All Chapters of The Arena: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

‘I did it for her.’ Who’s 'her'? The entire way home, I thought about what Tana said. Unless she wasn’t talking to me. But she said it after I thanked her. It didn’t make sense. I’ve been mulling it over for a month now. I’m looking over the next petitions for mediation for me to hear. I’ve finally gotten the schedule down to every other week, but it means it takes longer to meet on those weeks. It’s still less than it was in the beginning. As I’m pouring over the petitions, Bastian comes in. “Ced, my financial wizard wants to have a conversation. She says she’s found something but needs your approval to move forward.” I look up as he flops down on the chair in front of my desk. “Can we do it via phone? I don’t really have time to go to the human city for a meeting.” “Funny, she basically said the same thing. She’s about to take some time off so she wanted to meet with us before that. I’ve got a call on the schedule for next week, after your mediations and before her vacation.” I

I ran past the last mountain where I found her scent and continued on to the next mountain range. I sniffed around but didn’t find her scent. I ran up one of the mountains to the top and looked all around. Off in the distance, I see another mountain range, so I head down and begin running to that one. Halfway there, I stop to eat and get some food. I catch the scent of other shifters but none that smell like predators or predators in my immediately vicinity. I lay back, looking up at the night sky, listening to the sounds of the forest around me. I wonder where Tana is. Is she truly with Ishir? Avani? Both of them? I hate the thought of it, the thought of my mate with another. So, instead, I remember our time together, our one night. I fall asleep thinking of how fantastic it felt being inside my mate. I’m awakened by a strange sound far in the distance. I hear it several times before it finally ends. I have no idea what the sound is, but now that I’m awake, I’m get up and begin mo

After waking alone the morning after claiming Tana again, I have an inkling of how she felt when I left her. I wanted her to know that I was claiming her, that I wanted her, that she was mine. But she left me. I’ve come back to this spot as frequently as I can. I’m hoping that she’ll come back, that maybe I’ll be lucky enough to be here when she does and we can finally talk, but she hasn’t returned. After the first couple of times, I started looking over the mountain wall that looked staged. What I found shocked me. It’s a cave of treasures; art, sculptures and gemstones. So many gemstones, some of them are larger than my fists. When I first moved the boulder that was blocking the cave, I smelled it. This must be her family’s cave. Since she’s the last of her kind, it would be hers now, but the scent of the others lingers here. Her scent lingers here. I’ve moved around this space, smelling everything, finding the pieces that smell more like her. She’s partial to the gemstones. A de

Five dragons. I’m surrounded by five dragons. Well, four dragons and one asshole. Kaylani and Zephyr are gorgeous women, I guess that’s a dragon trait, but they are nothing compared to my mate. She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. But this little dragon in front of me…I don’t what it is. I’m so drawn to her, feeling a pull to her in a way that I’ve only ever felt with Tana. Maybe it’s because I’m mated to a fire dragon that I’m drawn to them? And Ishir must not have known about this little one. He told me that there were only four. Something inside me clenches. I have no idea how long it takes for a dragon to reach maturity, but suddenly, I’m remembering Avani’s snide comment about it being good to be the last male of your species. And he was more concerned about this little dragon than his own injury, even if his were minor. Could this be his daughter? Could this little dragon be Avani and Tana’s child together? I grit my teeth to keep from snarling at the thought of them

There’s something off about Little Red not shifting. I hope Tana knows that I would never be inappropriate with a juvenile, dragon or otherwise. “How old is she?” I ask, wanting to get as much information as I can about dragons. “She’s just over four years old.” “How long before she’s fully grown?” I ask, tossing one of the whole deer at her and watching her gracefully catch it and swallow it in one bite. “A dragon reaches maturity at five years of age.” “So, you’re a teenager?” I ask, tossing a second deer at her. I know I’m fanboying again, but I’m so fascinated by these beautiful dragons. I watch as she tosses her head back, swallowing the second deer, her throat gracefully moving as the deer passes through it. She rumbles her agreement and looks at me. “Well, hopefully one day I’ll get to meet you in your human form, Little Red.” She leans her head down, gently pushing against me. “You’d like that too, huh? Well, you’ll just have to convince Tana to spend more time with me.”