~ Axel ~
Fire.
I was immune to fire, but I felt as though I wasn’t when I suddenly felt a burning within me. And this wasn’t me using any figure of speech. This was heat. Real heat. Like a truck full of burning coal or molten lava was shoved into my chest. It clawed inside my ribcage, ripping me out from my sleep, and making me wheeze out heavy breaths.
I couldn’t explain why I suddenly felt this way, but I hated it. Despised it. Cursed it.
Wanting to erase the feeling away, I stood up from my king-sized bed, approached a table near the balcony door that had a pitcher of water on top, and poured a glass to the brim.
The water, however, only helped to relax me a little, so I stepped out of my room and into my balcony—the highest balcony known to man since my penthouse was located in the tallest building on Earth, the extended One World Trade Center.
I am the dragon king and so it is only
~ Rayna ~Since I was already awake and can obviously eat and drink on my own, the nurse in charge took out my intravenous line. Finally, I could freely move and leave the bed for a good stretch and my mother was happy to see me like this."Just take it easy, Rayna. I know you prefer to move around than do nothing, but it's better to be cautious," she, as caring as always, stated while she sat on the couch across the hospital bed."I will, mom." I blew her a kiss—a gesture that I could only give to her and only her. She sighed and returned to reading her cooking magazine.After stretching, I went to the bathroom to take a bath. The room we were in was an executive private room, so it had a hotel setup. Except for the obvious oxygen tube
~ Rayna ~I avoided meeting Mr. Windstorm’s stare, choosing the neutralness of the floor as I continued to say, “I am relieved and happy you are alive then, Mr. Windstorm. I admit, I felt guilty I wasn’t able to do my job well, so let me use this opportunity to say I’m so—”“No, Ms. Chase, please, don’t say that,” he cut me off. My eyes flew back to him and saw how his brows knitted as if...as if he disliked me apologizing. “You did your job well. You were able to protect me. I’m alive, see? You’re alive, so we’re both even.”I smothered a laugh in response. We are both even indeed. But if only he knew how I dreamed about him naked, doing himself and fucking me, he probably wouldn’t say that.“Inde
~ Rayna ~Gingerly, Mr. Windstorm’s fingers grazed my chin. The butterflies in my stomach changed to fireworks. Sparking. Igniting heat deeper into my belly.He tipped it up enough that my mouth was accessible to him. His green-violets settled on my lips then. For a moment, my breath paused.I saw his desire. It was obvious in the way he looked at me. He wanted to kiss me and god knows how much I wanted to kiss him too. Maybe to really stamp in my brain that he was real and not just a ghost. Or maybe to finally fulfill my unexplained infatuation for this man—no, my desire for this man. I was so ready for it, but then he...he pulled away.What the fuck?“I didn’t lie to you,
~ Axel ~Dimitri stayed outside the hospital while Gwendolyn pushed my wheelchair into the elevator with Mr. Chase. We were silent during the ride, but I noticed him glance toward me, my wheelchair and robe from time to time.He didn't comment or question me about my choice of dress or the reason I wore dark glasses so early in the morning, and that gave me relief. I didn't want to answer him, nor did I have an answer that would satisfy him.To deter the paparazzi? Sure. That was a believable alibi, but knowing this man, he'd likely suspect me of a deeper reason.Gwendolyn guarded the door while Mr. Chase and I entered Rayna's suite.We found out she was still in the bathroom, so we waited. Her mother, a sweet woman, rushed to offer me refreshment. I politely declined and reasoned that my visit would only be just brief. In truth, however, I wanted to stay reserved, discourage any small talk while waiting for their dau
~ Axel ~Here they are finally, her damnable lips that I craved to kiss so much.I wasn't blind. She obviously wanted to be kissed too, judging from her body language and her blushing face, but I stopped myself and retreated my hand instead.'Not in this place...' I convinced myself. 'Not inside a hospital. Our first kiss can't be inside a hospital. Rayna deserves better. She deserves more.'"I didn't lie to you, Rayna. And I especially didn't influence your father to persuade you. He did it on his own. He must have seen the advantages of you employed to me than you serving the army," I diverted my attention to her query instead.I was taken aback when she pointed out my lie: the fact that I was standing now and not needing the wheelchair.I didn't want to explain myself. I always thought that my past was a touchy subject to discuss, but with Rayna, a confession naturally flowed. I didn't want her to feel frust
~ Rayna ~The day flew by like dinner rush in a diner. I was discharged an hour after Mr. Windstorm left and my parents and I returned to our house in Baltimore, which was about an hour of drive away.In there, I spent my time with my parents. They thought me dead for two days, after all. The least I could do was make them feel I'm still alive. I made brunch for them: vegetable lasagna, roasted lamb, and pumpkin soup, and for the refreshment, I blended raspberry and spinach to make a healthy smoothie.We ate heartily inside our porch under the sunny sky, talked about menial stuff until my father finally opened up the subject about my disappearance. I expected him to ask me about this since we left the hospital and while waiting for that to happen, I felt largely anxious. I couldn't tell him about my intimate escapade with the werewolves' alpha king. Oh no. So I formed a ready answer that mostly talked about these beasts in general.
