I'm a fool for thinking I can stop this machine of death. He sidesteps me so smoothly that I'm left stumbling.

I extend a hand to stop him. His leather jacket brushes my fingertips, and then he's gone.

People scream — including Azul.

Men jump after the dragon, not knowing what beast they're crossing. One man reaches him, but is thrown off by the flick of his wrist. There is no stopping him.

The dragon tackles Azul, and they land with a meaty thud. He brings terror from the skies a second time, raining his fists on Azul's face. They come with such a fast ferocity that by the time I reach them, Azul's face is bloody. He'll survive this, but in a few days, his face will be as blue as his name.

Another brave man wraps his arms around his chest, but he's thrown against a wall so easily that the rest of the men learn the lesson. No one approaches, having accepted that their beloved mayor is doomed.

I'm the only idiot that takes his shoulders and pulls with all their might. When he pulls back a fist, it comes dangerously close to my face.

"Get off me," he growls, his shoulders vibrating with the intensity of his command.

"No!"

He stands up, leaving a moaning Azul behind. His bloody hands come to my hips as we scan the crowd that surrounds us. Most are silent, except for the crying children.

"You want a real leader? Here I am. Now, get supplies for the female."

I remove his hands from my hips, turning around. I feel so angry that I think fire is about to burst from my mouth.

"You can't do this, brute!"

"I can, and I did. I am tired of being undermined by these lesser beings," he counters.

There is more to this, though. I know it. He wasn't bloodthirsty until Azul came to proposition me.

"This is about Azul's offer, isn't it?"

He flashes his teeth, and I notice a speck of blood on his chin. Azul's blood.

He's getting possessive of me?

Azul is dragged away by two men. One man passes blankets with trembling hands, and points to a tent. "You... you can use that tent." His eyes drop to the floor, as if he fears my own.

The crowd has no problem staring, though. It's becoming too much. People look at me with fear, as if I'm another monster in the tunnels. I want to leave; to hide.

"When will the men be done fixing the flooding in the tunnels?" I ask.

"Tomorrow?" the unnamed man replies as he inches back into the crowd.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

I walk into the safety of the tent, where there are no more eyes. The dragon follows. Of course he fucking does.

"What was that about?" I demand. "Just because I can't escape you does not mean I belong to you. My body isn't for your pleasure, or to have your kids or lay your eggs... or whatever."

He crooks his head. "My kind does not lay eggs."

Oh, thank hell.

"That would be the Drattons; a cousin species of ours."

"Fuck!" I yell, horrified.

"Is that an expression of shock, or an invitation? While this is not a socially acceptable time to fornicate, I will allow it." He extends a hand.

I look at it with disgust because it's still covered in Azul's blood.

"You did not show that expression when you pressed your lips against mine."

Didn't I? I'm pretty sure I stared at him with hatred when I kissed him, but maybe my inhibited, inappropriate reactions bled through.

"Whatever. You shouldn't have reacted. While Azul's offer was offensive, this is the apocalypse. People have their own systems and laws set it place now. If women choose to pay with their bodies to survive, you have to let them be. After all, you and your people are the ones who built this hell for us."

"I am not the monster here. Azul is."

I look at him with exasperated confusion.

"He loots other camps."

"What?"

He sits on the mat, crossing his legs and yanking his leather jacket off his shoulders. He seems more massive now, like he's filling up the tent. Even while sitting, he doesn't look any less dominating.

"It does not take long for me to pick up on things. I have smelled much of the equipment here at another camp. It was taken. Azul is providing for so many people comfortably that he must have gotten all of this equipment by stomping on others."

There has to be an explanation. Maybe Azul traded to get these things?

I hang my head, because I know better. These things weren't gained by trade.

"That fool deserved every injury I gave him, and so do the humans that know what he does to bring them a living." His eyes narrow on me, and he stares with a malignant light. He's judging me.

His expression morphs to disgust. "I have learned that humans will stoop to anything to get what they want."

"Don't look at me like that," I glare, my nails digging into my palms. I hate him, and I hate myself for not being strong enough to hurt him. "You and your people are the ones that forced humanity underground. You reduced us to scavengers willing to do anything to survive."

