Claimed By A Dragon Prince

The sun started peaking through the window, shining right in Lily's eyes, waking her from a very good rest. Her body ached more than she thought, given she walked everywhere. She felt a weight next to her, looking over her shoulder there, the commander slept soundly. His even breathing indicated he was still asleep. *He is handsome.* Lily thought, studying his face. A couple of minor scars on his chin caught her eye.

From the looks of them, some kind of animal scratched him as she reached to touch them. His eyes snapped out at her touch, looking over to her, a questioning look on his face. "I just noticed these scars here. Sorry." Lily pulled her hand back, but he grabbed her hand, guiding it back to his chin. "These?" Dimitri moved her fingertips across the skin there. They felt deep but smooth, then rough with stubble.

"I tried to train my brother when he decided to begin lessons. He thought it was great fun until I started beating him. He lost his temper, dropped his sword, and took a swipe at me." She gasped, knowing how that felt since it was one of the many ways Alisa liked to torment her. "I never trained him again after that. He couldn't keep his temper in check, and I had no time to waste on him. My position was already in question." Dimitri knew he was the son no one wanted, but his father was the weak one, taking his mother knowing he had a wife. Lily could relate a little since her position wasn't in her control until adulthood.

Someone knocks at the door, waking them from their thoughts. "Miss, we need to collect the bathtub and empty the water." Lily panicked, knowing they thought she was alone in the room. "You need to hide under the bed now." She got up, pulling the dress on from the floor over her head, picking up his clothes and boots, and shoving them under the bed. Dimitri moved onto the floor, scooching under the bed as the servants came in to collect the tub.

"I'm sorry I didn't ring for you to come for it last night I fell asleep faster than I meant to," Lily spoke with one of the servants, who chuckled at her response. "No worries, miss. The soldiers scared most of our patrons last night. I was most surprised to see them. Hopefully, they stay away, especially this far out." From what the commander told her, those soldiers were bad news.

"Well, I will be checking out at noon anyway. Did you see which way they went? I would like to avoid them." Lily wanted to know for her safety, but she was sure the commander needed to know as well. "Yes, they went west back to the capital. They seemed to be worried about their commander. " Lily knew better after what she heard last night as the servant left the room.

Waiting a moment, Lily moved away from the door to see the commander standing at the window again, checking the streets. "Do you believe they left?" Dimitri ignored her question, surveilling the area, making sure known his brother's spies were lurking about. Lily waited, hoping he would answer as he turned to face her, a serious look on his face. "I can't leave you here. You need to come with me." Lily was confused by this since they hadn't spoken about their situation yet.

"Why would they be after me? I'm a nobody." Dimitri could tell she had no clue who she was to him, and he didn't want to scare her with the truth. "You're not a nobody to me, and if they knew that they would use it to hurt me. That's why I need you to come back to the castle." Lily grew concerned by his words, trying not to let her mind race. "Why do they want to hurt you so much? Who are you, Commander?"

Dimitri knew this was coming, but he had hoped to keep her in the dark a little longer. She was astute, which gave him hope for their future. "I should be asking you that since you didn't tell me your name the last time we met." Dimitri had been curious about her identity since meeting her in that massacred village.

Not being able to put it off anymore, she introduced herself. "My name is Lily Artemis Wolfman. I came from the Wolf Clan, but I was not blessed with a wolf when I became an adult." Hearing this, he felt even more compelled to keep her close so that no one could hurt her again. "I only heard of a handful of wolves that didn't have a wolf within, the most recent being a ward of the Wolf Clan. I presume that's you, yes?" Dimitri asked, holding her in his arms so she couldn't retreat.

Taking a deep breath, Lily answered softly. "Yes." He chuckled a bit, holding her close as he thought about how they were almost a perfect match for each other. "My name is Prince Dimitri De Drago`, second in line to the throne and illegitimate son to the Dragon King." For a moment, she thought her ears had failed her to hear his words. "Your.....aaa...Prince?" He nodded, looking into her eyes, feeling the electrifying hold between the two of them.

Lily could not look away, glued to the spot, trying to keep her calm. She had tried to stay away from all royal families since they all came with their own set of problems. All she wanted to do was run the other way, but her soul pulled at her in a way that made her stop. "Okay. Okay. Okay. Aww f*ck. Well, I want to live and finish the work I started, so if staying with you will accomplish that, I'll come with you." Dimitri released the breath he was holding, waiting for her response to his title.

"Well, let's get our things together, and I will fly us back to the castle. Be on your guard there may be a few hidden elites from my brother's sect." She nodded, getting dressed in the same work clothes from the night before. Skin tight but tactical and well equipped, pulling a trench coat on, she didn't take long to be ready braiding her hair quickly.

Dimitri got ready himself, pulling on his cloak and listening to the door before speaking quietly to her. "I will sneak out the back. Meet me in the field a mile out on the east side of town." Lily nodded, stepping into him and kissing him quickly before shoving him out the door. He stumbled a moment before sneaking out the back still thinking of that kiss she left him with. Dimitri was going to have to teach his little submissive a lesson when they reached the castle.