Chapter 34: Laryn

Ashrac almost changes my mind. And, "Give her time," are the nearly forgotten whispered words from my last bride. "She will love you sooner and you will have more years to enjoy one another."
I shake my head, which sends water flying from my freshly washed hair. The dragon who held and loved sweet and innocent Maleah no longer exists. Twenty-five years of loneliness have hardened all feelings of love. If I don't love my new bride, it will hurt less when she dies. I have a plan to keep love from happening. Sarn is a fool and his grief for his deceased bride, Calista, a waste of his time. I vow to hold my emotions back and take from my bride only what I need to stay sexually satisfied. Nothing more. She will learn quickly and bow to my iron will before the sun goes down this day.
I've set up the tower room to hold her. It will keep her away from the inner castle and from my sight as much as possible. I will take her out into the sunlight occasionally for her health. That is all. My manservant can feed her and bring her the items she requires. I can't help that she will love me. Staring in the mirror, I know it to be inevitable.
I pull on a pair of comfortable jeans that I stole from the Earth realm. I've had these for years and haven't been to that realm in a long time. I have little need for additional servants, so it's of no consequence. The ladies there are delightfully wicked, though. My cock stiffens at the thought and I head to my tower and my waiting bride with a hard-on that will not be denied. Maybe, just maybe, this one will not cry when I take her maidenhead. If so, I will reward her with the bauble of her choice. From one of my lesser collections of jewels, of course. She will not know the difference and she will be happy. Humans are easy to please if you give them enough shiny objects. It only satisfies a dragon if we steal our treasure. I won't tell her that. Maybe she will make me slippers as Maleah did. Each year a new blue pair. I have the last set she knitted. I will not think on them. As a matter of fact, I will dispose of them and never think of Maleah again.
Later, though. Now it's time to deflower my bride.
I enter the tower at mid-level and unbar the door that leads to the inner sanctum. My nose immediately picks up a scent that causes my anger to flare. Acasia has been here. I'm sure she searched for Ashrac, though for some reason, I didn't sense when she crossed into my realm. I only sense my nephew every so often because he's so small and his magic undeveloped. I'm staring up at the top parapet when it occurs to me to look down.
Her door is open. I scream as I charge down the stairs. I will kill her. Not my bride but Acasia. She wouldn't dare. I burst into the room to find it empty. Fire leaves my human throat and the bedding goes up in flames. My bride will pay dearly for running from me, and I will have revenge on Acasia.
I leave the room, leap to the sky, and shred my pants without thought. A jolt of electricity curls inside me as Acasia passes through my realm and into Bastian's. She will beat me to her castle. I don't care, though. The bride is mine and Acasia has no right to her.
I whip through the sky-my wings beating to the pulse of my anger. I surge through the realm into Bastian's territory and begin yelling his name. "Bastian, I will kill your mate for this. Return my bride." He doesn't answer, which doesn't surprise me. The love-sick coward. Why is he so special that his mate turns into a dragon? Why not Maleah, whom I loved with my entire being?
I finally see Bastian's great tower sticking out of the clouds and put on an additional burst of speed. They will rue the day they messed with Laryn, the mightiest dragon to ever live. Bastian's red tail swoops out of a cloud and hits me upside the head. I shake my jaw and turn to seek the fucker who has disappeared into the clouds again.
"Calm down, Laryn," he whispers into my mind.
"Return my bride, you ugly, red-spawned demon from hell," I yell back with a bellow that should have blown away his castle. His tail comes out and wallops my back legs. My front talons strike through the cloud to the side of me and I feel the satisfying grind of nails against armored scales.
A well-placed punch to my jaw is my reward. I shake my great head, spin, and charge through another cloud only to find him gone.
"Let me know when you tire so we can land and discuss this like mature men."
"That's why your mate has you so pussy-whipped it's laughable. We are dragon and not men at all. I will kill you, Bastian, along with Acasia."
His strike comes from above this time and his talons sink deep into the unprotected juncture where my wings meet my back. He furls in his wings and takes us both toward the ground. He doesn't release me as we crash and roll. Our wings tie up together as we go head over tail. Bastian's giant jaw captures my throat before I can stop him. The pressure grinds against my windpipe.
"You will never threaten my mate again, Laryn," Bastian grounds out no longer able to control his temper.
"She stole my bride" I snap. His hold doesn't relent.
"And you stole mine first."
I'd spew fire if I could get it past Bastian's grip on my throat. "So this is revenge for something I did twenty-five years ago?" His teeth press down just a bit harder and I continue. "I have done everything so you will grant me forgiveness. It does no good because you can't forgive yourself. You did not guard your greatest treasure close enough. You failed her, Bastian. I only took advantage of an incompetent dragon."
Ashrac's quiet voice enters my head. "You would harm my mother, Uncle Laryn?"
Oh, hell.
"Release me, Bastian, please." Ever so slowly, Bastian's jaws open. I shift. It's the only way I can truly control the fury eating at my insides. Ashrac is standing about twenty feet away. I beckon with my hands. "Come here, Ash."
He looks uncertain and it wounds me deeply. "I would never harm your mother or you." I glance up at Bastian. "Or your father."
Ashrac shifts to human and leaps so fast I almost don't catch him. I wrap my arms tight around his small body and heft him up. "I love you, Uncle Laryn," he says as he squeezes me tight. "Your bride is afraid of you and I asked Mother if we could keep her. I didn't mean to make you angry, Uncle Laryn."
I glance over his shoulder to his father who stands by and watches me hug his son. It's the first time Bastian has willingly allowed me to touch him.
Bastian shakes his head in seeming irritation. "We've always known where he is when he visits you, Laryn. I forgave you a long time ago, but you know how stubborn I am. I couldn't bring myself to say the words."
Guilt, relief, and sadness wash over me. Twenty-five years wasted because of my foolishness. I stole Bastian's bride and he has a right to hate me. "My bride," is all I can manage as I hold tight to my nephew and try to keep tears at bay.
"I will speak with Acasia and we will bring your bride back to you."
"She is very beautiful, Uncle Laryn."
I set him down. "Yes, she is. She belongs with me, Ash. You need to convince your mother of that."
He stares at me with his serious dark eyes flashing red. "Do you promise not to frighten her again, uncle?"
The last bit of fight leaves me and I place my hand over my heart. "I promise, Ash."
He turns and runs. His dragon form replaces the boy as he shoots skyward. "I will tell her she must return to you, Uncle Laryn. She will be so happy that you will be nice, I know she will."
"You've promised him, Laryn."
I turn and meet Bastian's gaze. "I have and I will keep my promise, or at least try. The pint-sized, ball-of-nothing female attacked me with a sword at the claiming ceremony."
Bastian, still in dragon form, rears his head back and blows fire with his laughter.
I can't help myself, wimp that I've become in the last few minutes. I wait until his laughter subsides before saying, "Am I truly forgiven, Bastian?"
His goliath head nods once. "Yes, my friend. I will invite Sarn and Tahr over for cards and they will forgive you too."
Now I feel apprehension. "I don't trust Sarn."
"And we shouldn't. We both know the anguish over a lost bride. I fear he loved Calista more than his previous brides. Her death has not been easy on him."
I shift and launch myself into the sky. "Hurry and return my bride, Bastian. I would hate to rekindle our feud on the day it's settled." I fly away and leave my new bride behind. It's killing me. Everything inside me pushes for me to turn around and kill everything in my path. Bastian knows this. He will return her quickly. I trust him.