Chapter 91

Anila’s POV

I heard the shuffling of feet in the distance and my entire body froze at the sound. Jaxon heard it too because his eyes wandered behind me. Then his gaze meets mine and I watch as they darken, holding me in some kind of trance.

“I suppose this is where our conversation ends,” he said, bowing his head in my direction and causing my entire body to flare. “It was nice to officially meet you, Anila.”

Before I could say a word, he was gone within a blink of an eye. I wanted to chase after him but I’m not sure what I’d say if I did catch up to him. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Jaxon was here around the same time that Xaden got cut by a dragon’s tail and is now in a deep coma.

“Anila!” I heard my voice coming from behind me and I finally found the willpower to turn around and face the consequences of running away. I see Professor Rapport rushing towards me with a couple of the school security officers on his tail. “Oh, thank the Gods,” he gasped. “You can’t just run off like that. It’s dangerous out here.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, lowering my head and allowing fresh tears to soak over my cheeks. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Let’s get you back to campus,” he said, putting a hand on my back and guiding me away from the forest.

Even as we walked away, my eyes had a mind of their own and I found myself looking over my shoulder, wondering if Jaxon was still around and if he was… was he watching me? I felt my stomach tighten from the very thought and I swallowed the lump that had formed in the middle of my throat.

When we got back to campus, I went to join the others at the bottom of the dormitory palace. Penny immediately ran to me, throwing her arms around my shoulders.

“We just heard,” she said, hugging me close to her. “Do we know any more information? How’s Xaden?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered, shaking my head as tears pricked the corner of my eyes. “I have no idea how he’s doing. It doesn’t seem real to me.”

“He’s going to be okay,” Sally said as she rested her head on my shoulder. “He has to be.”

I nod, but I’m still unsure.

I’m not sure how long we sat there before we were cleared to leave the basement. There hadn’t been any more signs of dragons and the battle seemed to be clearing up hours later, or so the memo sent to our phones had said. I felt numb all over and I thought I was going to be sick.

We were finally cleared to leave the basement after a few hours, but we were instructed to return to our rooms for the rest of the evening until tonight. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get any sleep knowing Xaden was in trouble. As I made my way up the stairs, I paused when I saw Zach speaking with Principal Rapport.

I wasn’t even thinking; I just went to him.

“Where is he?” I asked without even greeting him.

“He’s back at the pack still—” Zach tried to explain but I cut him off. I knew Harley was already there with Xaden and I wondered why Zach came back. Did he not care for his brother enough to stay by his side? I suddenly grew angry, and I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

“Take me to him.”

He nodded, which surprised me. I really didn’t think it was going to be that easy to convince him.

“That’s actually why I came here,” he admitted. “I was just telling Principal Rapport that I’ll be taking you back to my pack for a few days.”

I turned to Principal Rapport, and he nodded.

“Take as much time as you need,” he assured. “I’ll have all your assignments sent to your school email and you can continue your lessons through the portal online. Make sure you practice your magic. I’ll have Damien email you a list of spells to work on.”

“Thank you,” I managed to say, feeling way too emotional. I knew I probably should have seeked Damien out myself and told him that I was leaving, but all I could think about at that moment was getting to Xaden.

Zach took my hand, and he guided me out of the dorms and across campus. We walked in silence and even while we sat in his car and drove for a little over an hour, most of the ride was in silence too. I didn’t have much to say to him; I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I know he’s the younger brother, but there was a part of me that resented him for not being there to protect Xaden.

Of course, I didn’t know the whole story, but I know how they are with one another, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Zach just watched and let Xaden get attacked by this dragon. I didn’t want to take my anger and frustrations out on Zach, but I couldn’t help myself.

When we got to the pack, I took a sniff of the air and my body started to relax. It smelled just like both Xaden and Zach combined. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it looked like a typical small town with homes and businesses. There were a lot of forest lands surrounding the pack, so the territory was semi-hidden. Wolves were walking the perimeters. of the borders which Zach told me they were warriors meant to protect the territory.

