Twenty-three Years Later
I took in a deep breath. This was it, my final test and last bit of training before I could move on to more advanced training. I was to go almost all the way through SEAL training, sixteen of the twenty-four weeks, ringing the bell at the end of the diving phase.
As I walked into the meeting hall, I looked around, noticing I wasn’t the last one but I was close. There were a couple of wolf whistles when I walked in, making my eyes narrow and my dragon pace. “Niamh calm down,” I spoke inwardly to my dragon.
She simply growled and continued her pacing. I tried not to roll my eyes on the outside and settled for attempting to push her to the back of my mind as I made my way to an open chair.
“Don’t be bothered by those asshats,” the guy next to me said, sticking his hand out for me to shake, “Dustin Randall.”
I grabbed his hand and shook it firmly, “I’m not too worried about them. They’ll be ringing that bell soon enough. Amaya Drake. It’s nice to meet you.”
We didn’t get the chance to say anything else because the meeting was called to order. We were given ten minutes after the meeting to settle into our bunks. Randall and I were able to get bunks together.
We were changing before heading out for a ten mile run. “Holy shit Drake. What happened?” He motioned to his neck and back.
“I was struck by lightning when I was seventeen. I barely survived,” Niamh snorted in the back of my mind. That lightning strike was what revealed my true nature, and it felt like I was going to die, so it was kind of true.
“Fuck,” Randall said with a grimace.
“Yeah. We better get going. We don’t want to be late and make it fifteen miles,” I said, heading for the door.
We made it with a few minutes to spare. I felt the guys staring at me, whether it was because I was wearing sweats and a sports bra or because of my scar, which went from the base of my neck and spread over my left shoulder down my entire back. It looked like a tree branch colored white and raised on my tan skin. I was used to people staring so not even Niamh is bothered.
A small gust of wind pushed the scents of the crowd to me. I tensed for two reasons, one there was a wolf shifter here and two Niamh roared loudly in my head, “Mate.”
“Daniel, I just caught a whiff of my mate. I don’t know which one he is but I also don’t know if I’ll be able to push Niamh down if we come face to face with him. There’s also a wolf shifter here,” I relayed to Daniel through mind link.
“Just take a deep breath and put her in the maze like we discussed.” He linked back calmly, “I’ve already spotted the wolf. It’s one of the Princes, though what he’s doing here I don’t know.”
Great a fricking royal on top of dealing with this mate bullshit, I thought to myself. I did as he said and imagined the most complicated maze I could in my head and dropped Niamh into it. We began the run, Randall and I stayed side by side. He was a little slower than I would like, but we ended up in the middle of the group and that was good enough for me. My mate was somewhere ahead of us, but the Prince was somewhere behind us. Super now he would know there’s not one but two dragons here, I thought to myself with a mental eyeroll.
At the end of ten miles I was barely winded. Shit if I wanted to keep up my conditioning I would have to run some extra miles early in the morning. Randall was laid out breathing heavily when he looked up and saw me barely breathing hard. He rolled his eyes, “How?” He barely managed.
I just shrugged, which earned me another eye roll. “Everyone on their feet. We’re going to pair you off to test your hand to hand skills,” Daniel said, pushing a little dominance into his voice for Niamh’s benefit. He began naming pairs, “Jackson and Drake.”
Of course Daniel would pair me with the Prince. Niamh chuckled in my head. She loved combat and the idea of going against a wolf was enough to get her to shut up about our mate for now. Randall hit my shoulder, “See you after. Good luck, your guy is built like a Mack truck.” I took in the Prince, who looked like he stood at about six foot seven inches and weighed just shy of two hundred and forty pounds. It was clear he was mixed with his caramel skin, and if he were human, he wouldn’t have any problem getting women.
I smiled, “Thanks. I’ll be fine.”
I watched as the Prince walked up to Daniel, his back stiffened slightly when he smelled the dragon in Daniel, “I can’t be paired with her. I’ll destroy her.”
