Page 30 of The Dragon's Gambit

“Do you think you’re superior to me?” Reiya smirked at Clovis. “The idea that you’re superior when you aren’t even stronger than me is ridiculous.” Reiya grinned at the man, whose mouth dropped in shock.

“St-st-stronger than me?!” Clovis gasped in outrage.

“Exponentially,” Reiya answered with conviction.

“You’re quite sure of yourself.” Clovis, confronted by her confidence, felt as if he were being flung backward. There was little room to doubt this girl was a real leader, and that disgusted him.

“You wouldn’t even make me break a sweat.” Reiya sighed in disinterest and then looked back at Xander, who was grinning with pride. “It’s nice to let your people speak freely. However, I think there’s a fine line between speaking freely and disrespect. Anyway, I’m bored with this.” Reiya waved her hand at Clovis and walked back down the hall, her insides swirling in rapidmotion. She heard swift footsteps behind her and felt the familiar strong arm of Brody wrap around her.

“That was amazing. Awesome job, Reiya.” Brody spoke lowly as they continued to put distance between them.

“What the hell is going on here?” Reiya furrowed her brows and shook her head. She felt like she was being used as a toy to break tradition. She didn’t mind helping break the backward mindset, but she was afraid of the rabbit hole she might be forced to go down for it. She wasn’t about to be forced into being a dragon’s mate. This was all just for show, right? She looked up to see her mother and Grandpa Sage making their way toward them.

“Grandpa Sage, you may want to get down to the end of the hall. A guy named Clovis seems to be stirring up trouble.” Reiya watched his unreadable eyes as he nodded in acknowledgment. She watched the older man walk down the hall. Who was this Clovis guy that he was able to aggravate everyone so easily? It had to be deeper than just Xander's father’s friend’s son.

“Reiya? Are you alright?” Lita looked her daughter over, noting how flustered and confused she seemed.

“I feel like I’m getting thrown into a game and I don’t know the rules or the object of it.” Reiya sighed and glanced backward toward the nothingness down the hall. “Everyone knows things I don’t.” She spun her head back and looked at her mother.

“I know the feeling, Reiya. I’ve been there before, on my own journey. Just remember, some things you have to discover for yourself, in your own time. When you find things out too early, it ruins your own growth.” Lita smiled at her in understanding. She felt like almost everyone knew about her being the fairy princess before she knew. Sometimes it was best to let the truth get discovered when it was meant to. “Don’t worry, Reiya. You have a group of good people here. I feel comfortable leaving you in their capable hands. In fact, they’re not the ones Iworry about. It’s you.” Lita smiled at her and raised her eyes accusingly. “It’s you and your own ability to get into trouble.”

Reiya grinned and shrugged. “I guess I take after my mother in that aspect.” The two ladies giggled together, and Brody sighed.

“This only means more trouble for me,” Brody grunted.

“Oh, you know you love it, Brody.” Reiya teased, poking his chest.

“As much as I love a paper cut.” Brody folded his arms and snorted.

“Reiya, I have to get back. But as you saw, you can always reach me quickly.” Lita gave her daughter a sad smile. She might be in capable hands, but leaving her baby here was still hard.

Reiya walked up and hugged her mother tightly. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll change the future. It will be bright.”

“I never doubted that you would.” Lita hugged her daughter back tightly. “Come on and walk me out.”

“Hopefully they’re done quarreling now.” Brody grinned and looked down the hall. They had to pass through there in order to leave.

Chapter 20 Silenced Wolf

Reiya could see Grandpa Sage, Reese, Xander, and Lee all standing around talking. The talking quickly hushed as they drew closer, and she could see that Lee was clearly agitated.

Xander looked back at Reiya and smiled. “You should have seen her, Gramps. I thought Clovis was going to pee his pants when Reiya confronted him.”

“Good girl, Reiya. You have to be assertive here.” Grandpa Sage nodded with an approving smile.

Reiya looked between the men, to Lee, and back to Xander. She felt confused and almost played with. The more she thought about it, the more irritated she felt. She didn’t mind playful flirting, but she almost felt a bit emotionally violated. She wasn’t a toy, or part of a game. Xander's lips were almost on her marking spot, searing with his hot breath. A low growl ripped through her mind, then silence. That was when the throbbing started. Deep, pounding pains beat in her head, as if her wolf was clawing her way out. She reached up, grabbed her head, and flung herself backward into the wall to steady herself.

“Reiya!” Lita yelled as Brody embraced her to try to alleviate the pain, but he couldn’t. It was like there was an inner wall there, preventing him from helping her.

“I can’t reach it. Something is blocking me.” Brody looked at his mother with concern.

WAIT, calm yourself. Not yet,a woman’s firm voice commanded in her head. In that instant, everything was silent. The pain stopped. Reiya let out a shuddering breath. She opened her eyes and looked out over the concerned sets of eyes. This was getting annoying. What the hell? What the hell was that? Whose voice commanded HER wolf to stop from coming forward? Why was she always the one feeling like she was on display at the freak show? All eyes were on her, no one understanding or knowing what she was going through.

“I’m alright. It’s passed.” Reiya smiled. She wanted them to quit looking at her with concern. She wasn’t a little girl who wanted their sympathy.

Reiya, sweetie … don’t shut down on me.

Reiya’s eyes shot over to meet with the glowing emerald ones beside her. If anyone could understand what it was like, it was her mother. Her mother spent her whole life feeling like she was a freak.