ground shook. When they asked for a beta to volunteer, I couldn't resist the call, even when they used the word, "servant." I had been serving our village for years by raising dragonets. If any of us were ready to serve a dragon, I was.
I had to brace into the wind when the dragon launched into the sky beside me. I thought they had forgotten me, but when they finished razing the changeling circle, leaving the stones in a pile of mundane rubble, they returned.
"You." They brushed their snout across my chest. "Come to the foothills with me. We have much to discuss."
The next events passed in a blur. The dragon helped me scramble onto their back and secured me with a spell so I wouldn't fall off for the short ride to their cave.
It was dark and stank of decay near the entrance, but then they helped me dismount and showed me the cozy fire burning in the back, a natural (or dragon-made) vent letting the smoke escape through the ceiling. They had a huge nest by the fire and a few chairs fit for kobolds much smaller than me.
"I apologize for the lack of decor," they said. "You may sit wherever is comfortable. The old bench might be more to your liking?"
The bench was long enough for my ass, at least, but only as wide as my hand. "That will do," I said, keeping my rhythm slow and even the way they spoke. "What may I call you?"
"Oh!" Their head was suddenly very close as I shifted the bench toward an even spot on the cave wall and sat down. "You have far better manners than the priestesses. They call me 'Dragon' and do not care to know my name."
"You destroyed their entire village and killed most of their friends," I reminded them. "You're lucky they don't call you worse names."
The dragon snorted, and a puff of smoke rolled from their nostrils. "I like you. Yes, I like you very much. Unlike your alpha and omega counterparts, you are brave and foolish."
"I am not foolish!" I was brave enough to say it with the dragon breathing down on me. Okay, maybe I was foolish.
"That was a compliment," they said. "It was Galena, the last time anyone called me by my name."
The sheer loneliness in their tone spoke volumes. "How long ago was that?"
"Around the time your village burned. My family left to destroy the rest of the kobold villages."
"You said it was Galena," I said, sensing their earlier hesitation over the name. "Has it changed?"
"Now, I prefer Galen. I have molted several times since then and have grown accustomed to my body. Galen suits me better."
"It's nice to meet you, Galen."
"Thank you."
They stared at me for several long moments. I didn't mind silence most of the time, but I couldn't tell if Galen was trying to think of something to say, or maybe they were wondering if I would taste better roasted or smoked.
"My name is Mac," I added when they didn't ask for it.
"It is wonderful to meet you as well, Mac." They said the hard "C," like it was its own syllable. "You look uncomfortable." They nodded and pointed to the narrow bench seat. "I will steal you a new chair. I have seen the benches they have on the cabin porches. The chains are weak."
I laughed at their serious tone. "No, please. I will bring my own folding chair next time."
"Next time?" They pressed closer to me and sniffed my chest. "You will not go back. You are mine now."
Magic swirled around us, and a rocking chair my size appeared beside the fireplace.
"I have to go back," I said, unable to resist raising my hand to touch the delicate skin of their snout. They were soft, warm, and smelled of wood smoke. I'd been expecting something like coal or the harsh factory smells on Earth.
"I raise dragonets," I said. "We're about to have a clutch of hatchlings." I needed to be there, to be the first person the dragonets bonded. I was the only kobold in recent memory who could bond an entire clutch and then pass off those bonds to new riders when the time came.
"But you agreed to serve me!" Galen sounded petulant, which reminded me of their whining to Coz and Lark earlier. They must have been a very young dragon when they were abandoned.
They snapped their teeth, and I pulled my hand away from their snout.
"I did, and I will, but you can't keep me prisoner here. I need to return to my job, my cave, my life."
"This is your cave now," they insisted. "I want you to live with me."
"Yes." I bowed my head slightly. I didn't want to break my agreement, but I needed to return to my cave for supplies. "I want that, too, but I have amenities that would make this space more comfortable, like some camping gear and a cook stove." Not to mention a few hundred scented candles to overcome the stench of decay. I would stop by the cathedral to borrow as many as Alma would let me. I added a shovel to my growing list.
"Cook stove," they said. I thought that would get their attention. They'd mentioned they missed cooked meat. "Yes. I will take you back to your village so you can get your things."
They hunkered down on the floor of their cave the way they'd done in the field. I had an easier time climbing up their scales, and then I was seated above their shoulder blades. Their long neck allowed them to turn and stare at me even while I was seated on their back.
"Is it rude to ask a dragon their age?" I wondered aloud.
"I am less than a decade over two hundred years old."
"You've been alone since the village burned?"
"Yes," they answered. "I was a youngling then. Now, I am a full adult, one molt shy of mating." Something in their gaze shifted, and I couldn't deny my attraction to them.
"What do you mean, a full adult?" Kobolds weren't adults until we lost our tails. Then, we were ready to mate, or have sex, at least. I'd bedded my share of unmated alphas, but the instant attraction I had to Galen was new.
"I am an adult capable of impregnating another dragon, if I chose, but I won't be able to claim my mate until my final molt."
I tried to hide my disappointment at their words. They expected to mate with another dragon, but the irrational part of my brain that had always desired someone larger than an alpha kobold wished I could be their mate.
"We know so little about dragon aging and anatomy," I told them. "Was it unusual for your family to leave you behind?"
"No. They said they would return when I reach full maturity. Until then, they are searching for a portal to another plane where kobolds haven't combined their fate with the humans."
"I'm sorry the kobolds of old hurt your feelings by splicing genes with humans," I said, remembering another of Priestess Alma's lessons.
"They didn't hurt my feelings." Galen shook their neck and shoulders, and the spell holding me on their back settled over me like a warm blanket. "I am grateful for creatures your size. Otherwise, I think I might crush you when we copulate."
"When we … what?"
Galen snorted again. "You promised to serve me, Mac. Stop being so obtuse. I like them brave and foolish, but you test my patience."
Oh, I knew what copulate meant. Galen wanted to put one, or maybe both, of their as of yet hidden sex organs inside me. At least I wasn't an omega, and I couldn't get pregnant. I couldn't imagine something the size of a dragon egg pushing its way out of my cock, the way omegas laid their eggs! Speaking of cock, theirs had to be massive. I loved alpha dick, don't get me wrong, but dragon dick was another level of gargantuan, or so I imagined.
Unfortunately, it would be three more years before I had my fill.