The Universe seemed to side with me because I was still alive. I was sure a bullet passed through my chest, but here I was, returning to consciousness with my body as heavy as lead, my arms numb, and my knees stiff.
I found myself in a nasty position, and nasty meaning my hands were over my head, cuffed to a dangling chain that was attached to metal bars on the ceiling. There was no chair to support me. My weight was solely mine to carry.
Trying out my luck, I pulled my right arm down, but the chain above me strained. The same happened to my left, ultimately telling me that escape was impossible.
"Fuck!" I cursed through clenched teeth. Mr. Oxland and Lord Saxoni really wanted me out of Axel's life. Why else would they gun me down and put me in this place?
Where was this place, anyway?
Grunting, I examined the area I was in. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize the LED-lighted room. Painted with dirty whit
~ Rayna ~Ancient.That was a fitting word to describe the man in my front.His dress spoke of Egyptian royalty; the tiny gold flakes sewn together became his cloth from the neck down to the knee. It created an almost armor-like suit for him. A cincture belt made of iron was wrapped around his waist, vambraces longer and thicker than mine were on his forearm, and an equivalent were on his ankles. A shoulder collar made of gold and painted with black and blue shades decorated his shoulder, while his head accommodated a headpiece that truly spoke Egyptian—the pharaoh's crown.General Foch looked twenty years younger despite looking ancient. He had kohl in his eyes, and his forehead was drawn with the all-seeing eye. Never had I expected him to transform like this, but I guess I should have seen it coming. Axel was dressed in Egyptian clothes himself during the mating ceremony, and I was still in one too. Plus, his OWTC suite had
~ Eros ~Rayna was literally clothed with dynamites. From her ankles to her shoulder, the ominous red stick stuck out like matchsticks ready to explode.And based on the clock taped around her chest, I had little time left. It read forty-five seconds until explosion. Shit.Like what I felt from her, fear and hopelessness etched across her face. She was crying, and she wasn’t one bit ashamed of her tears.“Eros...” she muttered as I morphed into my human form, neared her, and cupped her wet face. “I know our first meeting was bad. I know we misunderstood each other. I want to know you more, but I wish I had more time.”What’s this? She’s too emotional now. Gone was the moxie I admired from her. Is this because she thinks she’ll die?Not on my wat
~ Rayna ~I was certain I was going to die a gruesome way with all the dynamites taped around my torso. I know General Foch wanted me dead, but did he just have to choose this kind of death? Couldn’t he just blow a bullet to my head and be done with it?But then I remembered what happened with Sir Oxland earlier. He used a gun and hit me in the chest. I was sure I died that time, but that didn’t happen. This made me think I was possibly immune to bullets. Like a superpower. But that was just me thinking crazy. Surely, there was some kind of explanation why the bullet didn’t kill me.Moving forward, Eros came to my rescue, and Axel, too. They were working together to save me despite being sworn enemies. This was the kind of development I wanted, and I would have congratulated and th
~ Axel ~ To be fair to all, Eros and I waited outside his bedroom while the healers took care of Rayna. Honestly, I didn’t want her placed in his room, but this was the only neutral ground available that would accept my presence. I was a dragon, after all, and a dragon king even, so I wasn’t exactly welcomed in his hideout; a hideout that I had been dying to discover. However, this wasn’t what I wanted to focus on. It was Rayna and her welfare. Everything else meant nothing for now. I sensed anxiety in the two healers when they first saw me, but when I begged them to heal Rayna, their cautiousness towards me decreased. They immediately took Rayna in, and now I hoped we were able to save her on time. Eros remained silent, standing against the wall opposite where I stood. Our arms were both crossed over our chests. Each in a pensive mood. Each not wanting to talk to the other. We waited and waited, and the waiting was fuckin
~ Eros ~My bedroom became smaller when Axel disappeared. Now alone with Rayna, I don't know what to do.Earlier, I craved to hold her and kiss her. Axel was able to do that confidently, despite my presence. I was partly seething in anger and partly aroused seeing them do it. I wanted to experience the same, but fuck, now I don't have the courage.Rayna and I exchanged glances: hers was full of anticipation while mine was uncertainty."Eros, I..." she started to say, but I quickly cut her off."Sleep, Rayna. We will talk about it some other time." I turned around to face the door. I wanted out of the room as fast as I could; give her time to heal; give myself time to straighten my jumbled emotions and intentions, but she shouted right before I could step out of the door."Thank you!"I paused from walking and shifted my head to the side, giving her a view of my profile."For saving me back there," she add
~ Eros ~"What are you talking about? I don't understand." From sadness, her expression changed to confusion and anger.I was confused too. Did she not like what I just said? I allowed her to reject me. She should be happy!I gripped her wrist tighter and clenched my jaw. "I want to be truly loved by a woman without coercion, or without destiny intervening, Rayna. I want you to see me as I am without the bond urging you to do so. I want what you genuinely have with the dragon king, but I accept I won't get that in this lifetime. I had my chance with you, and I blew it up by ignoring you, discarding you, and closing my heart to you. I know I could never get that back."With her free hand, she cupped my face. "Oh, Eros. I won't reject you. I believe in second chances," she stated.Huh."Don't make this harder for the both of us, Rayna." I withdrew and tried to leave the bed, but she quickly grabbed my elbow and p
~ Eros ~Our lips clashed again, now eager more than ever to explore our mouths. Aware that I was still on my boots, I untied them fast and kicked them off of my feet. Rayna's hands skillfully unzipped me. I released myself from the confining garment, plus my boxers all in one tug and kneeled in front of her with all my glory.She withdrew from our kiss and inspected me with delight in her eyes. "My mate," she muttered." Her hands wrapped around my erection then. When she moved her head near the tip, I knew right away what she wanted to do, but I stopped her."There will be a time for that, Rayna," I said as I raked my fingers through her hair. "Right now, I want to pleasure you first, and make love to you the way I, as your equal, should."She lowered herself down o
~ Axel ~ After I teleported into my office, I immediately conversed with Dimitri and Genevieve through telepathy. I gave them instructions not to say anything about my arrival and I have them locate where the two traitors stayed. Dimitri was the first to report about them by dawn. Lord Saxoni was in his second manor at Los Angeles while General Oxland was en route to meet him there. I have him tail the two and using a top-notch surveillance device, Dimitri set it up so that I could hear their conversation and watch them through my phone while they conversed in his study room. The dime-sized surveillance camera stuck above the window frame, allowing me a full view of the area and their faces. "Hasn't Axel returned yet, Oxland?" Lord Saxoni, while sitting the sectional, asked as my traitor
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