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Chapter Eighteen

Elena

A naki and I walked up to the bar, our fingers intertwined.

The streets were busy with people doing their usual shopping, and cars driving by.

As the end of spring approached and summer was around the corner, it was still unusually chilly for my taste.

When a gentle breeze blew by, I would feel the cool air nip at my nose.

The light sweater I brought did little to shield my usually toasty skin.

My nose ran, and I wiggled my nose several times with the back of my hand. Anaki was observant and immediately thought the worst.

I knew it was the weather because I was used to the scorching sun, but Anaki thought the world was ending, because apparently ‘humans had terrible immune systems.’ He demanded that I see Nadia and have her check on me.

She was studying to be a doctor for the club and was also his good friend.

The way he worried was so damn cute I couldn’t say no.

Not when his words from earlier this morning hung heavily on my heart.

If this were an ordinary man, a human, I would have reservations about all these emotions.

He could twist his words, play at my emotions, and use coercion to make me stay with him.

This was Anaki, though, and this strange connection that I felt with him was strong.

I felt the truth in his words that I was his world.

Behind those tearful eyes, however, I saw something much, much deeper.

Someone had caused him immense pain, someone vile and evil had crushed his soul.

My heart burned with a deep desire to seek this person and bring them to justice, to make them pay for the harm they had inflicted on such a kind soul.

Though I had only known Anaki for a few days, I could never imagine this sweet, gentle person hurting anyone.

Anaki possessed an amazing humor and a caring nature, showing genuine concern for Luis and treating me as though I were the most precious woman in the world. Our time together felt like a dream, one that I never wanted to wake up from.

Despite my overwhelming adoration for him, I couldn't deny the fear that coursed through me.

This was too much, too fast. A dragon had declared his love for me mere days after meeting me, claiming his very soul belonged to me.

It was a whirlwind of emotions, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to handle the weight of it all.

He said his soul belonged to me. Who says that? That should be in a damn proposal. It made me melt, made me want to take it and cherish it so no one would ever hurt him again.

Did I really want that?

I did, I really did.

I couldn't shake off the memories of Abuela's words about soul mates. They had always seemed silly to me, but now they were haunting me. Emm would scoff at Abuela’s tangents.

I was young and naive and wanted to be just like my big, bad ass sister, so I ignored Abuela, too.

But now, I couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to it all.

Was I missing out on something by being closed off to the idea of a soul mate? My mind was torn between embracing and rejecting the concept .

If I thought hard enough, I could remember Abuela dancing naked in the woods.

She told us as we walked out into the woods that she would ask someone for a blessing.

I was thinking it would be a priest. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

She had an enormous pile of wood set up for a fire, lit it, and stripped down.

Then there was a prayer. She threw her hands up, powder going into the fire.

She called out to the… Moon Goddess. She stood still, staring up into the sky, unmoving.

Emm took me to a tent to sleep after that.

I rubbed my head. I could just ask Abuela about what had happened. She could have had a stroke while she stared up into the sky, and that was why she did that.

Was it worth looking into now?

Probably, because she knew more about these people than Luis and I did.

I popped my lips together when Anaki opened the front door of the club. It was a way to rid myself of all the thoughts in my head and bring me to the now. The old door creaked, and the bar was much quieter than the night before.

The bar was covered in a thick haze of smoke, creating a hazy atmosphere that made it difficult to see across the room. The clinking of glasses and murmurs of conversations created a calm atmosphere. Anaki winced and put his finger inside his ear to shake it.

“You alright?” I asked, squeezing his hand.

Anaki nodded, giving me a smirk that hid all that pain behind his heart. “Of course, Mama. My hearing is just getting better, so I have to learn to block out the higher-pitched sounds.”

Since his soul was healing–because of me–his dragon must be recovering. But how did his dragon get so damaged in the first place? We never talked about that this morning. Was it a family member, a friend? Another lover?

I didn’t like the idea that he could have had someone else, but Anaki was handsome and sensual. He could get anyone he wanted. What was it that caused his soul to crush like that? Anaki loved with his whole being, and to hurt him was damn cruel.

I gave him a small smile and rubbed my hand up his arm. “I have some earplugs back in my suitcase. Maybe that could help.”

Anaki’s smirk grew to a grin. “Maybe I’ll try that. We could give some to Bear and Nadia, too, so they don’t hear you screaming tonight.”

