HelenaI wasn’t looking forward to the visit. I didn’t think I would be of any help, but the council insisted that I go along as I was apparently the only person, besides my servants, who visited the pack territory the same time the war ended.The council was convinced I could clear up a few things that they apparently didn’t understand. Since we were no longer bound by a mate bond, they believed I would tell them everything they wanted to know about Max and his pack.It felt strange to see him again and not feel our bond pulling. Time had clearly not been kind to him. Although he was still very handsome, I could see that whatever had gone on over the past couple of years made him look a little older than he was.After the formal greetings were over, we were shown to the boardroom and I realized I never really saw much of his pack house when I was there. In fact, I had only been there for a couple of hours when I rejected him and I can’t remember much after the rejection.We all sat d
NagaaraI could feel the tension in the air grow over the past couple of weeks, but I wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. For the first time since I was taken prisoner, they gave me a proper bed and even a small cupboard with a basin and jug that was filled with fresh water every morning.Then, when they brought me a new dress, I knew something serious was happening. The old man spent every waking moment trying his best to get me to talk, but I never did. I figured out that the other man, the younger version of the old man, was his son, and he was in charge.I also figured out as time went by that the younger man wanted me dead but that the older man was the one who kept me alive. I couldn’t entirely understand their dynamic. The guards would always lower their heads whenever the younger man walked in, but he didn’t look as though he was royalty.The beasts were strange creatures and after a while I stopped trying to figure them out and spent my time trying to get out. They were
MaxHelena was already gone by the time the damn fog lifted, and I was faced with dealing with the council. For a second time, my fate was decided by circumstances out of my control and I couldn’t go after her. I tried to convince her brother to bring her back. I tried to convince the council that she could solve a lot of the problems we were having with the dragon, but after we had kept this secret from everyone for so long, nobody was listening.The council tried to speak to Nagaara, but she didn’t say a single word, and after three days, they also left. Just like that, it was all over and my pack and I were left with the uncertainty of what the council were going to do. The only instruction we received was to make sure that Nagaara didn’t mysteriously disappear.I could tell they were saying we shouldn’t kill her and think that it would solve everything. There wasn’t much that we could do about our circumstances anymore. What was done was done. We couldn’t run from our territory. W
HelenaWhen I was called by my brother to join him in the square, I wasn’t expecting to be faced by Max. I frowned as I made my way to my brother’s side. Something flashed in Max’s eyes before he shifted. His expression quickly became horrified and within seconds we found out why.“She has escaped! I left. I couldn’t do it. I just went for a run and ended up here. I don’t know what happened. She is gone. She is out!” The strong man that stood so tall in front of me all those years ago suddenly crumbled to the floor as his words sank in.NagaaraI knew he was there to kill me. I waited for him to do it. I waited to feel the release, but then I heard his footsteps moving away and when I looked up, the cage door was open. In the blink of an eye, I got up and ran. It was hard, but I forced my body to work. The guards were hot on my heels, but something was pushing me to survive, and somehow, I made it out.The light outside was blinding, but I couldn’t stop. I turned the corner of the bui
NagaaraI couldn’t go somewhere where people could help me. I had memories of my ancestors dealing with all sorts of other species, but I had never seen any of them myself. I only knew the beasts and I sure as hell wasn’t going anywhere near any of them until my bounds were completely gone.Unfortunately, the spell that kept my chains in place wasn’t going to open that easily, and I was forced to make my way to the first human town I could find. I knew from the memories my ancestors gave me that I would find the tools I needed there. The moment I removed the chains, I would be able to shift and heal and that was all I could think about.I found tools easily enough, but it took a while to figure out how they worked, and before I could free myself, I heard someone coming. I made a run for it and disappeared back into the forest as fast as I could with the tools in hand.I had no idea how long I had been running when I finally found a cave. It was dark outside, and it was difficult to tr
NagaaraIt didn’t take long for me to dig up my mother’s bones, and there in the middle of it all was what I was looking for. Her heart had long since gone. It had become a part of the surrounding dirt, but since half of my heart was still beating in my chest, my magic protected the other half that I left with my mother.I picked it up and lifted the right scale and as soon as I placed it in the gap, I felt the magic inside of me stir. A bright flash erupted from deep inside of me and when it was gone, I felt myself growing stronger by the second.The beasts made one huge mistake when they let me live. They believed that I was the last one and, since there was no male, I would never have any children. What they didn’t know was that dragons didn’t have to mate for a female to lay eggs.I wasn’t going to take my revenge on the beasts by chasing after them all on my own. I would wait. I would lay my eggs and wait and when there were more of us, and the beasts least expected it, I would s
MaxShe was astonishing! She was incredible and, even with our broken bond, I felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame the moment she silenced every alpha in the room, including me. I followed Helena the moment she stormed out. I was not the one who wanted to break our bond all those years ago and, even after that, I never forgot about her.I was just so busy fighting against my father and the pack to keep the dragon girl alive that I didn’t have time to do much else. I didn’t have the time to fight for the love of my life. The moment the realization hit, while I stood there staring at her, and she stood staring right back at me, it was overwhelming, and I felt something spark deep inside me.“Tell me what you learned about the dragons.” I walked over to the small tray in the corner and poured each of us some coffee. I was actually more in need of a drink, but our current circumstances clearly didn’t allow for that.“I’m sure you know more about them than I do. You fought them most of
HelenaI couldn’t avoid the alphas completely, no matter how much I wanted to. In the morning, I got up, and my neck felt stiff after sleeping in the bath all night. We gathered at the diner for breakfast, and from the looks of everyone, nobody seemed to have gotten much sleep.That thought made me feel a lot better, but only for a moment. As soon as Max walked in, I felt my damn body respond. I wondered if that goddess that reincarnated my ancestor so many times was playing tricks on me now, but I didn’t have much time to wonder.“Good morning, Helena. How did you sleep?” Max smiled, and I felt like slapping the smile right off his face, but I couldn’t. Everyone was looking at us. Everyone saw what happened the night before, and I could feel all of them willing me to accept Max right there and then. Everyone accepts my brother, of course.My brother knew why I rejected Max. I told him the same night I handed my alpha title over to him. I caught sight of my brother and frowned while s