Chapter 13 - Draco

Pausing in the hallway, I let out the breath I didnt even know Id been keeping in.

I finally told her the truth.

Its not exactly how I planned on telling her. But then again, I didnt have much of a plan.

I suppose being threatened with a kitchen utensil does that to a man. Instinctively, I needed to get that off my chest, even if it makes me feel regretful now.

I glance over my shoulder, staring forlornly at the door. A tiny part of me wants to go back inside and clear the air between us. Though Im not even sure why I feel that way.

Its disdain for the human race I should be feeling. Not humility toward the human chosen as my mate. Its not like shes fit to carry my children.

Huffing as I turn back to the hallway, I march down toward the elevators. Throwing myself into clan duties seems fitting. Even if I cant get Lily off my mind the moment I step into the confined elevator.

“Brother! There you are!” Im greeted by Felix as soon as the lift doors open up on the ground floor. Behind him, the Vulkan siblings stay gathered at the centerpiece vase.

“Is something wrong?” I ask with a frown as I step out of the lift, glancing at each of them suspiciously.

“No,” Felix shakes his head. “But we did as you instructed. We have a training session planned for tonight.”

“Good,” I praise, thankful for the distraction. “Wheres Kai?”

“Over here!” my sister calls from the fireplace as she gets to her feet from the chaise lounge. “How is she?”

Grunting when I feel my siblings eyes boring into me, I throw Kairo a contemptuous glare. She gulps in recognition of my derision, succinctly coming forward.

“Sorry,” she grimaces. “We all know you went to see her.”

Snarling under my breath, I can hear the footsteps of the others leaving the lobby. When its silent, I look down into my sisters face.

“Shell be fine.” I clear my throat with much discomfort. “Youre allowed to see her again. Just ensure that—”

“I lock the door behind me?” Kairo interjects with a hint of sarcasm that threatens to rile me up. “Yeah. Got it.”

When Kairo doesnt immediately take the elevator to go upstairs, I frown after her when she instead heads out.

“Where are you going, Kai?”

She stops to turn around with her reply. “Im joining training.” Kairo flicks her hair over her shoulder as she looks back at the front door. “If theres any threat to Lily, Ill do what I can to protect her.”

With that, my sister leaves, leaving me gaping at her in wonder, realizing how protective shes become of my mate.

My mate.

Who I should be feeling protective over. Its the natural impulse of an Alpha toward his mate.

If things werent so complicated.

Yet, my sister sees no difference between a dragon and a human. Her natural instinct to protect family has surpassed uncharted boundaries. Extending to the human female kept prisoner in her bedroom. Like the damsel in distress locked in the castle, the fire-breathing dragon guards the outside. Offering her safety.

An offering I am compelled to make. Even if it goes against my personal preferences. Even if my logical mind warms me against it. Ive always trusted my mind when it came to making decisions.

And its not like my first choice was a human mate. Though I dont have many options, I was leaning toward never having children.

No legacy would be detrimental to the state of the Aurora Dragons. And I was willing to give up my position as Alpha to my brother, Felix.

What pushes me toward accepting a human mate is whats standing in the center of the arena.

Or rather, who.

Its Skarlett Amell.

“For fucks sake…” I grunt, turning to the twins behind me. “Stryk, Stryd, you guys take the lead on the first round.” I turn to Aragon. “Can you keep an eye on her?”

Aragon nods because he knows exactly why I made the request. Hes the closest one in age to Skarlett, and has always been the one to keep an eye on her. From her youthful years, shed embark on some sort of mischief to grab my attention.

All of the dragon kingdom knows about her antics. About her vying for my unwavering attention.

Having Aragon watch her closely, therell be a smaller chance of crossing paths.

“Shes fallen to the back of the line, Alpha,” comes Aragons voice into my mind through the telepathic link. “Shes gonna wait for you.”

“Deal. With. It,” I grate through gritted teeth, punctuating each word.

Its bad enough that Skarlett has once again volunteered for training. Worse, she hasnt given up on vying for my attention.

Its been annoying since the beginning of time. And Id rather not be in her space.

“Dont worry, Brother,” Kairo steps forward beside me. “Ill deal with her.”

