Destined to the Dragon [Book One]

Scorching fire breathes through the dragon's snarled mouth, a thundering roar blares over all the screams and snapping of burning wood. The ground quakes under his thunderous steps as dust and ash lift from the ground. A beastly roar rips past his throat, making his muscles tense with adrenaline. Swirls of smoke heave from his nostrils and exposes a row of sharp teeth when he pulls his mouth into a snarl. His eyes blaze with fury, searching through the chaos for the reason he came. He seeks something, someone.

The scales on his back, a smooth gold, then tingle, his sensitive ears pick up the softest breath of a maiden; it sends his heart racing in ecstasy. He is near. He takes a whiff of the air —pushing aside the scent of burning flesh and smoke — and catches the faintest scent of lavender. His heart clenches with excitement, and he takes a step forward. He hears a gasp and sees the maiden appearing from her hiding place.

Immediately upon seeing her, a dominant growl suppresses him, rumbling through his golden body. He takes another step towards her. The maiden looks up with widening eyes that are full of curiosity; she bravely takes a step forward. He is pleased with the maiden's choice of actions and shifts from his dragon form. In the place of the dragon stands a handsome young man with deep golden hair, peachy coloured skin, and vibrant red eyes. The man memorizes her in the white dress that speaks out amongst the carnage surrounding them; the fabrics sweeping around her figure. He fetches a decent pair of whatever to cover himself with - a ripped pair of trousers - and walks to her.

In the turmoil of the burning land around them, the pure glow around her sings out to him, enticing him solely. A low rumble tickles his throat as he pauses in front of the maiden, liking the height difference between them. He smiles at her and gently brushes a strand of blonde off her cheek. He doesn't want to hurt her or frighten her, he only hoped she understands why he had to destroy the village keeping her captive.

She looks up with wonder-struck eyes and she becomes transfixed on his blazing red eyes. Her lips part to speak but is quelled by his finger. He leans his forehead on hers, his eyes closing as a rush of sparks fly through the touching of their skins. She finally feels whole and slowly wraps her arms around his defined abdomen, relishing the sparks meant for them.

"You found me," she murmurs.

He took her chin with his finger and thumb, bringing her to look at him. He kissed her, sweet and soft, before holding her against his chest. "Always,"

~°~

For as long as she could remember, those stories and myths have been told even before Olivia was born. Her mother used to say that it was real; dragons dominating the sky and land with their fiery breath and power. Werewolves stalking through the forest and howling toward the moon. Vampires lurking in the shadows away from the rays of the sun with only blood to quench their thirst.

Sometimes she'd ponder about it. Questioning if they were more than just scribbled words and roughly drawn images on yellow stained pages. She'd wonder if they lived and breathed like every other living creature on earth.

Was every human with dark, caramel skin holding a beast inside of them? Were they waiting to shift under the light of the full moon and howl with desire and passion?

Would a human with snow pale skin be really only a creature of bloodthirst? Did they hide in the darkest of shadows where it concealed their fangs from the burning sunlight?

Was a human with the most angel given voice be in a mask to hide a tail and seashells? Would they turn into their true self when a droplet of water was to touch their skin?

her lips and Olivia found herself mentally rolling her eyes at her thoughts,

it. Everyone else seemed to believe the mythical creatures were real, but she didn't. It was absurd. Sure Olivia did believe at one point in her life, but she soon discovered that it was nothing more than a myth, make-believe, a lie. She wouldn't bother trying to convince even one person from her village that fantasy wasn't real. She had never seen a type of fantasy creature in her life,

and tell the tales when they arrived back - it was how the people began to write the stories about the creatures. Olivia's village believed. All five villages believed their stories. Everyone but her. But she guessed that it wasn't her fault her and the other four villages were gullible. All Olivia could do was observe in the back as the Fantasy Hunters told the village another one of their adventures about slaying a werewolf

one. A dragon shifter. It was a rare creature. Her mother said they were driven into the

Olivia highly doubted they existed or had such a thing called 'mate'.

understand why her mother picked out the title until she read it to Olivia on some nights when she couldn't sleep. It

wrong, like there was something missing from it. But why would Olivia care? Fantasy wasn't real. She didn't need to ponder over the structure of a mythical book her mother made up purely to satisfy Olivia's childish

to a relentless stir in her stomach. It kept her awake no matter what she tried. Walking around, doing small exercise techniques

the attic roof above her head, taking note of every cobweb there was and every spider that

the rough canvas of her bed. She didn't complain, she was lucky to even have a room or bed. It was easy to ignore the burning on her skin because there was something else keeping her awake and full of energy. As Olivia thought it, the stir

rolled onto her front, hoping that the pressure would ease the stir. It helped a bit, relieving Olivia as she crossed her arms under her chin like a pillow and gazed out the window. Looking at the soft candle lights illuminating down by the village, she had hoped it would be enough to make her sleepy. But she didn't feel even a sliver of tiredness. Olivia

was a bird flying past and turned to her side. She breathed out, noticing that the stir in her stomach had

mumbled under her

of her grasp as Olivia yawned tiredly. She closed her heavy eyes and got as comfortable as anyone could on a rough bed; though relieved that she could finally sleep. A few minutes later, light snores filled the attic as a brown spider slowly slid from the ceiling, hanging on by a thread of made silk. It spread its slender legs, looking around

~°~

respond to her and ignored any command she made to move. She couldn't even tear her eyes away from the shadow that slowly stalked toward her. She had no control over her body and Olivia found

step forward. Another step.

squinted her eyes but saw nothing but a silhouette. She

some of its features. From what she could make out it was male. Olivia could see his arm toned with curved muscle. His skin was tan - contrasting against the darkness around them.

rasped in a tone of power and desire. It sent a course of shivers through

sparks fluttering through her