Page 39

Chapter Twenty-Six

Anaki

L ayers upon layers of blankets cocooned her, each wrapped snugly around her like a protective shell. Our serpentine form coiled gently around her, providing an added layer of warmth. Only her head peeked out from the swaddle, her hair cascaded over our body like a waterfall of silk.

How our body twisted and turned around her reminded me of a cat. What exactly were we made of? A solid? A liquid? We could bend and fold in the weirdest of ways, and this was the first time I really saw what our body could do without worrying myself sick about my animal hunting or hurting her.

Once he caught her, I thought it was over, that he would claim her, but he swore he wouldn’t when he caught her scent of fear. Her fear set him straight. Thank the goddess for that, because trying to force myself back in control of the body for so long exhausted me.

I passed out from screaming shortly after he caught her. When I awoke I found ourselves staring down at her in awe. She was covered in our scent from our fucking seed. I was ready to bang our head into the wall, for what all this could mean.

I sighed, and my dragon let out a deep, resonant chuckle that vibrated through the tent. With a gentle nudge of his massive snout, he prodded Elena, who responded with a groan, retreating further into our body.

“What did you do?” I asked in annoyance.

She was absolutely exhausted, that much was for sure. Her eyes appeared glued shut. Not even an earthquake could wake this woman.

“I cleaned and tucked her into bed. I don’t know what you mean.”

“She smells like our seed. Don’t tell me… ” I rummaged through our mind. What he could see, I could see. Our memories were one and when I dug through them I saw how he fucked her with our tail, he jacked off our cocks and tongued her mouth like a damn animal.

If I had cheeks to flush with embarrassment, they would. The things he said to her, the vile things he did to her. And she liked it.

Elena's head was thrown back. She welcomed our tongue slurping down her body. Was she okay with all of it?

“She loved every minute of it. I suggest you stop coddling her like a tiny human and have your way with her before I claim her for myself. As you see, she wants us as much as we want her.”

She wanted to be claimed. Elena wanted us both.

I just needed to tell her—

Quiet footsteps echoed ominously from outside the cave, growing louder and more distinct with each passing moment. Our hearts shift from a quiet lull to racing with anticipation.

It wasn’t an animal, since the footsteps were too hard, and they wanted to be heard. The deliberate approach of two separate sets of footsteps steadily advanced towards our territory. Our heads snapped up, eyes wide with alertness, nostrils flared to catch any hint of their scent .

My dragon instantly went into defense mode, puffed up our neck, and made us appear larger.

Realization dawned on me who they could be. I hadn’t had my phone on me in nearly a day, and I should have updates by now. “It's the club,” I said quickly. “They mean no harm.”

My dragon emitted a fierce, guttural snarl and coiled even tighter around Elena, his scales pressed tightly around us with protective intensity. He had no intention of rising; his sole focus was on keeping Elena shielded and concealed from the impending threat of whoever dared to approach.

Seriously?!

He continued to take in the air. The steps came in, louder under the stones of the cave. “Anaki?” The voice was deeper, and immediately I knew who it was, but why was he here?

“Why is this idiot here?” my dragon mumbled, repeating my question. “A shifter should know to remain outside of another’s territory with an unclaimed female.”

“Bones’ is smart, and he wouldn’t come without a reason. He’s probably worried. You know the club keeps tabs on people. The way he worries, I’m sure he thought we went rabid and Elena was dead somewhere.”

My dragon hissed in annoyance, and his claws pierced the mattress.

Another scent assaulted my nose, soot and ash, and I cringed inwardly at what this could mean.

Sizzle.

Another dragon, another species of dragon entering our territory, was even worse. Sizzle isn’t one to care, and with him not having his dragon awakened, thought it would be a good idea to come.

It’s not. He wanted to die.

My dragon let out another snarl when both of the men pushed the flaps open without a word and came inside. “Holy fucking shit!” Bones stepped back, the flap hitting him in the face. “There is a damn dragon in here!”

Sizzle scoffed. “Duh, man.”

He dragged the cigarette from his lips, its glowing ember casting a faint red light.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent it spiraling to the ground, where it landed with a faint hiss.

The sound of his boot scraping against the rough stone echoed softly as he ground the still-smoking stub beneath his heel, extinguishing it completely.

“You knew Anaki was a dragon. Did you not think he would actually shift?”

Bones adjusted his cut, the leather jacket that bore the club's insignia, and ran his hand through his hair.

Each time I saw him, the contrast of dark grays and stark whites threaded through his once jet-black locks seemed more pronounced.

It was as if the weight of each day that passed pressed more heavily on him than on anyone else at the club.

Though not the oldest among us, the lines etched into his face and the weariness in his eyes suggested a life of nothing but stress and heartache.

But we all had that. We must show our souls differently on the outside.

“Why are you here?” My dragon puffed up the fins on our back. “Anaki is not present, and you are strangers to me in my territory. My female sleeps. That is the only reason I have spared you.

Sizzle sidled over to the edge of the dimly lit cave, where an old antique desk stood.

He carefully picked up a delicate quill, its feather slightly frayed at the edges, and examined it for a moment, the ink glistening on its tip.

With a gentle motion, he returned the quill to the glass container filled with rich, deep black ink.

