The Dragon King's Heart

Kragen looked on without remorse at the witch's limp body in his hand. He cursed beneath his breath. It was not intended to kill her, he merely wanted to frighten her. He loosened his hand as her body slumped to the ground like a broken marionette.

He took a step back, uncertain of what to do. Just as he was about to get the guards to clean up his mess, he heard the sickening crackle. It sounded like bones snapping in place.

A gasp of air was heard as Cordelia came alive once more. The Werewolf King looked over in horror and disgust. Just what is this witch made of?

Cordelia coughed violently for a few seconds as she rubbed her neck, annoyed by the red mark that had formed where Kragen tried to strangle her.

"Now that you've calmed down, we can talk," she declared as she stood back up. Her voice was still a little hoarse but it soon turned back to normal.

Kragen folded his arms, "So you're unkillable?"

Cordelia chuckled, "No, of course not. But please don't try that again, we wouldn't want you losing any body parts; now do we?"

She looked down towards his pants, then back up to meet his eyes. They were filled with horror and fear of the unknown.

"Especially the important body parts, aye?" She said cheekily as she readjusted her clothing before taking a seat on the sofa once more.

Kragen gulped as he gritted his teeth. He could not believe that he, the King of Wolfenheim, had to bend to the will of a witch. An unkillable witch. Begrudgingly, he took a seat back down on the opposite end and poured another glass of liquor.

This time, Cordelia snatched it out of his hands before he could even bring it up to his mouth. She downed it all before pouring herself another glass.

"So, as we were saying before the fiasco occurred, the princess seems to know about your dirty little secret. So how are you going to clean this mess up?" She asked without holding back.

Having just had a near-death experience, she was feeling particularly bold and prone to take risks. Not to mention, the twisted expression on Kragen's face brought her endless joy.

The Werewolf King paused in thought for some time. Seeing as things had unraveled down this path, it was best to just go with it. Laina must be planning something for when they were to reconvene.

That meant, she was likely preparing right now. The only way he could get the upper hand as if he acted first. The witch had given him useful intel on Victoria's location, so he needed to use it to his fullest advantage.

Kragen materialized an onyx-crafted bell in his hand. He rang the small bell yet it did not emit any sound. At least, not any sound that Cordelia could hear. Within a matter of seconds, two shadowy figures materialized next to Kragen.

Both of them were in their hybrid wolf-human form. Cordelia arched an eyebrow in surprise. She had not seen shadow wolves before. They did not disappoint. If she had not seen them for herself, she could have sworn they had no physical form.

They were almost like ghosts or shifting shadows. If she reached her hand out towards them, it would simply move through their bodies.

"What are your orders, Alpha Kragen?" One of them asked in a ghostly voice.

Kragen materialized a piece of cloth in his hands and handed it to the shadow wolves. They immediately began to sniff the scent on the cloth.

"I want the person killed and for it to look like an accident. Understood?" Kragen ordered.

"As you wish, my Alpha," the shadow wolves said in unison before disappearing.

Cordelia was not impressed. Having someone else do the dirty work for him so that he did not have to get his hands dirty, this werewolf King was more cowardly than she had thought.

"So, what else have you planned, your Majesty?" She asked as she folded her arms.

"I will head to the palace tomorrow and pressure the princess. I'm sure she won't be able to resist, being under your spell and all," Kragen replied confidently.

Satisfied with his response, Cordelia stood up from her seat as she placed the glass back down on the table. She clapped her hands together and declared, "Well then, my job here is done. Farewell, King Kragen, hopefully, you'll bring me some good news."

With that, Cordelia clicked her fingers. In a puff of smoke, she disappeared. Kragen did not even have a chance to ask her any other questions. He gritted his teeth as he reached for the glass on the table.

He shifted to pick up the bottle of liquor instead, drinking directly from it to quell the emotions stirring in his chest. In a fit of anger, he threw the bottle across the room. Upon impact with the ground, it shattered into thousands of glass shards.

The ear-piercing shatter caused the guards to flinch in shock. But they were not concerned at all. Their King's temper had never been the best, so this was a regular occurrence.

Some of them pitied whoever was destined to be his Luna, having to suffer under his wrath and horrible temper. Others wondered if their King found his Luna, would he change for her?

Be it for better or for worse, none of them knew the truth.

For Kragen, he knew the consequences if the truth was revealed. But, he also had a trump card up his sleeve. Should things go awry, he would still come out victorious. He had a full-proof solution that would ensure his victory.

"You think you can play me, Crown Princess Laina? You've been terribly mistaken," he spat as he cracked his knuckles, "I'm going to make you bend to my will."

The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became. He cursed the Moon Goddess and her silly matchmaking game. Of all the werewolves in Wolfenheim, why was he the one who had to be matched with a human?

He had heard of a few stories of werewolves in the past who had been matched with a human. Most of them did not end well. Most of the time, the werewolves gets rejected by their

Ever since he was young, he never believed in destiny. Everything he had, he worked for it. That included his position as King. It had not always been that way, but he did what he had to do.

"I will have you as my bride."

<Writing Prompt #8 - The only human amongst vampires>

Blood wine, raw steak, and no cooked food. Ana gulped as she looked on at the nobility that was present in the ballroom. She had been cordially invited to attend the Blood Moon Ball in Castle Lancaster.

It was too late to back away. She was already here, and there was no way out until the event came to an end. Everyone was dressed in finery. Beautiful floor-length ball gowns, painstakingly hand-sewn suits with hand-stitched embroidery.

All she wanted was a simple glass of wine to calm her nerves, but a quick sniff of the wine in her glass and Ana knew it was no normal wine. She could smell blood in it and she could not bring herself to drink any of it.

"Milady, are you enjoying yourself this evening?" A masculine voice asked Ana from behind.

She spun around to face the owner of the voice, surprised to find an unfamiliar face had approached her. From his coy smile and that suspicious look in his eyes, Ana knew he would not make good company.

She quickly scanned the room. Her every move was being watched. Ana gulped, she wanted to get away from the man that instant.

"I'm enjoying it quite well, thank you for asking," she replied absentmindedly as she attempted to move away from him.

The vampire seemed to notice this. He took a step closer, closing the distance between them. Ana could feel his arm around her waist. This was the situation she had been desperately trying to avoid.

"A warm-blooded creature, how rare," he whispered into her ear as he leaned in close.

"I wonder how good it would taste if it was fresh from the source," he added as he attempted to caress Ana's cheek.

Not willing to let him make his advances, Ana splashed the glass of blood wine towards him as she pushed him away. As she did so, the glass slips from her hand and crashes onto the ground.

The wine glass shattered upon impact with the ground, shards scattered in all directions. Everyone turned their heads. The music stopped playing. All eyes were on Ana.

But a familiar presence appeared behind her. The scent of smoked apple chip wood filled her senses. She knew who this was. Ana looked up to see a familiar face standing right behind her.

"I'm glad you're able to make it, Lady Ana," the charismatic vampire king remarked as he smiled at Ana, "I see you've made quite the dramatic entrance."