Claimed by the Dragon King

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – A Real Dragon
 POV: Gift

The moment he showed any sign of hostile intent toward me, the two little creatures suddenly emerged from behind me.

Vharkan quickly jumped down from the cabinet and breathed a small but scorching stream of fire directly at the man’s feet. Only then did I notice that this man wasn’t wearing shoes or slippers either.

Strangely enough, he wasn’t hurt by the fire the little one had breathed. Meanwhile, Lumi flew toward him and desperately bit the hem of his pants with her tiny teeth. She kept tugging at the fabric with all her strength, but the muscular stranger didn’t even budge.

They weren’t defending this man, even though he claimed that he was their father. They were protecting me from him.

Growl!

The twins released a fierce sound at the same time, directing it straight at the man. Sparks of light flickered across their skin, and their eyes seemed to reflect intense emotions. Every time this man looked at me with hostility, the children’s growls grew louder, their tiny bodies trembling with anger. It was as clear as daylight. The twins were absolutely furious with him because he was being mean to me.

The man froze as he stared at the children. His eyes narrowed, and a trace of surprise crossed his face. He seemed even more offended because the creatures he claimed as his own had chosen an ordinary woman like me—someone he considered weak and filthy—over him, someone who looked powerful and wealthy. Their rejection had clearly slapped his pride right across the face. He was muscular and powerful, yet they were still rejecting him.

He tried to take another step forward and ignore what the two little creatures were doing, but the moment he moved, Vharkan and Lumi burst into tears. It was as if they were literally in pain every time this man tried to hurt me or became aggressive toward me.

“Damn it,” the man hissed through clenched teeth, his irritation obvious.

He was forced to stop. His hands curled into tight fists as he finally realized that he had no chance of taking the little ones away from me.

“I knew it. You’re always so predictable, Kaizito.”

An old voice filled with sarcasm suddenly echoed from the side of the broken doorway. I turned toward the sound, and my eyes widened even further in shock. An elderly man had suddenly appeared there, his round belly entering first, while he leaned on an old wooden cane. He had a long white beard, and the clothes he wore were strange, as if he had stepped out of an ancient period in some old movie.

A wide grin stretched across his face as he looked at all of us, especially at the enormous beast standing in front of me.

I had no idea how he had gotten inside without me noticing, but he seemed to be with this grumpy giant.

“Grumblewick,” the large man hissed. So Kaizito was his name. “What are you doing here? I told you to stay outside.”

“Oh, forgive me,” the old man replied as he slowly walked inside, using his cane to push aside a burned piece of the bakery door. The old man looked thoroughly entertained as he watched his companion being rendered helpless by a small woman like me and two furious little creatures.

“I simply noticed that your stubborn head seemed to be having trouble speaking to a child… ah, I mean three children.”

“Shut the f**k up,” Kaizito threatened, his face already turning red from anger and embarrassment because of the old man’s teasing.

The old man looked at me and politely bowed, though a mischievous smile was still drawn across his face.

“Good evening, young lady. My name is Grumblewick. And the arrogant creature who destroyed your bakery is Kaizito. His brain is as hard as a wall, so please forgive his complete lack of manners and his rude behavior.”

“Grumblewick!” Kaizito warned.

But the old man merely waved a hand, completely fearless of Kaizito even though the giant looked as if he were ready to burn someone alive with his anger.

“Look at your situation,” the old man whispered, pointing at the twins, who were now clinging to my legs while continuing to glare viciously at Kaizito.

“The children are already bonded to her. If you forcefully take them away from her, they will only struggle harder and hurt themselves. It seems you need to make a decision that your enormous pride isn’t going to like.”

Kaizito closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to restrain his anger. His pride was clearly being crushed before his very eyes. He looked at me as though his eyes were about to burst into flames, then glanced at the twins, who refused to let go of me.

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.

The hesitation disappeared from his face.

“You’re right, Grumblewick. Arguing with this woman and trying to make her let the twins come with me is useless,” Kaizito said coldly. The force of his voice caused the last piece of broken glass in the window to fall. “So it will be easier to do what must be done.”

Before I could even process what he had said, the large man moved.

In the blink of an eye, before I even realized what was happening, I felt an incredibly powerful arm wrap around my waist. He lifted me as though I were nothing more than a sack of flour!

“Hey! Let me go! What the—? I don’t know who you are. You’re human. The mother of these little ones is human. It’s impossible for you to be their father because just look at you and look at them!”

“Is it impossible, mortal woman?” he said.

And in an instant, the moment we stepped outside the door, it felt as though I had been thrown into a dream. He tossed all three of us onto his back so suddenly that I felt like nothing more than a piece of jelly being violently shaken around.

Then he suddenly transformed into a blue monster, and in the next instant, he soared into the sky.

My scream was left echoing throughout the narrow, dark alley.

What kind of monster was he?

“Have a safe trip! Kaizito, make sure your passengers don’t fall!” the old man Grumblewick shouted after us as though riding on the back of a blue dragon was the most entertaining thing in the world!

Dragon!

He was literally a dragon flying through the sky right now, carrying me and the children.

That meant he truly was the father of my children.

“Mama!” Lumi cried with her eyes squeezed shut as she clung tightly to me. I immediately wrapped both of them in my arms and held them even closer.

“Mama is here, and I’m not leaving you. I won’t abandon you.”

They stopped crying because I was still with them.

A powerful gust of wind slammed against my entire body, nearly blowing me away.

“Kaizito! I’ll kill you if I die!”

Wait.

How exactly was I supposed to kill him if I was already dead?

In an instant, the sharp spikes along his body rose, and I fell against them. I quickly grabbed onto them as well, making sure that the children and I wouldn’t be swept away by the powerful wind.

When I looked around us, my mouth fell open once again.

There were dragons flying all around us as though they were protecting us from something.

There weren’t just ten of them.

There were countless dragons surrounding us, like soldiers preparing to enter a war. They looked powerful enough to wipe out the entire human world if they ever chose to do so.

I looked down, and the houses and establishments we had left behind were already unbelievably small.

This was even crazier than riding on an airplane without a ticket.

When I looked back at the sky, a massive swirling golden portal suddenly opened above the clouds. The speed of his flight sent my long hair flying wildly behind me, while beneath us, the lights of the city slowly turned into tiny glowing dots that looked like nothing more than distant Christmas lights.

“Grumblewick, close the portal!” Kaizito shouted into the wind as he flew directly into the shimmering light.

I stared at it while my entire world spun around me, making me feel as though I was about to throw up.

With a single flick of fate, this arrogant stranger had completely changed my life.

And now, he was taking us—me and his children to a world I had never imagined could possibly exist.