Chapter 136

Anila’s POV

“The competition is in a couple of hours. What exactly are we going to do with a dragon?” Zach asked. He was now leaning against the wall on the far side of the dorm room, his arms folded around his chest as he watched the dragon intently.

“Yeah, what are we doing with it?” Sage asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Her name is Ember,” I scolded, rolling my eyes as I ran my hands down Ember’s head.

“What are we supposed to do?” Penny asked with a timid frown on her lips.

I turned towards Ember and pressed my forehead against her as I whispered, “Go find Jaxon.”

She closed her eyes, taking in my words, and then without another word she turned towards the window which was still open, and she took off.

“Be careful! Don’t be seen!” I whispered-yelled.

“This is a really bad idea,” Sage said, folding her arms across her chest.

“Well, while we wait, I should get ready for the competition,” I told them.

They nodded and after a while, they left except for Penny and Zach who remained in the living room. I went into my bedroom so I could get ready for the competition. I decided to wear a sports bra and a pair of workout shorts. I wasn’t sure if there was a specific dress attire for this competition, but this was going to have to do for right now.

I threw my hair into a ponytail. I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Once I was done, I stepped back into my room only to find Zach seated on my bed. His arms were still folded across his chest and when he looked at me, my heart flipped in my chest.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked him, raising my brows.

“Like what?” He replied.

“Like you either want to lecture me, or fuck me,” I said, folding my own arms across my chest.

“Maybe I want to do both,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes and playfully swatted at his arm.

“Don’t be stupid, Zach. This is serious.”

“Getting the Dragon King involved though? He’s not on our side, Anila. If there’s a problem with the Dragons, that’s his fault,” Zach told me.

“Jaxon cares about his dragons and his people. He would never want this for them,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I’ve spent almost a week with him and—”

“Exactly. It’s only been a week, Anila. You barely even know him. You literally met for the first time a few weeks ago. That’s not enough time to know someone.”

“He’s my mate, Zach,” I said, my voice losing some of its resolve. I’m not sure what all this means… I’m not sure exactly what I am. But I do know that I have a strong intuition, and I know his character. He’s not as bad as most people think he is. He’s caring and gentle. He loves his people and dragons and would never hurt them intentionally.”

“Then why did he give the Alpha King a dragon in the first place if he cared about them so much?” Zach asked.

“He gave him the weakest and oldest dragon,” I murmured. “If he didn’t, there would be worse repercussions.”

“What did he need a dragon for?”

“I don’t know, Zach,” I nearly snapped. “World domination? He can’t really accomplish that with Sapphire because she’s not strong enough. It was the safest option.”

“And if Sapphire isn’t strong enough, the King will have her killed and Jaxon will have to give him another dragon. It’s a never-ending cycle.”

We walked together to the arena as I pondered Zach’s words.

I hated that Zach was right; I wanted Jaxon to stop working with the Alpha King and start leaning on us more. My other mates might not be on board with him at the moment, but he was still my mate, and he made me happy just as they all did. They would do whatever it took to keep me happy, even if it meant helping the Dragon King.

The Alpha King was up to no good and Jaxon was a victim to it.

Professor Rapport was at the arena when we appeared and he smiled down at me.

“Are you ready for the competition?” He asked me.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I murmured. “Damien was incredible in teaching me everything I knew.”

Principal Rapport smiled at Damien, who was now by my side.

For the next couple of hours, Damien and I went over some basic spellcasting along with some advanced ones. He prepared me on what to expect and the rules for some of the challenges that I’ll face.

The rest of the competition looked really fierce. There were dozens from each school that were competing for a spot as a top student, and they didn’t look as if they would back down without a fight. I wondered what spirit animals they held as they practiced and prepared to fight. Some were more delicate than others.

“Welcome to Round 1 of the competition,” the announcer spoke through the loudspeaker, making the entire audience silent. Zach and Damien stood at the sidelines with a few other students and the faculty. They were both watching me with intent gazes. “Round 1 is a scavenger hunt in the forest. You can use your animal forms or magic to help you. You will be given a list of things to find, each list is different. The person who finds it the quickest will win the round.”

As he spoke, someone walked around, passing around the pieces of paper with the list of items on it. Once they got to me, I thanked him and glanced at the list.

