Chapter 1 - Stryder

“ Las Vegas?” Felix snorts, his voice entering our minds in a withering tone. “ Really?”

I glance at Styker, my twin brother, the lips of my dragon peeling back mischievously as I grin. He appears somewhat reserved, a nervous huff escaping his lips with a trail of smoke following. His perky shoulders shrug diffidently, but I decide not to take his inhibitions into account.

We’d both agreed that we wanted to do something nice for Felix before his big day. Coming to Las Vegas was my idea. It was either this or spending the night at Draco’s Italian villa. All it took was a round of heads or tails to decide where we’d be going to celebrate a surprise bachelor party.

I turn forward, flapping my wings and soaring over the group of male dragon shifters before making a sharp one-eighty overhead and spearing toward the bustling nightlife.

It will be fun, I promise Felix, through the telepathic mind link. It’s a solemn oath I take quite seriously as we glide down behind the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?

The others follow suit, only Felix remaining hesitant as he slowly gets to his dragon paws on the lush, manicured lawn behind the hotel. I close my eyes, my dragon wings retracting behind my shoulder blades while the rest of my body morphs into human form. Opening my eyes again, I sigh with relief as the others dust their collars and straighten their sleeves.

Everyone seems excited. All except for Felix, who warily rakes his gaze up the back of the tall building. When I stroll forward, noticing the way his brows are furrowed.

“Surprise!” I smirk, crossing my arms as I stand beside him.

“This place has changed a lot since I last visited,” he observes.

“That’s why I chose it. We figured you needed a night out. Some time to unwind before you’re tied down for eternity.”

Felix turns his face to me, a look of contempt in his narrowed eyes. “You make it sound miserable,” he frowns.

“Is it not?” I scoff, a shiver running through me at the thought alone. “Imagine being bound to one woman for the rest of your life. It gives me chills.”

“Wait…” Felix’s frown deepens. “I thought you were eager to have a mate picked for you.”

“Oh, I’m elated, Brother,” I dismiss, pointing my thumb over my shoulder toward my twin brother. “Stryker and I are excited to be tied down for the rest of our lives. Like you, marrying a human and everything.”

“You’ll be surprised, Stry–”

“Spare me the lecture, Brother,” I interject, patting him on the shoulder to avoid being caught in my lie. “Let’s just enjoy the night.”

A wide grin spreads across my face as I lead the way into the hotel. We make a quick pitstop at the reception to confirm the reservation we made earlier that day, before heading to the casino.

As soon as the large doors open up to the casino floor, we’re flooded by the sound of jazz and chatter abuzz in the vast room. We’re immediately greeted by a pretty waitress with a flash of red hair tied in a firm bun and a keen eye for Stryker. As we follow her to the bar, I nudge my twin brother in the ribs.

“You have an admirer already,” I chortle, taking a seat at the counter.

Stryker rolls his eyes and scoffs. “We’re here to celebrate Felix, remember?”

“Who says we can’t have fun, too?” I wink, propping my elbows on the counter and resting forward. Trips like these to the mortal world, always end up with being twisted in silk sheets with a human admirer. Their names are often forgotten by the morning, while their fragrance lingers on my skin even after I head back to Aurora Island in dragon form.

Knowing how tonight will inevitably end for me, I decide to enjoy the moment and give my brother, Felix, a night to remember. After all, he’s the one getting married to his human mate, Sierra, tomorrow.

Even though I can’t understand what all the fuss is about, I’m happy for him.

“Your drinks, Sir…” the waitress simpers as she begins serving us filled whiskey glasses.

I can barely contain my amusement, smirking slyly as I watch her sneaking glances at Stryker. I wish Felix had captured her attention, but the night is still young, and the bar is only the beginning.

We still have the casino and club on my itinerary. Besides, redheads were never our type – Stryker and I.

Discreetly removing a bag filled with dragonclaw, I sprinkle some of the crushed herb into my drink and give it a quick swirl with my forefinger while passing the bag to Stryker. The intoxicant moves down the row as the other Aurora Dragon members add a touch of amplification to their mild liquor, ending up in Felix’s hand when he leans forward and shakes his head.

“I’ll pass,” Felix rejects, sending the almost empty bag down the counter.

I catch it deftly under my palm, raising a brow at the man of the hour. “Come now, Brother. It’s you who we’re here to celebrate. A little fuzziness on a night like this will do no harm,”

“Not if I’m meant to meet Sierra at the altar on time,” he muses.

What a buzz-kill, I think to myself ruefully as I pour the rest of the contents into my own drink. Not because I’m a heavyweight when it comes to partying, but because I need something to distract me from the fact that after tomorrow, I’ll be next in line for a human mate.

The human mating process came quite unexpectedly. For a long time, the Aurora Dragons had given up any hope of reproducing and extending the dragon clan. It was something I’d come to terms with. Both Stryker and I enjoyed our frequent trips to the mortal world. Being the youngest of the Vulkan siblings, our responsibilities are less imposing than it is on our elder brothers.

This meant that we were allowed to enjoy our lives freely. Almost a year ago, the Dragon Council decided to introduce the human mating process with the help of the Cube of Knowledge. Somehow, Stryker was suddenly excited about having a mate and contributing to the extension of the Aurora Dragons.

