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
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 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“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 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 “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“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.
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 POVI’m not sure how long I had been out, but when I woke up, I was no longer in the burning towns. I was lying in a fairly comfortable bed in a familiar room.“Oh, good. You’re awake,” Nurse Lorelei, the head nurse at Lunar Academy, said with a smile.“I’m back at school?” I whispered, my voice sounding unfamiliar and hoarse. My body was stiff as I attempted to move, but I didn’t feel any actual pain.“You were brought back a few days ago. You were sleeping ever since that battle,” she said sighing. “I heard quite the story about you. I must say, word had gotten around quickly.”My cheeks flushed at her words.Everyone knew what had happened? “Anila,” I heard my name from the doorway as Xaden walked into the room. “We could feel that you were awake through the bond.”I smiled weakly at him an
Anila’s POVEverything around me started to fade away as the battle continued in the sky.It was Ember and me, vs the Alpha King and about 3 of the dragons.The glow of the Dragon Stone was wedged in his chest, pulsating with each beat of his heart. That dragon stone was the reason he was like this… it was the reason all of this was happening in the first place.If only I could get it, I could put an end to all of this.He would be powerless.The King swiped at me with his large claws; he managed to get my arm, and I hissed in pain, grabbing the sore spot on my arm. For a second, I had a moment of panic. When Xaden got scratched by a dragon, it put him in a coma.But when nothing happened, I felt a sense of relief.However, I did almost fall off Ember entirely, but thankfully she prevented me from falling. I did get a good look at the ground though and I saw that people were still being ushered und
Anila’s POVThe house was on fire when I reached it. There was rubble everywhere and something was blocking the front door from opening. I barely recognized the place because of all the ash and rubble that surrounded the yard. I felt no attachment to being back at this house, nor did I feel any remorse over the fact that it was burned to the ground. I didn’t really care about any of that; it was no longer my home.My home was where my mates were and that was the place I longed to be at last.I gave up on the door and tried a window instead. Thankfully, it wasn’t locked, and I was able to get into the dark home. I nearly was choked out by the amount of smoke and soot in the air. Instead of staying in human form, I decided to strip out of my clothes, throwing them outside so I would have them later, and then I shifted into my wolf. Even in my wolf form, it was difficult to breathe, but at least I was lower to the ground my wolf&r
Anila’s POVEmber was going faster than I had ever known her to go. Then again, I’d never ridden on her before because the last time I saw her, she was only a baby. She also knew exactly where she was going without even looking at the other dragons. We weren’t riding with a saddle, which was also weird, but oddly enough, I felt secure on Ember’s bare back.Jaxon sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist and my back was pressed into his broad chest, so there was that extra layer of protection as well.“We need to protect the humans because they are defenseless,” I told him; he nodded in agreement.“We should get them under the ground,” he said. “If there are any sewers or anything. It’s safer for them.”I wasn’t going to argue with that; as long as the humans were safe, that was all that mattered. As we neared the human nation, my heart started to sink. I
Anila’s POVWhile I was engulfed in the dark woods, I grabbed my wand out of my boot and cast the spell for light to light the area up so I could see better. I had my wolf and bear sight, but it was still difficult to see the items I was looking for. I wanted to refrain from shifting right now because I wanted my animals to be well-rested and prepared for when I needed them the most.Besides, most of the others hadn’t shifted. Some of the bird shifters did, but aside from that, everyone was wandering around different sections of the forest in their human forms.“Don’t overthink it,” I heard Zach’s voice in my head through our mindlink. I paused at the sound of his voice and looked around, wondering if he was nearby. It made him chuckle which solidified that he could see me.“Where are you?” I asked him out loud.“I’m not near you. I’m still where you left me. But I c
Anila’s POV“The competition is in a couple of hours. What exactly are we going to do with a dragon?” Zach asked. He was now leaning against the wall on the far side of the dorm room, his arms folded around his chest as he watched the dragon intently.“Yeah, what are we doing with it?” Sage asked, narrowing her eyes at me.“Her name is Ember,” I scolded, rolling my eyes as I ran my hands down Ember’s head.“What are we supposed to do?” Penny asked with a timid frown on her lips.I turned towards Ember and pressed my forehead against her as I whispered, “Go find Jaxon.”She closed her eyes, taking in my words, and then without another word she turned towards the window which was still open, and she took off.“Be careful! Don’t be seen!” I whispered-yelled.“This is a really bad idea,” Sage said, folding her arms
Xaden’s POV“What do you think this is about?” Harley asked as we approached the conference hall for Alphas. It was outside of all territories and rarely used except for meetings that included all Alphas for both bear and wolf shifters. We only had a meeting that concerned everyone when it was an emergency.Whatever this was about, I knew that it wasn’t going to be good.“I guess we will find out,” I murmured as we approached the hall that led to the meeting room.“Where the hell have you two been?” My father asked as he stormed towards us. “We had been waiting for you.”“Sorry, Dad. You called when we were at school. Took us some time to get here,” I told him as we went towards the doors together.“This is an emergency, Xaden. You should have run faster in wolf form,” he muttered, then he froze and sniffed the air, narrowing his eyes at me,
Anila’s POV“Holy fuck,” Zach breathed, pushing me the rest of the way into the room and shutting the door behind us. The window was wide open, so I knew the dragon didn’t just walk in through the door.I was too frozen to say or do anything except gawk at the big dragon that sat in the middle of the dormitory. Sage and Becca were on the couch while Sadie and Sally were across the living room, staring at the dragon with big and worried eyes. Penny was the only one who didn’t seem afraid; she was standing closer to the dragon, and she looked a bit sheepish.“I can’t believe you let that thing in here,” Sally said, hiding behind her twin.Penny frowned and folded her arms across her chest.“She was wandering around outside. What was I supposed to do? Let her get hurt? The hunters wouldn’t let her live if they found her.”“Why do we care what happens to a dragon, Pen?” Sally asked, her frown deepening as she glared at Penny from across the room. “She’s a freaking dragon!”“And she’s harm
Anila’s POVI was so exhausted after taking all my mates at once that I nearly passed out after my orgasm. Once they were out of me, they cleaned me up and then cleaned up our mess from the picnic. I used Harley as a bed as I curled up against him, pressing my head against his chest. We were all still naked, except for Damien who had got dressed right after.I thought there would be a bit of awkwardness between them afterward, but there wasn’t. In fact, they all acted as if they were friends for a long time. Even Damien was joining them with some jokes and laughing. I was too tired to engage in conversation and Harley kept his warm arms around my body, pressing me further into him. His fingers traced my spine gently, sending goosebumps around my body.Once everything was clean, Harley stood, lifting me into his arms. We went towards Xaden’s cabin so we could rest for the night. I made it clear that I didn’t want any of my mates to go anywhere else. I needed them tonight because I had