Everything seemed simple enough. There were about 6 items that I had to find in this forest.

Once everyone had a list in their hands the announcer went over the loudspeaker again. “You are given one hour. Your time starts now!”

And with that, everyone took off in different directions.

……

Jaxon’s POV

I was close to reaching the school grounds; I could already smell Anila. She was outside and preparing herself for the competition that was about to begin. I could feel through our mate bond. I had unblocked her over an hour ago after I left the Alpha King’s side.

I needed to warn Anila about what was happening. I screwed up and it was bad.

A wolf and bear stopped short of me, both looking feral in their own ways. One with glowing yellow eyes and the other with glowing red eyes. I knew if I was caught above ground, that alone could start a war. Me and my kind had been banished to the underground long ago. But then they started to shift, and I stood frozen as a very naked Xaden and Harley stood in front of me.

Neither of them cared that they were naked. Shifters were strange creatures, I thought to myself as I folded my arms across my chest.

“As much as I’d love to talk. I need to find Anila,” I told them as I started to walk past them. To my surprise, they actually let me walk, though they trailed close behind me.

“You also need to tell us what the fuck is going on with the Alpha King,” Xaden said, his tone gruff and annoyed. “We had a meeting about him. What’s he planning, Jaxon?”

“I have it handled,” I murmured, not sure if I believed my own words.

“You clearly don’t have it handled,” Harley was the one to speak next. “Dragons are being spotted everywhere. What’s happening? Don’t you have a handle on your dragons?”

I bit back a growl at his words; the last thing I wanted was to be lectured by my mate's other mate. That wasn’t happening.

“Do we need to be prepared for a war?” Harley proceeded to ask. “Jaxon this is important. Talk to us!”

“Why should I talk to either of you? You want me dead like everyone else. I can’t trust anyone other than myself.”

“Trust me, if we wanted you dead, we’d kill you ourselves. Without that Dragon stone, you are powerless,” Xaden said through his teeth.

His words caused me to pause for a moment.

“Tell us what you know, Jaxon,” Harley said, stopping me from walking any further. “We can help you.”

I stared at him, and I could see the sincerity on his face. Maybe I could trust them.

“He’s not starting a war with us. The last battle that nearly killed Xaden was only a distraction to weaken our forces,” I told them. “The real battle won’t be here. He’s planning on taking over the human nation.”

“He’s starting a war with the humans?” Xaden asked, his eyes narrowed.

“He doesn’t think humans should exist. He’s planning on taking them out and then taking over the lands, making his territory even bigger.”

Xaden and Harley stared at me dumbfounded before looking at each other.

I wasn’t sure how they could help, but it was kind of nice telling others of the King’s plans. Maybe I didn’t need to figure this out by myself; maybe Anila was right when she said we’d work better as partners than separately.

Before anyone could say another word, a screech came from above, drawing our attention to the sky. My heart fell when I saw all my dragons flying ahead. They were heading towards the human territory; the largest dragon I knew was the Alpha King. Thanks to the Dragon stone, he was able to shift into a dragon and hold all the same powers as a dragon. He was screeching into the night, my dragons’ screeching in response.

“We are too late,” I whispered, shaking my head. “The war is starting.”

The sound of something landing nearby made us jump when I noticed it was another dragon, only this one was different.

Xaden started to growl, and it was clear he was about to shift and attempt to attack the dragon, but I held my hand up, stopping him from fully shifting.

“Wait, I don’t think she’s under the influence of the King,” I said quickly. “Her eyes aren’t red like the others.”

I turned towards the dragon who walked towards me, her eyes filled with concern as she kept looking up at the sky and back at me.

“Ember?” I asked as the Dragon neared.

“How do we know she’s safe?” Harley asked, eyeing Ember with an open curiosity.

“Because I can tell,” I said over my shoulder, holding my hand out for Ember. After a moment, she pressed her forehead against my palm and closed my eyes.

Images of her time with Anila flashed through my mind and I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips. She sent Ember to find me; she knew something is wrong.

When Ember was finished telling me what happened, she opened her eyes and pulled back.

We would never get to Anila on time on foot, which left us with one other option.

I turned to face the others.

“How do you feel about riding a dragon?”