I was left to internalize my loathing of the experiment, forcing a smile on my face and pretending I was okay with how things had changed.

“Is something wrong, Stryder?” Stryker asks when I’ve lost myself, staring blankly ahead into the abyss of the unknown.

A shiver passes through me, returning that forceful smile on my face to douse his suspicions as he frowns at me.

“I’m just enjoying my drink,” I lie, tipping the glass to my lips and taking a deliberate sip.

“I know when something is wrong with you…” Stryker presses, watching me keenly through narrowed eyes.

I shrug diffidently, searching for an alibi when it’s almost impossible to hide anything from him. Because he’s my twin, we share an intensified connection that allows us to feel each other’s emotions.

Guarding those emotions against his innate instinct has taken me a long time. Having to walk on eggshells around him is something I had to train myself with great skill. Each step I take is in stealth mode, avoiding his sharp eye and acting as if we’re on the same page about the human mating process.

I can practically feel the way he doesn’t buy my lie.

“... You’re nervous, aren’t you?” he interrogates with a raised brow. “You’re next in line.”

I gulp without being noticed, my face turned aside to check on the others before I turn to Stryker and grin. “Perhaps they’ll skip me the way they did with Felix,” I chuckle, trying to hide my scorn with a joke. “You’ll end up being the vile one, forced to take his mate.”

Stryker chuckles at the running joke since the Council skipped over Felix and gave our brother, Aragon, his mate first. Aragon was obviously furious because he hated the idea of a human mate. It didn’t help that he was younger than Felix, and wasn’t ready. He’d been horrible toward Yazmine, his chosen human mate.

Until he wasn’t and fell madly in love with the girl. Now that they’re inseparable, I can’t help but wonder if the humans are putting hexes on us. The same goes for Draco, the eldest, who is the Alpha of the Aurora Dragons. Now there’s Felix, who stares starry-eyed into the ruminations of his human mate, a million miles away, while some of our closest friends have journeyed to the mortal world in celebration of his last night as a bachelor.

After tomorrow, it’ll be set in stone that I’m next in line.

Stryker doesn’t seem to notice the worry flashing in my mind, thanks to my strong resolve preventing him from feeling my feelings. He places a hand on my shoulder, beaming from ear to ear.

“And you’ll end up being the one who listens to his heart,” Stryker smiles, eyes flitting across the bar.

I follow his gaze toward Felix, who’s too lost in his fantasies to hear a thing that Aragon says to him. I can’t imagine myself like that, and following my heart would mean disappointing my family and choosing a life without a mate.

I can’t do that to the Aurora Dragons, but at least I have some time to kill before I’m tied down against my will. Chugging the rest of the drink in one go, I set the glass down with a purposeful thud, drawing the attention of our brothers and friends.

I clap my hands together and say, “It’s time to lose some money, boys.”

***

Flashing lights and soulful music fill our senses as we watch the dancers on the stage. Beautiful women caressing poles and swaying their full hips to the beat.

Human women are exotic in that way. Unlike the female dragon shifters back home with their haughty dispositions while being skilled at battle, human women are easier to charm. Not that Aurora Island has much to offer since the war many years ago that crippled reproduction rates and threatened our kind with extinction. That’s why we now rely on the human mating process, to find mates amongst the mortals and plant the dragonspirit seed in capable human females.

The notion appalls me – not because I see humans as weak, fragile beings incapable of bearing a dragonspirit to full-term. Thanks to Draco, Aragon, and Felix, they’ve proved that the human mating process is successful.

It’s just that I’d grown up accepting that mates weren’t in the cards for dragon shifters. I would have lived out the rest of my life without reproducing, just hopping from city to city, town to village, enjoying the escapades the humans have to offer. Now, I have to accept a human mate, and my time is running out.

The strippers on the dancefloor continue their seduction of the male gaze while others on the floor dance toward the tables. With skimpy lingerie that leaves little to the imagination, three women float toward us as if our presence alone is magnetic.

Of course, it is. With ample experience in the mortal world, Stryker and I had concluded that we always stood out in a crowd. With piercing green eyes against creamy skin, our distinct, sharp facial features were always attractive to the females. We barely had to lift a finger for them to be wrapped around it in seconds.

Tonight is no different, with Aidan, Brantley, and Landon joining us for our night out.

Chuckling almost sadistically under my breath, I pat my lap to gesture for the brunette to entertain me. She saunters forward, the salacious way she licks her lips betraying her when she perches her rear on my thigh.

She shouldn’t be drooling – not in her profession. Yet, she inhales as if she’s drinking in my scent. I pay little attention to it, watching the way my elder brothers turn their faces away as if repulsed by the strippers giving our friends lap dances.

Stryker leans in and whispers, “I think Felix feels uncomfortable.”

It’s the most obvious observation. “So does Aragon,” I scoff, hands loosely settling on the stripper’s waist. I reach up and move her hair aside to gain access to her ear. “See that blondie over there?” I whisper, earning a jab in my ribs from my twin.

“Hey!” he grates under his breath. “He’s gonna be furious!”

