32. Kadia

As if her wings were loud enough to be heard, as she descended from the sky, Adrien was waiting outside of her gate for Kaida. Her warm and welcoming smile gave Kaida the strength to shift quickly and run into her arms. The transition from dragon to human was seamless, and Kaida ran when her feet hit the ground. Adrien’s eyes widened at the transition, and her smile grew.

"Holy shit, girl. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone just hit the ground running after a shift like that! That was so cool," Adrien told her as she hugged her. Kaida giggled and then tightened her grip around her friend. "I needed out and to get away before things got too bad."

Adrien pushed her gently away so she could look at Kaida with a puzzled look on her face. "What happened? Did one of the guys do something to you? Do we need to call the calvary and take care of business?"

Kaida smiled and shook her head. "No. But are the girls inside?"

"Yep. Azulia closed the shop for the day so she could work on things. Remy and Sundrei just stopped by because they have been busy lately, and I haven’t seen them. Good timing, by the way. I think they were getting ready to leave."

"I hope not. I need you guys right now."

"Say no more."

Adrien held out her arm and backed away so Kaida could walk toward the house. Adrien followed her, keeping the silence to allow Kaida to speak when she wanted. Kaida gathered her thoughts while she crossed the threshold. Kaida could feel the girls’ energies and immediately relaxed. None of them felt chaotic or angry, which was the opposite of the scene she had just left. When she walked into the room, all three of them turned toward the door and had the biggest smiles on their faces. Kaida’s worries immediately washed away seeing her friends here. Each of them got up from their seats and hugged her. Feeling their strength and love for her, her body relaxed and brought a smile to her face.

"We haven’t seen you in a few days. Is everything okay? Something feels off." Azulia looked Kaida over for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed. "Start talking. I can feel something in your aura, and I don’t like it."

"I thought you Faeries couldn’t see auras, only Witches?." Remy pointed out.

"Aether Faerie, remember?" Azulia said, pointing at her face with both of her pointer fingers.

Remy lifted her head and mouthed "ah" before looking back at Kaida. Kaida swallowed, and it felt like her throat was too dry. She walked over to a chair and threw herself in it. The sigh that came out of her had the girls running to their own chairs to listen.

"I don’t even know where to start."

"Is this about what happened the other day? Because I really think you need to let it go, Kai. With the Dark Dimension spilling into our realm, things like this will happen."

Kaida shook her head, "No, though I have been struggling with that, too. But it’s something else. I really don’t know where to begin. It all happened so fast, and I am still trying to process it. It was getting so out of hand that my dragon pushed for the shift and brought me here."

Adrien furrowed her eyebrows. "Kai, how about you start at the beginning? This sounds really big."

Kaida nodded. "Okay." She started from the moment Blaze started fighting with her, leading to her wanting to get out of the house and away from him. When she mentioned Enzo flying into the scene, and her having to put herself between them, the girls all gasped. She waited for a second to see if they wanted to say something, but they pressed for her to continue. Kaida explained that Enzo wanted her to return to the mainland with him, and she said no. As she spoke, tears welled in her eyes. It was hard for her to see Enzo and hear the words she had wanted to hear since the day he dropped her here. The problem with saying no was that she wanted to go back. She wanted to see her family, but there wasn’t a chance in hell that she would leave her mates behind. Kaida went into how she felt about it all, and the tears spilled down her face.

"I don’t know what to do. The others seemed so happy to just share their time with me, and I thought everything would work out. With Enzo being back, that is throwing a wrench into everything. I don’t know if he will succumb to the fact that he isn’t just going to take me back, kicking and screaming, without it becoming a bigger problem. The boys aren’t allowing Enzo to take me back, but it also looks like Enzo isn’t accepting that he isn’t my only mate."

The girls all looked at each other with a frown. Remy opened her mouth a few times and then closed it. Sundrei sighed after opening her mouth and could not form the words she wanted to say.

"It sounds like you really got out of there at the right time," Adrien suggested.

"Yeah, if you had stayed, who knows what would have happened. Your dragon could have fought them just because she felt like she was backed into a corner."

Kaida shrugged, "Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t think my dragon would be able to attack her mates. Everything I know about mates says you can’t harm them, even though I got to punch Blaze."

"Not gonna lie, I had to hold in my laugh when you said that. It’s great to know that dick finally got hit for running his damn mouth." Remy laughed after she finished.

Azulia pointed at Remy and smiled, "I’m with her. I can’t believe you were able to hit him. I am glad that you were, though! That dude seriously needs to be put in his place."

"Girls, that is not what we should be focused on! Enzo has returned for Kaida. Rules state that if she is willing to accept her mate after the rejection, she must return back to her kingdom," Adrien explained and then asked Kaida, "Do you want the bond between you two to be revived?"

Kaida was exasperated and threw her head back onto the back of her chair. She didn’t know if she wanted to take Enzo back.

He rejected me and left. How am I supposed to forgive him?

Because he is our mate.

Not a good enough reason.

"Kaida, you are allowed to say no. You found your other mates. That means that you can move on, and that broken bond will heal. It will take time, but you can move on."

Kaida knew Adrien was right. That was how things worked. The fact that Enzo returned at all meant the world to her. She thought that he would never return because he didn’t want to be with someone who was dragonless.

But he also learned that I got my dragon. So... does he only want me back because my dragon emerged?

