Chapter 6

Part II. First Test

Drago

Leaving the room had cost me a lot because I knew very well how upset Nadine was. My beast wanted to take her, to take her away from the temple and protect her at any cost.

I had learned to be much calmer and more analytical over the years; my dragon sent that to hell when he felt his mate. She was capable of awakening all impulses.

After being a loveless millennial being, knowing she existed was a miracle in itself.

“Your rooms are close to Nadine's,” Lion said, and that gave me some reassurance. “I don't know if you know all about the mate bond, but once you meet for the first time, the force of attraction will be much stronger, and it will be uncomfortable for you to be away from her.”

Connor, the young wolf, looked confused, and Aris put his arm on his shoulder, a clear sign of the trust and intimacy they had for each other. It was strange to see a werewolf and a vampire being friends, but it turned out to be interesting.

“It'll be fine; we'll adjust to that,” Aris told him. “She's a beauty, isn't she?”

“Don't start with your nonsense; you're too old for that,” Connor replied irritably.

“I'm telling a truth,” The vampire said seriously and looked at me. “Nadine is a beauty and if you don't recognize that, it's because you're idiots. Right?”

That he included me in the conversation felt like some kind of bad joke and I frowned instantly. I had learned a thing or two about Aris Cohen and one of them was to be careful.

“She's beautiful,” the wolf admitted anxiously. “Maybe the most beautiful woman I've ever met, but she doesn't love me, she doesn't love us.”

The way he emphasized that made me tense.

“Yes, she does love us,” Aris said earnestly. “The feelings in her are a maelstrom, a delightful chaos to feel, yet they overwhelm her. I can tell you with great certainty that what Nadine felt at the sight of her mates was one of the best things I ever felt in my life, and that's saying a lot since I'm as old as the bitter old dragon.”

“Seeing you again is always a pleasure, Aris,” I said sarcastically, and the vampire burst out laughing.

I was surprised he still maintained that mocking attitude even though he had seen some horrendous things in all his time of existence. 

“At least you three seem to be a group that gets along,” Lion said with amusement, opened the doors to the rooms and handed us the keys so we could go in. “I hope Biel can integrate well with you.”

“I don't think so,” Connor said seriously. “I get the feeling that the captain is not only scared because he has a mate, but that his fear perhaps lies in sharing it.”

I almost laughed because if there was a supernatural creature that was territorial, it was a werewolf. A wolf with a mate could tear anyone apart if he tried to get close; I couldn't imagine if it was someone who also wanted it for himself.

“Well, some people learn and understand, and there are others who need to slam their faces against the problem to understand,” Aris said, and I agreed with him. “Let's see the rooms and then find what to eat. I'm starving, and I don't want to go around biting necks everywhere.”

With that, they ignored me, and I wanted to understand what kind of dynamic that pair had.

“They're interesting, aren't they?” asked Lion, and I nodded.

“Where's Biel?” I asked, and the high priest frowned.

“Are you going to fight him?”

“No,” I told him truthfully. “I want to set up a security perimeter for Nadine.”

The high priest smiled and led me to the wizard's office. When I entered, Biel had a copy of Nadine's drawing and was looking at it with intrigue, something that was replaced by annoyance when I interrupted him.

“I'll leave you two alone,” Lion said and quickly fled.

“What are you doing here?” the wizard asked carefully.

“I want to help you with a security perimeter for Nadine,” I said, and Biel gave me a sarcastic smile. “Believe it or not, I was one of the founders of the guardian guild, so I know very well what it's like to be a guardian.”

The wizard eyed me seriously and nodded.

“You're right, I'm sorry for disrespecting you.” His apology did not surprise me. “The security protocol we use for Nadine, while not the most ideal, is that of a defector. It's the most efficient given her background.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nadine is elusive; she's resourceful at getting away, and believe it or not, holding her at the temple is a way to take care of her.”

“I know, but I don't think those are the right ways to do it.”

“Nadine is going to try to escape the first chance she gets, she won't hesitate to do it,” Biel said confidently.

“She's already met us; she knows about the attraction of the bond.”

