Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter One

This book is a rewritten version of my book; Bound By Chains. The plot is relatively the same, however, the story is written much better (in my opinion, at least), and there are new scenes and better communication between the main characters. If you would like to read the previous version, do not fret, for it will still be on my profile; labeled as Old Version. So if you want to read that one first, or even just read this one and not that one, feel free to do whatever you like! :)

And without further adue, please enjoy the new, rewritten version!

Blood was such a lovely color; dark and rich, like the center of a polished ruby. Some would even say that it was the most beautiful of colors, yet on this cold, cruel night...it was anything but beautiful.

The land, covered with the sparkling purity of snow, was littered with crimson. A battle waged below. Man, and beast alike fought for their respected countries, neither one showing any slack in their fight. Men against women. Humans and beasts against each other. Swords flew with the intention of cutting down their enemies, and despite the blizzard that whipped around them, their faces red from the cold, they still fought, their adrenaline giving them some semblance of warmth.

They didn't slow, even as one hulking beast of a man literally ripped the head off of a faun woman, tossing it aside as if it were nothing more than a piece of trash.

Nor did they slow as a woman, barely out of her younger years, sliced at a man twice her size, sword sinking into the soft belly of her opponent.

Nothing was stopping this battle from continuing, each side with their own agenda as they hacked and slashed at one another, painting the world around them in red.

Bodies fell left and right, and not a single creature hiding in the forest bothered to grab the free meals being presented for them. After all, the meals would no doubt still be there when the battle came to a close.

The battle continued all the way into the early hours of the morning. The sun bared down at the destruction below, painting a gruesome picture of what happens when two countries do not agree on certain topics. Who knew what these people battled for; land, freedom, treasure. Was anyone down there sure of why they were laying down their lives? Or even what for?

It was sometime in the middle of the day, when the sun was highest in the sky, did the battle finally die down, leaving a small handful of beasts and humans alike.

A human man, with a large dark beard covered with morning frost, scowled as he toed the head of a fallen shifter, the corpse's eyes grey and lifeless. "Are you sure this is the last of them? I recall their forces being much larger than this."

His companion, a tall, draconic man with piercing topaz eyes, stepped forward, face impassive as he stared at the fallen creature before him. "Aye, that's the last of them. I would have smelled them if there was more."

The human man pursed his lips and pulled out his bloodied knife, before stopping low to cut off the corpse's ear. His dragon friend narrowed his eyes in disgust, before looking away, scanning their surroundings as their companions gathered up their injured friends.

The sound of rustling had both men whipping to attention, hand on their weapons as they threw a weary glance at one another, before they slowly made their way towards the sound. The snow masked their footfalls, making it easy to sneak up on the individual who was hiding amongst the dead brush.

The human lifted his knife, ready to chop the creature down, but his companion snatched his wrist, his eyes on the child in front of them. Tiny with a mop of black hair, this child could be no older than three, with large red eyes that stared in fear at the men that approached him.

"Gods, what the hell is a child doing this far out in the woods?" The human man grumbled, lowering his weapon in disappointment. He had wanted to fight some more.

The dragon stared at the little one, taking note of the small horns protruding from the sides of his head, a testament to his draconic heritage. However, the scent was off. It was...musty, instead of ashy, which meant this was no pure-blooded dragon.

A half-breed then.

Half-breeds were at the bottom of the...food chain, so to speak. They were better off dead or as slaves, and seeing as this one was so young...

The child cried out when the dragon snatched ahold of his tiny wrist, causing the human man to turn to his companion. "Oi! The hell are you doin'?"

The dragon barely even struggled as the child kicked and tried to get away, his topaz eyes filled with boredom as he looked towards the other man. "This child is a half-breed. An abomination to our pure world. I figure our good king is in need of a new slave, especially since he killed the last one."

The human raised his thick, busy brows, eyes falling onto the little child. "I think he's better off dead, but sure, offer him up if you'd like. Ain't my problem to deal with."

And with that, the little child was stolen from his secret sanctuary, and was brought to the aforementioned king. King Alton was a hulking man, round in the belly and looking nonchalant as his knights brought forth a child for him. At first, he was perplexed, after all, what use would he need for something so young? But his knights explained that this thing was an abomination, and that they knew the king needed a new slave to replace the last one.

So, Alton took him under his wing, training the small half-dragon to do his bidding. Whenever the child misbehaved, or went against his orders, he was whipped, and soon the child learned that he needed to obey to not get beat.

So, the child grew, doing as he was told, never talking back whenever he was given a task or chore. There were times he tried to play with the other children in the castle, one being the Prince himself, however, they threw rocks at him, laughed at him and mocked the poor thing for something he couldn't even help. He couldn't control what blood flowed through his veins...so why did everyone hate him so much?

There was one night, a dark, stormy night where he was summoned to his king's room. He was confused, after all, it was the middle of the night, and he never was summoned to King Alton's room. But he still went, for fear of being whipped if he didn't. Hesitant, he entered the room, his tiny hands hidden by the large, tattered sleeves of his night shirt.

Alton had been sitting on the edge of his bed, eyes dark as he patted the space next to him. "Davian, come sit with me."

The little half-dragon did as he was told, his heart racing in his chest as the man next to him tucked his raven hair behind his small ears. He was curious as to why Alton wanted him there...but soon his question was answered. His childhood was ripped away from him thanks to the bastard king, and he remembered feeling so used after his king finished with him.

That night the little child, so full of life and curiosity died, leaving behind a shell of a person. And once the child grew, from a boy to a teenager, and then a man...he was still a husk of the child he used to be. He did his chores, did what the king asked of him, and eventually, even the king's son began using him, as if he were nothing more than a toy to pass around. But he couldn't say no. After all, he was a slave, and slaves were worth less than even the dirt beneath their feet.

So the half-dragon grew bitter as the years went on, lost all hope of a happy future, and dreamed of a time he could plunge a knife deep in the heart of the bastard who stole away any innocence he once had.

Because one day...one day he would be free, and he would kill every purebred bastard he came across for taking away the man he could have been.