“Oh, so scary.” Sizzle raised his hands in surrender. “Gonna get eaten by the big bad water dragon. Not.” He pulled another cigarette from his cut pocket.

My dragon sneered and pulled one leg from being wrapped around Elena, as if he prepared to strike .

“Truth is, you don’t want to wake up Sleeping Beauty, right there.

” Sizzle pointed the cigarette toward Elena, who was in too deep of a sleep for any conversation.

“You know we aren’t a threat because you can feel Anaki’s calmness while we are here.

He knows we mean no harm. That’s why you haven’t attacked.

I had my dragon a long time before I was rejected.

So don’t give me this, ‘I’m gonna eat you’ shit.

It would hurt Anaki and, in turn, hurt yourself. ”

Wow, I guess Sizzle did have a plan walking in here.

Sizzle took out his lighter and flicked the metal piece to light the spark. Once it lit, he took in a deep, long puff. “Fuck, that's good. Alright, Bones. After you, man.” He waved his hand in front of Bones, who was still staring at us in awe.

“Yeah, uh.” Bones cleared his throat. “Right. We have been trying to get ahold of you since yesterday afternoon. The fae saw you running through the forest, knocking over their trees. They spent most of the night putting them back up.”

My dragon opened and closed his mouth in a mocking tone. “My mate ran, and I will fetch her when I please. Are the fae that upset about doing their job?” Our nose buried back into Elena’s hair. He used it as a calming scent to keep his heart from racing and lashing out again.

Sizzle gave a look of disgust and sneered.

“That isn’t all,” Bones said. “Abuela, who is a brilliant woman by the way, also would like Elena to get checked out since… uh, well.” Bones rubbed the back of his neck. “Since you chased her naked… through the woods all day yesterday. That can trigger her disease from being so stressed.”

Our fins unfurled fast along the length of our arms and tail. They may have looked delicate, but they were sharp as blades. As they expanded, our neck elongated, stretching upward with a fluid elegance, making us appear taller and more majestic.

“Are you saying I do not take care of my female?” Our scaled lips pulled back to show off our menacing teeth.

“You’ve done it now.” Sizzle shook his head. “Now you have a pissed off a lycan and a dragon. You can’t win at all, these past two weeks.” Sizzle shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the cave wall.

“I am not doing anything!” Bones took the cross-over bag that hung over his body.

It fell to the ground with a thump. “I am doing my damn job. I am looking out for a bunch of idiots who can’t take care of themselves!

Yeah, I do things behind your backs, but it is because you all want to damn die!

And you!” Bones pointed to Sizzle and marched toward him.

He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it to the ground.

“You are going to ruin your lungs. You will die before you even get your mate.”

Sizzle seethed. “I don’t want one.”

Bones rolled his eyes. I don’t want one .

’ He mocked and bobbed his head back and forth.

“Fuck off. We all want one. I sped up Locke’s healing to help the club.

The only side effects he had to deal with were his memories hitting him like a freight train.

I do things for others to help because if I don’t… people die!”

Bones' face flushed a deep crimson, matching the vivid hue of the extra blankets neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Each breath he took was labored and heavy, his chest rising and falling with the effort. The veins in his neck stood out prominently, thick and pulsing.

Bones leaned forward to Sizzle and whispered, “If I don’t take care of the club, who will?

Huh? Locke’s a damn psycho. No one knows what he’s gonna do next, what warehouse he’s gonna lead his men into.

” Bones stepped away and circled around Sizzle.

“Who gets blamed for people getting hurt when things fail? I do. You may not give a shit about our life, but I do. I care about everyone in this club. Does it get noticed?” Bones shook his head.

“Nah, man. It doesn’t. You guys only care when you don’t heal according to plan.

May it be too much steroids for Locke to get him better or telling someone you are too far gone for this mission, but go anyway !

” He glared our way. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. ”

Bones stepped away from Sizzle, a look of indifference on his face.

Bones shook his head and ran his hand down his face to pull at his beard. His face returned to his normal color after a long moment of silence.

“Alright, Anaki’s dragon,” Bones scoffed and calmed himself.

“I can ask you questions about Elena. I won’t touch her.

It would make me feel better if I did. If you don’t want to let me, and be an ass, that’s fine, too.

I’ll go on with my day. I ain’t fighting a fucking water lizard.

” Bones crossed his arms and leaned on one foot, waiting for a reply.

I tried to force myself through, to talk to Bones. I’d always liked him, never had a problem. Some of the stuff he did I found questionable, but he had the right intentions. With the speech he’d given, I think I liked him ten times more.

My dragon laid our fins down close to our body and stared down at our mate.

“What questions do you have, wolf? I will also answer questions about my species, as well, if you care to know for the future.”

Well, color my shit pink.

Bones’ face softened, and his lips parted. “You’d do that? Why?”

“Because Anaki holds great regard for you. Dare I say, part of the heart that beats for this future pack.”

Out of our peripheral, Sizzle stared at us until he took backward steps out of the tent and to the entrance outside where he waited. We could still hear his heartbeat as he wasn’t far.

Bones’ shoulders relaxed, and he lowered his body and opened his bag to retrieve his tablet. “Okay, just a few, I won’t keep you from your mate. She appears pretty tired.”