As a dragon-killing warrior, I was a failure. I couldn’t do it.
“Rorik?” Saffron prompted.
Looking at him, I came to a strange realization. Saffron was shorter and slimmer than me, but his presence was not small. An intense aura glowed around him, an invisible reminder of what he truly was—an alpha dragon. His physical shape didn’t matter. It was what lurked beneath that mattered.
Immediately, I stopped thinking of him as delicate. He could handle the truth.
I steeled my nerves and bowed my head. “All right. I’ll tell you everything. It’s your right to deal with me how you see fit.”
Saffron raised a brow at my cryptic message. “Okay?”
The raging storm in my mind vanished. Clarity descended over me. Whatever happened next was up to Saffron. I didn’t understand why, but something about giving up control alleviated my fear.
“I was sent on a mission to kill you, Saffron,” I said solemnly. “To kill all of the dragons here.”
Saffron blinked. “Uh… what?” He chuckled. “Okay, that was pretty funny. Now tell me the real mission.”
I stared back at him for a few silent seconds.
“Oh. Youareserious,” Saffron said, incredulous. “Can you, like, elaborate?”
His casual tone rendered me speechless. How could he be so nonchalant when I just admitted my plan to murder him?
The next words felt like a fish bone stuck in my throat. “My alpha superiors ordered me to come here and kill as many dragons as possible. You were supposed to be my first target.”
I expected Saffron to bristle and dodge away from me, but he stayed right where he was.
“Whoa, whoa, hang on. You must be exaggerating, Rorik,” he said from the comfort of my chest.
“I am not. This is real.”
“Who are your ‘alpha superiors’? Why are you trying to kill us?” he asked, sounding baffled instead of frightened. “Geez, I know some people don’t like reality TV, but talk about an overreaction.”
I blew out a patient exhale. He didn’t understand the severity of the situation. Even now, he was clueless in my grasp. If I weren’t so weak, I could wring his neck. End him.
The thought of it made me shudder with disgust, and I didn’t understand why. Saffron was a dragon. How could I forget the torment that dragons wrought on my home? He was my clan’s enemy.
But that was just it. Saffron was notmyenemy. I’d been sent on this mission to fulfill orders. Yet the lithe man curled up against my fur was not dangerous. He’d been nothing but kind. He stood up for me when no one else did. He’d invited me into the heart of his home and allowed me to play with his nieces. And he put himself in harm’s way to protect me.
Nobody had done that before.
Guilt stirred in my chest. “My alphas sent me here to destroy you. That is all that matters,” I murmured.
Saffron’s eyes narrowed. “I hate hearing you call them ‘your alphas’. You’re not inferior to anybody. And you’re certainly nottheirs.”
His comment took me by surprise. That raw energy flared again, reminding me of his power—and how good he was at controlling himself. Sheba and Knox never held back. They were always eager to show off their authority.
“I’m sorry. I meant my alpha superiors,” I corrected.
A shadow fell over Saffron’s usual sunny expression. His shoulders straightened as he looked me in the eyes. “I hate that, too. An alpha is supposed to protect you, not deploy you like a soldier.”
The guilt gnawing at my insides chewed harder. I didn’t deserve Saffron’s inexplicable kindness.
“I’m an omega, and—”
“And what?” Saffron demanded, his voice sharp with a warning edge.
His intensity made the hairs on my pelt stiffen. But I felt no fear. Only a bizarre, overwhelming attraction.
