Page 15 of Not an Assistant (Tales of the Dreggageggon #4)

Ten Years Later

Zahara

I still remember the first time I smelled his scent. Powerful and terrifying. I didn’t know then what he was to me or what I would become because of him. But now, I can’t imagine breathing without it.

The world has changed.

Ten years ago, female dragons were fairy tales with only a few us presenting. We were dangerous myths tucked beneath layers of shame and silence. But now, the first female dragons have come together to build the future.

We find omegas before they present. We mentor them. We protect them. We help them find their path in the world without being taken advantage of by power-hungry Alphas. We offer them a future.

Acheron and I established the Phoenix Circle five years after we bonded. It’s a nonprofit for girls and women who, like me, never knew what lived inside them—until it tore its way out.

We give them shelter. We give them the tools they need to become what fate intended. We give them freedom.

They call me The High Flame. I didn’t choose it and for a long time I actually fought against it, but I’ve learned to live with it. Because when they see me, when they see us, they see what’s possible. And that’s everything.

Now, I work beside my mate every day. Not as his assistant anymore but as his partner.

I still catch him staring at me in board meetings like he’s forgotten where we are. Like we’re still alone in that office. Like the whole world disappeared the moment I walked in.

It hasn’t changed. Not even a little. He’s still the dragon no one dares to cross. Still brutal. Still feared. Still deadly. But with me he’s soft. But only for me.

And we travel often, seeing the world like I’ve always wanted to. The company runs itself when it needs to. Our presence is felt in every major city now. But we’ve learned to make time for what matters.

Sunrises over Greek islands.

Night flights over the Sahara.

Our twining fire lighting up the sky over Tokyo while his midnight wings circle mine like a vow renewed.

The world belongs to us. But we belong only to each other.

Today he watches me now from across the garden courtyard, his hair longer and streaked with silver at the temples, but his golden eyes still as sharp as they were the first day they locked with mine. He’s on a call, dressed in black, barefoot in the grass because I like it that way.

He catches me looking and raises a single brow with a smile. That rare, private smile that still flips my stomach and weakens my knees. He ends his call and crosses the distance in three strides, cups my face like it’s the only thing anchoring him to the ground.

“I’m still obsessed with you, you know.”

I laugh, leaning into his touch. “Good. Because I’m still not letting you go.”

He kisses me like I’m the only thing that matters. Because to him, I am, and it never ceases to amaze me. Ten years ago, I was a cleaner on the executive floor.

Now, I am queen to a dragon. Mother to a rising legacy. Protector of every girl who learns her fire isn’t something to fear. And the mate to the only creature alive who has ever truly seen me.

The rest of the world can burn, as long as we’re together.

I’ll rise from the ashes every time.

The End