~ Rayna ~Like Mr. Windstorm said, on the same day I received an email and a special UPS delivery from his secretary. Using my trusty old laptop, I checked her email first. It talked about instructions on the date, time and the manner I will be flown to New York City. She mentioned about my accommodation, which was apparently a floor down from Mr. Windstorm’s penthouse suite in OWTC, and my wardrobe. Apparently, I would be provided a uniform and a set of new clothes and shoes once there, and so I only needed to pack light for the stay.
~ Rayna ~Said that a private helicopter would get me from BWI Marshall, an international airport near where I live, to OWTC at 0700 hours, so my father drove me to that place before dawn came.I only brought two bags with me, one for my belongings and the new company phone, and the second was some of my Sunday's best outfits and jammies. I also brought with me my favorite handgun, which my father gifted during my installment in the army. I considered it as a lucky pistol; so lucky that I forgot to bring it when I went to Hextrion. If I did, this would have turned to ashes together with my other stuff."Don't forget to update us," was what my father told me once we said our goodbyes. I naturally said yes and kissed his forehead; the same thing I did with my mother before I left the house.In the airport VIP hangar, I met with the pilot of the private helicopter. He introduced himself as Oliver, shaking my hand, and smiling b
AxelIt didn't take long before trouble appeared on King Raxelan's mountain, literally.As soon as he transported to his throne hall, a guard stationed at the watchtowers of Mount Ras Zubayr speeded towards him, knelt on the floor, and cried out, "My King! Werewolves and lycans spotted near Lake Bahrmoris and around the mountain. There are hundreds of thousands of them!"With the barrier he created, he was confident they couldn't easily find their hideout, but this much population of these mangy creatures was an issue. Power by numbers, as the old saying goes. King Raxelan hadn't known yet what they were capable of, what abilities they have, but he knew they could find a way through the barrier and attack them.'Good then,' he thought out loud. 'Saves me the energy to go to the capital city and destroy them.'The fact that they charged first only stamped his idea that they truly wanted war. It didn't matter what their reason
AxelKing Raxelan had rule over everything just like I do. He decides for his people and no one contests it. He had freedom and strength beyond question. He was above all as he should be as the dragon king. However, there was always one topic which he had to consult his people with.The mating.It was tradition and an absolute word that the dragon council needed inputs to.It would have been easy once mated. After all, no one argues who destiny pairs us with. But in King Raxelan's case, his mating with Herneith caused a serious problem with the council.They knew she was human, but moreover, they found out she was also mated to Alpha Eckon.'How the actual hell did they know about this?'my mind exclaimed as I played out King Raxelan's life again.Inside his throne hall filled with incense and entitled lords, he was about to burst this same question to them, but decided not to. Especi
- Eros - My lycan form emerged as soon as I jumped out of my seat. Bones crunched. Black fur grew at terrifying speed. Deadly claws dug deep on the marbled walls and floors of my pack house, and even the roofs of my subordinates as I leaped from one building to the next. It was probably the fastest run I had since the day I existed in this world—or Alpha Eckon's, for that matter. He didn't have the ability to teleport like I do, but his superior agility could almost be likened to teleportation. I reached the far edge of Mount Ras Zubayr in less than a minute. I sensed Herneith already underwater. Fuck. And heard her faint heartbeat. Without delay, I jumped in. My lungs expanded as I locked the oxygen inside. Bubbles surrounded me as my eyes adjusted to
~ Rayna ~"Saphira!"I wanted to run to her side, but the blood and the looming danger in front of me made me pause.My sights flew to the killer and my pupils constricted, realizing I recognized the man."Sakros!" I shouted. "Why?! Why are you doing this?"Dressed in the same knight armor of our capital, Sakros, the main guard of my father's special army, looked every bit like a human, but I sensed something odd in him, and I confirmed it after seeing his arms all wrapped up in dark red scales and his hands turned into claws.A dragon? He is also a dragon in a human disguise?He cocked his head to the side, gave me a grin, and he pulled his claw out of Saphira's abdomen like he was simply gutting out the intestines of an animal.I screamed inwardly at the sight when she fell to the ground. Her eyes glassy and lifeless and her mouth and nose trickling with blood."It is nothing personal, Princess Herneith.
