Chapter 94

Anila’s POV

“It’s you…” I whispered, taking a step back, my heart hammering in my chest.

“Like I said, I’m not here to hurt you.” Jaxon emerged from the tree line, and he was walking towards me. I held my breath as I watched him approach me, his hands raised to show that he wasn’t carrying anything. He was completely shirtless, and my mouth dropped at the sight of his body. He had tattoos across his chest and along his shoulders that looked as if they went down his back as well. I knew right away that the tattoos were of dragons, or maybe one really big dragon with little dragons inside of it.

Regardless, I found myself drawn to them.

He also had a long scar that went across his chest and down his torso, but that didn’t make him any less hot. In fact, it made him look more manly. I swallowed the lump in my throat as Jaxon Develson, the dragon King, stood only inches from me.

He had the scent of limes and passionfruit, and it caused my senses to be on high alert. There was no doubt in my mind that this man was my mate; I couldn’t believe that the dragon king himself was one of my fated mates.

I took an uneasy step away from him, still not trusting him and feeling all sorts of exposed even though I had all my clothes on.

He corked a brow at me as he watched my stance.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him, breaking the silence that formed between us.

A smile tipped the corner of his lips as he studied my face; I felt my cheeks flushing under his scrutiny.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” he replied, his voice deep and almost menacing.

“This is wolf territory,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. “You are trespassing.”

“Or is it you who is trespassing?”

I pinched my brows together.

“I belong here,” I tried to confidently say. “I thought you weren’t allowed here. Weren’t you and your dragons outlawed?”

He raised his brows.

“You didn’t care about the outlawed dragons when you took Ember back to your school,” he said in return.

“Ember?” I asked, not sure of his meaning.

“The baby dragon,” he answered.

“Her name was Ember?” I asked, my heart swelled just a little hearing the little dragon’s name. “Did you come up with it?”

“Her mother did,” he answered pointedly.

“Her mother? A dragon?” When he didn’t answer, I asked, “Did she tell you the baby dragon’s name?”

“Yes.”

I was annoyed that he wasn’t elaborating on any of the answers he was giving me. I folded my arms across my chest, which was a huge mistake because as soon as I did, it pressed my breasts together and pushed them up, putting them on full display. His eyes shifted downward to my breasts, and I felt my face flushing, but I didn’t move… I was way too stubborn.

“Why are you even here?” I asked him, changing the subject and trying to draw his attention back to my face.

It worked because, after a moment, his gaze shifted to my eyes.

“I was called,” he answered.

I rolled my eyes.

“Are you seriously only going to give me small responses?” I asked, unable to take it anymore.

He grinned which sent a strange sense of warmth throughout my entire body.

“Perhaps you should be asking better questions,” he stated. “What exactly do you want to know about me, Anila?”

He stepped closer to me, and I felt all my fight and flight dispersing from my body. I couldn’t seem to pry my eyes away from his handsome face and I hated myself for that.

What was becoming of me?

“Who would call for you and why do they need you here?” I asked, my voice coming out breathy.

“I had an obligation to fulfill for the Alpha King. I was the only one who could help him.”

That caught my attention.

“The Alpha King is near here?” I asked, looking around the forest grounds like I expected the Alpha King to just appear out of thin air.

Jaxon remained quiet for a moment as he studied.

“No, he’s not,” he answered, making me look back at him, confused. “I was passing through to return to my home.”

“Why would the Alpha King need you?” I asked, furrowing my brows together.

“He was hurt,” he answered. “I’m the only one who could help him.”

“Why would you help him?” I asked him, suddenly feeling defensive and angry.

“So many questions,” Jaxon said, the corner of his lip twitching.

“The Alpha King is the reason for this war,” I said through my teeth. “He’s the reason Xaden is hurt…” I froze for a moment when I remembered it was a dragon tail cut that hurt Xaden. “It was you that hurt him… wasn’t it?”

His brows raised at me.

“I don’t know anybody of that name,” he answered. “But if you’ll excuse me, I should be going now.”

He was starting to walk away, and I wasn’t going to let him go that easily. Not when I needed answers, but more importantly, I needed a solution.