“She knew all that long before and didn't care, she didn't even show up to take the soulmate test even though not doing so is a misdemeanor, she wasn't interested in looking us up and doesn't want to bond with us. Her foolish fear is bigger,” Biel said mercilessly.

“You're being too hard on her; have you thought about the implications of her fears? Do you have any idea what kind of trauma her mother's death might have been for her?” I asked, and the warlock scowled at me. “Her mother was killed in a heinous way, her power stolen, and her throat cut. Nadine disappeared after that; maybe she's running away from those who did that to her mother and thinks it's best to keep them away from us.”

“How do you know who Nadine's mother is?” asked Biel seriously.

“By her last name and by the fact that Nadine is identical to her mother, except for her black hair,” I said, and Biel was surprised. “Nadia Griffin had white hair, a sign that she was a sealed supernatural, the daughter of a thousand-year-old she-wolf who sacrificed herself for everyone and famous in the inner circle of the Equilibrium Order. Whatever happened in her house was strong enough to create horror in Nadine, and if you don't believe me, ask Aris; she feels everything she feels.”

“Her mother was a sealed supernatural?”

“Yes,” I said confidently. “I don't know what unusual power she had, but she did classified work for the order. They used to call her when something went wrong. So, if she couldn't defend herself from her attacker, something serious happened that night.”

Following that conversation, the sorcerer and I made a deal to reinforce the perimeter, but he created a security breach just outside Nadine's room to prove his point. I wanted to argue with him, but upon telling Connor and Aris, they agreed to see if Nadine escaped, so we staged the area and waited at the first bus stop near the temple.

What I didn't imagine was that Nadine would not only do what Biel said she was going to do but understand exactly why she was doing it. People with dark powers were looking for her, and the fact that she unsealed her powers was what made the missing pieces of the puzzle fit together in my head. Nadine had the power of chaos, just like the prophecy said, and I didn't want anyone to know.

That's why I flew as fast as I could.

Then I heard Nadine's screams of pain and felt her faint.

“Shit, something's wrong with her,” Connor said.

“It's the stigma,” Biel said. “I need to locate the birthmark immediately before it channels its power.”

“You need to find where to land,” Aris told me seriously.

I began to climb higher and higher, and they cursed quickly for not warning them but held on tightly. Once I reached a good altitude, I took to the skies swiftly until I was heading for a small hill hidden behind a mountain on the other side of the Sacred City of Afaris, the capital of the continent.

I slowed down and stopped on the flattened side of the hill. Immediately, Connor hopped down from my back, and Aris and Biel carried Nadine carefully as I set my wing to bring them down without so much difficulty. The moment they were away from me, I shifted to my human form.

“She has a fever,” Aris said.

“We need to check her whole body,” said Biel.

Carefully, Aris laid Nadine on the grass, and between the four of us, we began to undress her. Checking her was difficult because, as we looked at every part of her, we realized how perfect she was. It was Connor who spotted a dark mark that looked like a horn-shaped mole on her right breast.

“Right here,” Connor said, and Biel immediately drew a rune over the mark.

Once he recited a few words, Aris dressed her, and the four of us faced each other.

“What was it that happened at the bus stop?” asked Connor uneasily. “I need a coherent explanation of that and Nadine's kind of power.”

Biel swallowed saliva and for the first time felt guilt.

“She's a primordial supernatural; you mean she's as powerful as the gods,” Biel said, and Aris nodded. “She's the first of her kind to control a specific power.”

“What kind of power does he control? Because he's the most powerful person I've ever felt in my life,” Connor said with concern.

“Chaos,” I said firmly. “I don't know how or the way she presents herself, but she's powerful enough that they would want to hunt her down and steal her powers.”

“Who would want to do something so heinous?” asked Connor naively.

Aris and I looked at each other.

“The Anarkhia Order,” the vampire said. “They would be powerful enough to do it.”

“How do you know?” asked Biel. “I saw the way you recognized the vampire who attacked us.”

“That man is a vampire banished from the clans,” Aris said seriously. “He rules the darkness in heinous ways and belongs to the Anarkhia Order.”

“There is something else,” I said as I saw the guilt in Aris' eyes as he looked at Nadine.

“That man is my twin sister's mate,” Aris said. “She's an anarchist.”