Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 01
The Praise Moon Festival, open to all unmated beastkin in the tribe, was held once every three years. Whoever caught a moonflower could enter a binding contract ceremony.
I had planned to stay home.
But Ash, my fiancé, loved a spectacle. He signed me up without asking.
So I pulled my brother James and my childhood friend Liam aside.
“Tomorrow, three females will toss their moonflowers at the same time. If Ash can’t catch mine, you two need to make sure you grab it for me.”
They both nodded and promised.
But when my moonflower fell, they charged toward Chloe—a rabbit beastkin from our tribe—and helped Ash catch hers instead.
My moonflower landed squarely in the hands of Rex, a lone dragon beastkin who’d lost three mates and was about to leave the territory for good.
My heart hammered with panic. I went straight to the Elder to negotiate the return of my moonflower and cancel the binding contract.
But at the corner of the hall, I overheard the three of them whispering.
James spoke first, addressing my fiancé.
“Ash, you caught Chloe’s moonflower. By tribal law, you’ll have to enter a contract with her. What are we going to do about my sister?”
Ash cradled Chloe’s moonflower like something precious.
“What can we do? It’s just a ceremony. It’s not like we’d have to register it with the Alliance. It’s a fake wedding, nothing more.”
“At least this way, Chloe’s mother will stop pressuring her to marry.”
“As for Iris—worst case, she throws a fit, refuses the contract, and gets her tribal mark erased. She’s a female avian beastkin. What difference does it make whether she stays on the Clan Register or not?”
Liam chuckled in agreement. “Iris has always believed in the Moon God’s blessings. Just sweet-talk her a little, and she’ll go along with your contract with Chloe.”
I stood frozen in place, a bitter smile pulling at my lips.
They’d all forgotten.
Staying on the Clan Register to inherit my mother’s land was the dream I’d carried my entire life.
It was the reason I needed to marry in the first place.
And now the Moon God had given a sign. How could I possibly refuse?
…
The walk home was short.
When I pushed through the door, James was the first to greet me, his voice low and urgent.
“So? You went to the Elder to refuse the contract. What did he say?”
Our parents looked over too.
I hung my coat on the hook by the door.
“Nothing much.”
My father slammed his teacup down on the table.
“If you refuse the contract, you know what that means—tribal law demands your mark be erased. Don’t come crying about it later.”
“You’ve been with Ash for eight years. How did you let something like this happen?”
I said nothing.
After all these years, I was used to it.
Whenever something went wrong, he blamed me. Never stood up for me. Never once felt sorry for what I went through.
He only ever cared about Chloe, because Chloe was his first love’s daughter.
Anything involving the Bennett family, and he’d take their side without a second thought.
Even when it was never my fault.
My mother had always been timid, silent in the face of my father and James’s favoritism.
She opened her mouth as if to speak, then simply pushed a bowl of hot corn chowder toward me.
I glanced at her and felt nothing I hadn’t already made peace with.
As long as she was safe and well, that was enough.
I could marry anyone.
The doorbell rang just as I sat down.
James went to answer it. Ash and Liam walked in side by side.
Chloe trailed behind them.
The moment she stepped inside, she called out in that sweet, clinging voice of hers, “Uncle! I’m here to mooch dinner!”
Her rabbit ears drooped slightly, and she gazed up at my father with that coy look of hers.
He beamed, couldn’t stop grinning. “Sit, sit, come sit down!”
He pulled out a chair for her himself.
They’d just come back from the sanctuary, where the Moon God’s blessing had been confirmed.
Chloe’s moonflower had landed right in Ash’s arms.
By tribal law, they were now “destined by the Moon God.”
As for whether I accepted or refused the contract—none of them cared either way.
Chloe settled into the seat beside Ash.
He forked a piece of barbecued rib onto her plate first, then seemed to remember I existed and dropped a chunk of roasted bell pepper into my bowl.
“You should eat too, Iris.”
I looked down at it.
I set it aside without a word.
I’d hated bell peppers since I was a child.
Was he so giddy from catching his sweetheart’s flower that he’d forgotten even that?
At dinner, James started cracking jokes.
“Rex showing up to the Praise Moon Festival—can you imagine? The guy must be desperate for a wife.”
Liam leaned in eagerly. “Right? He’s been in the western territory less than three months. Word is he killed off three mates before he got here. Dragon bloodline or not, who’d marry a cursed beast?”
My father took a sip of tea.
“Tribal law says whoever catches the moonflower enters the contract. There was a bit of a mix-up today, but Ash and Chloe—their contract stands.”
“Chloe and her mother have had it hard enough. They can’t lose their tribal marks. Everything else can wait.”
My mother spoke up, her voice tight. “But what about Iris—”
“And whose fault is that?” My father cut her off, his tone sharp. “She couldn’t even convince the Elder herself.”
“When the time comes, Ash and Iris can register at the Alliance. For now, we follow tribal rules.”
My mother’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she could only lower her head.
I was about to tell her not to worry when Ash took my hand. His voice was patient enough.
“Iris, nobody wanted this to happen today. Three moonflowers fell at once—it was chaos.”
“I didn’t expect to catch Chloe’s either.”
“Once things settle down here, we’ll go register at the Alliance. Nobody’s going to remember a ceremony. Okay?”
I took a sip of soup and nodded. “Okay.”
He blinked.
I rarely gave in that easily.
In the past, I would have made a fuss, waited for him to coax me, dragged it out a little before letting it go.
But his surprise lasted only a moment. Then he released my hand, quick and relieved, like he’d finally set down something heavy.
He turned to Chloe, his gaze soft.
“What about you, Chloe?”
Her face flushed instantly. The tips of her rabbit ears trembled.
“My mom insisted I enter the Festival. She wanted me married off. I didn’t have a choice. But at least it was you who caught my flower.”
“I’ll do whatever you all decide.”
Everyone laughed and launched into plans—how grand the ceremony should be, which band to hire for the Moon God hymns.
No one remembered that I was supposed to be Ash’s bride.
I finished my meal in silence and set down my fork. “You all keep talking. I’m full.”
The chair legs scraped against the floor. The table went quiet for a beat.
As I walked away, I heard Chloe whisper, “Is Iris upset?”
Ash reassured her gently. “Don’t overthink it. Iris isn’t the sensitive type. She’s probably just tired from the Festival.”
My steps faltered for just a moment.
So that’s how useful the word “tired” was.
It could explain away every grievance, silence every question, and let everyone feel perfectly justified.