I'm not defending Azul, but I can't blame a thief for wanting to feed their family, because that would make me a hypocrite.

The dragon's response is not verbal. He snaps a hand out, latching it around my forearm and dragging me to his lap.

"What are you doing?" I protest.

"I am doing what I want." He hugs me to his chest, leaving no space to escape. His arms pin mine down, and all I can do is kick my legs out.

I hear him sniffing my hair, which probably smells like dirt and sweat.

Although I know I'm not getting anywhere, I kick until I'm exhausted. The dragon never let me go. He held on, not breaking a sweat, and hugged me like a toy.

I become a panting mess, and exhaustion quickly has me yawning into a slumber.

Childish laughter wakes me up. I'm tucked into a sleeping bag. The dragon is gone. I peek outside, wanting to study the state of the camp. Has everyone left? Did the dragon go on a rampage and kill everyone?

I fully expect to find bodies scattered everywhere. It wouldn't be the first time.

I see a boy, no older than six. He throws a ball. It flies a few feet, headed for the dragon.

A gasp leaves me. He's going to kill the kid!

The dragon catches the green ball single-handedly and gently throws it back. The kid smiles, catches it, and throws it again.

They're playing catch. The child is playing with the deadliest creature on Earth.

It's... cute.

No. No it's not, I correct myself.

I reach for my wrist and rip my skin open with my nails, enjoying the feeling of pain and the warmth of blood. I deserve the punishment for forgetting that he's a monster. There is nothing innocent about him.

"Get away from him," I demand, stepping out of the tent.

"You should be sleeping."

"Get away from the boy!" I yell. "You murderer. How can you..." I look around to make sure no one is listening. As I expected, the camp is keeping its distance from this maniac.

The child looks at me as if I'm the bad guy, and runs off with his ball.

"How can you pretend to be an upstanding citizen, entertaining a boy, after all the little kids you slaughtered?"

Confusion, realization, and discomfort cross his face. He buries a hand in his hair and pulls at the locks. "Stop it."

"No. You did the crime, so deal with the memories. There are dozens of kids that won't get to play ball because you murdered them."

"Stop." He rushes to his feet and paces. "Just go."

"Murderer."

"Don't."

"You fucking kid-killer!"

He shakes his head. This tall, broad shouldered, muscular man is crumbling before me.

"I didn't know!" he fights back.

"What, were you drunk? High? That doesn't excuse it. You're worse than Azul."

His eye snap to me, and what I find there makes me take a step back. There is pain. Unequivocal, devastating, pain. It's the pain that comes with losing a loved one. The pain of losing your planet. I know the look so well, because I've found it in the mirror many times.

It's so stunning in his expression. I'm rendered speechless. How... how can this monstrous being feel something so human?

ALSO IN THE SERIES↓

Jasmin/The Alien's Liar

Jasmin was a part of a Dragon Match program that hoped to offer opportunities to a post-apocalyptic Earth. She was teleported to planet Le'vris and was paired with a dragon, but he was cold toward her. Feeling unwanted, she gave up on the program and returned to Earth. This story is about how she's dragged back to Le'vris and meets another dragon that clearly wants her.

Book 3 is available on www.patreon.com/ancientt

ALSO IN THE SERIES↓

The Alien's Match

This dragon says he will make me shine brighter than his treasure, and he succeeds every time he touches me.

Threatened by a dwindling population, the dragons create a matching program where their fittest warriors seduce and conquer humans, providing comforts and pleasures fit for a queen.

It has been decades since they attacked Earth and destroyed our cities, but I haven't forgotten. After years of resentment and fighting to survive, I have no interest in their matching program. But when my rebellious sister enlists, I go on a wild chase that lands me in the brawny arms of an unyielding dragon who sets me on fire without breathing a single flame.

I'm stuck on an alien planet with this relentless man. He has so much wealth, status, and muscle that little can be denied, but the greedy dragon wants more:me. I resist his advances, but with every touch and whisper, every time he flies me into the sky to do wicked things no one else can see, I fall deeper into his lure.

Available on https://www.amazon.com/author/elainewaters