Chapter 122

Anila’s POV

“You shouldn’t go alone,” Xaden said, a glint of worry in his eyes. “It’s dangerous out there right now. Especially if there is a dragon.

“Damien will come with me,” I said, glancing at Damien who nodded; I knew he wanted to leave and get away from the Alpha.

“We should get back to school as well,” Damien said. “Principal Rapport mentioned the competition being moved up. Competing schools will be arriving this week and I’d like to make sure Anila is prepared.”

They nodded in agreement.

“Just leave my pack,” the Alpha said, pointing at the doorway.

I heard Zach’s growl from the opposite side of the room, but I didn’t spare him a glance. It would be better if I just left and went to find Jaxon. He needed to answer for himself.

I hurried out with Damien behind me.

Just as I was about to tell Damien we needed to find Jaxon, he appeared at Damien’s car in the parking lot. It was as if he knew that I needed to see him… I touched the mark on my neck and sighed, he probably did.

“Jaxon…” I breathed. He was leaning against the car, his hands tucked in his pockets and his head down. When he saw me approaching, he stood straight and met me the rest of the way, though his expression remained stoic.

I glanced at Damien who seemed hesitant as he stood by my side but eventually, he cleared his throat and said, “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

I nodded and waited for Damien to walk towards his car. Damien gave Jaxon a wary look as he passed.

“Where did you go?” I asked Jaxon as I stepped closer, my heart in my throat.

He lifted his gaze to look at me, his eyes penetrating.

“I had business,” he answered. “How is the wolf?”

“Xaden…” I corrected. “He’s going to be okay. He’s awake and healing fast.”

Jaxon nodded, though I could see that he was lost in thought.

“Is everything okay?” I asked him.

After a pause, he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I’m going to be gone for a couple of weeks,” he told me.

My eyes grew wide at his words.

“What do you mean?”

“I have duties with the Alpha King I need to tend to,” he answered.

He suddenly stared at the sky, as if he expected to see something there other than the sparkling stars and the bright crescent moon.

“The Alpha King?” I asked, tilting my head at him. “What kind of duties?”

He was quiet and at first, I didn’t think he was going to answer.

“I just came here to tell you once I’m done, we will marry. Plans have not changed. I saved the wolf for now… but I could take him just as easily,” he said menacingly.

I was taken aback by the coldness in his tone, and I pressed my lips together.

“What kind of duties?” I asked again, more firmly this time. I knew I shouldn’t be provoking the Dragon King, but I couldn’t help myself. His vague answers were getting to me.

“There are things I can’t tell you right now. But soon—”

“Please, Jaxon…” I stepped even closer to him until we were only inches apart. “Tell the truth. That dragon that flew over the pack… was it yours?” I needed to know, and I needed him to tell me that it wasn’t… that he had it handled, and the dragons were safe.

My heart cracked when he said nothing. For a long while, he remained quiet, refusing to meet my eye.

“It was…” he finally said. “But I won’t let her get hurt. It’s a long story but I have this handled.”

“You gave him a dragon?” I asked again, more slowly this time. I hated that there were tears in my eyes and my voice cracked a little, but there was a hardness to my tone that he did not miss.

“Sapphire is old and won’t be able to do as much damage as the others,” he told me, narrowing his eyes. “That was why I chose her. I’m not going to let him use her for his own twisted games. I will put an end to it as soon as I get close to what I want.”

“And how much closer are you to what you want?” I asked, my tone filled with pain and disbelief. “You betrayed your people, Jaxon. And for what? The Dragon Stone?”

“The Dragon Stone is important,” he tried to argue but even as he spoke, I knew there was more to it. More he wasn’t telling me.

So much for an honest relationship.

“So are your people and the ones who trusted you!” I snapped; I was no longer able to control my anger. “How could you do something like that to them… to me…?”

“I need you to trust me—”

“Trust you?” I scoffed, shaking my head as tears spilled down my cheeks. “Why should I trust you when you’ve never given me a reason to?”

He flinched as if I had struck him; I knew my words hurt him. I knew he wanted to say more, but he wasn’t given a chance because at that point Damien stepped out of the car.

“Is everything okay?” Damien asked, looking between Jaxon and me. A flash of anger went through Jaxon’s eyes, and he turned his scrutiny on Damien who stood his ground.

“Yes,” I said just as Jaxon opened his mouth to speak. “We should go.”

I started towards the car, completely ignoring the look Jaxon was now giving me. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head as I walked away from him.

Damien stayed out of the car for a moment, staring at Jaxon like he was daring him to make a move. Jaxon’s eyes never left where I sat in the passenger seat, though thanks to the tint on Damien’s car, he couldn’t see me.

