Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Alton had a sick, smug look on his face when the dragon dragged me to him. Amusement swam in those cold, blue eyes of his, and once I was in front of him, the dragon had to keep ahold of me so that I wouldn't slump to the floor. When I looked around, my heart dropped painfully when I saw Cayden's unconscious, bloodied form slumped against the bar counter. The poor man looked like he had been beat all to hell. His skin was covered in splotches of black and blue, and his broken arm was no longer in a makeshift sling and hung limply by my side. My heart clenched tightly when I saw this, and I wanted nothing more than to rush over to him and pull him into my arms. But I couldn't move with the dragon holding on to me.

Disgust then ate away at me when the old bastard placed a weathered hand against my cheek—his fingers as frigid as ice against my skin as he forced me to turn my attention to him.

"You should have known your little...vacation wouldn't last," he breathed, poking the corner of my lip with his thumb. "But now it's time to come back to the real world, my sweet, sweet slave, and do what you were born to do. Serve." He leaned in so close to my face that our noses brushed together, leaving my gut to twist and churn as my breakfast threatened to come back up. "Your duty is to serve me. And thanks to my son's little "rebellious streak", he will no longer be allowed to use you as he wishes. You will listen to me, and me alone. Am I understood, slave?"

Hate clawed within me at the audacity of this bastard, and before I could fully comprehend what I was doing, I gathered as much saliva as I could and spit right in his face.

The dragon behind me tensed as Alton slowly moved back from me—wiping my saliva off of his face as a storm began to surge within those blue eyes. My heart hammered in my chest, but I didn't dare to look away. I didn't want the bastard to see how scared of him I was, so I maintained eye contact, even when he sneered and dew his hand back. Thinking he was going to hit me, I flinched and braced myself...but when nothing came, my brows pinched together, and I risked a look towards the other man. Alton only stared at me angrily, his hands now balled by his sides as he turned his attention to the dragon behind me.

"Alaban."

Just a name, and the next thing I knew, agony was ripping through my body, drawing my breath away as my vision dimmed dangerously. I had no idea what the hell the dragon—or, well, Alaban—was doing to me, be it magic, or some kind of chemical injected into my flesh...but whatever it was, it nearly had me blacking out from the sheer intensity of pain.

Only when Alton raised one hand did it stop—the man kneeling by me as I desperately took in as much air as I could. "Do you like him, slave? My very own sun dragon, right at my disposal. He comes in quite handy when dealing with disobedience."

In the midst of me trying to re-gather my wits, I couldn't help but feel surprised at his revelation. Alaban was a sun dragon? Weren't there only twenty of them left in existence?!

Sun dragons were the only draconic species that could wield magic with no consequences, and Alton now has one within his possession? How? Where did he even find a sun dragon? And what the hell was Alton planning by obtaining one? Hell, why was Alaban even helping Alton? Sun dragons were known to keep to themselves. So why would he stray from what was left of his kind to serve a bastard like Alton?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I failed to notice Alton move, but once I did, my heart dropped when the old man turned back towards me, holding a thin, metal collar in his hands. No...No come on! My chest tightened and tears began forming in my eyes when he approached me, a grin on his face. I had just gotten my collar off after years of abuse, and now I was about to be re-collared once again? No! I refused to be collared like a dog!

I began struggling in Alaban's arms—the dragon easily holding on to me as Alton slowly inched his way towards me. "No! No!" I yelled, desperation starting to rise within me. "Leave me alone!" Even though my back was not fully healed, I still tried to desperately kick out towards the old man—and surprisingly, I did land one kick against Alton's midsection, causing the man to take a couple of steps back. Of course, once that happened, Alaban did something to me that had me screaming and slumping in place. It felt like electricity was flowing in my veins, completely stealing away what little strength I had as Alton snapped the collar around my neck.

"Good boy," Alton muttered, dragging his hand down the side of my face.

I lost all fight in me, my body slumping in defeat as I could do nothing more than cry. Alaban lowered my shivering form onto the floor, before turning his eyes towards Alton. "What do we do with the prince?" He wondered aloud, nodding his head towards Drakell's unconscious form.

Alton finally turned his attention to my brother—the man pursing his thin lips before he leisurely made his way over to him. He knelt down by his form, and, using the other man's hair as a leverage, lifted Drakell's face up towards him. He studied him for a moment, gaze teetering on the side of creepy, before he pursed his lips and dropped his grip on Drakell, causing his head to lightly thump against the floor. "Technically, I could kill him right here, and now, and Dracon will never know what had become of his eldest. However," the man turned his lecherous gaze towards me, "I am fond of his family's looks. Perhaps we could keep him and...indulge a little." He then looked back towards Alaban. "Hell, since you helped me capture my most favorite possession, I'll even let you play with his dear brother."

Alaban's golden gaze stooped to where Drakell lay, and for a brief moment, I wondered if Alaban was going to take the bastard up on his offer. After a moment though—looking disinterested—he tore his attention away from him and shook his head. "Not interested."

Alton merely shrugged and stood up, dusting his hands off onto his pants before he turned to the guards nearest to Cayden. "Take him to the carriage. If he wakes up, put him back to sleep."

One of the guards, a tall orc man with a thick, braided beard, nodded his head before hauling Cayden's unconscious form onto his massive shoulder. I could only watch helplessly—tears streaming down my face—as Cayden and the orc disappeared through the inn's doors.

Thump, thump, thump. Alton's polished shoes appeared in my line of sight, and after a moment, a hand fell under my chin and lifted my tear-streaked face up. "Now, now, slave, don't you cry. Crying makes your face look all red and puffy, and we can't have that, now can we?" He proceeded to harshly wipe away my tears with his thumb, and once he was satisfied, he straightened back up and turned towards Alaban.

"We're leaving. Oh, and slave? Don't get any funny ideas, now. That collar is a new model and has a few...surprises if you ever fall out of line again." With that, he stomped out of the inn, and the next thing I knew, Alaban was hoisting me up into his arms.

Surprisingly, Alaban didn't carelessly throw me over his shoulder as the orc had done with Cayden...no, he gingerly held me in his arms bridal style—suspiciously as if he didn't want to hurt me. Which was weird, considering the past two times he imbued me with a pain so intense, I had nearly blacked out. Why was he being so considerate for me now?

Seemingly sensing my thoughts—which who knows, he could probably read my mind for all I knew—he turned those gold eyes towards me. "Your injured. Alton would prefer that I not damage you further."

He said nothing else, and we loaded into the carriage...and I was whisked away back to the place of my nightmares...my hopes and dreams shattering into a million pieces.

A/N: Had a hard time trying to write this chapter lol. Writers block hit me hella hard and whenever I sat down to get started on this chapter, all my mind could do was draw up a blank. I hate when that happens lol.

Thankfully, I managed to get this chapter down, and I'm hoping by next update, Writers Block will be a thing of the past.

Anywho, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think! I love feedback!