Clicking my tongue dismissively, I roll my eyes at Stryker before turning back to the brunette on my lap. “He’s getting married tomorrow,” I whisper, stuffing a few hundred-dollar bills beneath the waistband of her thong. “Why don’t you go ahead and show him a good time?”

“With pleasure, handsome…” she replies, stroking my cheek with long, manicured nails as she rises to her stilettos. I throw Stryker a wink, relaxing in my seat to watch the show unfold before my eyes. He mutters something inaudible under his breath, clearly wary about what’s going to unfold.

Deep down, I can hardly shake off the feeling that Stryker’s reluctance is caused by something else apart from our older brothers being around. He usually isn’t as stiff as he is right now, averting his gaze from the women all around us.

The unsettling feeling in my chest expands just as a frown crosses my brows. Perhaps it’s just a reflection of my trepidations, my reluctance to take a human mate that feels like Stryker’s reluctance to be here tonight.

When I turn back to Felix and notice that he refuses the stripper’s advances, I’m about to lose my mind. Tonight isn’t going as planned – except for the few thousand dollars Aragon won on the roulette table. When the brunette girl huffs her irritation and flicks her hair over her shoulder before strolling away, I decide to salvage what’s left of a good time.

“What are you doing, Brother?” Stryker asks me when I’ve risen to my feet.

Tugging on the lapels of my jacket and clearing my throat, I follow the movements of the stripper as she disappears behind the curtains backstage.

“I’m not letting a good show go to waste,” I reply.

“Perhaps we should return to the island, Stryder,” he suggests with a firm tone, prompting me to snap my head in his direction.

As the older one between us – older by a few minutes, but it counts for something – I narrow my eyes at him, causing him to recoil in his chair. Just then, a mind link from Felix shares Stryker’s sentiments, and I groan internally. He doesn’t want to stay in the mortal world any longer.

“Feel free to stay back with me,” I offer Stryker. “Or, you can go back with them. Either way, I’m not letting our reservation go to waste. It just means I have the presidential suite all to myself.”

Stryker loses the firmness on his face and chuckles. “Enjoy it, Stryder. Just don’t be late for the wedding.”

“Of course not,” I assured him before strolling off in search of the stripper. Not because she’s my type, but because she’s a much-needed distraction from the inevitability of what’s to come once Felix has officially married Sierra.

I don’t want to think about being next in line. With the brunette tucked beneath my arm after very little convincing, we take a stroll down the promenade toward the Bellagio.

“You know…” she begins, shrugging between her coat. “... Only the club’s finest clients book at the Bellagio.”

I grunt under my breath, hardly fazed by her impression, while my mind races a mile a minute as I soak up the last bit of my freedom in the mortal world. When tomorrow rolls around, the Council could suddenly decide it’s my turn to take my human mate and rid me of the freedom I once enjoyed.

It’s that resistance to give up my freedom that crawls up my spine, settling on my nape to prickle the fine hairs there. But when goosebumps erupt on my arms, I’m forced to stop dead in my tracks.

Suddenly, the woman’s arm slinked through mine, weighing me down like unwanted baggage. I’m forced to shrug her off when a faint ringing in my eardrums begins to hum.

“What’s wro–”

“Shhh,” I dismiss her with a finger pressed to my lips, a frown furrowing my brows. Her silence allows me to focus on the ringing in my ears, which grows louder, and more urgent, with every second that ticks by. I frown, wondering if all the dragonclaw I consumed has me imagining things.

Despite how faint it is, I’ve never experienced something like this before. It’s almost as if my primal dragon is calling out to me. Warning me of something. I’d seen a lot happen in the mortal world during our travels – things like robberies and accidents in which Stryker and I weren’t allowed to interfere. Yet, we were never forewarned about something, only ever discovering it mid-action.

As the ringing grows louder and more urgent in my head, my feet feel like they’re not mine anymore, compelling me to move, to find something. What it is, I’m not sure. I just know – a deep, inner knowing – that I have to find it. It can't just be my inebriation…

“Wait here,” I tell the woman, barely glancing at her as my eyes narrow ahead of me. I turn to the right, the buzzing slicing through my eardrums as if alerting me that whatever it is I’m looking for is in that direction.

My feet move of their own accord, leading me between two buildings until I reach an alley behind the one on the left. A cloud of smoke faintly mists the alley, a pair of red, devilish eyes staring at me through the smog. While a ripple of awareness rushes down my spine, my fits curl at my sides when I see the van's back doors being thrown open by a man in black leather. The smell of a roaring engine and skid marks on the floor signal the rush.

I can already sense what’s going on, even before a bagged human is pulled into the back of the van. I’ve seen this happen countless times before, but I’d never felt inclined to save the human who’s being kidnapped.

It was always a matter of keeping our identities hidden. Right now, it’s the inner dragon who pushes me forward just as the van speeds out ahead. It’s the innate dragon that has fire igniting in my soul, panic rising like bile in my throat. I can’t stand idly by; the need to save a human is stronger than the need to protect my identity. It crawls under my skin, prompting my dragon to the fore, my wings carrying me forward swiftly to save the human.

I’ll deal with the repercussions when they come.