Instantly, the two guards growled at her. Octavia refused to let them intimidate her.
“He’s hurt!” she exclaimed, pointing to Flynn.
“So?” The bigger of the two guards raised a brow and shrugged. “Why should we care?”
Ass. “Because he’s bleeding!”
It was one thing for Octavia to be annoyed by Flynn. It was another thing entirely for these werewolves to disrespect him.
Their behaviour rankled Octavia, although she wasn’t sure exactly why.
A wolfish snarl was the only reply from across the fire.
Fury was a living fire within Octavia. It grew by the second, kindled by the dispassioned way the guards looked at her.
“He needs help.” Obviously.
“Does he?”
“Yes,” she growled.
Her heart pounded. Her lungs squeezed.
Fingers grazed hers, the touch gentle and sending sparks through her. “Octavia, it’s alright. It’s just the prohiberis,” Flynn whispered. “It affects me differently, that’s all.”
It absolutely was not alright. It was one thing to hold them prisoner, but the Alpha had already spared their life. This punishment was cruel.
“Help him, please,” Octavia asked the guards.
This time, they didn’t even bother to reply. Ignoring her completely, they turned to each other to continue their prior conversation.
Anger bubbled within Octavia. Red tinged her vision. Deep within, the dragon woke.
Dueling desires warred within her. She was a fucking alpha in her own right. A dragon. These werewolves wouldn’t ignore her if they knew what she was. Their nonchalance made Octavia so… so…
“Octavia.” A firm hand gripped her shoulder, spinning her around so her back was to the fire. The Alpha stood behind her. “You need to calm down.”
“I am calm,” she growled.
Her blood heated in her veins, betraying her lie even as smoke filled the back of her mouth. Apparently, dragons could still pull on the shift even with prohiberis because she could feel the instinctual need rising within her.
The Alpha’s eyes widened, and a flash of recognition went through them. He grabbed Octavia’s arm and yanked up her sleeve, exposing her flesh. Purple scales crawled over her skin.
The Alpha’s orange eyes flashed with fire, and pure command laced his words as he ordered, “Calm. The. Fuck. Down.”
Octavia’s heart was a war drum in her chest, bringing her closer and closer to the raging inferno threatening to burst out of her.
How dare the werewolf try to command her? He didn’t have the right to tell her what to do. He wasn’t her alpha. She wasn’t one of his wolves that he could order around.
Anger was burning lava roiling through Octavia.
She needed…
She needed…
What did she need? A red fog took over her mind, clouding everything from sight. Her brain was hot. Too hot.
The dragon sat on its haunches. Watching. Waiting. A predator biding her time before she pounced.