Anila POV My lungs burned as I sucked in quick breaths, working to stave off a panic attack as Xaden’s eyes moved to Professor Howl, and a snarl came from his lips. “Release her from your hold, Professor! She is my mate!” “She could be a spy, Xaden!” Professor Howl snarled. If I had the ability to laugh, I would have. How could I be a spy if literally knew nothing other than what I had read in books and seen on TV? “She isn’t! I know she isn’t!” Professor Howl’s eyes narrowed, drawing a conceding sigh from Xaden. “She lived in a small town. She was treated like a prisoner at home. I literally had to break her out of her house to bring her here.” My eyes landed on Xaden’s deep forest green pleading gaze as he pulled me tighter to his chest as if he were afraid I would disappear. My chest tightened even more, and it felt like my lungs were on the verge of bursting. “That is enough,” Principal Rapport said, holding up his hand. “Professor, release her.” With a humph, the w
Anila POV My entire body stilled. Months? “And we don’t have an official class for that here. Most students came here fully prepared, with enough basic guidance from parents for the shift,” Professor Howl continued to explain, shaking his head, before turning his gaze to Xaden. “You know your responsibility now, don’t you?” “Of course,” Xaden stated without hesitation, “I’ll get her prepared, and teach her well.” His forest-filled eyes found mine, and I felt the anxious fluttering in my chest start to settle, “She is in good hands.” Before any more words were exchanged, Xaden’s hands squeezed my hand gently as he pulled me from the room. We descended the steps in silence, returning to the long, familiar hallway that seemed to run throughout the entire school. “So, can all shifters use magic?” I asked, curious about Professor Howl's words. I wondered how much magic I would have learned if my mom was still alive. “Not really. Bear shifters and werewolves have magical abil
Anila POV Outside the bedroom doors were golden plaques; one of which had my name on it. I knew right away that meant this was my bedroom. I was amazed at how prepared this school was for my arrival. I opened the door, and my eyes grew large as I stepped into the beautiful room. There was a full bed already made with a purple and black bedspread. The window that overlooked the campus had long silky, transparent purple drapes that reached the ground. There was a plush purple carpet in front of the bed and the floors were hardwood. There was a closet and a dresser along with a couple of nightstands beside my bed. On the far side of the room was a loveseat and an empty bookshelf. This was three times the size of my room at home. Sitting on my bed was a card that I reached for immediately. On the front of the card, it said: Welcome to Lunar Academy Anila Montgomery! My eyes grew large as I opened the card to read the inside. It read: You are beginning a new magical journ
Harley POV Anila Montgomery. I had been waiting for my mate since I first shifted at 19 years old. I thought that once I got my mate, I would be happy and that would be it. But I wasn’t anticipating my mate to have two other mates. One of which is my best fucking friend. As soon as Xaden claimed Anila, that was it for me. I was out, completely. I couldn’t stab my best friend in the back. It wasn’t in my nature. Zach, on the other hand, had no issue doing just that. I stared at the scene before me with disgust. Anila was pressed against the wall with Zach inches from her lips. Her eyes were closed, and she looked content being between him and the wall. She looked as if she wanted to kiss him just as badly as he wanted to kiss her. The philandering smirk on the werewolf's face made me want to crack his skull because he smiled at me like I was missing out on something. Despite backing off, I couldn’t help that insistent and annoying tugging in my chest, a voice that const
Anila POV I stepped back as four more girls rushed into the room with large and curious eyes. My heart was pounding rapidly in my chest as they all turned to face me. The first girl, with the feathers, stepped closer to me and reached her hand out for me to shake. “My name is Penny Penson, and I am your roommate!” She said happily. I knew I recognized her face. I raised my brows at her name as I hesitantly took her hand and shook it. “Penny…. Penson?” I asked, curiously. She smiled. “I know, it’s weird, right? My parents certainly have a sense of humor.” “It’s unique,” I told her honestly. “It’s nice meeting you. I’m Anila Montgomery.” “Oh, trust me, we know who you are,” Penny chuckled. “We got here earlier today, and we were out exploring when we saw you holding Damien West’s wand!” My eyes widened at her words. “I know everything there is to know about this school and the top students. I’ve been preparing for this school my entire life and I’m so excited to be
Anila POV The growling of my stomach stopped my words from escaping my lips. My cheeks flushed right away, and I held onto my stomach, attempting to silence it. “Sorry,” I murmured, embarrassed by the intrusive sound. Penny stood to her feet, laughing. “For what? Being hungry?” She asked, glancing at her phone. “Dinner will be served soon. Let’s go to the dining hall, and we can continue this conversation after” she said, motioning for us to follow her. I was grateful for the momentary distraction and subject change. I hadn’t even realized an hour had passed since I was trapped in the elevator with Zach. The memory caused my body to become incredibly hot. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and stood with everyone else. Penny draped an arm through mine. “We are in this together, Anila,” she assured me. “Stick with us and you’ll never be alone.” I smiled, it was a nice thought having a group of girls that I could depend on and even consider my friends. I ne
Anila POV The amount of gasps around the table was alarming. “What?” Penny gasped. “Are you serious?” Both Sadie and Sally gasped. “No way!” Sage gasped. “Holy shit,” Becca gasped and then she burst out laughing. “And here we are, feeding you awful information about him.” Penny’s face was beat red when she turned to me. “Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry, Anila. You must think awful of us. Speaking about your mate like that,” she said, shaking her head, her blonde, red, and feathered curls bouncing around her features. “I’m sure he’s so much different with you because you are his mate.” “That explained why he looked so happy,” Sage said, nodding in agreement to Penny. “You don’t need to apologize,” I said, placing my hand on Penny’s arm to calm her. “I’m glad you told me this information. I only just met him, and I wasn’t really sure what to think of it all. It’s… a lot,” I admitted. “I can’t believe Zach would be so cruel as to fight Xaden for his mate,” Sally breathed, sh
Anila POV I probably should have turned away. Maybe try to find a different bathroom; not that I would even know where to start looking. But something was keeping me grounded and when I peered around the corner and saw Damien’s distraught face, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go anywhere. My chest tightened even more. I was finally able to get a better look at Damien. I saw him when I first arrived after I found his wand, but with everything that had gone on, I wasn’t able to actually look at him. His hair was a deep shade of brown, like the riches of the earth. It lay in soft waves around his features. His eyes were a darker shade of gray than mine, and hard to read. Especially through his thick-framed glasses. I had to admit to myself that he was good-looking in a nerdy kind of way. Though, despite him appearing a bit nerdy, his body revealed that he was no stranger to the gym. He was tall, but his arms were nicely built and the white collared shirt he wore fi
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