Chapter 69

Anila’s POV

I just found a baby dragon!

I thought dragons were supposed to be outlawed. At least that’s what everyone else had told me. They said that dragons were incredibly dangerous and that they weren’t allowed. Which was weird to me because I wasn’t exactly sure how they hid dragons from the world. I imagined they must grow huge, and they have wings, so they fly. They also quite clearly breathe fire. I would assume that it’d be impossible to hide an actual grown dragon.

But this little thing didn’t look dangerous or even scary; it was actually adorable. Against my better judgment, I reached my hand out to touch the baby dragon. I let my fingers linger around its head for a moment and it sniffed me curiously.

Then it moved its scaly head across the palm of my hand, and I gasped at the warmth and affection it clearly had.

“Hey there,” I whispered, running my fingers down the length of its back. “Did you just hatch?”

I wondered how this little dragon got here. If there was a baby dragon, would there be a mommy dragon too?

I didn’t feel right about leaving the dragon here where anybody could just find it. If I found it, it wouldn’t be long for someone else to find it too. What would happen if someone else spotted the dragon?

I couldn’t just leave it there.

I reached my hand out and placed my palm up in front of the dragon. It sniffed me again and it stepped into my hand. I couldn’t help but smile as I lifted it up to my eyes to get a better look.

“Well, you’re obviously a girl dragon,” I said out loud. “Want to come home with me?”

Instead of answering me, it nuzzled against the palm of my hand. I was going to have to hide her so others wouldn’t spot her. I wondered how I’d be able to do that. I tucked the dragon in my blouse and to my surprise, it remained still.

With a new nervousness, I started to walk toward campus.

I reached the dormitory and the little dragon started to grow restless. I wrapped my arms across my chest, trying to hold it in place and maybe provide it with some sort of comfort. I got some strange looks as I ran through the student lounge and toward the elevators. But thankfully, nobody stopped me.

Once I was inside the elevator, I felt like I could finally breathe for a second. I got this far, now I just had to get her into my room. I’ll be able to figure out how to store her once we are in the secluded area of my room.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped into the shared living space. Thankfully, there were only a couple of girls in the area, and they weren’t paying attention to me. However, once I got into my room, Penny and the twins were sitting on the couch.

They were talking about something, but they stopped when I entered. All their eyes turned to me.

“Hey,” Penny said, giving me a small smile. “You look a lot better than you did yesterday.”

I hadn’t actually spoken to Penny since before my first shift. She was kind enough to take care of me until Xaden showed up and took me away. But I’ve been so busy getting to know my spirit animals that I really hadn’t had the time to catch up to her and tell her how everything went.

“I feel a lot better too,” I told her, trying to keep my voice as casual as I could. “I’ll be right back.”

I started to rush toward my bedroom when I heard Sadie asking, “Are you okay? You seem nervous about something.”

I froze; was it that obvious?

I wondered for a second if I should tell them what I found; but when I looked down at the little dragon wedged between my breast and hidden under my shirt, I knew I couldn’t say anything. Everybody, including them, had told me that dragons were dangerous. If they knew I brought a baby dragon into the dorm, they would be terrified, maybe even furious with me.

“Yeah,” I lied, forcing a smile at the girls. “I’m completely fine. I’ll be right back.”

I rushed into my room and rummaged through my closet. I needed to find something that could store this little dragon. At least for right now.

It’s not like I had any cages or anything. I probably should have thought this through.

I’ll have to go somewhere and get a little cage later.

And then what, Anila? Keep the baby dragon as a pet?

What would happen once it grows into a full-sized dragon? I won’t be able to keep it hidden.

I grabbed my backpack off the ground and threw it onto my bed. I unzipped it and then I put the little dragon inside. It curled up on the bottom of the bag, staring up at me confused. I didn’t like leaving it like this, but what choice did I have?

I zipped the bag but left a little opening so she could breathe.

“Just stay here for a little while,” I pleaded.

I put the bag under my bed and then I joined the girls in the living room. They were staring at me curiously.

“So, what were we talking about?” I asked, sitting in one of the seats and trying to act as normally as I could.

