Chapter 123

Anila’s POV

The dorm was quiet; I knew everyone was most likely getting ready for bed by now.

Now, that I had a moment to clear my head and I was back in a familiar setting, I thought about texting Harley to see how Xaden was doing. When I pulled out my phone to check my messages, I saw that I had a missed text from Harley telling me that Xaden is scheduled for discharge by the end of the week.

I just had to be a little more patient.

I smiled and sent out my own reply which consisted of some emojis as I padded up the stairs and towards my dorm room. Once I reached the door, I shoved my phone into my pocket.

“Anila?” Sadie and Sally asked at the same time as I stepped into the dorm room. I froze, not expecting to see everybody all at once, but here they were in the middle of my dorm.

Penny gasped and stood to her feet, her eyes wide as she took me in.

“You’re back so soon,” Penny breathed. “I thought you’d be gone for a few weeks at least. How’s Xaden?”

“He’s better,” I told her as I stepped into the room, shutting the door behind me. “He woke up and now he’s just recovering.”

Penny was once curled up on her bed with a pillow pressed to her chest. Sadie and Sally were seated cross-legged on the floor while Becca and Sage occupied my bed.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Penny said, rushing towards me and wrapping her arms around me. “I was so worried after the attack. I thought something might have happened to you when you went to the Redmoon pack. Thank goodness it’s all over now.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” I admitted as I nibbled on my lower lip. “It’s still pretty dangerous. There might be another dragon on the loose.”

“That’s odd… we didn’t get word of another dragon. We were finally able to return to our dorms yesterday,” Penny said with her nose scrunched. “I hope they don’t put us into hiding again.”

“Did the others come back as well?” Sally asked; she was next to hug me followed by Sadie before they returned to their seats on the ground.

“No, it was just Damien and me,” I answered. I went to my bed and sat on it alongside Sage and Becca.

“Did you hear that the competition this year had been moved up?” Becca asked. “Is that why you came back earlier than them?”

I nodded.

“I don’t really have a lot of time to prepare, so I’ll be working a lot with Damien,” I replied. “I might need some extra help studying as well.”

“Leave it to us,” Becca said with a grin. “I love studying and I was just saying we should start a study group.”

“And I was just staying that sounds lame,” Sage bit back.

“Then you don’t need to join,” Becca said, rolling her eyes.

I chuckled, tiredly.

“A study group sounds great. Maybe we can meet up after tomorrow. I need to get my missing homework and coursework together,” I told them.

“It’s a plan. I’ll text details on this study session,” Becca said. “Anyone wants to join in, I’ll create a group chat.”

“I’ll join,” Sally said, raising her hand.

“Me too,” Sadie agreed. “I know some girls in my shifter history class that have been wanting to get together and study as well. I’ll ask if they want to join.”

“I have too much going on to join anything more,” Penny said, biting the corner of her lower lip. “I’m way too busy right now. I joined a ton of clubs and they kind of take over my time.”

“Well, if you ever have free time, let me know,” Becca said with a smile. ”Sure you don’t want in, Sage?”

“I’d rather scoop my own eyeballs out,” she muttered, making Becca scowl.

“So, anyways,” Becca murmured as she turned to face me. “Why do you think they changed the competition date? That’s never happened before.”

I shrugged; not having an answer.

“I still can’t believe that Principal Rapport is even having her compete in the first place,” Sage murmured. “It’s usually only reserved for 5(th) and 6(th) year students.”

“Not always,” Sadie sang. “There are a ton of young students competing as well but it’s not as common because they are inexperienced.”

“Hey girls, I think Anila is tired,” Penny said, studying my face. “How about we finish our girl time tomorrow.”

Not before long, the only ones left were Penny and me.

“Spill it,” Penny said as soon as we were alone.

“Spill what?” I asked, trying to sound innocent.

“Don’t play stupid,” Penny said, her brows furrowed. “What happened? And don’t say ‘nothing’ because I know something happened while you were away. I can see it all over your face.”

“I’m not sure what you—”

“I have an owl’s intuition, Anila,” Penny sang, her eyes narrowed at me. “So, tell me what happened. I am dying over here.”

