Chapter 1 - Felix

" Mi ángel…"

The words leave my lips with a gentle sigh that follows. Leaning my forearms on the balcony rails, I stare longingly at the horizon where the sun sets in soft orange hues, the gold silhouette reminding me of the shade of her beautiful eyes.

Another long, drawn-out sigh escapes my lips as the distant memory of the taste of cherry kisses sweetens my tongue. A kiss that I hadn't experienced in five years, but one that I still find myself reminiscing on evenings so beautiful. I can't help but stare at the figment of the mortal world visible from the island.

As the sun's rays recede, giving way to the moon for the night, it's her face I see. She visits me when the sun meets the moon in the sky—the only time two star-crossed lovers are permitted to meet. At least, that's what I thought we were all this time.

Until my brothers succeeded in pursuing human mates in the human mating process.

I can't help but wonder if the human girl I'd fallen madly in love with could become my mate. After all, we rely on the Cube of Knowledge's DNA scan to determine if a human female is a match for a dragon shifter male. As the Beta of the Aurora Dragon clan, I can access the Cube and utilize it to find out if she's a match.

Truthfully, I'm too afraid of the outcome. There's a one-in-three-billion chance that the woman in my heart is a match for me. I'm not prepared to take the risk of getting my heart broken the second time around, even if she's not the one who broke it to begin with.

I'd done that all on my own. Thanks to the lack of knowledge the dragon shifter race had before, I was convinced that there was no way things could work out between a dragon shifter and a human.

That didn't stop me from falling in love—it's not like we can control the matters of the heart. As much as we try to fight it, the heart always wins. I've seen it with both Draco and Aragon. I'd experienced it first-hand myself when I'd visited the mortal world. Except, mine was a case of love at first sight. Then, I chose to leave the human girl because there was no way we could ever be together.

Until now.

Though I haven't seen her in years, it's the memory of her that keeps me alive and thriving. Those memories of her amber eyes and supple lips make me wonder if things could work out between us. There's hope for us thanks to the human mate process the dragon shifters have adopted.

As the sun disappears in the sky and allows for the moon's dominance, I'm filled with a stronger sense of hope. Straightening up, I clutch the balcony rails until my knuckles pale with my determination. I decide on the spot that I'll use the Cube to find out if the human girl I love is a match to be my mate. Not because I want her to produce dragonspirit children for me, but because I'll finally be able to exist in a world where she does. Breathe the same air as her since my lungs feel parched in the time I've spent away from her.

I can't be a coward anymore. I have to face the Cube of Knowledge to determine if she'll be a match for me. That's the only way I can fill this hole in my heart, a void that longs for her.

Brother Felix… Draco enters my mind telepathically, abruptly jolting me from my thoughts. Council meeting in ten.

Sighing as I press a finger to my temples, I remember that much more pressing issues in my world need to be taken care of. Coming, Draco, I reply, eyes saddening as I steal one last glance at the horizon before heading up to the boardroom for the meeting. My agendas need to take a back seat for now.

I can't help but wonder if being the Beta of the Aurora Dragons is my excuse for not pursuing the woman I love as my mate.

***

"The man is a private investigator in the mortal world," Father explains, brows knitted with irritation. "No one important, according to our findings."

"Except…" Nimbus, the Flame Serpents' Elder, adds, turning his attention to Draco. "... He'd been hired by your sister-in-law."

"My sister-in-law…?" Draco responds confusedly until realization dawns on him, and the color seeps from his face, leaving him pale. His eyes widen as he looks up at Nimbus. "Violet?"

"Yes," Nimbus concedes with a brisk nod. "Violet Turner. She'd hired Diego Alvarez to track her sister's location."

"She must have grown suspicious during the wedding," Father sighs, wiping a hand across his worried face.

I turn to my brother, Draco, seeing how his own worry has shackled his brows. Since learning that a human could trace the island's location, the Aurora Dragons have been on high alert. We can't risk being found out by the humans—let alone by the family of the alpha's human mate.

"What do we do now?" I ask Draco, but he's too horrified to reply. Instead, Nimbus speaks up.

"There's no cause for panic," he assures us, glancing at each of the members of the Dragon Council. Seated alongside the boardroom table, everyone is almost as equally as shocked as Draco.

When we first learned that a human was on our trail, we would have never thought it would be someone this close to home. Even if we'd agreed not to use violence against the humans we're meant to protect, we can't risk exposing ourselves to their kind.

We've spent millennia hidden from view, our existence kept a secret. We've also been exercising the utmost caution when it comes to taking human mates. We can't sacrifice our existence now.

"... In fact, I've already handled the situation."

"You have? How?" Draco quickly chimes in, finally able to speak. It's almost as if I can feel his concern radiating off him in waves as he sits beside me. I can only imagine what's going through his mind.

Regarding violence, the dragon shifter elders aren't as compassionate as the younger generation.

Nimbus lifts a hand in the air and chuckles lightly. "I know what you're thinking, Alpha Draco, but I can assure you that Violet Turner is still alive. Safe. The private investigator's findings haven't reached her as yet."

"Nimbus has reached out to Diego Alvarez," Father continues. "I thought it was absurd at first," he chuckles lightly.

"We all did," another dragon shifter elder, Zark, adds. "Ever since our failed attempt to have Ms. Hendricks attend Draco's wedding, we thought it best to remain covert. But now that we are taking humans as mates, we're bound to face some obstacles every now and then."