The main thing I noticed though was the huge house in the distance overlooking the rest of the town. It was gorgeous and it had a white gate around the perimeter, with more wolves guarding the place. There was a long windy driveway that circled around the top, leading up to the large porch steps. Zach mentioned something about that being the Pack House, or as some call it, the Alpha House.

It’s where he had Xaden had grown up and it’s where their father lives with his wife, Zach’s mother. Anyone in the pack is allowed to go there at any given time and most do for pack meals. There are plenty of guest rooms as well and he mentioned going there with me so I can rest later, but I couldn’t think about that right now.

I just wanted to see Xaden.

“He’s in the clinic; Harley is with him,” Zach tells me as he parks the car outside of a brick building. I nodded and followed him out of the car.

I felt entirely out of my element, so I stayed by Zach’s side. There were a lot of people outside, which was expected from a pack of werewolves. A lot of men weren’t wearing shirts and women were wearing practically nothing. But they were all fit and so beautiful. Children were running around the streets and playing with one another as well.

It just looked like a small town where everybody knew one another.

I was the odd one out that nobody knew and because of that, I got strange looks. When we reached the clinic, there were a couple of doctors and nurses in the room with Harley. They seemed to be talking but stopped when I walked in.

“Where is?” I asked, looking at Harley and then the doctors.

“Over here,” Harley says, pulling me along with him and past a privacy curtain.

I gasped when I saw a bruised and beaten Xaden lying in the bed with bandages wrapping around his body. He looked so peaceful and yet so broken at the same time. I can’t hold in the sob that escapes my lips as I cover my mouth with my hands and run to the bed.

“Oh, God,” I whispered as I put my hand on his chest to feel for his heartbeat.

It was there, but it was faint. I could hear the heart monitor as well, but I needed to feel it for myself. I ran my fingers through his dark hair as more tears filled my eyes.

“How do we fix him?” I asked, looking up at the doctor who was watching me carefully.

He glanced at Harley as if asking permission to speak with me.

“This is Xaden’s mate,” Harley explains.

The doctor nods before turning to me.

“I’m not sure how much you know about dragon tail scratches, but it basically puts a sleep curse on the victim. It takes 14 days for it to take full effect and once that happens the person scratched will die.”

“But there’s a cure for it, right?”

“There is, but it’s tough to get without dying,” the doctor confesses. My heart plummeted into my stomach. “In order to concoct a cure, we would need a piece of dragon scale.”

“How do we get that?” I asked, looking at him pointedly.

“Usually, a dragon master or the dragon king would be able to get it. But most Dragon masters aren’t seen around here anymore,” Harley was the one who answered. “They’ve been banished to the underground city.”

My entire body froze at the mention of the Dragon King. I had seen the dragon king. I knew who he was… he was my mate. Jaxon Develson. Would he help me though? Or was this his fault in the first place?

My stomach knotted at the very thought of one of my mates doing this to the other. Even if he didn’t know who Xaden was to me.

“We have the best warriors on the patrol of a dragon master as we speak, and they are looking into finding the dragon that did this in the first place,” the doctor informed me. “So, hopefully, there will be good news soon enough. Until then, we just have to wait and be there for him. Make him as comfortable as possible.”

Tears spilled from my eyes as I nodded. I hated that I felt so helpless. I needed to do something that could fix this. I needed to find Jaxon and ask him… no, beg him, for his help. Harley was by my side instantly and he wrapped an arm around me as I cried over Xaden. I felt the comfort of Harley washing over me and my body relaxed. But not enough. I wouldn’t fully feel better until Xaden was awake.

“Oh, my God,” I heard Zach murmur from a distance.

I completely forgot he was there; he was watching Harley and me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. But then his expression became very familiar as anger took over. He glared at Harley, breathing heavily as his lip curled up in disgust.

“You fucking marked her.”