I chuckled. I couldn’t lie to her, even if I wanted to.

“I found my 5(th) mate,” I told her.

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

“Are you serious?” She asked.

I nodded and nibbled on my lower lip.

“Well, who is it?” She asked after a pause.

“If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone about this, Penny,” I warned. “I’m so serious. My head is still in a whirlwind over it.”

“You have my word,” she said, holding up her hand. “Scouts honor.”

I took a deep breath before saying, “Jaxon Develson.”

Her jaw nearly fell to the ground.

“The Dragon King??” she shrieked.

“Yeah,” I answered, burying my face in my pillow. “The one and only.”

“He’s your mate??” She practically shouted, making me lift my head up to glare at her.

“He’s not as bad as everyone makes him sound,” I murmured. Though I spoke on his behalf, I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he was helping the Alpha King and even went as far as giving him one of his dragons. A nasty feeling was forming in the pit of my stomach, and I didn’t like it.

“Well of course you’d say that,” Penny said, raising her brows. “You’re his mate. You have to be on his side no matter what.”

“Do I?” I found myself asking. “Even if I don’t agree with some of the stuff he does?”

She shrugged, her eyes scanning my face as I sat up in bed and wrapped my arms around myself like I was trying to hold myself together.

“Is he doing something you don’t agree with?” She suddenly asked, drawing my attention to her face.

She was watching me warily.

I didn’t want to worry her, so I shook my head.

“No, it was just a hypothetical question,” I lied. “He’s actually really sweet. He cares about his dragons and dragon masters. He only ever wanted to protect them.”

“A lot of people fear he’ll start a war using his dragons. He could take us out if we aren’t careful,” Penny said, nibbling on the corner of her lower lip. “It could be a repeat… that’s why he’s labeled so dangerous.”

“That last war had nothing to do with Jaxon and everything to do with his father. Jaxon was the one who killed the former King, aka his father, and took over in his place,” I explained, wanting to take some of the heat away from Jaxon. He didn’t deserve to be labeled a monster and there was a huge part of me that needed to jump to his rescue and protect him from the cruel things people say.

Penny’s eyes widened at my small outburst, and she clamped her lips shut.

I stared down at the ring on my hand; a ring I hadn’t bothered to take off.

……

Damien’s POV

“Damien, you came back,” Sarah said as she rushed towards me. I had just walked into the dining hall for breakfast when she approached me. I hadn’t spoken to her since I broke up with her. “I missed you these last couple of days.”

I turned to look at her.

“You remember we broke up, right?” I asked her, keeping my tone indifferent, making her frown.

“Yeah, but you are still my best friend, Damien. We have known each other since childhood. We promised that our relationship never came between our friendship, remember?”

“That was before you cheated on me,” I muttered.

As I started to walk towards the lunch line, she grabbed my arm and walked beside me.

“Damien, please. I know I messed up and I’m not looking for another chance at a relationship. I don’t deserve one,” she said, sniffling, tears were now pooling in her eyes. It reminded me of when we were kids. I could never resist the urge to make her smile when she cried and seeing her cry now brought back those memories.

I stopped walking to look down at her. At one point, before we started dating, she was like a sister to me. There was a part of me that wished I could get that part back.

“I don’t have any friends who get me as much as you do, Damien. You’ve always been my best friend, and I don’t want to lose that… I don’t want to lose you,” she sobbed into her hands, her body trembling.

“Sarah…” I tried to say, but she cut me off when she lifted her head and glared at me through her tear-soaked eyes once again.

“Don’t let my stupid mistake ruin our entire friendship. Relationship, sure… but not friendship.”

I ran my fingers through my hair, not sure what to say or do.

My eyes wandered the dining hall until they spotted the one person, I wanted to see the most. The one person I wanted to talk to.

Anila sat with her friends, and they were laughing about something. There was a sense of longing that sat in my chest as I watched her. I only allowed my eyes to linger there for a moment longer before I turned to look down at Sarah.

I have loved Sarah for a long time, but as I stood in front of her, I realized it was a different kind of love. It was never romantic love… I loved her like she was my sister.

But with Anila… it feels different. I’m in love with her.