Her Scent

Joseph POV

I was foolish, and that led to my being captured. Whatever they used to shoot me with took my dragon, so I had nothing to fight with. They locked all the sides of me, and I felt like a human. Weak and unable to defend myself against their wolves.

My father was right; he told me that going through Nomad Land was foolish. Actually, he told me that travelling to the werewolf kingdom was irrational, but I had to try. The cure for my wife’s illness lies with someone else. I would rather die trying than watch her suffer. I was told that I needed to travel farther away to find answers, so I began searching.

I checked everywhere. I checked in the Fae kingdom— Vampires, Bears, Merfolk, everywhere. Then, I was told the answer lay within the werewolf world, so I had to look for that answer. My father told me it was foolish and a set-up, but I couldn’t risk not checking. Now I realise he was right.

Someone used my mate and my desire to find her a cure to lure me to a place riddled with traps, and I had no escape. Within a matter of minutes, my guards were down, unable to shift, and then I was. They wasted no time in dragging me out and telling me that my royalty among the Dragons meant nothing to them.

I hope Nischola survives until I can get back to her. I was so sure I would have answers and a cure for her. Her life and our unborn baby depend on it. Everything seems to be working against me now, though. It's as if the Moon Goddess is laughing at my attempts and mocking me. All that I want is to save her and our baby.

I’m taken, though, and dragged through their grounds. The entire place stinks of dark magic. Not just that, but something else I’ve only witnessed once before and it tells me this is where the cure is. Hope builds within me that maybe this is the place that has her cure. I’m not sure how to get it, as I doubt they will agree to save the princess and my unborn child. Maybe if I negotiate with them?

Would they agree to help her if I gave myself up and let them keep me here? I don’t care what they want me for, even if it is to kill me. I wonder if they will agree to save her.

However, the alpha and Luna of this pack don’t seem to want to talk. When I try, they shut me down, and I quickly realise they aren’t who they portray themselves to be. They are hiding their true identities, but from who? This is their pack. Why would they hide themselves?

My body is thrown into a cell, and the door slams before locking. The smell is more pungent in here. I watch as they leave, and I lean through the cell and pick up the straw from the other.

The scent is even more pungent when I smell it. Who is the prisoner they had locked in this cell? It’s a strange scent. It’s not my mate, as I know her scent, and she is safe at home with the guards.

This person, though? The scent is driving me crazy, and I can’t figure out why. I stare at the cell and wait, unsure of how long passes. I notice there is not much in there. The straw is clearly a bed they had made for themselves. In the corner there is cloth, maybe clothing? I’m not entirely sure, and there isn’t much of it either.

I glance around the cell and see the two bottles of water. Peering around, I see other prisoners; their cells are like mine. Empty, with just one bottle. Not even my prisoners are treated this poorly, and I’m a prince.

The metal door makes me jump up and watch the stairs that lead down. A man walks through carrying a small body and throws it down onto the straw in the cell next to mine. My hand reaches out, and I stroke her hair from her face.

She jumps up and crawls away from me. I watch her arms wrap around her legs. She’s cold and naked, but there’s something there.

“Come here,” I reach through the bar, trying to get closer to her and understand who she is. She moves further away.

“Go to him,” one of the betas shouts, and her head shakes.

“I won’t hurt you,” I say, trying to reach for her.

“Mutt, go to him,” the other beta says. He grips her hair and drags her up, throwing her towards the bars of the cell. My hands catch her before she can hit them, and I roar at the beta. He shouldn’t throw her.

The betas walk off laughing, and I lean in closer to smell her. She’s where the magic is coming from. My dragon growls, sensing the magic within her that locked it away. Still, there’s more. I breathe her in again and oddly find it comforting; she smells like my father; how?

“Please don’t hurt me,” she whispers, and I hold her tighter, my nose settling into her neck more. My eyes widen when I realise. She’s his mate. How can she be my father’s mate?

“Please, don’t hurt me,” she whimpers, and I open my mouth to speak, but I’m stopped.

“Release her!” The growl comes from the side, and look and see the alpha there. My hands let her go, and she fell to the floor. I hadn’t realised her feet weren’t on the floor.

“Go clean yourself up, Mutt. Alpha Lucas is here.” He looks at her, and she shakes her head. She’s covered in bruises, but the worst thing is, despite the scent of magic and my father, she stinks of sex. The Alpha steps in and hits her.

“Go get cleaned up! Now!” As he shouts and Conan takes hold, my body begins shifting. It's slow and painful because of whatever they have done to me, but we're fighting to protect her.

“Down, Smokey,” the alpha laughs, but I don’t get time to react before he shoots and the pellet hits. Conan loses his grip, and I shift back, unable to feel him.

“Now!” The asshole Alpha shouts at her, and I watch her nod and walk away. I step closer to the bars and watch her leave. He turns to face me and smiles. 

"You won't win," I'm not sure what he aims to gain from taking me, but he won't win. 

"Oh, I will. You see, there's so much magic around here that your link to your flight will fail," he smiles cruelly and thinks he has it all figured out. I don't reply. I simply watch him turn and leave. We heard them coming, and it was long enough for me to put out a warning signal telling my father, the King of Dragons, exactly where we were. I got confirmation they were on their way.

What is the benefit of being a Dragon shifter? We can fly, and it cuts out a lot of travel time, and I know my father will get to the camp we had set up before morning.

"Your Highness," my guards look at me from within their cell. 

"He will be here," I reply, knowing exactly what they are thinking. They think that we're here until we die. I know I got the message out. 

"You may be the Prince of Dragons, but I'm not hopeful you succeeded in giving the right location," he mutters, and I choose to ignore him. I get it. He's scared, and he doesn't want to have hope for it to fail. It won't fail. 

I'm not sure how long I've paced this cell before I hear footsteps. The scent instantly makes me smile, and I watch as my father, the King of Dragons, rushes into the cells with more guards. I knew he would come.