“Are you okay?” Damien asked as he finally got into the car.

I didn’t answer him because I didn’t know what to say; I wasn’t okay. I didn’t want to lie to him and tell him I was fine. I was broken and a piece of me was staying behind with Jaxon. Damien studied the side of my face for a moment before sighing and throwing the car in drive. He pulled away from Jaxon who remained where he stood, watching me as I watched him… until he was nothing more than a speck.

Most of the ride was quiet.

Damien was respectful and didn’t press me for more information. There was some small talk, but for the most part, we were both lost in thought.

A couple of hours later, we pulled around the campus and towards the dorm parking, passing by the dining hall and library. Damien found an empty spot and parked. I took off my seat belt and sat there for a moment.

“Thanks for taking me back,” I told him after what felt like an eternity of silence. I didn’t want things to be awkward between us.

He didn’t say anything though, which made things even worse. I decided not to stick around so I pushed the door open.

“I thought that I recognized that car,” Principal Rapport said as he neared us in the lot. “I’m glad he brought you back. I wanted to speak with you in my office.”

I nodded and turned to look at Damien who had just locked his car and walked around it to stand beside me.

“I’m going back to my dorm for the day,” Damien said, nodding at Principal Rapport.

Rapport nodded in response and as a greeting.

Damien didn’t look at me as he left and that hurt more than anything.

“Come to my office, Anila. We should discuss some things.”

I nodded and followed Rapport towards the administration building. Once we were in his office on the top floor, he turned to look at me.

“The Alpha King moved up the competition. It’s happening next week,” he explained.

My heart fell into my stomach.

“The Alpha King moved it up?” I asked.

Rapport nodded.

“Yes, he’s the King… he has the ability to do that. It’s odd though because no king has ever shown this must interest in our affairs. But I suppose this one is different,” Principal Rapport said as he heaped a sigh. “Other Magic, shifter, and vampire schools around the world are also competing and will be here in a couple of days. You have the power and capability to compete and possibly even win, but if you don’t think you can do it, I’ll let you back out of it now. There will be no hard feelings, and you can compete when you’re ready during your 5(th) year.”

“You don’t really think I can do this then…” I said softly; it wasn’t a question.

“Quite the opposite,” he told me. “As I said, you have the capability to compete. But I realized I might have forced you into this and you don’t have as much time to prepare as we initially thought.”

I shook my head.

“I’d like to complete,” I told him. “Damien and I will work even harder to make sure I’m ready.”

Rapport nodded.

“Okay, that’s good to hear,” he replied after a short pause. “Anyway, how’s Xaden?”

“He’s going to be fine,” I told him. “They said he’ll be okay to return by next week.”

“Are you returning to the Redmoon pack?”

I shook my head.

“Not at the moment.”

He nodded and stared at me for a moment longer.

“Nothing else happened while you were away… did it?”

I frowned and stared down at my hands.

When I didn’t say anything, his eyes shifted, and he stared at something on my neck.

“That’s a nice new mark you have,” he said, making my cheeks burn with embarrassment. How could I have forgotten? Maybe because Jaxon had been blocking me from his thoughts and emotions since we returned it.

I met my 5(th) mate,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“The Dragon King,” he said as if he was answering a question himself.

I blinked at him, surprised.

“You knew?” I asked.

“I had a feeling,” he admitted. “If I may, can I give you a piece of advice?”

I nodded.

“I could use all the advice I could get.”

A smile tipped the corner of his lips as he studied me, though the serious expression never left his face.

“You should mark and mate with each of your mates,” he told me. “It’ll make you stronger and probably unlock more powers you never even knew about. You could use an advantage in this challenge and that one is the biggest.”

“You really think marking and mating could strengthen me?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

His eyes wandered over to the portrait on his wall; it was a large painting of the Moon Queen. She stood tall with a smile on her lips and her mates surrounded her as if they worshipped the ground she walked on, but it was more than that with the 6 of them. There was an understanding in each of their eyes that she doesn’t belong to just one of them, they belong to each other.

She’s her own person and she chooses her own destiny, which includes all of her mates. There was an understanding of her needs, along with the needs of one another. They were closer than friends, closer than brothers…

They weren’t just there for her.

That was the kind of relationship I wanted with my mates but getting that seemed impossible right now. The future was certainly looking bleak and out of my control.

How did she do it?

“You should get back to your dorm,” Principal Rapport finally said, turning his attention to me. “The sun is rising, and you have to prepare for the upcoming competition. But think about what I had said.”

I nodded.

With that, I left his office and wandered back to the dormitory, alone.