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    Chapter 0691


    Finally, after what felt like an etemity, I copsed in a weakened heap on the cot. The silver rope was still bound around my wrists and my neck, a constant reminder. Every movement ached, and my wolf was nowhere to be found.


    Some timeter, the sound of iron jerked me out of a half-sleep. I forced my heavy eyelids open to see a petite servant entering my cell.


    Wordlessly, the girl knelt in front of my cell and pushed a tray of bread, cheese, and water toward me. At least the food here was normal, or so it seemed.


    I reacted instinctively, my hand shooting out to grip her scrawny wrist before she had a chance to pull away. She gasped. Despite my drained state I easily hauled her up against the bars.


    "Tell me what''s happening!" I hissed. "Why have I been brought here?" The girl whined and winced, terrified, but I didn''t let go.


    The girl grimaced, wing at my hold. "I cannot-the queen-*


    My fingers tightened until she cried out. "Tell me everything." I growled, "or I''ll break your wrist, and then your neck."


    "Don''t!" she whimpered. I eased my pressure slightly and she sagged a little, letting out a heavy breath. "Okay, okay, I''ll tell you."


    I released my grip a little more, but not entirely. Even though the silver in the bars burned my skin, I held her fast, determined not to let her go until I knew everything.


    And over the next several agonizing minutes, the servant girl told me what she knew..


    M was the only remaining heir of an ancient shifter dynasty-dragons, which I had long thought extinct. I couldn''t believe my ears when I heard this, no, I refused to believe it. But the girl was adamant.


    "It''s true, sir," she said, still struggling against my grip. "Queen M is thest dragon. Ourdy. Dur fearsome queen."


    "A queen of what?" I scoffed. "I saw no other dragons in there, just different animals. Cats, birds, lizards..."


    "She took us in," the girl said softly. "Cave us a home. We haven''t got packs like you werewolves do. We were scattered, abandoned, afraid.. but Queen M gave us a pack, a ce of our own. She ughtered our enemies and built our obsidian walls with her fire, and we worship her for it."


    I almost retched. Images of a blood-soaked queen filled my mind. The dragons had always been known for their brutality, which was part of why they had gone extinct. There was always infighting, hatred, no real sense of loyalty to their own kind. They didn''t evolve with the times like werewolves did, and they died out because of it.


    But that had been a long, long time ago. Hundreds of years ago, if not more.


    "I''ve never heard this story," I said, grimacing. "You''re lying."


    "I''m not lying," the girl insisted. "Most of us live underground, in the shadows, hidden from the world. Hidden from your kind."


    "So why, then, am I here?" I asked. "Why bring an outsider into your kingdom, if you''re so hell- bent on keeping it hidden? And what''s all this about a mate?"


    "It''s Queen M''s ritual," the girl exined. "She needs an heir, but there are no more purebred dragons. For decades, she''s been searching for someone with the blood of a dragon. Someone to save the dragon''s lineage.."


    I released the servant as my blood turned to ice. "So what am I, then?" I asked. "Some sort of breeding stallion? I''m not even a dragon. I''m a wolf. This so-called ''ceremony'' should be called off. Clearly your queen has made a mistake."


    The girl hesitated. Her eyes, filled with worry, darted down to the floor. In that moment, I felt my heart sink.


    "It''s true," she whispered. "You possess the blood of the dragons, my lord."