"What if he only wants me because I have my dragon now?" Kaida asked no one in particular.

"I don’t think that’s the case. He said that he wasn’t happy even pursuing those other girls. I am not gonna lie; I am happy to hear that. You have learned how to detect lies, and you said that it didn’t sound like he was lying. So, he truly did miss you. It was his father that was keeping him from coming back and bringing you home," Adrien answered.

"Yeah, but she has other mates. Enzo didn’t sound like he was keen on allowing them to return with her, and the boys aren’t going to leave this island. It’s their domain," Azulia rebutted.

"Kaida, what if you have another talk with them all? You can tell them you don’t want to leave, but you also don’t want to say goodbye to Enzo. It sounds like your bonds with them all will not allow you to decide by yourself. You need them to help make the decisions here. Enzo’s bond is broken anyway. The other four are intact. It’s kind of up to him to say the words to allow the bond to fix itself so you two can complete it, anyway," Adrien suggested.

Kaida thought about that for a minute. Adrien was right. Since Enzo was the one who rejected it, he had to be the one to say the phrase to allow for the bond to fix itself. Until then, Enzo had no right over her. Beckett’s bond was completely formed and strong. Enzo would not be able to do anything about that, so Beckett would need to come with her, whether Enzo liked it or not. It seemed like Arlo and Esen would not let her go without a fight, either. The only thing they could do was sit down and discuss this like civilized people.

"I think that’s my only choice, huh?"

"Not necessarily. You can tell Enzo to fuck off and send him back to the mainland with his tail between his legs," Remy stated.

Kaida laughed. "I mean, I could. But that’s not what my heart wants."

"You still care about that twatwaffle?" Remy asked.

"Twatwaffle?" Kaida asked while holding in a laugh.

"What? Don’t like my colorful choice of words?"

"More like I’ve never heard anyone say that one before."

"That’s because it is my invention. I give you permission to use it, by the way."

Kaida laughed and went back to leaning her head back on the chair. She listened to the thoughts she had about Enzo. The memories she had with him before the rejection warmed her heart, and Kaida smiled toward the ceiling.

"Is it wrong that I want him back?"

"No," the girls said in unison.

"Kaida, it’s okay to still love the man you fell in love with. The only thing he did was reject you. He did not hit you, demean you, or anything else that would have us all questioning your sanity. He is a good man. He made a mistake. He listened to his father and said something he realized he never meant to say."

"How can she trust him, though? He listened to someone else about his love life. What if his parents get into his head again?" Sundrei added.

Kaida looked at the Vampyre and frowned. She had a point. What if his parents still did not want Enzo with her?

"That’s something she can bring up. Just because the bond is complete doesn’t mean she can’t reject him later. It’ll be more devastating and harder to move on after, but it’s not unheard of," Azulia offered.

"You’re right. I remember hearing about an Alpha that was bonded with his fated mate and rejected her after years of her not producing an heir," Remy recounted.

"Seriously? Someone rejected their mate because she wasn’t getting pregnant? That is ridiculous!" Azulia shouted.

"Well, Lycans have a hard time getting pregnant as is. It’s easier with a fated pairing. So, if an Alpha has a mate that can’t get pregnant, that means the end of their reign is in sight. Lycans are pretty ruthless."

"Clearly, but to leave someone just because she can’t get pregnant...that’s not ruthless; that’s heartless."

Remy shrugged her shoulders. "It’s fairly common in Lycans. This Alpha was killed anyway. His pack was tired of him being as ruthless as he was, because he was worse than a normal Alpha, and someone challenged him and killed him. It happened right after he rejected his Luna, too. She was a good Luna. She kept the pack running like a well-oiled machine. They were one of the strongest packs in the kingdom because of her. That’s why someone rose up and took him out."

"Why do I have a feeling that, if I ever went into the Lycan Kingdom, I would end up killing most of them because of how uncivilized they are?" Azulia asked.

Remy smiled, "I’d probably join in. The Alpha of the kingdom is someone I’d love to take down. He is almost as bad as the Alpha who rejected his Luna. He thinks even one mistake warrants death. That isn’t how our laws are, so it’s rubbing many people the wrong way."

"Then how is he still in power?" Adrien asked.

"Because there is no one strong enough to take over. Lycans are so different from you guys. We need someone powerful enough to keep everyone in check. Dragons are the only ones that are somewhat similar; though, from the sounds of it, the Elemental Princes were just as strong as Prince Enzo. From what I understand, that doesn’t usually happen. If the four are just as strong as the prince, they could challenge for the title. Enzo will have difficulty keeping those four in check if dominance works like Lycans."

"No. Dragons are a little different. The prince can reign over the other dragons once he is named King and his father passes it off to him. Others can challenge the throne, but Enzo is more powerful than the others. Our magic plays a part in it."

"And you are more powerful than the five of them. Remember that."

Kaida looked over at Adrien, and she gave her a smile. Adrien was always the first to point out how powerful she was compared to the boys now. Kaida needed to remember that she didn’t have to cower away anymore.

"So... I should tell Enzo and the boys that I will not stand for them constantly fighting and that Enzo needs to decide to stay with me or return home without me?"

"Yes," the girls said in unison.

Kaida felt them before she heard them. Her eyes bugged at the idea of the four outside the house. The girls looked at her confused and heard their voices approaching the porch.

Well...ready or not. Here they come.