I gasped, my face burning as I snuggled into his arm. “You’re terrible.”

“Not as terrible as when I take two of your holes,” he whispered low into my ear.

My mouth dropped when I looked up at him. “You talk a big game, but can you deliver?” I raised a brow.

It was Anaki’s turn to blush and shuffle his feet when we went past the bar. “When you order me to, I will.”

Christ, this dragon was going to kill me.

A burst of childish laughter echoed through the dimly lit bar, followed by a joyful cry of "Mama!" The customers didn’t even look up from their drinks to watch the small figure darting through the small group of bikers, who stood with beers in their hands.

Luis, with his mop of dark hair and bright smile, came bounding toward me at full speed. I had to prepare myself for the battering ram that was about to knock me over.

I let go of Anaki’s hand to try and grab him, but it was Anaki who scooped him up and held him to my height on his arm. “Hey there, we don’t need to hurt Mama’s back, do we?”

Luis shook his head and smiled. “Wow, we’re high!”

I pressed a kiss to Luis’ cheek. “I was going to come to the cabin soon. Why are you here?”

Ignoring me completely, too absorbed in Anaki’s attention, Luis petted Anaki’s cheek. “Look, dragon, uh…, what is the word, Mama?”

I leaned over to see what Luis was pointing at on Anaki’s face, and I saw light blue, shimmering scales near his ears. His ears were also pointed, as they were last night when Emm left the bar. “Your ears. They are pointed and have scales on them.”

“ Scales ,” Luis repeated. “Muy bonito. I want to have scales.”

Anaki rubbed his fingers against them, then grabbed Luis’ wrist. “Here, want to touch them?” He grabbed two of Luis’ fingers and had him rub them on the scales. “These are impenetrable. That means bullets can’t get in, and I can reflect magic.”

Luis’ eyes grew wide. “You mean Tajah and Bram can’t use magic on you? Ever?”

Anaki chuckled. “They can when I am like this.” He waved his hand down his body. “If I concentrate hard enough and pay attention, I can absorb less harmful magic. When I am in my dragon form, no magic can touch me.”

“Wow, so cool.”

Anaki chuckled. “It is. Just wait until I can fully shift, we can go swimming in the lake this summer.”

“Yes!” Luis fist-pumped the air.

Abuela stepped out of the hallway where Anaki and I had escaped last night.

Her large bag hung on her arm. It probably held her crystals and those cursed mushrooms. Beretta was beside her, with her hand on her shoulder.

“There she is. We weren’t expecting you for at least a few days.

Why are you here?” Abuela narrowed her eyes at me.

Anaki stood up straight and wrapped his arm around me, still holding Luis. “Elena said she felt cold before I took her on a walk. I wanted to make sure she was alright.”

“I’m fine.” I nudged him. “He’s being a little overprotective.”

Abuela’s wrinkles around her eyes deepened when she smiled. “Good. He needs to be. Bones is busy, but Nadia is upstairs in the clinic.”

Anaki cocked his head. “Bones? Busy? He’s never busy.”

Beretta shook her head. “Best not ask questions, Anaki. It's tense between him and Locke right now.”

Anaki pursed his lips and nodded. “That’s not what I need. We’ll go see Nadia then. Luis, you wanna come?”

Warmth filled me because Anaki wanted to include Luis. Then again, this was Anaki we were talking about.

Luis shook his head. “Nope, we are going to Tajah’s shop. She’s got witchy stuff in there, and I get to finally meet a warlock!”

Beretta half-laughed, half-purred and pulled Luis from Anaki’s arms. Her golden cat eyes twinkled. “Don’t worry, we will take good care of him. Have fun, you two.”

As Luis waved and blew me a kiss, his smile stretched from ear to ear, radiating pure joy. Beretta’s footsteps were light and carefree as she walked him to the door.

Abuela, on the other hand, moved slowly and deliberately, her gaze lingering on each of us before she passed by with a gentle touch on my shoulder. I leaned into her warmth, comforted by her presence. Even if she was crazy, she was familiar.

When I opened my mouth to ask if soul mates were truly real, she quickly shut it with her hand.

“Yes, mija.” She snickered and laughed. She laughed and laughed until she cackled and strode out the door like a crazed lunatic.

“I missed that. What just happened?” Anaki asked.

I sighed dramatically and shook my head. “I should have put her in a home.”