Niamh growled, but I smirked. Before Daniel had the chance to say anything to him, I walked up, “Don’t worry about me,” I said before whispering so only he and Daniel could hear me, “Your Highness.”
He stiffened further at the use of his title and he had probably scented the dragon in me as well. “Right. Let’s do this then.”
“Control yourself,” Daniel said sternly through our mind link.
I gave him a smirk, which I’m sure inspired confidence. Niamh wanted to put the Prince in his place, but I threw her back in the maze. “Okay show me what you’ve got, Little One,” Jackson said, squaring off opposite me. My eyes narrowed even though I knew I wasn’t little; I was above average at six one. He smiled at my expression, “Had to see what you would do, Little Duck.”
I glowered even harder which made him chuckle. Soon we were trading blows neither one of us giving an inch. Daniel gave a five minute warning. Jackson and I circled each other, and I didn’t make my move until I saw the twitch I came to know as his tell for when he was about to make a move.
He swung, I ducked and hit him twice in the ribs, making sure it wasn’t hard enough to break them just to hurt a bit. We went back and forth trading blows. Soon enough Jackson got in a good hit that caused me to lose focus with Niamh for a second, but that second was all she needed to bust through the maze I had her in and make an attempt to push to the forefront.
Jackson saw my eyes flick and didn’t move to strike me again, instead he kept his hands up and whispered, “Deep breaths. You’re not in danger here. We’re in training.”
It sounded like I was in a fish bowl but I fought Niamh back and rebuilt the maze. She fought a little less this time when I slammed her in there. I let out a shaky breath and whispered, “Thanks,” he nodded in response.
Daniel called an end to the hand to hand training. Randall came over with his partner, who was a little shorter and leaner than Jackson with tan skin and stunning green eyes that took my breath away. As his scent washed over me, Niamh crashed into the wall of the maze roaring for her, our, mate. Randall introduced him to me as Nicholas Grey. “You can call me Fox,” he offered me his hand. I stared at it like it would bite me before grabbing it. I stiffened as electricity raced up my arm from our joined hands.
Niamh roared louder but the maze held. I winced, “It’s nice to meet you. This was my partner, Alex Jackson.”
“Call me Jax. It’s nice to meet you both,” Jax said, shaking both their hands.
“Nicholas Grey. He’s my mate,” I mind linked Daniel.
“Are you good?” He linked back not looking up from what he was doing.
“Barely. Niamh is fighting harder than she’s ever fought. She broke through while I was fighting Jax.”
“Let me know if I need to step in and get the Prince up to speed, sooner rather than later, please,” Daniel requested before turning to all of us and allowing us to go to lunch.
“That’s one hell of a right hook you’ve got, Jax,” I started as we headed to the mess hall.
“You kept up really well. Where did you learn to fight like that?” He fired back.
I subtly touched his arm to indicate we should slow to lose the other two, “Dad always wanted sons, but only got daughters. You know the same old story.”
Randall and Fox were busy talking strategy, so they didn’t notice we slowed or that they were losing us. When we were finally alone, Jax turned to me, “So what are two dragons doing here?”
“Training. I’m going through my final test with my dragon. Control. Daniel’s dragon is the only one that’s more dominant than mine. Look I scented my mate and then met him just now with Randall. Daniel wanted me to tell you just in case, but also so you’re up to speed on everything,” I said in a hushed tone.
“Well fuck a duck, and I don’t mean you. That’s way more than you bargained for I’m sure. I’ll help in any way I can. How’s your dragon right now?”
“Fighting as hard as she can to get out and get to her mate. She doesn’t care that he’s human,” I said with a sigh.
Daniel strolled over, “You in?” He asked in the same hushed tone we’ve been using. Jax nodded, “Great. Let’s get some food.”
Jax and I grabbed our trays and made our way over to Randall and Fox. “What happened to you guys?”
“Instructor Holland wanted a word,” I responded, not being too specific.
Fox’s brow furrowed, “About what?”
“He wanted to know where a duck learned to fight so well,” Jax said, smiling at me.
