Chapter 1 - Draco

“What? Are you insane?!”

The accusation rolls off my tongue, doused in disbelief and mortification. Around me, the gathering of other dragon-shifters witness the puff of gray smoke escaping my lips.

It barely comes as a surprise for our species. To become so vexed that the remnants of fire whiff out from our human lips. Still, my outburst sends disruption and unease around the hall in the form of shocked gasps.

Especially my father, who clears his throat and throws daggers at me with his firm glare.

“Draco Vulkan…” he addresses me with the distinct supremacy only an Alpha Dragon possesses. Even if the torch had been passed to me two years ago, it’s a dominant power my father still wields.

“This has already been decided,” Father says sternly, glancing at the other members of the Dragon Council. Each of them nods before turning their attention back to me.

The commanding force of four Dragon Council members is no match for the Alpha of the Aurora Dragons. My fate has been decided, and I can only sit by idly and listen to this absurdity.

“It’s a known fact that the population of dragons suffers tremendously,” Nova, the representative from the Fire Force clan of dragons in the Australian corner of the Earth, adds. As a Council member, he’s an ex-alpha like my father.

“And in recent times, we haven’t had dragonspirit children bless our lands,” he continues. “Our Alphas cannot choose mates for themselves. As the Council, it leaves us no choice.”

A trickle of irritation courses down my spine. It settles in the pit of my belly, then fires up like bile in my throat.

The thought of having a mate picked by the Council is daunting. Only because I have one option.

“No offense…” I sneer as I look around the room. Thankfully, the gathering only consists of my immediate family. Not other members of the Aurora Dragons—the clan of dragons I’ve been leading for two years. Still, the confused faces of my siblings spur me on.

They all know I can’t be forced into a corner like this.

“ I can’t accept your choice for a mate. Skarlett cannot—”

“It’s not Skarlett who we’ve picked for you,” Father interjects. “We have decided to rely on an ancient tradition.”

“An ancient tradition?” I frown. Relieved that I don’t have to mate with the only female in my age bracket, I’m calmer now.

“Yes,” Zark, the Blaze Legion Council member, nods. “In ancient times, our forefathers mated with human females who bore dragonspirit children for them.”

My ears begin thumping with a deafening ringing sound. As soon as Zark has given this explanation, I’m hauled into even greater incredulity.

Shaking my head, I rise to my feet. All I see is red, angrily shrugging away the hand that attempts to soothe me.

“Draco…” comes Mother’s lilting voice. But it’s a distant echo in my eardrums, and I cannot see past the rage.

“You’re all crazy!” I roar, a pointed finger of condemnation accusing the Dragon Council members. “Humans?” I spit distastefully as if the word is bitter on my tongue. “Have you lost your minds?”

Hushed chatter behind me only fuels the anger inside. Unable to bear this mockery of a meeting any longer, I kick my chair over with the back of my heel. Storming out through the large double doors of the hall, I clench my fists and invoke the dragonspirit inside me.

With wings as broad as the very doors that kept me closed inside, I lift my paws off the ground. I flap my wings and get as far away from the Council as possible.

Human mates?

The notion is ridiculous; the idea is purged when I breathe out a cloud of fire. Still, the thought lingers as Father’s words cross my mind.

“You have to produce children, Draco. It’s the only way to protect our legacy. So that the Aurora Dragons can remain guardians of Earth.”

The weight of responsibility hangs heavy on my shoulders. Even as I fly up to the peak of the dome that surrounds the island, it’s almost as if my dragon paws are shackled with leaded weights. From up here, the island appears peaceful with its vivid colors and rich vegetation.

Things I could never truly appreciate. Unlike my siblings, I haven’t had the pleasure of the small things. As Dedrik Vulkan’s eldest child, I’ve had to shoulder the burden of duties to the clan from an early age.

It’s something that will never change.

I know it’s my destiny, but I refuse to accept this fate.

As if in response to my diffidence, a bolt of lightning rips through the sky. A thrashing from the Heavens itself, my wings shield me like an apologetic child. With one eye, I peep through the veil of my webbed wings at the castle. Nestled between the forestry, its where the Dragon Council and my family members are gathered.

I take one last look up at the sky as the clouds open up, preparing to pour down blessings. Ive never been one to question my fate before. Not in the thousand-and-two years that Ive been breathing.

But as a dragon-shifter, I have to question if this is right. Were meant to be guardians of the world. Protectors of the human race, standing by until were needed.

The frail creation of the human race cannot carry a dragonspirit baby. Its impossible. But I cant ignore the signs as the thunderstorm rages above me.