My chest swells with pride at my sisters gallant behavior. I feel that very same protection pulse deep in my core.

Soul deep.

All because Id slept with the human.

When the twins complete their rounds with the soldiers their age, up next is Aragon. Followed by Felix. The female warriors are only a handful—eight to be exact. With four rounds of sparring, my sister is last. Shes about to face Skarlett.

The winner of this round takes the Alpha on. And Im in no mood to spar with Skarlett.

Trusting in my sister to claim victory against Skarlett, I turn around to ask Aidan—a male in Stryders group—to grab me a sword.

It will be fun sparring in human form with Kairo. Shes a warrior princess when she wields a katana. Smiling, I turn back to the ring only to witness Kairo stumble on a dodge, losing her composure. She tumbles down, giving Skarlett an advantage, which she seizes. She exhales a whiff of smoke powerful enough to knock Kairo.

My sisters tail skids on the ground, ending their round.

“Skarlett takes the next round,” Felix announces mentally in a reproachful tone.

Huffing a breath of frustration, I refuse the weapon Aidan brings over and invoke the dragon instead.

A human fight with my sister would have been fun. But in dragon form, I can get this over and done with as quickly as possible.

“Hello, Alpha,” Skarlett greets, her mental voice oozing unwarranted sensuality.

It churns my stomach, and the dragon inside me becomes impatient.

I need to finish this now.

“Wont you greet me, Draco?” Skarlett presses. All it takes is one look around to notice that she hasnt contained her voice to just her and me.

Shes pointedly letting the others in. For the sake of having all eyes on her. Attention seeker…

“Not now, Skarlett.” My warning is strictly for her ears alone. The ability to communicate mentally with selective focus is something we’re all able to do.

Something which Skarlett is purposely not doing right now.

“It’s Alpha Draco to you,” I remind her with narrowed dragon eyes. “Now, let’s get back to training.”

Skarlett pauses, probably digesting the instruction as it bitterly courses through her mind. It’s a never-ending game with the female dragon—the daughter of one of Father’s closest friends.

I rise into the air, taking a deep breath to prepare the flames of my fire. It winds inside, igniting within my core. And I build up enough force to extinguish Skarlett’s hopes of winning against me.

Whether or not her ploy is to distract me with her unfazed charms, it doesn’t work. All it takes is one puff of hot breath to throw her off course. She plummets to the ground, the tip of her tail touching the ground.

And just like that, she’s out of this round.

“Next,” I call out to the entire group, staring expectantly at Skarlett to vacate the ring.

She huffs ferociously as she picks herself up, taking on human form in the pit. She purposely tosses the long tendrils of blazing red hair over her shoulder and stares up at me through hooded eyes, saying, “Nice one, Alpha Draco. Until we meet again in the arena.”

This time, her mind link is only shared with me. Her point is made when she saunters out of the ring with calculated steps.

All of which has no effect on me apart from infuriating me at the core. My mind goes to Lily then—the human girl to who I’m destined to be mated. And somehow, I’m grateful for her even if I haven’t accepted her yet.

Satisfied with today’s training, I relieve the group of dragon soldiers and thank them for their efforts. The day draws to an end when I’m the only one left in the arena; the stillness of the open expanse gives me some time alone to think about my current disposition.

Lily Turner.

If anyone told me a week ago that I’d be wallowing in self-loathing because of a human, I would have called them crazy. My whole life, I’d spent believing that they were weak creatures. Built solely for the purpose of self-destruction, needing the help of the dragonspirit race to step in when we were needed.

To aid them in wars and outside threats. That’s been the cycle of both our existences for millennia.

Now, we’re meant to breed with them. Though I cannot see how Lily will be able to carry my offspring, I can’t help but wonder if the fighter’s spirit I glimpsed in her is enough to permit the hand of immortality to hold her heart.

If it doesn’t work, and her body rejects immortality, she’ll never be able to carry to full-term. It would kill her.

So much for the Cube of Knowledge’s plethora of impeccable information, there was one thing it couldn’t guarantee—if the human would become immortal when she becomes pregnant.

It’s something I’ll never know for sure. Not unless she’s pregnant. What happened last night isn’t nearly enough to conceive. After all, my mind hadn’t been set on conception.

