Damien’s POV“Damien? What are you doing here at this hour? It’s almost curfew,” Kendra said as I walked down the steps of this dorm section.“I was just making sure one of your students got back to her dorm,” I answered, not offering her any more explanation. “Afraid I can’t stay and chat. It was nice seeing you.”Before she could say anything more, I walked into the already-waiting elevator, pleased that my wand had read my mind and opened the doors for me without having me press any buttons. K
Anila’s POVMy alarm went off way too early, waking me from my sleep.Fuck, I’m exhausted.My muscles ached, and the drowsiness clinging to my head had me in a death grip. Yet even with these pains and aches, my body was thrumming. Humming delightedly as my heartbeat quickly, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.I had another of those dreams.Vivid and sexy, sur
Zach POVWell, isn’t this a turn of events? When Principal Rapport forced me to retake this class, I was initially pissed. I had no idea this was one of Anila’s classes. Now I was going to be in two of her classes and as the cruel gods have it, Xaden is the teacher’s aide in this class.Seems he’s going to have a front-row seat.I shivered in delight, listening to the rambling of Professor Santina and watching as Anila scribbled notes
Anila’s POVMy lungs were burning as I dragged in deep breaths, holding my prize toward Zach who looked at me with that same impressed look that hadn’t left his face since showing up fifteen minutes ago.But he didn’t say anything; he hardly even smiled the entire time we were together, and it left an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach.“Nice,” he finally said, giving me a nod.“I got lucky, they were so distracted fighting
Anila’s POVAfter I finished showering and changing my clothes, I headed off to Professor Howl’s classroom for advanced magic. Thankfully, I remembered where his classroom was.Taking a deep breath, I ascended the steps that led to his classroom. By the time I reached the top floor, I was winded and all I wanted to do was sit down. There weren’t many students in the room yet and I was glad that I was able to get a good seat.I didn’t even have a wand yet.
Anila’s POV“Incredible,” I heard Professor Howl whisper in awe as he stared at me, his mouth practically hanging open in shock.“Indeed,” Professor Rosan agreed with her brother, also staring at me with shock.I realized the entire classroom was silent as they stared at me.“Tell me, Anila. Have you done this before?” Professor Rosan asked, cocking her head to the side.
Anila’s POV“Focus, Anila. Clear your mind and try it again,” Xaden’s firm tone echoed through the dark forest in which we stood.I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and tried to wash away the thoughts of my day. Hell, I tried to wash away my thoughts from this past week. I looked at Xaden, as the handsome man-wolf he was, and the flurry of butterflies assaulted my stomach almost instantly. Clearing my mind when he stood in front of me proved to be difficult. But he was right; I had to learn this spell.My birthday wa
Anila’s POVXaden looked at me with a frown for a moment; as he studied me, I felt my face growing way too hot for comfort and I lowered my gaze, staring at the ground almost sheepishly. It’s not like I asked anything bad or did anything wrong. So, why did I feel like I did?“Aren’t I helping you with your magic?” He finally asked, breaking through the silence that consumed us.“Yes,” I answered simply. “But you failed to tell me about these challenges.”
Jaxon’s POVI stared in amazement as Anila nurtured the baby dragon as if it were second nature. I knew Emily was impressed too; the only ones who were able to communicate and bond with dragons were dragon masters, but Anila wasn’t a dragon master. At least not yet, but the way she cared for Ember as if she was her own child, did something to my insides that I didn’t particularly like.I never wanted to have real feelings for Anila. I recognized her as my mate when I first saw her in the forest and despite the fact that she has other mates in the mix, I knew exactly what she was to me. I saw her as an opportunity
Anila’s POV“Dragons?” I asked, my eyes wide as I stared up at Jaxon.He cocked his head at me.“This is Dragon Valley,” he reminded me. “Of course, there are dragons here.”“Well, yeah. I guess I kind of assumed you allowed them to go free,” I confessed, biting my lower lip in embarrassment. But it was strange that they’d keep dragons locked away in stables like horses.
