The Alpha Dragon's Prisoner

Drowning in Regret-Tika

I stand away from the water in confusion as I watch him. If the water is so dangerous then why on earth would he place his feet in. I step closer to the edge just in case he needs me as he turns to face the swirling vortex. It almost looks as if the river is opening up to him because he called out.
I gasp as the water above the whirlpool starts to transform into that of a horse. I can nearly see through it. It truly is a beautiful sight. If I hadn't have watched it be made from the water then I would have assumed it was a real horse. The only difference is that it is blue. Right before my eyes the horse transforms into the shape of a woman. She is just as beautiful as the horse that stood before her. So there water horses I think.
Suddenly Xander turns away as the water woman turns into an actual. His growl echoes in the space we stand in and the water bristles. As I wonder why he growled, I feel my entire face turn red as I remove my gaze to give her privacy. She appeared in her skin with no clothes on at all. I may think that she is a beautiful woman but there is no need to see that much of a person so soon.
"In the presence of my mate you need to wear your skins. It is a decorum that humans follow and you know it" he screams as he stands to face me. His eyes are in slits and I know that his dragon is present. The air shifts around the woman and all her bits are now covered in fur. I relax the tension in my shoulders as I give him a nod.
The action of him turning away from her form has somehow made me giddy. I also think that from the tone of his voice this is not the first time that he had warned her of doing such a thing. "Hello" I call out being polite.
"So, it is true. You have brought hope with you" She states as her gaze holds mine. My eyes keep flickering to the area around us as I start to feel awkward from how hard she stares. I throw her a small smile but for some reason she just won't look away from me.
"If that is what you call it then yes. I have already created a system for how the offerings will work. In the week span that we have them on our land, they will spend a day in each area. If no mate is found then they will be sent back to where they came. You will receive a visit in three days' time" He tells her as his gaze flickers between the both of us.
"May I meet her?" she ask still not looking away.
"Uh, I don't think so. Maybe we can do this another time" he says as he changes his stance. He can't really be serious. Now I don't even get to speak to anyone else. This belief he has that he controls me is just preposterous.
"I would like to meet her" I state stepping forward.
"Wait, no---" He turns toward me to grab me.
A cooling sensation wraps around my ankles and I look down. It seems to be some form of chains made from water. I frown and look up to Xander in confusion when I realize that I am unable to see him. I whirl around searching but can't find him anywhere. I take a step forward when I am held in place by the chains. I start trying to tug at the weird and growl in frustration when all my hand does is go through it.
The weird water lady walks through what looks like a barrier and I try to get away from her. The look on her face has changed and she no longer looks as nice as she did before. She stops before me and the smile she reveals stops me in my tracks. Something is wrong with her teeth. They look to perfectly square. But there are so many and they are so tiny.
She steps so close to me as I stand frozen in fear. "Nice to meet you" She says as she holds out her hands towards me. I grab them tentatively and jolt when I receive a shock from them. Words try to leave my mouth but the only thing that comes out is a tiny squeak. I just stand there immobile as she comes forward and presses her lips to mine. My eyes almost bug out of my head when suddenly the world around me goes black.
Everything around me disappears from view including her. My hands now move and I can once more move my feet. I lift a hand to my lips and the sensation is still there as if her lips are still firmly pressed against mine. Out of nowhere a voice appears and I whirl around on my feet as I try to search for the source of it.
The voice sounds eerie and almost beautiful but I can hear an undertone to it that gives me the creeps. Cocking my head to the side I listen a bit harder trying to decipher what it is saying. "you will never amount to anything if you do not learn to love. The key that you seek to life is your deepest regret. A close mouth may never get fed but once open famine is farthest away."
I mouth the words out loud as I hear them and once am done it's like being sucked into a vortex. When I finally blink my eyes open the sun that was behind me is now above me. My chest burns and I turn to the side to cough as I rid myself of its contents. Water spews from my mouth as the yelling pierces my ears.
"You have just declared a war on your kind from my own. To kill the mate of an alpha has sentenced me to a horrible death. But don't worry I will make sure that you reach your end first." Xander shouts.
When I finally lay my hands on him he has the water horse lady dangling from his fist as he grasp her neck. Her hands claw at his as I lays immobile trying to choke the life out of her. "Xander" I whisper trying to stop him. There is so much commotion as other horses jump from the water that he can't even hear me.
A horse fills my vision and I watch as it leans its mane close to my face. The hair tickles as it brushes against me and my laugh trill through the air. The touch from its hair seems to have done something to me and the pain that my chest was in disappears all at once. I take a proper inhale immediately as the sound of something hits the floor.
"Tika, Oh God I thought that I lost you" Xander says rushing forward as he pulls me into his arms. The feeling is so abnormal and I am quickly swallowed whole my the sheer size of him. He squeezes me so tight that my airway becomes restricted and I chuckle against his chest.
"What the hell was that big guy? You could have at least warned me" I say jokingly.
"I did. I tried to stop you from accepting the invitation but you did it before I could stop you. I told you not to touch one of them. You that you could just meet one without shaking its hand" he ask as he peers into my gaze. His thumb rubs against my cheeks as if he just needs to touch me in this moment. When his words finally hit me I blush profusely. There was no hand shaking involved.
He must see something on my face because he cocks his head at me curiously. " What is it?" he ask as he watches me. Since I don't see the harm in telling him what happened I just blurt it out.
"Well, she kissed me. She didn't shake my hand at all" I tell him as I bite my bottom lip and my face turns redder. His entire explain goes blank as I try to read his reaction. After a moment, his eyes start to flash really fast and his body starts to shake.
"Into the water" I hear Kelsie yell. The horses that surrounded us move fast as they all evaporate before me. She whirls to face me with a sad expression on her face as she looks at me while I still sit on the ground. "Run" she says. Then she runs and jumps into the water and it calms.
Xander is growling loudly now as his body starts to blur. I scoot back away from him on the ground as I wonder what the hell is happening before I hear the first rip. As I scramble backwards as far as I can I watch as his body starts to grow. The way he moves, growls and groans makes me think that whatever is happening is really painful.
When I feel that I am far enough away his robe rips and he stands naked before me again. His human eyes appear for a moment as they land on me. "Don't let him chase you." Just as he delivers the warning his dragon takes over once more as I let out a scream. When naked physique drops down to his hands and knees, his tattoos glow as he disappears.
I turn my head from the brightness of it as I try to shield my eyes. When the light is no longer blinding I look in his direction to find the most beautiful creature that I have ever seen. Giant golden eyes that I know I have stared into before look at me. As my gaze holds that of the beast his head comes down fast to look into my face.
Unprepared for the movement I stumble back and it growls releasing a puff of smoke from its lips. The gold in its eyes swirls around like a river and I bristle in fear thinking that I have angered the beast. I take a slight step toward it and the swirling of the color stills as it cocks his head at me. When I take another step forward the ground shakes as it drops its enormous end to the ground.
I can't help the chuckle that leaves my lips as I try to catch my balance. The mouth opens toward me and I freeze. An odd sound leaves its chest through its strange breathing. Now it's my turn to cock my head as I wonder what the sound was supposed to mean. It drops its head back again and makes the sound to the sky. When its shining eyes find me again I realize that the sound was its laughter. It causes me to chuckle again.
Quick as a whip something wraps around my waist and the next thing I know I am against the scary beast. All the breath leaves my body as I am pressed against warm scales. I feel the entire body of the beast rumble and am no longer able to see its face from my position. Its long tail is still wrapped around my waist and I feel almost smothered in this position. I freeze in fear unknowing of what this action means. Is It preparing me for something?