Anila’s POVSomething shifted in the air. When I met up with Xaden for dinner after my classes, he seemed… okay. He didn’t ask me about my time with Harley, but he did ask me if Harley was okay. He’s been worried about Harley, and I could see it in his eyes.I shouldn’t have been surprised because that was his best friend, but it was weird considering I am mated and bonded to Xaden. I would have thought he’d feel jealous after I spent alone time with another man.But he didn’t seem jealous at all.I felt a lightness in my chest as we ate and talked. He looked happy and content as we sat beside one another at the table in the dining hall. I don’t think I had laughed so hard in my life and others around me, including my friends, started to take notice.Xaden wrapped an arm around me and kissed me for the world to see and I was beaming beside him. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about earlier when I showed up at the dining hall fully marked and bound. Now everything was starting to
Xaden’s POVMy phone was ringing, and I frowned when I saw Penny’s name flash across the screen. Penny was Anila’s roommate and she never called me. My heart sank into my stomach and panic soon consumed me as I answered the phone.“Hello?”“Hi, Xaden?” Penny’s voice sounded on the other end.“Yes,” I replied, trying not to sound as panicked as I was.She had to be calling me because of Anila; had something happened?“It’s Penny,” she continued. “I’m calling because Anila isn’t really doing well. I know she’s supposed to shift tonight, but she’s looking incredibly weak and very sick.”My heart shattered hearing this, but I knew Penny was right. The first shift was the worst and took a huge toll on the human body. Her spirit animal is basically being born and a lot of the time that’ll make the human very sick.His bones were probably aching too. That was why I was desperate for her to strengthen her powers and her body. I knew I needed to get her into the forest. She needed to be surrou
Anila’s POVMy mates were standing in a circle staring at me with their mouths hanging open. The pain had finally settled, and I was feeling stronger than ever. I had never felt so energized in all of my life. I wasn’t expecting everything to be so heightened, but I could smell literally everything all at once; I could hear for miles, and I could see 10 times stronger than I ever saw before.I looked down at my body and saw nothing but black fur, which was strange because a moment ago, I saw nothing but white fur. I looked up at the moon and I went to howl again, but it came out a roar instead.What the hell? I thought to myself.When I looked up to see their confused faces, I knew something was very wrong. I wanted to ask them what had happened, but my voice came out as a huff. I obviously couldn’t speak in this form. I wanted to find a creek so I could see my reflection. For a second, I thought maybe my bones reformed wrong.I shuddered at the thought.Did I look like a freak or som
Anila’s POVHarley let me use his oversized shirt to cover my body and I was so grateful that he had the common sense to strip off his clothes before shifting. When we got back to the area we shifted in, most of our clothes were in shredded pieces and I was kind of upset that Xaden hadn’t thought about stripping me sooner, so I didn’t have to lose an entire outfit.I was elated though, and I didn’t really care about the outfit.I had two spirit animals, and I couldn’t believe this. It was weird in my human form because I could feel them inside of me. They were co-existing in my mind and if I really thought about it, could even see them. They were both so beautiful and breathtaking. It was like day and night with one being pure white and the other being completely black.But they both had bright purple eyes and I wasn’t sure what that meant. But they were mine and they were perfect.Once I was in Harley’s shirt and no longer completely naked in front of them all, Xaden wrapped his arms
Anila’s POVI just found a baby dragon!I thought dragons were supposed to be outlawed. At least that’s what everyone else had told me. They said that dragons were incredibly dangerous and that they weren’t allowed. Which was weird to me because I wasn’t exactly sure how they hid dragons from the world. I imagined they must grow huge, and they have wings, so they fly. They also quite clearly breathe fire. I would assume that it’d be impossible to hide an actual grown dragon.But this little thing didn’t look dangerous or even scary; it was actually adorable. Against my better judgment, I reached my hand out to touch the baby dragon. I let my fingers linger around its head for a moment and it sniffed me curiously.Then it moved its scaly head across the palm of my hand, and I gasped at the warmth and affection it clearly had.“Hey there,” I whispered, running my fingers down the length of its back. “Did you just hatch?”I wondered how this little dragon got here. If there was a baby dr
Anila’s POV“Don’t think just because my brother marked you, it means I’m not going to try and get into your pants,” Zach said with a smirk as he pinned me to the ground.Fury boiled through me from his words; how could he be so arrogant?“Mate!” My wolf insisted.I used all of my strength to kick him off me and to my surprise, he actually tumbled backwards.“You can try all you want, Zach,” I said through my teeth. “It won’t change anything.”I could see the irritation on his face, and I wondered if it was because Xaden had marked me, or because Zach couldn’t have his way with me. My mind instantly went to Harley and all the things we’d done together, and I felt a ping of guilt in my chest.“How’d he convince you to do it anyway?”I looked at him, confused.“What do you mean?” I asked.“How did you convince him to mark you?”His question took me aback and I knew I must have looked dumbfounded. Did Zach seriously think I somehow convinced Xaden to mark his claim on me?“I didn’t have
Anila’s PovI didn’t think; as soon as I hung up the phone with Penny, I was running straight for the dorms. My dragon had somehow gotten out of her cage, and she was my responsibility. I needed to protect her. She was probably terrified of the commotion going on and in hiding. It didn’t seem as if others had found her yet because most were evacuating the dormitory.I could hear the fear in everyone’s voices, and I wondered what exactly was going to happen to this dragon once she was found. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her; she didn’t do anything.At least I didn’t think she did.I was on autopilot, so, I’m not exactly sure how I managed to get through the crowd of students and faculty and got into the school. I think everybody was just so wound up that they didn’t really think about security. But I got inside and weaved through the many students struggling to get out of the door.“Anila!” I heard my name coming from the distance and recognized it right away as
Anila’s POVEscaping the school was exhilarating and by the time we reached the forest, I had tumbled over laughing. I’m not sure what I found so funny, but I couldn’t help myself. My adrenaline was rushing, and I couldn’t hold it in anymore.Zach was also laughing as he looked over his shoulder to make sure we weren’t being followed. He put his hand on my lower back, and I felt my entire body relaxing against his as I looked up at him. My cheeks were flushed, and I couldn’t seem to get that stupid grin off my face.I hated that I was feeling this strongly toward Zach though and despite my wolf insisting that he was my mate, I found myself resisting the pull. But Zach’s warm and very unfamiliar smile seemed to have melted the barrier I wrapped my heart in, and I found myself returning the smile.“What now?” I asked, my voice coming out way breathier than I meant it to.“Now, you should put the dragon back where you found it,” he told me, his gaze softening. “I know it’s hard. But the
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