The Alpha Princess And Her Dragon Mate

Green With Envy

It was one thing to be Alaric's w***e—at least she knew she had a purpose being with him—but to be thrown aside so easily, like some petty commodity by the King, made her blood boil. The Dragon was stepping on the little shred of pride and integrity she had held so tightly. Was this what he did with the rest of the women too, or was she just special? Did he give them off to his guests for pleasure?

To Alaric's credit, he did try to appease her. "You are only to accompany him for one night. I would ask someone else to do it, but Adrian is extremely picky. Besides, I'm sure you have been bored too. You will enjoy each other's company."

"I am not some prostitute you can loan out to your guests whenever you desire, Your Majesty!" She said the title with as much venom as possible to convey her distaste for the mere suggestion.

Alaric had the gall to appear surprised by her words, as though he hadn't implied exactly that. He looked past her to the Vampire Prince. Both men seemed to communicate without words, and Adrian shook his head. "Adrian has no interest in that. As charming as you are, pretty Luna, he doesn't want to bed you."

"If that's the case, then have someone else do it. Why don't you let Ro..." Before the name could roll off her tongue, she saw the way the Dragon King's eyes narrowed threateningly. And perhaps summoned by the mention of her name, Princess Rose walked into the room. She was clad in a simple nightdress that hung loosely on her delicate frame. Her messy dark hair framed her beautiful face.

Sabrina swallowed back her words. So far, Rose had only shown her kindness. Despite how angry she was, Sabrina didn't want to offend the Princess. Rose greeted Adrian and Alaric politely, even throwing a kind smile at Sabrina, which the Luna tried and failed to reciprocate.

"What's the matter?" Alaric asked his favorite woman.

"I just came to check up on you. You were supposed to contact me after dinner. I've been waiting all day. I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, my apologies. I forgot about my promise." He turned to Adrian and said, "If you would excuse me, Prince, enjoy the rest of the night." Sabrina only got a nod of acknowledgment from the King before he sauntered off, Rose clinging intimately to his arm. Sabrina didn’t realize it, but she was clenching her fists so hard that her nails had cut through the skin of her palms. Watching Alaric abandon her for Rose shouldn’t have come as a surprise. She knew from the very beginning that she could never compare to the Princess when it came to Alaric's affection.

The Luna slid into Alaric's vacant seat and examined the small injuries on her palms. It wasn’t bleeding, thank God. Nobody wanted to bleed in the presence of a vampire. Adrian summoned a servant and had them pour Sabrina a glass of wine. "I think you need that more than I do."

She glared at him from underneath her lashes but gulped down the drink anyway. It was sweet and fruity, but there was the obvious tinge of alcohol in it. She’d need a lot more than one glass to get drunk. So, Sabrina poured herself another, and another.

Adrian watched her like she was some odd specimen that needed to be studied thoroughly. "I've never seen anybody act that way towards Alaric. You attacked him, and he merely shrugged it off. Either he has grown weak in the last few years since we saw each other, or he has a deep interest in you."

"How observant of you, Your Majesty. If the King had any interest in me, he wouldn’t throw me into the arms of the first man who requested company."

"He didn’t throw you—that would suggest he picked you at random." Adrian showed a disgusted look. "I wouldn’t have appreciated the gesture. Like he said, I am very picky."

"You're saying the other women aren’t good enough for you? The Princess isn’t?"

"Alaric would never give his Princess to me." His lips curled up when he saw a flash of anger in her eyes. Sabrina refused to acknowledge said emotion as jealousy. What did she have to be jealous of? It wasn’t like she held any affection for the Dragon King. "And I've met a few of his other consorts—clingy, desperate things so eager to please, it’s disgusting."

Well, at least Sabrina wasn’t the only one who thought so. "You said I smelled like mud and dirt. Why would you want to have someone who smells like that at your side?"

"It’s not a bad smell, just different. You have enough self-control to not throw yourself at me immediately—that’s more than enough reason. Also, you are not too bad to look at." Just to prove his point, his eyes trailed over her face to her chest, and she just knew that if she had been standing, he would be eyeing her waist and hips as well. Yes, she'd been told on multiple occasions how nice of a body she had. Even Edwin hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her at one point, though he never tried anything. Despite his attraction to her, his loyalty towards her sister was much greater.

Sabrina didn’t deem his words worthy of a response. She gulped down the remainder of her drink, noting how the room spun when she tried to reach for the jar of wine once more. She drew back, knowing she might just pass out if she drank any more. Adrian asked her at one point how a Luna like her ended up in Dragon territory, and Sabrina had not-so-politely told him to mind his own business. The Prince seemed to find her lack of fear or respect for him amusing. He’d probably been around people who would kiss his very feet if he asked.

They sat in silence until the Prince decided it was time to retire for the night. He looked at her expectantly as he walked out of the room, and with much reluctance, Sabrina followed.

Adrian was assigned a room next to the King's. The room was dimly lit, mostly due to Adrian's kind not being fans of the light. Even the candles were unlit. But the soft gleam of the moonlight streaking through the open windows was enough to keep the room from being shrouded in darkness. Plus, both vampire and Luna had exceptional sight, so they hardly needed the candles to see. Sabrina stood awkwardly and watched Adrian take off his coat. She was flushing with warmth from consuming too much wine. It wasn’t unpleasant; it made it easier for her to act on things she would normally avoid.

She wondered briefly if Adrian was nearly as powerful as Alaric. If he had been in the Dragon's place, would she have had an easier time trying to seduce him? Unconsciously, she stepped forward, edging closer to the Prince. His body tensed as her fingertips brushed his arm.

"You are so pale." He seemed almost unreal. Whenever the moonlight gleamed on his nearly translucent skin, she could almost swear he wasn’t entirely physical—that if she touched him, her hand might pass right through his flesh like water. But Adrian was flesh, though with no blood. He was old too. It was odd, as Sabrina herself produced more body heat than a human.

"You could lose your hands for that," Adrian huffed, though he didn’t try to push her away. Sabrina's touch lingered on his hand, then trailed over to his wrist. Their skin made contact as she held his hand, tracing the lines on his palm.

Adrian let her get away with the touches, but only so he could reciprocate with some of his own. He cupped her face with his free hand, his thumb brushing the soft skin of her cheek. Their eyes met—gray pupils met red ones. Adrian leaned in for a kiss, and Sabrina's instincts had her leaning away. The Prince paused and watched her closely. He leaned in once more, this time successfully catching her lips with his. The Luna moaned at the touch, and her body quickly melted into the Prince's embrace.

She shouldn’t be doing this. She had no reason to be like this with Adrian. But as her mind drifted back to Alaric and what he and Rose could possibly be up to this late at night, she found herself kissing Adrian back.

Alaric... To hell with him.

"Touch me," Sabrina whispered against Adrian's lips. The Prince brought a hand to the bust he had been admiring earlier and cupped her breast. Sabrina Moaned, she was touch starved. She needed this.