REBORN: CHOSEN BY THE DRAGON KING

CHAPTER 3

LYRA

I open my eyes slowly.

I'm lying on a gigantic bed made of black stone, covered in sheets as red as freshly lit embers. The pillars of the room look like golden claws holding up the ceiling, which shines like suspended liquid lava.

But it’s not the room that takes the breath from my lungs.

I get up still dizzy and almost fall to the floor when I try to walk.

There’s a mirror, and when I look at my reflection, I freeze.

There’s the bite mark on my neck, but that’s not the only thing.

My eyes...

My eyes are on fire.

I’m not exaggerating.

Inside them are liquid flames, as if hell itself had chosen me.

The outline is golden, glowing like molten gold. Red scales, as thin as crystal, spread across my neck, shoulders, and arms. There’s still something werewolf about me — the sharp fangs, the tense muscles, the claws — but now… I’m more. So much more.

I’m a hybrid.

"You’re awake."

His voice echoes through the room like thunder. I turn slowly.

The Dragon King is there, standing at the door, wearing another red robe open at the chest now.

His eyes burn the same color as mine.

"I feel… different," I murmur, barely recognizing my own voice.

"Because now you are something new," he replies, stepping forward with firm strides. "You are no longer weak. No longer prey. You are fire. You are power. You are queen."

For the first time in a long while, I smile without pain.

"I’m stronger."

He stops in front of me, so close I can feel the heat of his body against my new skin.

"You will burn everyone who hurt you. You will turn everything into ashes."

His words cut through me like blades.

Kael’s image explodes in my mind — the look of disdain, the cold voice calling me a traitor, the hands that pushed me straight to my death.

Hatred takes over me.

I feel the heat rise through my throat.

I open my mouth and, without control, release a burst of fire that ignites the curtains, the walls, the ceiling.

The room becomes a hell in seconds.

"No!" I scream, terrified. "I can’t stop it!"

The flames dance, alive, as if they have a will of their own.

But before they destroy everything, the king moves. He grabs my shoulders and pushes me against the hot stone wall.

"Control!" he growls. "You are the fire. It doesn’t command you. You command it."

I close my eyes, desperate. I feel the heat rising, trying to escape, but I fight it.

One.

Two.

Three.

I open my eyes slowly. And he’s here. Too close. So close our breaths mix. His golden eyes shine into mine.

"You will be my queen..." he whispers.

And he kisses me.

A moan escapes my lips. There’s no turning back. The bond is sealed. Soul to soul. Fire to fire.

I don’t pull away or push him. I like it. I like the kiss, and I feel completely different now.

The king’s hands move down my body, gripping my waist tightly.

I moan again, sliding my hands down his shoulders.

We are equals now.

His tongue licks my lips before moving lower.

I tilt my head back, feeling him licking the mark on my skin.

"I’ll show you what it means to be truly desired. That werewolf will never lay hands on you again because you are mine now, and nothing can change that..." he whispers in my ear.

I open my eyes, watching as the king’s tongue descends to the neckline of my dress.

I clutch his shoulders tightly.

"Please..."

"What do you want, little wolf?"

"I want you."

He smiles, his eyes blazing with fire.

"My dirty queen..."

A smile spreads across my lips. And the truth is, I don’t know what’s happening to me right now. I was rejected, but I don’t feel broken anymore.

Maybe the king’s bite changed something inside me. I want him now.

He tears my dress off in one swift motion, and I bite my lips, feeling my sharp fangs.

The fire returns to my eyes, but this time I control it.

The king’s mouth finds my breasts, and I roll my eyes at the new sensation.

He’s hot. Hotter than anything.

My hands find his hair and I pull the long strands tightly, hearing him moan as he keeps sucking my breasts.

"King..."

"Yes, my queen?"

"I want more..."

He laughs against my n*****s, and seconds later he lifts my body, making me wrap my legs around him.

Our eyes lock on each other now.

I kiss him, feeling something inside me growing stronger. Our tongues meet, and he presses me harder against the wall.

One of his hands slides down my belly, between my legs.

I gasp, moaning as his fingers touch my skin.

I close my eyes, feeling him tear the rest of the dress from my body.

I know this is insane, but I don’t want to stop, and neither does he.

"That werewolf would never know how to touch you like this..."

We moan at the same time, and I’m nearly begging for him to keep going when the king kisses me again before setting me back down on the floor.

"I need to control myself with you or this whole room will burn," he murmurs, stepping away from me.

I look at my naked body.

He sighs, holding back, before looking at me.

"The wedding will be tonight," he declares. "You will be the Dragon Queen. And everything will be ready."

He kisses my forehead and leaves the room.

I stand still for a moment, feeling his heat still clinging to my skin. Then I look at the bed.

A dress is laid out — red, made of a fabric that looks like fire silk and hardened lava. It gleams under the golden light. I dress with trembling hands. The fabric molds to my body as if it were made only for me. In the mirror, I see the reflection of something I never imagined being.

A queen. A goddess of fire.

Night falls quickly.

I hear voices approaching.

I leave the room and am led through golden halls to the great dragon temple.

A glowing stone altar shines in the center, surrounded by hundreds of figures — men, women, beasts with wings and flaming eyes. Dragons in every form watch me.

I climb the steps beside the king. He holds my hand tightly and looks at me as if I were the center of the universe.

"Are you ready?" he asks.

"Yes."

He lifts a dagger made of draconic bone and slices his own wrists.

Golden blood drips onto the altar. The mark he left on me burns in response.

I step forward, ready to do the same.

But then… howls.

The whole temple goes silent.

The creatures turn to the entrance. The howls repeat, louder, closer.

"What’s happening?" I ask.

He clenches his teeth.

"The werewolves know you’re alive. And they came to kill you."

My blood boils.

They think they can erase me again. Think I’m still that weak, betrayed girl.

I clench my fists. The scales shimmer. My eyes catch fire. My claws grow. Fury consumes me.

They came to finish what they started.

But now… now I am the Dragon Queen.

And I will burn every last one of them.