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?
Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 17 I heard later that Ash had been cornered by Chloe’s mother. She demanded he move back to the tribe. He refused. She threw a screaming fit right there in front of everyone. Chloe stood beside her with her head down, silent, her rabbit ears hanging motionless. In the end,
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 16 My mother’s funeral was held three days later. I stood before the headstone in black, watching the coffin carried out. My father stood at the front. How much of his weeping was real, no one could say. After the burial, the tribal elders read the inheritance decree. The spiritspring
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 15 By the time he reached the western edge of the territory, the house was empty. A neighbor spotted him, drenched in sweat, and called out casually, “Oh, here for the show? You’re too late! They finished the ceremony this evening and left. No reception, no dinner—said they were heading
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 14 Halfway there, his pace slowed. He’d swear he’d what? This whole absurd disaster—hadn’t he started it? He was the one who thought it would be fun. He was the one who told James to put Iris’s name on the list. He was the one who stood beneath the choosing
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 13 “Iris didn’t refuse the contract!” Ash hammered out every word. “She was the bride kneeling in there! Rex took her away, and not one of you saw a goddamn thing!” James went white. “She—how could she—she knows what Rex is—” Liam swallowed hard. “She’d rather marry a cursed lone
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 12 By the time Ash came sprinting back, all he saw was a black SUV turning out of the tribal gate. His feet stuttered to a halt. He squinted, trying to make out the plates. But the sun was blinding. The car kicked up a cloud of dust, rounded the
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 10 “We’re here.” He got out and came around to open my door. The yard was perfectly still. “It’s just me now. I couldn’t give you the celebration you deserve. I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “It’s fine. Car, house, and both parents deceased. Could be worse.” I paused, pressing
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 11 I grabbed the frame and hurried toward the door, nearly crashing into the figure coming the other way. Water sloshed from the cup in his hand. Instinct pulled his arm around me, drawing me against his chest. My face pressed to his shirt. I could hear his heartbeat. His
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 09 His head snapped toward the sanctuary entrance. That scar. He remembered the night of the fireworks. Her falling to the ground, her palms pressing into the hot debris. He remembered turning away from her to help Chloe up. He remembered that she hadn’t made a single sound of pain.
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Abandon You Choose Dragon Chapter 08 Her voice dropped lower and lower—afraid my father would hear, afraid James would hear, afraid anyone would catch her grieving for her daughter. “I’m useless as a mother,” she choked out. “I have no say in this house. I couldn’t even protect the moonstone bracelet that’s been in my
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