Chapter 71

Anila’s Pov

I didn’t think; as soon as I hung up the phone with Penny, I was running straight for the dorms. My dragon had somehow gotten out of her cage, and she was my responsibility. I needed to protect her. She was probably terrified of the commotion going on and in hiding. It didn’t seem as if others had found her yet because most were evacuating the dormitory.

I could hear the fear in everyone’s voices, and I wondered what exactly was going to happen to this dragon once she was found. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her; she didn’t do anything.

At least I didn’t think she did.

I was on autopilot, so, I’m not exactly sure how I managed to get through the crowd of students and faculty and got into the school. I think everybody was just so wound up that they didn’t really think about security. But I got inside and weaved through the many students struggling to get out of the door.

“Anila!” I heard my name coming from the distance and recognized it right away as Penny’s voice.

She ran toward me, shoving her way through the crowd.

“You are going the wrong way! We have to get out of here!” She said, grabbing my arm.

I pulled my arm away and tried to come up with an excuse as to why I was running toward the elevator.

“I left something upstairs,” I said, panicked. “It’s important.”

“You can get it later, Anila. There’s a dragon loose,” she said through her teeth as she attempted to pull me away from the chaos.

I saw some of the school security guards in body suits roaming around the student lounge, looking for the small thing. I knew the bodysuits were most likely fireproof; they had nets and cages too and I feared what they were planning on doing with my little dragon.

I felt a surge of protectiveness and I would be damned if I let anything happen to her. I was suddenly angry at the very thought and pressed my lips together to keep from saying something I was definitely going to regret.

Then I felt a hand on my arm and my entire body warmed from the heat of one of my mates. I looked up to see Zach by my side and my mouth gaped open. I had completely forgotten that I was with him with Penny called. How could I have forgotten?

He must have thought I was some kind of lunatic or something.

There was no way I’d be able to get upstairs and find my little dragon with Zach attached to my arm like this. Why was he even following me? Why did it matter? He’s made it obvious in the past that he didn’t care about me.

I felt annoyed with him, but at the same time, it was hard to keep my focus when his hand was on my arm and my heart wouldn’t stop fluttering up a storm.

This couldn’t be happening right now, why Zach?

Even as I asked that question to myself, I already knew the answer before my wolf’s voice sounded in my mate.

“Mate!”

“Yes, I know,” I said to my wolf. “He’s my mate too. I get it.”

Before I could come up with another excuse as to why I needed to get upstairs and into my room, Zach spoke first. He was calm and he gave Penny a panty-wetting smile that made my wolf agitated. I felt more agitated toward his flirtatious tendencies than I had before, and I felt even more protective towards all my mates.

This was going to pose a huge problem; I was sure of it.

“I’ll take her upstairs and get whatever she needs. We will meet you afterward,” Zach told her, giving her a sly wink.

This time, I couldn’t hold in the growl. Penny looked startled that I growled at her and then she looked at Zach.

“Just keep her safe,” Penny ordered, folding her arms across her chest.

Zach nodded.

He didn’t seem affected by my growl, in fact, he grinned in response and tightened his hold on my arm, pulling me closer to him. It was nice being closer to him; his scent invaded my nose and relaxed my entire body. It was like that with my other mates too and this whole thing was still very confusing.

Xaden made it a point to prove that he was okay with the idea of sharing me with his best friend. But I wasn’t sure he’d feel the same way about his brother considering he and his brother had a rocky relationship.

Without another word, Zach was pulling me toward the elevator. He was very stealthy, and he managed to us both past the security officers without us being detected. Probably because there were so many students that were rushing out of the building. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do once I found the little dragon, but I knew I couldn’t find her in front of Zach.

However, as soon as we got into the elevator, Zach released his hold on my arms and folded his arms across his chest. I had never seen this look of him before and it made me feel stupid and small in comparison to him.

“What?” I asked, trying to keep my eyes from searching his face.

“How long?” He asked.

I glanced up at him, confused.

“How long what?” I asked.

“How long have you been hiding a baby dragon?”

