Chapter 0004

“Stop that,” Sarai snapped as she swatted Visenya’s hand away from her mouth, preventing her from chewing her fingernails any further. “You are a queen, and queens do not have such disgusting habits. What’s the matter with you? It’s just Caspian; surely you can’t be all that nervous.”

“It’s not that, Mother. I couldn’t go back to sleep at all last night.”

“Well, it was a startling event. It’s completely normal if it had you all wound up.” Sarai reassured.

“Yes, but nobody was badly hurt. Yet, I had this overwhelming feeling of grief stirring inside me. I tossed and turned all night, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake it. I still feel like something is off, like something’s not right.”

“Oh, that’s just cold feet, totally normal.”

“No, Mother…it’s not that. I just…”

“Visenya!” Sarai interrupted. “Everything you are experiencing is completely normal. It’s pre-wedding jitters. It’s a big day for you, and for our Kingdom. You are not just gaining a husband, but a King, a life partner, and hopefully, a father to my grandchildren.”

Visenya rubbed her forehead and heard a low whimper from her wolf, Delilah. Delilah longed for their mate just as much as Visenya did but was always willing to do what was best for the Lycan Kingdom. “Mother, please don’t start with that right now.”

“I’m just saying…you’re not getting any younger, and neither am I.”

Visenya rolled her eyes, exhaling softly. “Who’s attending the wedding and crowning tonight?”

“The Queen’s Guards and their families will be in attendance. They have all been sworn to silence until after the crowning. I didn’t want word getting out and resulting in a huge crowd outside the castle. We will make a formal announcement of the kingdom’s new Lycan King in the morning. The people love Caspian, and I imagine they will be celebrating in the square all week long.”

Visenya nodded and stared down at the blue sapphire diamond on her finger. She had imagined this day since she was a little girl: walking down the aisle to the love of her life, the man made especially for her, her fated mate, and sadly… a man who only existed in her dreams. Why did she have to be such a hopeless romantic? Why did her heart ache so much and feel like her mate was so close yet so far away?

She rose to her feet and scrutinized her reflection in the mirror. She wanted a simple white gown, but her mother, true to form, had insisted on the most lavish design. Her curly locks were arranged in an elegant updo adorned with delicate pearls.

"Are you ready?" Sarai asked, handing Visenya her bouquet.

Visenya took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."

They both strode out of the room and down the long hallway leading to the Coronation Hall. Two guards stood outside the double doors, bowing to their queen. They knocked twice, signaling to those on the other side. An orchestra began to play, and then the guards swung the doors open for Visenya and Sarai.

Synora stood prominently, dressed in a lovely lavender gown and clutching a basket filled with red and pink rose petals. With a warm smile directed at Visenya, she gracefully scattered the petals along the pristine white carpet leading to the altar where the officiant and Caspian awaited.

The guests rose to their feet, their gazes fixed on their queen. Sarai held out her arm, and Visenya took hold of it, allowing her mother to walk her down the aisle, feeling the weight of her father’s absence all the more keenly with each step.

The room was beautifully decorated with gorgeous, freshly cut flowers at every turn. Caspian wore a striking white suit that accentuated his muscular form quite well. He looked exceptionally handsome and gave Visenya a bit of encouragement. She could have been worse off. Sure, she wasn’t marrying her mate, but Caspian was her best friend, and he was very easy on the eyes, if she was completely honest with herself.

Visenya was mere steps away from the altar when a deafening rumble rocked the hall, sending tremors of fear through everyone present. Outside, screams pierced the air, echoing the ominous roar of a creature long thought extinct. Without hesitation, Visenya dashed out of the Coronation Hall and raced to the nearest tower, her heart pounding with adrenaline as she sprinted up the stairs.

Everyone followed behind her as she swung open the door to the outside, shaking her head in disbelief at what her eyes beheld. Synora let out a terrified scream that jolted Visenya out of her shock.

She looked at Sarai, who was completely frozen at the sight of the massive dragon, seemingly toying with the guards at the gate. Every cannonball they shot at the dragon was either deflected by the strike of its tail or caught in its colossal mouth and spat right back out at them.

“Mother!” Visenya shook Sarai vigorously, trying to break her from her trance, but she wouldn’t budge.