~ Rayna ~Herneith's stay inside King Raxelan's chamber reached two days. It was a stay filled with nothing but bliss and passion. He treated her like a woman equal to him. He made her ascend many times in heaven, made her a goddess of sex and moans. It was a give and take relationship, plus more. There was nothing else in her mind except him, and he showered his attention on her in a similar manner.Not once did the thought of her friends, Una and Asiri, crossed her mind, or her family whom she left in the capital, or her duties as the oracle, or her bond with King Eckon.Nothing else mattered. Just the two of them. It was similar as to when Herneith bonded with Alpha Eckon. It was as if time stood still.For me, it was like falling in love with Axel all over again, and making love with him instead of King Raxelan. It was like a beautiful dream I didn't want to wake.Herneith hadn't expected she'd be mated to two men—k
~ Axel ~"Ra...xelan..." she whimpered as we laved her neck.A deep hum of approval vibrated our chest. "Yes, Herneith. That is good. Say my name again, or better yet, scream it for me."Using our power of teleportation, we appeared in another area inside the dragon mountain where no human had ever stepped foot. It was King Raxelan's chamber, specifically.There wasn't much in terms of furniture. There was a chair and a table in one corner, and a massive bed that could fit ten people in the center. The circular floor was made of marble. It was the size of a basketball court. Past its edges, a chasm awaited, decorated by waterfalls. There were slabs of rocks towering all the way into the ceiling—a ceiling where it showed a gaping hole. The
~ Axel ~Being inside the body and mind of my ancestor felt weird. Lady Kasa said we would travel back in time to see what happened before the war between the dragons and werewolves started, but I didn't expect she meant it like this: be in one body with my ancestor.I could literally feel everything King Raxelan felt and saw everything he saw.His dragon strength was undeniable. It was bursting out of his skin...out of his scales. It was the same as mine. I was a dragon king, after all. Only that his was considered the first of the first.The beginning of all dragon powers.Mount Ras Zabayr was his lair. His headquarters. But his people—our people—were scattered across the many continents of the ea
~ Rayna ~In the next second, something golden appeared in the sky. Its appearance was swift that before I could register what it was, I heard the pained screams of the two bandits.I looked down and saw their severed torsos thrown across the forest floor.My breath was caught in my throat. What just happened? My mind screamed. Then a noticed a movement from behind me. Spinning around, I saw a golden monster crouching down, with my reflection inside its diamond eyes.Heaven knows how much I wanted to escape, but instead of doing just that, I was frozen on the spot.“Hmmm...” A low growl rumbled from deep within its chest. In Herneith’s point of view, this was her first time seeing such a beast, so concentrated fear gripped
~ Rayna ~As the oracle and healer of the Kingdom of Eckhathnaten, or now called Ancient Egypt in the modern world, a lot was expected of me. One of these expectations was to fulfill the dance offering for the Sun God, Ra, in his temple on top of Mount Ras Zubayr.Together with my maids, we rode the covered chariot of my father. Its walls were gilded and carved with the many exploits of our family—or Herneith’s family, for that matter. Six wheels were attached to it and were pulled by four mammoths.Mammoths. Huh.I never expected of a day I’d get to see a mammoth in real life. But then again, so were dragons and werewolves.We had traveled for four hours already, leaving the capital city since dawn broke. I was