“You,” Penny said, raising her brows. “I was telling them how sick you were yesterday.”

“Glad you recovered,” Sally said. “Heard you were throwing up and everything.”

“Yeah, we didn’t experience any of that when we first shifted,” Sadie chimed in.

My eyes grew large.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah, I had no idea what to do last night. So, I called Xaden,” Penny admitted. “I knew it was going to be bad based on what I’ve learned growing up. But my first shift was nothing like that. It was a lot easier. I basically shifted in my sleep for the first time. Imagine my shock when I woke up in a tree.”

My mouth dropped open.

“A tree?” I gasped. I looked at all of them and they gave each other identical looks and head nods. “All of your shifts were easy?”

“Pretty much,” Sadie said with a shrug. “Our shift is nothing compared to a wolf or bear.”

“So, which one are you?” Penny asked, leaning toward me with huge and curious eyes. “I’ve been dying to know.”

“Yeah, we all have bets going,” Sadie grinned. “Penny and I are betting you are a wolf.”

“I’m betting it’s a bear,” Sally said.

They were all staring at me, waiting for me to respond.

“I guess you were all right, then,” I said, shrugging. “I’m both.”

They all gasped loudly.

“What?!” They said in unison.

“I’m both a bear and a wolf,” I told them. “I first shifted into a wolf and then I shifted again into a bear.”

“You’re both?!” They gasped.

I nodded, unable to hide my smile.

“It’s kind of surreal heaving both of them in my head,” I admitted. “But I spent a lot of time this weekend getting to know them.”

“Do they talk to you?” Penny asked.

“My mouse talks to me all the time,” Sally confessed.

“Same,” Sadie said with a head nod.

“Kind of,” I told them. “It was weird. It keeps saying things like ‘mate’ and ‘mine’ whenever I’m around any of them…”

“Any of your mates?” Penny asked. “Even though Xaden already marked you as his?”

I nodded.

“I still feel the connection with all of them. I don’t think that’s going away anytime soon,” I told them, staring down at my hands.

They all exchanged strange looks before looking back at me.

“What are you going to do?”

I certainly wasn’t going to tell them that I already slept with Harley. That was not a conversation I wanted to have. My cheeks warmed at the memory, and I cleared my throat.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. I didn’t really want to discuss it with them. “For right now, I’m just going to get to know my wolf and bear a little more and then figure it out from there.”

They all nodded.

We talked for a little bit longer before I excused myself. I went into my bedroom and grabbed my backpack. I checked to make sure the dragon was still inside and to my surprise, she was sleeping soundly.

I was relieved to see that.

I took the little dragon into town, and I got her a little cage with a small bowl of water. I had no idea what dragons ate, but I grabbed some leaves and killed some bugs while in the forest and I shoved my backpack.

Once I got home, I got the dragon situated in the cage and filled the bowl with water. I then scattered the leaves and bugs in the cage, hoping that it would be enough to satisfy her.

Throughout the night she seemed pretty satisfied; she ate the bugs and munched on some of the leaves. She made a bedding out of some of the leaves as well and I found myself lost in watching her adapt. I knew I would have to figure out what to do with her, but for right now, she seemed content.

Now, I just had to make sure nobody else found her.

We settled into a routine for the next day or so. I would provide her with plenty of bugs to eat in the morning and then I would return after my morning classes, right before lunch, and check on her to make sure she was okay. She still seemed content; Xaden would pick me up for lunch and we’d leave together.

I’d return later with a bagful of leaves and bugs.

By the time my combat class came around, I was surprisingly nervous. I hadn’t seen Zach since my first shift. It almost seemed as if he’d been avoiding me, which the thought didn’t sit right with my wolf. Despite her being bonded with Xaden already, she still wanted Zach and the very thought of him excited her.

Just the thought of being in class with him nearly pushed her over the edge.

As soon as our eyes locked, my wolf perked up and I could practically see her white fluffy tail wagging in excitement. I tried to settle her, but it was difficult.

“Mine!” My wolf growled. “Mate!!”