Page 19 of The Dragon Warlord

I huff a sigh. That’s a tricky one to traverse. “How about we agree that when you’re in pain you tell me and if you think there’s something that will help, you’re to speak up?”

“I can do that, Warlord. Thank you, again, for correcting me. It means a lot.”

That’s unexpected. How often does a dragon need correction?

Out of thin air, a burning parchment appears and drops into my lap. Shaking off the fire, I unravel the scroll to find the invite I’ve been waiting for, only I suddenly don’t want it.

“What is this all about?” I ask River. It’s clear the dragon lord isn’t inviting me to tea.

“A summons, Warlord.”

“Ah. I am summoned by the dragon lord at long last.”

He shakes his head and points to how it was signed at the bottom. “You’ve been summoned by your alpha.”

A shock of humiliation runs through me as my hand reaches for my collar. I am owned by the dragon lord. He can control me with this piece of metal that might look innocuous but is forged with magic.

I’m his.

“He wants to show me my place, does he?”

“Yes. Most alphas do for the first while until a protocol is established.”

“I won’t do that to you,” I promise him. His forlorn expression says he wishes I would. I add that to my mental list of things I need to get to, but I’m unsure of where to place it in the priority sequence. “Would you like me to establish protocol?”

His pretty blue eyes flick to the ground. “Not if you don’t want to, Warlord.”

“That is not what I asked you.”

He jolts and then relaxes. “I would love some protocol, Warlord, but I don’t want to upset you.”

Below us, dragons meander across the open space on their way to wherever they’re going. They peer upward at us like we’re something they’ve never seen before.

I only have eyes for River, and I need to do whatever will bring his smile back. “I thought you already knew your place, hmmm?” I even bust out my signature Tristan smile. The one I know Alrik always caves for.

It works just as well on River, and he brightens. “I do, Warlord.”

“Then it would be a waste of my time.” His expression falls again, and this time I know why. “You’re not a waste of my time. I just mean, why focus on that when we could be doing other things together?”

He nods, but his disposition doesn’t improve. “Yes, Warlord.”

Gods. I’m fucking this up. I shouldn’t be anyone’s alpha. “Come. Let’s go get me my first how-to-be-an-alpha lesson so I can stop making you look like that. Take me to him.”

* * *

The dragon lord is in what I’m going to call his “Throne Room” because it doesn’t seem like much goes on in here other than him lordly sitting on his throne. His blond hair is brushed long, flowing over his white cape. I’m drawn to him, but I don’t know if it’s in a good way. Attraction isn’t always to people we should be attracted to, be it sexual or platonic. The bite on my neck pulses.

River bows as we’re supposed to and I’m reluctant, but so do I.

“Very good, Warlord. River, you may stand if your alpha allows it, Tristan, I want you on both knees for this conversation.”

My head snaps up. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He buffs his fingers on the scales of his cape. “Not even a little bit. Speak to me like that again and I’ll make you do it naked.”

It’s only River, the dragon lord, and one of his husbands. Fuck it. I kneel up on two knees.

“Thank you, Omega. Bow your head. When you’re here as my omega, this is the level of deference I expect, for now, until you know your place.”