The Arena novel Chapter 69

I have never felt fear like I feel right now. It’s not fear for myself. It’s fear for my unborn son.

They have kept me strapped here, on this bed, for days, weeks, months. I have no idea. There are no windows in this place. I have no idea what time of day it is, if a day has passed, or if the time is moving more slowly than I realize.

Troy’s chief laboratory technician comes in several times a day to draw fluids. I don’t care what they take from me, but the first time they stuck the needle into my stomach, I began thrashing, my fire burning off the paralytic.

Troy was quick to inject me with whatever knocks me out, and when I wake, I see the bruises on my stomach. I have no idea what they did, but my son hasn’t been moving in my stomach. I’m terrified that he’s dead.

When the chief technician comes back in, I snarl at him. “What did you do to my son?”

He ignores me at first, then turns to draw more blood or whatever from me.

“I asked you a question.”

When he still doesn’t answer, I snarl at him. “My mate will kill you for what you’ve done to me and his son.”

Now, he does look at me. “He won’t be able to when I’m done. I was hoping your child would be a dragon, but it looks like he got the Lycan gene. In some ways, that’s even better. I can create a Lycan with dragon abilities or a dragon with Lycan abilities. Either way, it will be an epic creation,” he states proudly.

“What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Son?” I spit out.

“Well, the little bastard wouldn’t stop moving around, so I tranquilized him. He’s fine … probably. He’s just staying still so I can get his spinal fluid.”

“You’re a monster!” I say to him.

He leans over me, his lips curling over his teeth. “No, you’re the monster. Since when do dragons exist in real life? Since when do humans turn into animals? It’s unnatural.” I can feel his spit hitting my face as he speaks to me, his anger palpable.

“And yet, you’re creating even worse monsters.”

“At least I can control these. You and your kind are only good for one thing.”

“And what’s that?”

He turns to look at me. “Killing each other in the arena.”

“This was all your idea. You did all of this.” I suddenly realize that Troy isn’t the mastermind of this entire operation. If he was, the arenas would have started long before they did.

“Bingo. You’re beautiful AND intelligent. I’ve heard that about dragons. I needed Troy to make it come together, but it was my idea to set up the gladiator fighting rings. After losing my family to shifters and having to raise myself, I vowed I would kill every last one of you, no matter what it took. So, I went into business with a shifter that hates you almost as much as I do. And now that I have the DNA of the top two apex predators, I can ensure that you’re all wiped off this planet. Then, everyone will bow to me. Me and my hybrids.”

“You’re delusional. First, they aren’t hybrids, they’re mutants. And second, you’re going to die. Whether it’s at the hands of my mate, me, or Troy, there’s no way you’re going to survive this.”

“We’ll see about that dragon. And if I were you, I’d be more worried about my own skin. Or, in your case, scales. That and your son. If he doesn’t give me what I want in utero, I’ll be keeping him in my laboratory.”

I snarl at this, and once again, I’m knocked out.

The next time I wake up, I’m alone. I’m still strapped down, my stomach is still bruised, or maybe it’s bruised again. I truly have no idea.

I begin searching for a way out, a way to get myself out of these restraints when I feel it. A slight cramp in my stomach.

No! No, no, no. Please, don’t go into labor! Sweet boy, please stay inside me a little bit longer. I just need to figure out how to get us out of here. Your father just needs a little more time to find us. I know he’s looking for us … him and your sister. So just stay put for a little while longer.

When I feel the next contraction, I know I’m quickly running out of time. I pull on my fire, letting it burn off the paralytic as best I can. I begin twitching my fingers and toes. It isn’t long before the Chief, as I’ve started to call him, comes back in.

“Are you going to behave, dragon, or do I need to inject you?”