It’d been somewhere else. A place I refuse to go to right now. With that denial, I head back to the castle.

“Draco.” Mother smiles warmly at me when I enter the dining room. The used dinner plates on the table indicate that dinner was already had. Only my mother remains seated on her designated chair, polishing off Father’s leftover bits of meat around the bone.

“Hello, Mother,” I greet her as I sit at the foot of the table. Though I don’t have much of an appetite, I need to refuel the dragonspirit, so I pile my plate with two generous helpings of T-bone steaks.

“I heard all about today’s training,” Mother titters.

“The Vulkan family leaves no stone unturned, I’m sure,” I chuckle.

Mother shakes her head, a giggle playing on her lips. “Of course not,” she concedes joyfully. “I heard Skarlett was up to her antics again.”

“When is she not?” I quip dryly.

“It doesn’t bother you?”

I look up from my meal to find Mother gazing at me with peculiar interest. Frowning, I shake my head. “Still as uninterested as ever.”

My mother accepts this with a nod, turning her face to the table as she toys with her fork. “Does the human girl have anything to do with it?”

When I don’t immediately reply, Mother looks back at me with a raised brow. I avert her questioning eyes, even if I know she only means good.

I haven’t told a single soul about what transpired between Lily and me. And though I feel called to tell my mother, I can’t.

Not until I’ve figured out what any of it means.

“No,” I lie with a shrug. I know it’s a lie because my tongue burns with the scorching heat of guilt that always rears its ugly head when I’m not being honest. “I’ve always opposed Skarlett’s brazen attempts at charming me.”

“Of course,” Mother agrees.

From my periphery, I catch the way she’s still staring at me and sigh. Swallowing the mouthful, I place my utensils on either side of my plate and lift the napkin to dab the corners of my mouth.

“I know you want to say something, Mother,” I say gently.

Mother sighs, a feeble smile appearing on her lips. “She’s been here for a week now, Draco. I think it’s time she meets the rest of your family.”

I hadn’t realized my error until Mother brought it to light. Locking Lily away was my idea. And I can see now that it wasn’t my family’s initial expectation of me. As the Alpha of the Aurora Dragons, I was meant to bring my mate to Aurora Island to be celebrated. It was meant to be a joyous occasion, my family knowing that the legacy of the Vulkans would be continued.

Not knowing where I stand on the matter, I’d chosen to keep Lily locked in her bedroom until I decided. In hindsight, I’ve disappointed my family. But I cannot ignore my own beliefs.

“Forgive me, Mother,” I apologize as I hang my head, “I didn’t mean any disrespect by keeping her locked away. I just—” my voice falters, and I purse my lips.

“I know how you feel about humans, Draco,” Mother accepts with kindness in her voice. “But in doing so, you’re creating resentment between yourself and the girl. It cannot be easy for her. She had a life before this one, I’m sure.”

A long moment of silence passes as I digest this. I’d seen it myself, after all. Before being dragged to the island, Lily Turner did have a life. Waiting tables at a tavern in Seattle and attending classes at the college. Even a family—who she’d been stolen from.

The guilt gnawing on my conscience completely wipes away my appetite. As I sit wallowing in self-loathing, Mother stands up and prepares a new plate of food. I look up when she pushes the plate toward me.

“You know what is needed,” Mother assures me. “Kairo hasn’t taken dinner up.”

I recognize that this is probably my intervention. As I lifted the plate off the table, I thanked my mother and took my leave. Perhaps the introspection is what I needed to feel less aggrieved by my circumstances. And see it from Lily’s perspective.

When I near her bedroom, I notice that the door stands ajar. A moment of panic is only doused when I hear Lily’s voice from inside. Even though I’d given Kairo strict instructions not to visit Lily today, I’m not upset that she’s here.

“What is he like when he’s not being mean?”

I take a step closer to eavesdrop when I hear my sister’s reply.

“Oh, he’s wonderful, Lily. He’s the most caring out of all my brothers.”

“Really?” Lily wonders aloud. “I would really like to meet that version of him.”

My heart stops when I realize that all hope isn’t lost. Despite everything, Lily is still open to the idea of me showing more humility.

As my lips lifted into a smile I could not control, I entered the room.