It’s hard to be alone. There’s no one to tell you simple things, like why dragons don’t like the snow. It’s not that we have anything against snow—it’s pretty, all shiny white, and it makes the neatest crunching sounds under our feet. It’s that the shit is cold. And dragons don’t do well in the cold. I learned that the hard way.

It was autumn when I crossed the mountains. I think that’s the only reason I survived. The snow had receded to the highest peaks and the shadiest valleys, and I was at the crest before I discovered my error. I stood, staring down into a beautiful, green valley, full of rivers and trees and small villages, and—most importantly—no sign of another dragon. It was paradise. And the only thing between me and the respite I desperately needed, was a north-facing slope covered in deep snow and broken ice fields.

The ice was easy enough to navigate. My talons pierced the glassy surface and kept me from sliding, but the cold burned up through the scales of my feet, stealing the heat out of my legs. My muscles began to cramp. Then I hit the snow, my feet breaking through the icy crust and plunging into the wet slush beneath. I could literally feel the warmth bleeding out of my body, each step slower and more laborious than the last, my heart rate dropping to one or two beats a minute.

It was all I could do to keep moving. I just wanted to lie down and sleep, but I knew if I did, I’d never wake up again. Old dragons sometimes bruminate in ice caves, their body temperature dropping to just a few degrees above freezing, sleeping for a hundred years or more, but I was not nearly big enough to withstand something like that. So I pushed on, slogging through the melting snow and icy mud until I reached the treeline. I found a large, flat rock and curled up on it like a cat, basking until my temperature returned to normal.

Of course, once it did, the full force of my rut returned, the desire to mate singing through my blood. My cock hardened, making it uncomfortable to walk as I struggled to keep it from emerging from my body. The last thing I wanted was to get my dick caught in a blackberry bramble.

Slinking through the forest, I found the bank of a river. I drank my fill and snapped up a fish that got too close, but my hunger was not for food. I needed a different kind of satiation. I walked the riverbank, my long, black forked tongue flicking out to smell the air. I detected the scent of deer and rabbits, foxes and quail. None of that interested me, and then I found the a trail reeking of horse and human. I could smell their sweat and the smoke from their fires. I was near a village.

I crossed at their shallow fording place and found a marshy area nearby where I could roll in the mud to cover the ghastly white patches that marred my otherwise flawless dark blue and gold scales. It didn’t change anything, of course. I was still a freak, but at least I didn’t stand out like a pile of snow in the forest. I followed the trail to the edge of the woods and there it was, a human settlement, maybe fifty cottages and farms, surrounded by fields and meadows.

I nestled my long, sinuous body into a hollow beneath a fallen tree and settled down to wait for dark. Waiting, however, is not easy when your blood is boiling with mating hormones. It reminds you of how hard it is to be alone, which makes you think about why you’re alone, which makes you angry and bitter. It wasn’t my fault that I was born piebald, nor was it my fault that my mother was slaughtered by dragon slayers days before my clutch hatched, and was therefore unable to kill me at birth. And yet, every other dragon I’ve met has made it clear that my very existence is a personal insult to them.

Myrrusch is what they call me. It means ‘ugly’ and ‘bad omen’, but since I never had a mother to give me a name, I decided it would have to do. So, I’m Myr, the dragon of bad omens. I suppose for the people of this village, that’s true enough.

~*~*~*~

I crept through the darkness, a shadow moving across their fields, over fences, into the silent, empty lanes between their cottages. I paused outside each small, stone dwelling, reaching inside with my mind to search out the occupants, much as I might flick my tongue to search out a smell. That’s one way dragons communicate. We have spoken language, of course, but when we want to speak to a lesser creature, it must be done mind to mind. I wasn’t speaking to anyone, not yet, just touching their thoughts, getting a taste of them. Searching for the right one.

I found her in a small cottage, a young woman dreaming of sunshine and flowers. Her mind was like an open door, inviting me in. Some humans are more closed, those who have suffered hardship and loss. They build walls to protect themselves. The walls can’t keep me out, but breaking in is more difficult, more likely to be noticed. If a human realizes what I’m doing, they can resist me, which usually leads to all kinds of trouble.

I slipped into her dream, watching her dance across a field of wildflowers, surrounded by birds and butterflies as I sifted through her thoughts. Her name was Victoria, she was eighteen years old, and the son of a farmer had just asked her to marry him. She had said yes. No wonder her dreams were so bright and happy. I almost felt bad for needing to wake her.

