Page 27 of Dragon King’s Bullied Mate

Mine.

The word thundered through Mikael’s mind with startling force and carried instinct so possessive and immediate that it nearly stole the breath from his lungs. He stopped abruptly enough that Martin glanced toward him in concern.

“What is it?”

Mikael barely heard him because warmth had appeared suddenly in the distance like sunlight breaking through thick storm clouds. It was achingly familiar despite the fact that he could not understand why, and his dragon pressed harder against his consciousness.

Mine.

Without answering Martin, Mikael turned down another corridor.

“Mikael.”

He ignored the physician entirely and moved faster despite the protest from his body. Something deep within him had already locked onto that warmth with relentless certainty and guided him downward through narrower passages until the air grew colder and heavier with the unmistakable scent of iron bars.

The dungeons.

Martin caught up beside him and grabbed his arm. “You don’t need to be down here. I think we’ve had enough exercise for one day.”

Still Mikael continued forward because the pull inside him had become unbearable. His dragon was nearly frantic now beneath his skin.

And then he saw her.

A woman sat behind the bars of one of the cells wrapped in pale gray blankets. Strands of dark hair fell loose around her face, and the instant Mikael’s gaze landed on her, heat spread sharply through his chest.

Mine.

The dragon’s voice softened this time, no less possessive but filled now with something dangerously close to relief.

The woman looked up slowly at the sound of their footsteps, and for one suspended moment neither of them moved. Mikael couldn’t breathe properly.

He knew her. Not fully, not enough to grasp where or how, but something recognized her immediately.

Her eyes widened slightly as she stared back at him through the bars, confusion and caution mingling with something softer he couldn’t name. His mind remained maddeningly unclear, but he found himself unable to look away from her face.

He took a step closer, then another, until the warmth intensified so sharply it bordered on pain.

Mine.

Mikael reached the front of the cell almost without realizing it. “You…” His voice came out rougher than intended. “I know you.”

The woman said nothing at first, though emotion flashed briefly across her expression before she lowered her gaze.

Mikael moved again despite himself. “Who are…”

A heavy hand clamped down hard on his shoulder before he could reach the bars. “That’s enough.”

Dag’s voice cut through the corridor like a blade. Mikael turned sharply and irritation flared instantly at the interruption.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Dag continued coldly. “Especially near her.”

Mikael’s dragon snarled low inside him. The possessive fury that rose through him made no sense alongside the fog still clouding his memory, yet he could not pull his eyes away from the woman behind the bars, even with Dag standing in the way.

Something deep within him had already recognized her long before his mind caught up, and every instinct he possessed now rebelled violently against leaving her there.

Chapter 12

Lyra