Free Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Two by Jessie Donovan

 
     
    Chapter One
     
     
     
    One second , Melanie Hall had been enjoying the most passionate kiss of her life in Tristan’s arms full of tongue, teeth, and delicious friction of lips. And the next, he’d pushed her away and bolted from the hall without so much as a word or even a backward glance.
    She watched in confusion as Tristan exited the building. Was this part of the normal First Kiss ceremony? Or had something gone wrong? She absolutely hated not knowing what was going on around her.
    Once Tristan was gone, everyone turned around to stare at her. Some were whispering while others were shaking their heads. She had no idea if this was normal or not, but clearly the dragon-shifters knew something she didn’t.
    She focused on that, trying to find out what they knew, to keep her hurt from showing. She’d never been kissed like that before, as if Tristan had been starving and she was the only thing that could ease his hunger. Yet, at the end, Tristan hadn’t been able to get away from her fast enough.
    She felt Bram’s hand on her arm and she looked up at him. His expression was guarded when he said, “Come. Sit down with me, Melanie.”
    His voice broke through her shock and despite her resolve to stay strong, her voice cracked. “I don’t understand. What just happened?”
    He gestured toward the table. “Sit down with me and I’ll explain as much as I can.”
    She nodded and somehow made her legs carry her to the seat next to Bram. The table faced out, and she could still see all of the Stonefire dragons looking at her. Now that she’d seen the dragon-shifter females, who were all tall, toned, and beautiful, she wondered if the whispers were about Tristan’s misfortune to be assigned her, a mere human.
    No. As humiliating as Tristan pushing her away after their kiss and fleeing was, she wasn’t going to give everyone the satisfaction of dismissing her because she was curvy, short, and a “mere human”.
    She took a deep breath and exhaled. She did it one more time and decided she had her emotions under control enough to talk without breaking down. She looked over at Bram. “Tell me why they’re all whispering and staring at me. Since Tristan isn’t here to protect me, it’s your job now to do it.”
    He gave a half smile. “Never give up that backbone or core of steel, lass. It’s sure to win you the respect of the clan.”
    She wasn’t sure how to interpret the pseudo-compliment, so she decided to press her question again. “Just tell me. Please. Is that how it always goes with the human sacrifices?”
    Bram shook his head. “No, we haven’t seen anything like it since Samira.”
    She frowned. “Samira? What does she have to do with this?”
    “I wish I could tell you it’s nothing and that everything will be fine. But in reality, things could go very, very wrong if we’re not careful.”
    She didn’t like the sound of that. “You aren’t making any sense. Please just tell me what’s going on.”
    Bram gave her a serious look. “Tristan’s dragon-half wants you as its mate.”
    She blinked. “What? Dragon mates are like spouses, right?” Bram nodded. “Then how in the world could his dragon want me for that kind of future? I’ve barely known Tristan a day.”
    “That doesn’t matter. As soon as a dragon-shifter kisses a potential mate, the dragon knows what the human-half ignores. Mainly, that you are his or her best chance at not only reproducing several times, but also that you’re his or her best chance at happiness, which means a long life and the ability to raise young.”
    Melanie frowned. Despite her best attempt at researching the dragon-shifters before coming here, all of this information was new to her. “From one kiss, his inner dragon knows all of this? But how?”
    “Not even we understand everything about our dragons. But if nothing else, our inner beasts rely on instinct. It could be something about your scent or the build of your body that draws the dragon.