With my heart sinking, I glide down toward the castle. When my paws touch the ground, I reclaim my human-form and take a deep breath.

When I enter the hall, I find that the gathering is still present. My sister, Kairo, rushes forward.

“Draco.” she sighs with relief, her voice only loud enough for the two of us. “Are you alright?”

“Im fine, Sister,” I assure her with a nod as I peek over her head. The Council members appear terse and stiff, awaiting my arrival. I turn back to Kairo, whose brows remain knitted tightly.

“Have you decided?” she asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. Its the same hand from before.

This time, I dont shrug her away. I welcome the comfort she offers as I stare blankly ahead. “I have.”

Kairo inhales haggardly as she steps aside. Marching to the rounded table where the Council members are seated, my fists remain clenched on my sides.

“Ill do it,” I relent, my voice flat and void of any emotion. If this is what the Heavens want for me, its what I will have to accept. “Ill accept the human mate.”

The four Council members exchange concerned glances. Its my father who rises, offering me a stiff smile.

“Youve made the right choice, Draco,” he praises with a curt nod. “The dragon-shifter race will be preserved because of this.”

“What if the human cannot handle a dragonspirit child?” I ask speculatively.

Nimbus, the representative from the African corner, stands up. He produces a white cube and sets it on the table. Not larger than my palm, it appears dull and lifeless. Until he taps the top square of the cube.

From each side of the small box, light emerges in the colors of the rainbow. It spreads out around the table, shedding light in the center of the room.

At the top of the cube, a brilliant white light extends to the ceiling. And when Nimbus reaches his hand into that light, a keyboard appears in the air.

With a tap of a few keys, a translucent screen materializes, projected by the light.

“Thanks to technological advances in the dragon world, were able to hand-pick a suitable mate amongst the humans,” Nimbus explains. While he speaks, the screen flashes with images of human faces from all walks of life. “Using the dragons unique DNA, well screen the humans until a match is found.”

“Has this been done before?” I ask as I frown at the screen. The more human faces I see, the less I feel like this will work.

“You will be the first of our kind to try out this method,” Father reveals. “But the human that will be chosen will become immortal.”

“So shell become like us, then?”

Father shakes his head. “Not a dragon-shifter. But immortality through mating will occur.”

“Only if the dragons seed is successfully planted through mating,” Nimbus adds. “There is a possibility that immortality may not take effect.”

Again, another heavy burden sets its weight on my shoulders. Its only the sounds of the powerful skies that spur me on. If this is my fate, I have no choice.

“Begin the process,” I tell my father as I sigh with a heavy heart. “Find me a suitable human to bear my children.”

The adoption of the idea is only because of my duties to my clan. The Aurora Dragons havent been blessed with a dragonspirit child in almost a millennia. I know its my parents’ wish to see me carry the legacy of the Vulkans.

And its a duty Ive been born to carry out.

Having left the grand hall, Ive taken to my quarters upstairs. Staring forlornly through the window, Im fixated on the dome that shelters Aurora Island from the outside world. A dome that protects our species from the human world so they do not know of our existence.

Its silvery glow casts a veil around the perimeter, further than the eye can see. A human eye, of course. The dragon eye truly sees the illumination of tiny silvery specks that make up the protective layer.

Beyond the shielding dome is the human world. A world governed by nine-to-fives and measly technology. A world where mortality is the only certainty.

Its curiosity that sparks my urge to see further than that dome. Ive done it before when the novelty of the human world still piqued my interest.

A novelty that died out many decades ago. Walking amongst the human race was exciting as long as I didnt have to mingle.

Its a new sense of duty that has me closing my eyes and reaching out one hand. Wielding the power I possess as the Alpha of the dragon clan, I can see through the dome.

Behind my eyelids, I project the world through the palm of my hand. I see a city—one I recognize as Seattle. The buildings, the streets…

Id been there before.

Unsure why my powers have brought me here, I navigate my vision to the citys outskirts. Nearing the forest just as the sun sets behind the trees.

The setting sun creates an eerie darkness around my vision. Straining my gaze with a frown, I notice two flickers of light up ahead. Following those lights, I near the ingress of the woods to find a pair of eyes staring at me.

The face those eyes belong to is unclear. Just a silhouette and nothing more than deep, brown depths. Full of fiery passion, those eyes condemn me. Judge me. Theyre so powerful that Im jolted from the vision, eyes opening to my reality. Ive never felt uneasy before.

But whoever those eyes belong to, I know it cant be a good sign. A bad omen—a human mate cannot carry any child of mine.