A soft, gray kitten appeared, bouncing and frolicking around her feet as she teased it with a long stalk of grass. I watched for another moment, then took a breath and blew out a ball of blue flame, setting the kitten on fire. It shrieked as it writhed in the grass, blackened flesh turning to ash. Victoria screamed and the dream shattered as she jerked awake.

I pulled back to the surface of her thoughts as her fear and disorientation washed over me. Human emotions are strange things and best experienced from a distance. I waited until she had calmed down, and then I pushed in again, soothing her lingering unease.

It was just a bad dream, I whispered into her mind, keeping my touch soft so she would think it was her own thought. It’s stuffy in here. Some fresh air would be nice. Step outside. It’s a beautiful night.

I felt her balk at the thought of going outside, into the dark where the scary things lived.

The village is safe, I whispered. Don’t go far, just open the door and step out.

I heard the bed creak as she got up, heard her quiet footsteps as she walked to the door. She slid back the bolt and pulled it open, taking a hesitant step outside. I shrank back into the shadows between her cottage and the next. Her mind wasn’t ready to see me yet.

So pretty, I whispered into her thoughts. Look at the stars, so bright and clear. Feel the breeze. The air is so fresh. It’s so peaceful here. The forest must be beautiful at night. I wore down her apprehension, like a river wears down a stone, until she left her doorstep, her bare feet making no sound on the dirt road. I followed, keeping just a few paces behind her, as she headed for the forest.

It wasn’t hard to keep her walking, just repetitive and dull. Pretty stars, go to the forest, it’s safe, blah blah blah. Human minds are weak, soft things, so malleable, so fragile. I had to be careful not to get impatient and push too hard. Push a little too hard, and they realize you’re in there and shut you out. Push a lot and their mind turns to mush. I’ve only done that a couple of times, but it was more than enough. Humans might be lesser creatures, but that didn’t mean I wanted to harm them.

She reached the edge of the wood and she stopped, her fear rising up again, pushing me back. I dug into her thoughts, searching for the source of her unease. When she was a child, her parents told her that wolves lived in the woods and that she should never play there. Which I think was a lie. I didn’t smell a single trace of wolf anywhere in the forest, not even an old scent. They just didn’t want her getting lost or falling in the river. Sensible, but it made my life harder.

All the wolves are gone, I told her. Hunters chased them away. Everything is safe. Hear the river? Listen to the music of the water. It’s so peaceful. I gave her just a bit of a mental nudge, forcing away her fears. Soothed, she followed the path into the forest. I could see just fine, but I guess humans have fairly poor vision because she kept tripping over roots and walking too close to brambles. It made progress agonizingly slow.

Finally, we made it to the riverbank. Then came the hard part.

I had to find a way to reveal myself to her without causing her to completely freak out and shatter the rapport I had been building within her mind. Once again, I sifted through her thoughts and memories, looking back into her childhood, to stories she had been told. Not all were cautionary tales or lies meant to keep her out of trouble. Some were just stories, meant only to entertain, but they turned out to be the most useful.

Such a lovely night, I whispered to her. The kind of night when the forest guardian wanders the woods, protecting the trees and creatures. Wouldn’t it be something, to turn around and see the benevolent guardian spirit? Turn around and don’t be afraid.

I held my breath as she slowly turned, her eyes growing wide at the sight of me. This was one reason why I took her so far from the village—if she screamed, I had plenty of time to get away. I flicked my tongue and tasted the sour scent of her fear, but she just stared up at me, her whole body shaking.

Hello, human, I said, using a deeper, firmer mental voice so she wouldn’t recognize it as the voice in her head. Are you here to harm my forest or my creatures?

She shook her head, her mouth falling open. She tried several times before she managed to speak.

“N-No, great Guardian. I won’t hurt anything.” She had a pleasant voice, for a human.

I tilted my head to one side and looked down at her from one eye, as if scrutinizing her.

Are you sure? Humans often come into my forest to cut my trees and hunt my creatures.

“Not me, I swear!”

Prove it, I said, smirking to myself as I took a step toward her. Get on your knees. I added a bit of compulsion, like a caress in her mind, making her want to obey me. She was so distracted by the ‘guardian spirit’, she didn’t even notice.