"Which is why we'll pay them to keep our secrets," Nimbus says, the corners of his mouth lifted smugly. "I've already spoken to Mr. Alvarez, and he's agreed to remain mum about our existence in exchange for a handsome sum of money."

Draco steeples his fingers in front of his face and props his chin on his interlinked hands while staring long and hard at the four elder members of the Dragon Council. Each of the four corners of the world represents the benevolent leadership that's kept us protected from the mortal world for millennia.

Their decisions are always trusted, despite our personal feelings toward issues. Even my eldest brother, Draco, could not dispute their decision to go down the human mate route to salvage our existence.

It's only the perk of one of his brows that shows his contempt. Mine is less visible and buried deep because I know that I can't challenge their decisions even as the Beta of the Aurora Dragons.

"How sure are we that this Mr. Alvarez won't deceive us, Nimbus?" Draco challenges.

"The only thing we should worry about is Ms. Turner asking questions about her sister's whereabouts," Nimbus counters.

"I'll handle that," Draco iterates sternly. When it comes to matters of his mate, Lily, and her family, he's the only one allowed to make decisions.

It's one thing I admire about him, though it'd taken him a long time to come to terms with the human mating process.

"Then you must know, Alpha Draco…" Nimbus leans back, his tone slightly condescending. "... That the Council has taken some precautionary measures to ensure that Mr. Alvarez won't be a bother again." When the Flame Serpents' Elder turns his fierce green eyes on me, a cold shiver rakes down my spine.

It's almost as if I can sense what's coming next even before he opens his mouth to speak again. I thought this was just a meeting to discuss what to do about the human who tracked the island.

I didn't think the Council would have taken further action without our knowledge. Yet, here we are, hearing that the situation has already been handled according to their methods.

"Felix Vulkan…" Nimbus says with jest in his voice. "... You're next in line for the human mating process. Your human female has been decided."

Frowning, I glance at my brother and then at my father before turning back to Nimbus. "What does this have to do with the human who discovered our location?"

"Diego Alverez has a daughter," Father explains. "Nimbus has spoken to the man, and along with the exchange of money for his silence, he's sending his daughter to the island. She will be your mate and produce more Vulkan offspring."

As soon as I'm made aware of this, my heart sinks. I haven't even gotten around to seeking the answers from the Cube of Knowledge about the woman I love. Internally, I'm torn. But I can't make the same mistake my brothers made in their previous attempts.

I will wear this badge with honor and fulfill my duties to my clan. Gulping, I mentally compose myself as I quip up a speculative brow. "Has she agreed to this? Does she know that I'm a dragon shifter?" I refuse to exercise force the way my brothers did by kidnapping their humans.

"Yes," Nimbus concedes. "The human man has spoken to his daughter, who's agreed to come to the island to be your mate."

It sounds almost too good to be true. "What if she's not a match?" It's my last-ditch attempt to buy myself time. Not believing that a human would agree to this implausible act is my only hope. At least until I know if the woman who holds my heart is a possible mate for me.

"We've consulted the Cube, Felix," Father informs me, his voice gentle as he waves a hand at the Cube at the center of the boardroom table. Lifeless, all it would take is a touch of a button to bring it to life to give me the answer I seek. "The human woman is a match to your DNA."

That's all the confirmation I need to know that luck isn't on my side. If the woman is a match, I'll need to go through with this and forget about the one I love. Perhaps it's for the best, so I no longer have to be hung up on the one who got away.

Forcing a fleeting smile on my lips, I nod slowly. Everyone had been convinced I was the only Vulkan brother eagerly awaiting my turn to have a human mate. None of them knew that I'd been eager to find out if the love of my life could be a match.

That hope is lost now, and I don't know how to feel. Relieved or disappointed?

This is all so sudden.

"How will she travel to the island?" I ask, hiding my disappointment.

Father reaches for the Cube, pulling it forward. "You will pick her up tomorrow."

"T—tomorrow?" I can't even hide my gloom at this point.

"Yes, we will provide you with the location, and you will bring her to the island. For reference…" Father is about to breathe life into the Cube when I clear my throat to draw his attention toward me.

I know what comes next. They'll pull up the human woman's details on the Cube, flaunt her desirable qualities as if they're selling an item, then hand me a photograph as if I'm meant to fall in love with a picture.

I'm not ready to go down that road. At least I have one more night to swallow this tough pill and bury my true feelings forever. At least, for one more night, I can dream about the human who haunts my desires before her image is tainted by another.

Lifting a dismissive hand, I rise to the sound of the screeching of the chair's feet against the tiles. "That's not necessary. I don't need to know what she looks like or who she is. It's not like I want to form a predetermined idea about the human who's been chosen as my mate."

I'll meet her, appease her accordingly, and get from it what the clan needs. It's as simple as that.

It's not that taking a human as a mate is my foe. It's time that's become my enemy. The time I thought I had when Draco picked me as the Beta and passed the human mating process torch to our younger brother, Aragon. Luck had been on my side, but I didn't utilize it well enough.

I only have myself to blame.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare my quarters for the arrival of my mate," I bid kindly with a curt nod.

"Of course, Felix," Father agrees.

None of the Council members catch onto the gloominess hanging over my head as I drag my feet out of the room.

It's not the quarters I need to prepare but my mental state. Tonight, I will say goodbye to the memory of the woman who captured my heart as I embark on this next chapter of my life.

Even if it pains me to do so.