Chapter 117

Jaxon’s POV

I didn’t want to bring Anila back to the surface and to her mates, but I knew she wouldn’t be happy until she did. She didn’t argue with me about accompanying her back to the wolf territory. I knew she would be pleased I relented and decided to accompany her. Little did she know, I had to return to the surface for business anyway. The Alpha King needed my answer soon and I feared what he might do if I ignored him for much longer.

We were both silent as we made our way through the underground of the church and into the elevator. The church was above my palace, so it didn’t take long to arrive.

As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, she paused and turned to me.

“Try not to start anything with them,” she told me, narrowing her pretty eyes.

I gave her my most innocent lopsided smile.

“Who me?” I asked. “I would never.”

She rolled her eyes, but I could see the smile tipping the corner of her lips.

“Just behave yourself, Jaxon,” she told me, turning and walking towards the church entrance. I couldn’t help but grin as I followed her out of the building. The sun was just setting over the horizon and she squinted as we made our way down the sidewalk and towards the forest that connected the town with the small, abandoned former human town, to the wolf territory.

“Not used to the sun,” I told her, mimicking her thoughts as she struggled to see where she was walking. I also didn’t like the sun, living under the ground for all these years, plus, like most creatures, dragons and dragon masters were strongest at night, so we typically tried to sleep during the day and stay awake at night like the rest of Stardust Valley.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw the sun,” she admitted. “Even before I was accepted into Lunar Academy, I was rarely allowed outside my house unless it was necessary.”

“What was it like?” I found myself asking.

She frowned and peeked up at me as we continued to walk further into the forest.

“What was it like for you?”

“Growing up like that…” I clarified. “Restricted from the world around you.”

She shrugged one shoulder and fixed her eyes on the ground.

“I think you would know just as much about that as me,” she told me after a brief silence. “I don’t think we are much different; you and I. At least according to Angelica, we aren’t much different.”

“Angelica is a chatty one,” I muttered. “For me, it was suffocating. It was lonely…”

Anila was quiet and then she gave me a short nod.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “Sounds about right.”

“I hope you know that you will never have to live like that again,” I told her. “Not even when we are married, and you bear my children. I won’t keep you isolated.”

She smiled and I could see her nose and cheeks growing pink as she processed my words.

“I know,” she finally said. “And I hope you know that I’m not just planning on leaving after I save Xaden. You are my mate too, Jaxon. I’ll stand by you like I’ll stand by them.”

I didn’t like the idea of her with other men, not even now. I wanted her all to myself and I would fight anyone who got in my way. But I also knew she wouldn’t be truly happy with just me. If I were to hurt her other mates, she would never forgive me. There were a lot of things she wouldn’t forgive me for. Perhaps I was in over my head… perhaps I wasn’t truly ready to take a mate.

I know my people were depending on it because I need an heir to ensure their safety in the future… but was forcing Anila to marry me and have my children truly in our best interest. Was it in her best interest?

The wolf territory came into view, and I immediately scoffed when I saw how open it was. There weren’t any border patrols making sure that no enemies entered the territory. How are they keeping themselves save? Was Anila safe being here? There was an ongoing war going on and an Alpha King who would do anything to make his stamp on the world. A King who was determined to not just take over Stardust Valley, but the entire world as well. He was about to take a dragon and destroy parts of the world, including Stardust Valley, so he could put his stamp on the nation. And yet, this wolf territory had no protection.

I instinctively took a step closer to Anila, wanting to protect her from any harm that may come her way. She noticed my change in demeanor because her eyes lifted to mine for a moment, a curious gaze in her eyes.

She didn’t say anything though. We remained silent until we reached a small building along a strip of other buildings. I glanced down at her to see her next move and she immediately grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. I followed her inside the building only to find myself inside an infirmary.

I turned to shut the door behind me, and I immediately whipped around to check on Anila. I saw that she was completely fine and staring wide-eyed at a woman at the receptionist counter. She had dropped whatever she was holding and stared bug-eyed at me.

She was completely frozen and clearly terrified of my presence. I was used to that look and chose not to pay any attention to it. But Anila on the other hand waved her hand in front of the woman’s face, trying to get her attention.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Harley, Zach, and the doctor assigned to Xaden. Can you point me in the right direction?” She asked the woman.

The woman continued to stare wide-eyed at me; it was clear we weren’t going to get any information out of her.

“Anila?” A voice said from a short distance.

I turned to see a giant man walking towards us; he was walking down a hallway and had to turn his bulky body to fit in the hallway. He was about my height, but his muscles far surpassed mine and I felt a bit of jealousy in the pit of my stomach from the sight of him. I recognized him as one of the men who accompanied Anila to the territory border the day I brought her to Dragon Valley.

He was the bear shifter.

“Harley!” Anila breathed and rushed to him, leaving my side. I immediately missed her nearness, and it took everything I had not to grab her and pull her into my arms. But I knew that wouldn’t sit well with Anila. She would only pull further away if I were to hold on tightly and not let her go. Plus, it would cause issues with her other mates, and I promised her I would be on my best behavior while in this territory. I knew it was technically illegal for me to be here, so the less commotion I caused, the better.

She wrapped her arms around him, though she couldn’t get her arms fully around him. He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to him. I had to bite back a growl, not wanting this giant man to hurt her small form, but she didn’t look as if she was in any kind of pain. Though she was tiny in comparison to him, I hated how well they fit together and how happy her emotions had just gotten.

“You’re back,” Harley breathed, taking in her scent as he sniffed her hair. She snuggled into his chest, a smile tipping her lips and tears dripping down her cheeks.

“I’ve missed you,” she told him, peeking up at him through her lashes. “I’m sorry it took me so long. But I have what we need to save him.”

Harley tensed and his eyes shifted to me. I could tell he too wanted to growl, but he refrained from doing so. It was the other guy who had just walked in who said something.

“Does that mean you married him?”

I turned to see the other guy who accompanied her step into the room; his arms folded across his chest and his eyes fixed on me. I could see the yellow of his eyes glowing as he struggled to keep his wolf under control but to not prevail. He was pissed and it was me who was about to get the raw end of the deal. I wasn’t going to back down though; if this wolf wanted a fight, then I would give him a fight without any issues. I wasn’t afraid of him… I wasn’t afraid of any of them.

“Zach,” Anila step, stepping in front of me, and protecting me. My heart swelled a little at the sight of her standing her ground and protecting me from her other mate. “Jaxon isn’t here to fight you. He’s here to help.”

The wolf, Zach, scoffed and his top lip curled in disgust.

“Why would a dragon want to help us?” Zach asked through his teeth.

“Because he’s with me,” Anila said, putting her hand on his chest. “And we need to talk later.”

Zach finally pulled his eyes away from me and stared down at her. He was fighting an inner battle, and he was losing, it was clear in his eyes.

“If we are done here, we should probably get to work,” another voice said from the entryway.

Leaning against the all with his arms folded across his own chest was the wizard boy. His glasses were hanging low on his nose and he was staring at each and every one of us, a bored expression on his face.

“Xaden doesn’t have all night.”