“He was scratched by one of your dragons and now he’s going to die in 14 days unless there’s a cure,” I blurted.

He froze, turning back to me; I could see the darkness in his eyes, and it sent a chill up my spine. But I still didn’t fear him; at least not like I should.

“I’m not sure what you mean, my dragons had scratched nobody and are safely in Dragon Valley,” he said without a single sign of resentment. “You have your facts wrong.”

He was lying to me, and he could do it so easily that it cracked my heart even more. I shook my head, biting my lower lip to keep from saying something I would regret. I truly needed his help and the last thing I could do was piss him off.

“And besides, I don’t play those childish games. If I wanted my dragons to attack, their victims would be dead on the spot,” he spat, causing my heart to nearly stop beating in my chest.

“Xaden is in the hospital right now fighting for his life because of a dragon tail scratch,” I said to him. “It has to be because of one of your dragons.”

Something else flashed in his eyes that I didn’t recognize, and I wondered for a moment if he was worried about something. It looked as if he was in deep thought, and it brought unease to the pit of my stomach.

“It wasn’t mine,” he said, just as he turned away for the second time and started to walk in the opposite direction.

I shook my head, unable to believe what he was saying.

“Aren’t all dragons yours? You are the Dragon King, aren’t you?”

“Not this one,” he muttered.

“Xaden is going to die, Jaxon,” I blurted, feeling desperate for him to listen to me.

“What would you like me to do about that, Miss Anila?” He asked as he continued to walk, and I quickly trailed after him.

“You have the power to help him!” I shouted, grabbing his arm to stop him from walking any further. As soon as I made contact with his skin, it was like a thousand lightning bolts shot throughout my skin and I gasped, pulling my hand away like he had just burned me.

It didn’t hurt, it just felt powerful. I could feel the amount of power he had, and it was almost exciting.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because…” I started and then I stopped. I took a deep breath and tried again. “Because you know what you are to me…”

As soon as I spoke those words, I regretted it. The look on his face was like a punch to the stomach and I suddenly felt like a small child in his presence. He was obviously much older than me; at least in his 30s. Here I was, barely 20, and on the verge of tears, begging him to help me.

“From what I’ve seen, you’ve got enough tail to last you a lifetime,” he said, emotionless.

I flinched from his words. I could feel the strings of the mating pull tugging at me and I wondered if he could feel it too.

“He will die without a dragon scale to complete the potion,” I blurted. “Please… if you have any good in you, you will help me.”

“Maybe I don’t have any good in me,” he murmured, but as he said that, I saw something flash in his eyes that went against his comment. It was regret and remorse and it tugged at my heart. I fought the urge to reach my hand out and touch him again.

“I don’t believe that,” I whispered, keeping my eyes on his face.

“Why is this wolf so important to you?”

I was taken aback by the unexpected question.

“Because I care about him,” I admitted. “Because he’s my mate too. I can’t really explain why I have more than one fated mate, but I do, and losing him would be like losing a part of myself. I don’t think I’m strong enough to handle that.”

“You are stronger than you think,” he surprised me by saying.

“I don’t think I want to be that strong if I’m honest,” I admitted, twirling my fingers around nervously. “You won’t help me… won’t you?”

“I don’t do anything for free.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Then name your price,” I told him. “What is it you want?”

He studied me for a moment longer, his eyes tracing my body and then my neckline where the marks of my mates were. I fought the urge to cover them with my hands.

“Are you sure you’re willing to pay the price?” He finally asked after a short pause.

“Yes,” I told him without hesitation. “Just tell me what you want.”

A smile played on his lips, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I guess we could make a deal then.”

“What kind of deal?” I asked, keeping my eyes on his.

“First… agree to it,” he said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I stared at it like it was on fire.

“Why can’t you tell me first?” I asked, my voice coming out breathy.

“Do you want me to save your mate's life, or not?”

I met his eyes again and I could see how serious he was. I swallowed the lump in my throat and then I raised my hand towards his. I knew this would end up coming back and biting me in the ass, but I didn’t care. This was for Xaden, and I would do anything to save him.

So, without much more thought, I grabbed his hand, and we shook.

“Deal.”