She gathered up her nightdress so it wouldn’t get dirty and stepped over to a pile of leaves so she wouldn’t kneel in the mud, her face shining and open as she looked up at me, eager to do whatever I asked of her.

Ah, you are one of the good humans, I said, watching her beam with pleasure. I don’t do this very often, but I feel like bestowing upon you a great gift. Do you want it?

“Oh, yes please, Guardian,” she breathed. “I would be honored.”

Very well. I will let you touch the source of my power. It will grant you health and long life and happiness.

I moved closer, until I practically stood over her, my back feet planted on either side of her. Finally, I could relax and let my hard, aching cock slide out of my body. It hung in front of her, a glistening black rod of throbbing need, the tapered tip already leaking thick drops of precum.

Victoria dropped her gaze to the ground, blushing all the way down to the soft mounds of her breasts showing above the neckline of her dress. She might be innocent, but she wasn’t completely ignorant.

What’s the matter? I asked. Does my gift offend you?

“No, of course not, I just—”

Then touch it. I pushed the compulsion a little deeper into her mind, gratified when she raised her delicate hands and ghosted her fingertips over my slick cock. You can do better than that. Touch me, stroke me, worship me, or I will find another forest to nurture, and let this one crumble to dust.

“Please, don’t leave us, Guardian,” she said, doing her best to wrap her hands around my thick shaft. I struggled to hold still as she stroked up and down my length, the muscles in my groin twitching as I resisted the urge to thrust. I wanted to fuck something so bad.

Taste me, I told her. If you truly appreciate the gift I am giving you, drink of my power. One more soft, mental caress and she leaned close, her lips parting. Her hot tongue slid over my sensitive flesh, lapping up the nectar that dripped from my cock. I didn’t understand it then, but I know now that dragon precum and semen is chock full of pheromones. It’s how we find each other when we’re ready to mate—a chemical signal on the wind—but when humans get a taste of it, it acts like an aphrodisiac, making them unnaturally horny.

I flicked my tongue, the forest suddenly perfumed by her arousal, her temperature rising a few degrees, the heat centered between her legs. She forgot her earlier reluctance, running her hands up and down my cock, her tongue teasing the tip as she wrapped her lips around the tapered head, the forest echoing with her soft moans and loud slurps as she tried to suck the fluid out of me.

You please me, human, I said, twisting my long body around until I encircled her. I have another gift for you. I pushed my narrow muzzle between her knees, under her dress, the heady scent of her pussy almost overpowering. She made a noise of surprise and protest, muffled somewhat by my cock in her mouth, but I just pressed my nose between her thighs and flicked my tongue against her wet lips.

She gasped, my cockhead slipping from her mouth.

“Oh, please—You can’t! I-I’m a good girl, and that is so, so wicked!”

Does it feel wicked? I asked, licking again at her quivering mound. Or does it feel so, so good? I pushed my muscular tongue between her slick folds, rubbing against her swollen clit until she squealed with pleasure. I took advantage of her distraction to weave my tendrils deeper into her mind, eroding her will. She was almost mine.

I brought her to the brink of release, her hips rocking wantonly as I drew back, leaving her mewling with need. She reached out toward me, but I stepped away, my stiff cock swaying back and forth between my hind legs.

I have one last offer for you, I said. If you accept, I will bless your entire village with safety and prosperity. Think carefully before you answer—I will never make this offer again.

“I accept,” she said, rising unsteadily. “Please, tell me what I must do to earn your blessing.”

I raised my gaze to the spreading branches overhead, picking a sturdy one within reach. Bracing one forefoot against the trunk of a nearby tree, I sat up on my haunches, my long tail stretched out for balance. My rigid cock stood straight up against my scaled belly, the precum running down the shaft and glistening in the moonlight.

Come to me; let me hold you.

Victoria stepped toward me, but hesitated.

“You’re covered in mud. I don’t want to get dirty.”

I thought about telling her that she was already a dirty girl and not to worry about a little mud, but I sensed that would not go over well. I picked through her memories and found several from long ago, of an older girl at school who used to push Victoria into the mud whenever she got the chance. Victoria would get in trouble for ruining her clothes because she was afraid of the girl, and now her distaste of anything dirty was so deeply ingrained there was no getting around it. With a sigh, I dropped back down on four legs and headed for the river.