I gasped at his words and stepped away from him. My first instinct was to deny his accusations.

“I’m not sure what you are talking about,” I murmured, turning my head away so I wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes and lie to him. But I knew he already knew the truth because I was a terrible liar. It was probably written all over my face.

“I was there when Penny called you, Anila,” Zach reminded me. “You look horrified, and it wasn’t because a dragon was released on campus. That was the look of panic for the dragon, not against it.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but only air came out. He corked an eyebrow at me.

“Tell me the truth,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me. “Is the dragon loose yours?”

I wanted to deny it until I was blue in the face, but I couldn’t. I sighed and nodded slowly.

“The other day I found her a tree during one of my runs,” I admitted. “She was just a baby, and I didn’t want to leave her. I’ve been getting leaves and bugs for her to eat, and she even had a little cage she slept in. But I guess it wasn’t strong enough to hold her.”

“Unless the cage is fireproof, it wouldn’t hold a dragon regardless of the size,” Zach informed me.

I felt so stupid, and I knew he was probably going to yell at me and tell everybody that I was the one who brought the dragon into the school.

“I would have been back by now if you hadn’t wanted to go for a run with me,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. If I couldn’t deny it, the next best thing was to reflect. “I was only going out so I could get more leaves and bugs for her.”

“I knew you were up to something,” Zach said, almost teasingly.

The elevator doors opened, and I was relieved to see that the floor was completely empty.

“Come on,” Zach said as we left the elevator and ran up the stairs. I went into my dorm room and swung the door open to my bedroom door. Sure enough, the dragon cage was burned and there was a gaping hole on the side where the dragon escaped.

My heart squeezed painfully in my chest and Zach looked around my room like he expected the dragon to appear out of nowhere. There were no leaves or bugs in the cage and my heart hurt for the little thing.

“Do you think it went to get more food?” I asked, peeking over at Zach who was still searching my room.

I felt weird having him in here, but right now, my main concern was the little dragon.

“It’s possible,” he answered. “He could have gone back to the forest.”

“She,” I corrected.

“What?”

“The baby dragon is a girl.”

“Whatever,” he muttered.

I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.

“Not whatever,” I scolded.

He turned to look at me.

“Look… maybe—”

Just before he could finish his thought, I heard a squeaking sound, and my entire body froze. The squeak turned into a croak and my heart fluttered. I recognized that sound… I ran from my room and followed the squeak to the front door.

I pulled it open, and the baby dragon flew into the room. It reached the couch and curled up in the corner, shivering and shaking like it was terrified. Zach’s mouth fell open upon seeing the little thing and I didn’t hesitate to comfort it.

“Hey… It’s okay,” I whispered, picking her up with my hands and cradling her with my chest.

Zach stared at me still shocked; I could only imagine what he must have been thinking but I was too focused on getting the little dragon to safety. She wasn’t safe in this school that was for sure; I needed to sneak her out. But I also knew Zach wasn’t going to let me get away that easily. He was going to tell them and then I wouldn’t know what would happen to her.

Panic consumed me as I cradled the whimpering dragon. She had gotten a little bigger since last night and I wondered how quickly dragons grew and how big she was going to get. I’d never seen a dragon in person before, but I knew there was a real reason why people around here feared them.

“Go ahead,” I murmured when I was clear Zach wasn’t going to say anything. “Tell me I’m stupid and that you are reporting me.”

His brows pinched together.

“Reporting you?” He asked.

I nodded.

“I snuck a dragon into campus and raised hell. You have to report me,” I told him, my voice breaking slightly.

He stared at me like I had just grown another head and for a moment, I thought he was considering it. But then he smirked which made my stupid heart flutter in my chest.

“You clearly don’t know me that well,” he finally said as he walked back into my room. I followed him with the little dragon, confused as to what he was doing. But then I saw him opening the bedroom window and peering over the edge. He smiled and climbed through, landing on a platform. He was holding onto the fire escape ladder and held his hand out for me to grab. “Let’s get out of here before we both get in trouble, shall we?”