Chapter 4: Ancalagon

“C’mon, Cal. You have to go to class. This is an academy,” Ajax, my best friend, arguably my only friend, says.

“Why? It’s Elemental Manipulation. What can Kaylani possibly teach me that I don’t already know?”

“Charlotte will be there,” he says in a sing-song voice.

Charlotte is a fox shifter and she’s as foxy and cunning as her animal spirit. I like her a lot. I like how adventurous she is in bed even more.

“She’s becoming too clingy,” I say, but it’s an excuse and by Ajax’s raised eyebrow, I know he knows it. Unlike the others, he has no problem calling me out on my shit. Of all the dragons or hybrids with the dominant dragon gene, Jax is the only one that will stand up to me. I have a lot of respect for him because of it. Elio is a close second, and he tends to make our duo a trio, but for the most part, I prefer Jax’s company to the others.

“Fine, I’ll tease her to the edge of insanity during class, then fuck her into oblivion afterward,” I say, pulling myself out of bed.

“That’s the spirit,” he says, slapping me on the back as I head to the showers.

I let the water fall over my head as I think about how I’m going to tease Charlotte. However, my mind pushes her out and it’s Eliane that’s there instead. My mate, the one I can’t find. Charlotte is a temporary distraction, someone to get me through until I find Eliane. I’m an animal, a young male, an Alpha, and I like to fuck. A lot. I’d prefer to bury myself inside my mate, but until I can find her, I’ll settle for the cunning little fox.

Before I even shifted, Mom made sure I knew that I could never mate a dragon in their dragon form. As the Alpha, my sperm is potent and it would mean the possibility of lots of dragon babies roaming around, although Amne and Kano haven’t had any luck fertilizing an egg. Several of the other lab dragons have offered themselves to me, but that’s not something I want to have to explain to my mate when I finally find her.

I wonder if Eliane will be as adventurous as Charlotte. It doesn’t matter, even if she’s a little mouse in bed, she’s mine. There will never be anyone for me but her…once I find her at least. Thankfully, Ishir realized that she’s not dead. So, I know she’s out there somewhere. I just don’t know why I can’t find her.

I growl at myself, forcing my thoughts back to Charlotte and the class that I have to take. Elemental Manipulation. It’s a class for dragons, elves, and hybrids to take so that they can learn how to manipulate their element with another element, such as fire and earth or water and air. Since I have all four elements, I already know how to wield all four of them and how to mix and match them at will. So, this class, for me, is a waste of time.

Ajax was born a human, but Oliver experimented on him and gave him Lycan and dragon DNA. He has my father’s DNA, the earth dragon, so his element is earth. I guess that makes him kind of like a brother to me.

Because I was born a true dragon, a pure dragon, my strongest elements come from my parents, earth from my father and air from my mother. It was Oliver who pumped me with Tana and Kaylani’s DNA, giving me fire and water as well. Those two aren’t as intuitive for me to use, so I frequently team up with Ajax when I attend this class because his earth element is the same as mine. Plus, Ajax is smart, he’s strong, and he works hard. He makes me work harder in class because he forces me to focus and really control my two newer elements. He’s almost as adept as I am with the earth element, which is impressive, because he wasn’t born a dragon or a supernatural.

When I step out of the shower, I grab my book bag, sling it over my shoulder, and join Ajax. As we jog down the stairs, I quickly divert into the dining hall, grabbing six breakfast sandwiches.

“You know, if you got up a little earlier, you could actually sit down and eat those before class,” Ajax says to me.

“You know, if I got up any earlier, I'd be even more grumpy than I am now,” I retort.

“Touché my friend, touché,” he says, grinning at me.

As we walk outside, people say hi to us. Unless it's a dragon, I grunt or growl at them. I have no interest in the supernaturals or shifters around here. I certainly have no interest in the werewolves or elves who seem to think that they can claim me as their dragon. Hopefully I've put the fear of the earth goddess into all of them after that last claiming attempt, and they’ll leave me alone now. Unlike me, Jax doesn’t take it personally when someone tries to claim him. He’s had four claiming attempts, and he’s taken all four of them out. I’ve noticed that each time his name is announced as being claimed, the shifter or supernatural is stronger than the last. So far, he hasn’t been claimed. I hope, for his sake, it stays that way.

“Hi, Cal,” Charlotte says, gliding over to me. Even the way she walks is sly and seductive. I know exactly what she wants, and I have every intention of giving it to her.

“What's this I hear about you joining Elemental Manipulation today? You’re a shifter, little one. What are you doing in my class?” I already know the answer, but I like reminding her of her place. I don't want her to think that someday she could actually claim me. Just because I fuck her, doesn't mean I have any intention of being bound to her for life.

I see Ajax give me a side eye glance, but I ignore him. He knows what I'm doing and he doesn’t approve.

“Well, maybe if you attended classes as you should Ancalagon, you would know that it is shifter day in Elemental Manipulation. Just because we can't manipulate the elements doesn't mean we don't need to understand how they’re manipulated,” she says, scowling at me. She never likes it when I put her in her place.