She gave her mother another long, vigorous shake that finally blinked Sarai out of her daze. “Mother, get Synora down to the bunker now!”

Sarai nodded in acknowledgment and lifted Synora into her arms, doing exactly as Visenya instructed without hesitation.

Another roar sounded from the dragon, who seemed to have grown bored playing with the guards. He swiped at them with his claws, sending them high off the ground and over the palace walls.

“Caspian, you and the guards get everyone down to the bunkers!” Visenya ordered, right before shifting into her wolf form and leaping over the walls of the tower.

“Visenya!” Caspian called out, his voice laden with desperation.

He wasn’t in a position to demand her return. She was the Lycan Queen and had a duty to protect her people. Utilizing the different structures and levels of the castle, she leaped from one to the next until she reached the top of the gates that secured the castle perimeter. She was a large wolf with strong alpha blood running through her veins, but even she was no match for a dragon.

She would have to fight tactically, using all the traps that were set in place by her father when he ruled. He was a paranoid man who was always preparing for the worst. Though it had driven her and her mother mad, tonight she was grateful for his neurotic nature. She ran along the top of the gates, setting off catapults that launched large spears and grenades at the dragon. She knew it wouldn’t be enough to subdue him, but it was enough to get his attention.

Lucian roared in Visenya’s direction, which was exactly what she wanted. She leaped over the wall and fled to the borders of the kingdom with Lucian flying after her. Visenya ran to the desolate parts of the land with record-breaking speed, as Lucian spat his fire inches away from each step she took. Since she was his mate, he knew she was immune to fire, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to terrify her half to death.

He was surprised by how fast she was. No Lycan had ever been able to outrun a dragon, but here she was, zooming through the terrain like she had been catapulted. He saw a tunnel up ahead and figured she would try to lose him by taking that route, so he set the entire perimeter of the entrance ablaze just to watch her squirm. Visenya didn’t let up though; if anything, she picked up the pace.

He couldn’t believe it; she was really going to jump it. She had guts, he thought to himself. He knew she wouldn’t be harmed by the fire, but Visenya didn’t know that, and the fact that she still leaped through the fire just to enter the tunnel was almost impressive. In fact, it was very impressive, but Lucian would never admit it. Lucian’s ginormous dragon body crashed into the entrance of the tunnel, causing it to cave in completely behind him.

He continued his pursuit in the darkness of the tunnel, where his reptilian vision was heightened. Then again, so was Visenya’s, and she knew exactly where she was heading. She had him exactly where she wanted him, making him follow every nook and corner of that tunnel, until she saw moonlight up ahead. This was where she needed to be precise; one paw out of place could mean the devastation of everyone’s fate. She leaped in the air and pounced off the wall of the tunnel’s exit, triggering a detonator that set off dozens of planted explosives.

The blast threw her high into the air before she landed with such ferocity that it knocked the wind right out of her. She lay there in the dirt as the tunnel imploded, swallowing the dragon in the process. She shook her wolf head, hoping to shake off the head-splitting ringing sound that vibrated in her ears. Her white fur was bloody where she had incurred injuries from the explosion and the impact she endured.

“Delilah?” Visenya spoke to her wolf inside her head.

“I’m alright,” Delilah whispered.

“You’re not healing.”

“Give me a second… I’m a bit stunned at the moment.”

Visenya whimpered in pain as she rolled over to her side. “Do you sense that?”

“If you’re referring to that intense feeling of rage. Yes, I do. Please tell me that those are your own emotions.”

“No, they’re not.” Visenya replied.

Lucian ferociously erupted from the gravel like a volcanic blast, sending rocks and debris hurling all around them. He roared viciously at Visenya, causing her fur to whoosh from the velocity of its gust. For the first time in ten years, Lucian and Visenya came face to face. She looked into his large, yellow reptilian eyes… eyes that looked awfully familiar.

She examined his crimson red, scaly skin. There was only one red dragon with orbs of gold like that. She got lost in those eyes and fell into a dazed state of euphoria, where gravity ceased to exist, making her feel weightless, like she was floating on a cloud.

“Mate?” Delilah murmured in a disbelieving tone.

“Lucian?” Visenya acknowledged.