Anila’s POV “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly,” I said, gawking at Jaxon, my jaw nearly hitting the ground. “Did you just say you want me to be your queen?”“That’s right,” he said, entwining his fingers together. “My people expect me to rule over them with a queen by my side. I assured them infinite protection since the last Dragon King screwed them over and the only way I can ensure that protection is if I give my people an heir.”“An heir
Anila’s POV“He’s here,” I whispered, staring at the shadows. They followed my gaze to the shadowy region; Zach furrowing his brows together.“In the shadows?” Zach asked, looking at me like I had just lost my mind.I nodded.“Yes,” I answered. “He’s hiding himself.”“He’s being a fucking coward is what he&rsq
Anila’s POV“What do you mean you know the dragon king?” Harley asked all their eyes on me completely now.My cheeks flushed.“He’s kind of my fifth mate…” I admitted, biting my lower lip and anticipating some lash-back. But they all just stared at me with their mouths hanging open.“Your 5(th) mate is the dragon king?” Damien asked, finally finding his mate. “Are you sure about that?”I nodded.“Yes,” I told him. “I’m sure about it just as sure as I am that the four of you are my mates.”Damien shuffled awkwardly in his shoes and glanced at the ground. Zach and Harley exchanged a look before looking at Xaden who appeared frozen in place as he stared at me.“And you’ve spoken to him?” Xaden asked, his voice coming out softly.I nodded again.“Yes,” I answered. Then I looked at Zach, meeting his eyes. “That baby dragon that I found. Jaxon came to retrieve her. That’s why she went missing.”He nodded in understanding.“What baby dragon?” Xaden asked, looking between Zach and me.“It’s a
Anila’s POVWhen I got back to the clinic, both Harley and Zach were watching me warily. I’m not sure what to say to them or how to explain to them what I was going to have to do. My stomach was in a complete knot but I was doing this for Xaden. They had to understand that.“Are you okay?” Harley asked, watching me carefully.“Yeah,” I lied, trying to force a smile as I sat back at Xaden’s bedside. “I just needed some air. I’m good now.”I was a coward for not coming out and telling them that I had to leave by sundown tonight with Jaxon. That was his request; that I go back home with him, and only then will he tell me what he wants me to do before he saves Xaden’s life.“You look like you’re about to puke,” Zach points out, his brows furrowed together.“And we can tell that something is wrong with your emotions, Anila,” Harley said, eyeing my face. “Just tell us what’s going on.”“Do you think maybe we can just talk later? I’m kind of tired and I think I just want to close m eyes for
Anila’s POV“It’s you…” I whispered, taking a step back, my heart hammering in my chest.“Like I said, I’m not here to hurt you.” Jaxon emerged from the tree line, and he was walking towards me. I held my breath as I watched him approach me, his hands raised to show that he wasn’t carrying anything. He was completely shirtless, and my mouth dropped at the sight of his body. He had tattoos across his chest and along his shoulders that looked as if they went down his back as well. I knew right away that the tattoos were of dragons, or maybe one really big dragon with little dragons inside of it.Regardless, I found myself drawn to them.He also had a long scar that went across his chest and down his torso, but that didn’t make him any less hot. In fact, it made him look more manly. I swallowed the lump in my throat as Jaxon Develson, the dragon King, stood only inches from me.He had the scent of limes and passionfruit, and it caused my senses to be on high alert. There was no doubt in
Anila’s POVAs soon as I felt Zach’s fangs dig into my soft flesh, it was like a wake-up call. But before I could react, I heard the deep throaty growl of a bear, and I knew Harley had just witnessed this. Zach quickly released me, blood dripping from his lips just as Harley attacked him.A scream escaped my lips as I watched the two fall to the ground. Harley was in his bear form, but Zach shifted back into his wolf form almost immediately and the two began to fight.My fingers shakily went to my neck, and I felt the spot that Zach marked.He actually marked. After he said he wouldn’t do that.I knew that I needed to get out of there. I didn’t stick around to see if the fighting continued; I trusted them to know when to stop. I was furious, and I was hurt, and I was scared. I was scared for Xaden, and I was scared for myself.Zach marked me… without my permission.Anger filled me at the very thought, but it was hard to maintain because my wolf was happy about this.I found my clothes
Zach’s POVThere had been a line that was immediately crossed, and I could see was fucking red. I wanted to rip Harley’s throat out for crossing that line, but I was completely glued to my spot, staring at them like they had both just struck me at the same time.I’m not an idiot, I knew Anila didn’t trust me and I also knew that she blamed me for what happened with Xaden. I knew she would even if it wasn’t my fault. I was the easiest one to blame. My vendetta against Xaden wasn’t a secret and his vendetta against me wasn’t one either. Xaden and I talked a lot during this battle though and we came together with a mutual respect.He made me promise that if anything were to happen to him, I would take care of Anila. He told me to mark her and keep her protected. I didn’t think Harley would swoop in and take her for himself though, especially without speaking to me about it first. He was so hurt and upset that Xaden went ahead and marked Anila without talking to us about it and then he we