I blow cool air around her nipples and watch as her body jerks at the unexpected pleasure. “Then I expect today's class will be a lot of fun,” I whisper, grinning mischievously. I let the air slide down her body, in between her thighs, warming it and adding just a bit of water. I watch as her mouth falls open and her breathing increases. Oh yes, I will have her on the verge of insanity by the time this class is over. She will be begging me to take her.

“Make sure you pay attention,” I say, continuing to tease her as we walk in.

This class, like most of them, is outside. When you're playing with elements, it's better not to do it in an enclosed area. Classes like Human and Shifter Anatomy, and Mate Bonds take place inside. However, I prefer the classes that are outside like this one. As a dragon, I prefer being outside most of the day. Most of the dragons and hybrids are the same.

When we walk in, I see Kaylani off to the side. She's talking to my parents and Ishir, along with Tesha and Fenian. Their conversation looks intense.

“Save a seat for me,” I say to Jax, as I turn and head their direction.

When I step up, the conversation stops.

“What's going on?” I ask.

Tesha looks at me, then at my parents. I raise my eyebrow at her, then also look at my parents and my aunt. “What's. Going. On?”

It's my father who answers. “Tesha and Fenian saw Snow,” he says.

I frown. “Where?”

“We were out...” Fenian stops, looking at his mate.

“You were out…where?” I say, speaking slowly, as if they're not intelligent enough to keep up. They're obviously keeping something from me, and I don't understand why. I'm the Alpha of Alphas. If there is a threat, I need to know about it.

Tesha huffs. “I've started to feel the pull to create my cave of treasures, okay?” she asks, perturbed.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “That's pretty standard for dragons. You have dragon DNA, I don't see the problem. What does this have to do with Snow?” I ask, looking around at the group.

“It's a problem because they left the school grounds,” Kaylani says, glaring at Tesha. Tesha is known for leaving the school grounds, so I'm sure that's part of it, but I'm still not understanding what the problem is.

“Did Snow attack you?” I ask.

“No, if anything, he seemed curious. I think he was listening to me and Fen, until I smelled him,” she says, tapping her nose. She has a damn good nose being part polar bear. I'd put her nose up against Ishir’s any day.

I look at the group again. “So then what do you all look so stressed out about?” I growl.

It's my mother who reaches out and puts her hand on my arm. I take a breath. I will never lash out at my mother, no matter what she does or doesn't do. I know the price she still pays today for saving my life.

“Tesha and Fenian think that Eliane was riding on his back,” she says gently, but it still feels like I've been punched in the gut. Now I understand why they didn't want to tell me.

“You're telling me that my mate has now been seen twice with Snow? That they are friendly enough that she is riding on his back? The dragon that has my DNA? The dragon that is most likely my brother? Is that what you're telling me?”

“It's not your DNA. It’s your parents’ DNA. Snow wasn't created from you. He was created from the egg that your mother laid,” my Aunt Kaylani says.

“But if she's my mate and he and I share the same DNA, then it's possible that she feels the pull to him in the same way that she would feel the pull to me,” I say, getting angry.

“We don't know that. We don't know what Oliver did to him, and we don't know what Oliver did to her. All we know is that we've now seen them together. Twice.”

“We need to find her,” I say.

“We need to find both of them,” my father says.

“Son, your father, Cedric, and I have all been looking for them,” Ishir says to me. “Even you've looked for them and we haven’t been able to find them.”

“Yes, but this time I'm only going to take Ajax with me and I'm going to call to my brother. If he is part dragon, he will have to answer the call of his Alpha.”

I hear my mother gasp. But as I step away and begin to strip, my father does the same.

“No, Dad, not this time. You stay here. The school needs protection. Ishir said he’s been smelling the trio of Lycans nearby. And you said two of them have dragon scents, right Ishir?” I ask.

“That’s correct,” Ishir says.

“You don’t think your mother, her mate, and your aunt can protect this school?” my father asks me.

“We know that there are at least five of them that are now working together in the bad hybrid group, now there is a trio of Lycans that has dragon DNA, and there is an unknown number of them still out there that we haven’t been able to find. If more than two of those can shift into dragons, mom and Aunt Kay won’t be enough. They need you here, dad.”

He looks at me for a long moment before putting his hand on my shoulder. “Be careful.”

“Aren't I always?” I ask sarcastically before jumping into the air and shifting. I push my wings down, feeling the first downdraft pushing me up higher. After the next push of my wings, I bellow for Ajax to join me. I can't bring them all with me, so I don’t call to my horde of dragons or the other hybrids. I know my horde, especially, will be hurt that I didn't call to them, but the last time I went after Snow, Eliane attacked us i her dragon form and injured nearly everyone of them. With only two of us, it will be easier to track and find them. Ajax’s earth element is powerful, especially since his other DNA strand is elf. But he’s also smart enough and strong enough to evade Eliane in her dragon form if needed.

As he joins me in the air, I focus on what's important. I need to find my mate. I need to find Eliane.