Don’t move, I told her, pushing the command firmly into her mind to make sure she wouldn’t wander off. I slipped down into the cold, rushing water, rolling and rubbing against the rocky bottom until I felt my heartbeat start to slow, the water draining the warmth from my body. I crawled out and gave myself a shake, but the water still streamed from my smooth scales, pattering against the carpet of fallen leaves.

Feeling a little sluggish, I returned to Victoria. She hadn’t moved a muscle in my absence.

Good girl, I told her, returning to my previous position. My cock had retreated into my body to escape the cold water, and now slid out again, a thick spear of aching flesh. You should take off your dress, just to be safe, I said to her. You don’t want it getting dirty.

Obediently, she pulled the thin nightdress off over her head and draped it over a bush. She was fair of flesh, her skin smooth. She had ample breasts with dark nipples, and a tightly curled thatch of golden hair between her legs. She waited, staring at me with glassy eyes, not seeming to care that she was standing naked in the woods. She was mine.

I called her to me and she came, letting me pick her up by the waist. She wasn’t heavy, but I had to be careful—my talons were very sharp and human flesh was about the most fragile thing imaginable. Let me tell you, nothing puts an end to the hanky-panky like an accidental disembowelment.

I pulled her up against my chest, savoring the warmth of her body.

Wrap your arms and legs around me, I told her. Hold on tight.

She gripped me with surprising strength and I let go of her, reaching up to grasp the branch instead, stretching my long body straight up into the air. For several minutes, neither of us moved, and then she began to slide. My wet scales were as slick as glass, giving her little purchase. Her body inched downward and my cock strained upward, throbbing with need as I felt the heat of her pussy against the tip. It touched her moist lips and she squirmed back up my torso.

I could feel the muscles in her arms and legs trembling, tiring from the strain of holding on. She slid again, palms flat against my back, sweaty flesh squealing against smooth scales as she fought to stop her descent. It was a hopeless struggle, but I admired her fortitude as she dug her knees into my sides and inched back up my body. The anticipation was the most delightful kind of torture, my aching cock fully extended and still unable to reach the warmth of her supple flesh. I could feel the heat of her each time she neared my cock head, only to have her squirm away again.

We were both trembling and out of breath when her strength finally gave out and she slid down my body, my cock sinking into her like a heat-seeking missile. She cried out in surprise as the tapered tip penetrated her virgin body, tearing through her maidenhead and filling her tight channel. It was the most amazing feeling, the way her inner walls squeezed and gripped my sensitive flesh, her body squirming against me as she tried to pull herself up again. It did no good. Every movement made her sink farther, take me deeper, her pussy stretching wide to accommodate my increasing girth.

Finally, I could take it no more. I ripped my talons free of the branch and reached down, gently cradling Victoria against my body, holding her still. Groaning low in my throat, I clenched the muscles in my groin, retracting my cock until I almost slipped out of her. I think she thought we were done, because I felt her relax, and then I thrust upward again, plunging deep into her slippery tunnel. She cried out, her body arching against me, but I held her tight, pounding into her.

I was far too big for her to take my entire length, but she managed a good ten inches, screaming and bucking and clawing at my chest as she came again and again, her lithe form wracked with waves of pleasure until she went limp in my arms, passed out from the ecstasy.

I wasn’t far behind her, my thrusts growing faster, harder, my blood surging with an urgency I couldn’t control. Dizzy with rut lust, I gasped and snorted, smoke boiling from my nostrils as I drove deep into her pussy and came, shuddering waves of pleasure shaking me to the bone as I dumped a massive load of cum into her small, human womb, the thick, hot cream filling her tight channel and overflowing, running down the length of my mighty rod.

Sated for the moment, I carefully lifted her off of me, my cock softening and retracting back into the safety of my armored body. She moaned as she regained consciousness and I set her on her feet, holding her up as she staggered. Victoria looked up at me and I watched an expression of horror and panic start to steal across her features. Quickly, I pushed into her mind and swept those feelings aside.

Everything is all right, I told her, using the strongest compulsion I dared. It was just a dream. Put on your dress and go home. Forget the dream ever happened. Go now. Her eyes glazed over and I stepped aside, watching as she slipped back into her nightdress and headed for the village.

With one need satisfied, if only for a few days, I could focus on other things, like finding food and a den. I would need a place to hide while I planned my next raid on this village. They had no idea just how fucked they were about to be be, and if I was careful, they never would.