Page 69 of The Dragon Warlord

“Because he cares about you more than you think, Warlord.” I believe that Father believed he was going to lose Tristan when the Wasteland beast attacked. He came close to it. Technically, it wasn’t the beast who almost killed Tristan, but the beasts are connected to the event and that’s enough.

“Yeah, well, he has a funny way of showing it. Anyway, not looking forward to seeing her heart broken again. Did you see that? She was the old Ikara again.”

“I saw it, Warlord.” That’s when I notice it. Him shifting around on the hard seat. I squint. “Are you all right?”

He winces. “Yeah. I went to the discipline academy last night.”

“You did? But your appointment—”

“Is now only one day away and I regret going last night,” he grumbles.

“W-Why did you go last night, Alpha?”

He can’t look me in the eyes. He stares at his folded hands atop his lap. “I’m not dealing well with your fantasy lover, all right? I want to tear his imaginary throat out.”

Okay, Tristan might be right. There might be just the smallest amount of brat in me when I’m with him because I want to have just a little fun with that one. “How do you know it was a he?”

“Because you said and I quote, ‘Fuck. Your cock is … oh fuck’. That’s why,” he snarls, clenching his hands into fists.

Heat creeps across my neck. “Oh.” It was a dream about Tristan’s cock. It’s all I dream about.

“Sorry. Anyway, see? I’m pants at handling this, but I’m trying.”

“You won’t have to, Warlord. It was just a random dream wrought from too much honey mead.”

“Was it a real person? No. Don’t answer that. Sorry. I do respect your privacy. I’m battling with the dragon in me that wants to hoard you away.”

My tongue itches to tell him that he’s my alpha and therefore doesn’t have to respect my privacy, but we’ve downright argued about that point. Well, for us. It probably wouldn’t have been considered arguing for other couples.

I mean bonded pairs. Fuck. We are not a couple. Gods.

I take a breath. He’s hurting and I can’t live with that. “It was you, Warlord. I was embarrassed to tell you because I knew you’d take it to mean something it doesn’t. We spend a lot of time together. I was drunk. You’re extremely attractive.”

I leave it at that and let him come to his own conclusion.

His jaw drops, but at least he’s looking at me. Right at me. “That is new information,” he says, processing it on the spot. “I’m relieved. But that’s natural, right? Because I’m your alpha? The whole ‘my dragon owns you’ thing?”

He’s so unbelievably intelligent, except when it comes to this. He can’t see the obvious? He has a bloody alpha and while I suspect that his alpha might have feelings beyond their bond for him, Tristan doesn’t feel the same way about the dragon lord. That should prove to him inexplicably that while some things about the bond are convoluted and forced, other things aren’t. Yet, the bond is his default answer for everything.

I don’t think I can answer this one for him. For us. If I do, the answer will have come from me and forever ruin the one sliver of hope that we could ever be together. It will be more impactful if he has his own realization about it.

“I am also a young dragon in his prime, Alpha,” I say, hoping to take his mind away from the bond and put it to other ideas.

“Thirteen hundred is young?”

“In Earth years I’d be about your age, and I consider you young, Warlord.” I smile. “Are we good? I didn’t make things awkward, did I?”

He shakes his head. “I’m glad you told me. It was eating at me.”

“Knock, knock,” General Sharpe says outside the tent.

“Come in,” Tristan says.

“Hate to interrupt, Warlord, but Ace and Keldrid fell into the dragon ivy trench again.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. How did that happen? I told them several times not to practice near it. I’ve been gone for ten minutes,” he mutters.

“You probably don’t want to know.”