I elbowed him a little harder than necessary, causing him to cough. Randall laughed but Fox wasn’t buying it; he didn’t question it though. We finished up quickly and moved through the afternoon activities without much incident. Niamh almost broke through a couple more times but didn’t make it.
Sixteen Weeks Later
My original group was still together. I found out Jax was staying in for at least one tour, whereas I was set to ring the bell in a few days and disappear along with Daniel; except Daniel would stick around for the last eight weeks and graduation. Niamh had gotten easier to control, but instead of being hard to control, she had become stupidly insistent. Jax could hardly stand to be around me when Fox was around because Niamh sent the most graphic images to me she could that turned me on and Jax could smell it.
He couldn’t wait for me to leave while at the same time not wanting me to go. I never thought my best friend would be one of the royal wolves, but he was and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I was supposed to ring the bell right after failing to complete the last underwater combat scenario. Daniel was doing the test because even though I had better control of Niamh now, I still didn’t trust myself to do this test against a human.
Jax and I were out on our very early morning run when he brought up my departure again, “So you’re going to let yourself nearly drown, then just pack it up and go home right after?”
“Look you don’t get it because you don’t know what type of dragon I am, but this will be the ultimate test. If I pass and don’t lose out to Niamh then I’m done here. I have other things to be doing.”
“So you’ve said. What kind of dragon are you? I haven’t heard of dragons going through this training before,” he had been pushing for me to tell him more about Niamh since I told him the reason.
“You know I can’t tell you. It’s sacred and only shared between dragons and their mates if they aren’t dragons.”
He let out a sigh of frustration but thankfully let it go. “What are you going to do about Fox? You’ll be reported AWOL.”
“The report will be taken down soon after it’s posted, and I’ll probably never see him again so it doesn’t matter that he only knows me by a fake name,” I flinched as the words left my mouth and Niamh cried out in my head.
Jax gave me a sorrow filled look, “Sorry I asked Little Duck.”
Normally alone like this I would growl at his nickname for me, but now it just sent another sharp pain through my heart. We ran the rest of our route in silence. It was still too early for anyone to be up when we got back, so we headed back to our respective bunks and waited for our wake up call. Shifters didn’t have to sleep as much as humans, so we could run on two or so hours of sleep a night.
The days passed quickly, and soon enough my last day was here. Daniel had gone over my ground rules: keep the physicality to a minimum and no using my powers. Another reason I was going in against Daniel was Niamh would recognize him even if he seemed like he was trying to kill us. If I said there was a reason, she would listen and let me stay in control.
There had been six into the pool so far, two had left. Fox and Randall had gone in and made it out as fine as one can. Niamh almost came unglued during Fox’s but I managed to keep her in check. Jax was in the pool now, and he quickly passed the test. “Drake.”
“Good luck, Little Duck,” Jax said as we passed each other.
I entered the pool and Daniel was on me in an instant. We grappled and finally I gave Daniel the upper hand, allowing him to pin me in a way I was forced to submit. My lungs filled with water before Daniel could pull me out of the pool and set me on my side. I coughed up all the water in my lungs, using my powers to purge it all.
“You good?” Daniel asked softly.
I nodded, “I’m done.”
He feigned shock as if it’s the first time hearing it. “You sure? You can go another round if you want to try again.”
“Yep. I’m done,” he helped me to my feet.
“Good luck,” he said with a curt nod.
I walked over to Jax, Randall, and Fox, “I guess ducks don’t float.”
“Jax you’re a fucking dick, and I’m not going to miss you one bit.”
He busted out laughing and grabbed me in a bear hug, “See you around Little Duck.”
“In your dreams pup,” I whispered into his chest and I felt him smile on my head. “See you, Randall,” I said, grabbing him in a hug as well.
“Miss having you around, Drake,” he said as he released me, and handed me off to Fox.
Niamh cooed when we hugged, and electricity ran through my body causing me to stiffen a little, “Hope to see you around, Amaya.”
“You too, Fox,” I said, stepping away just as Daniel’s voice came into my head.
“Get out of here, now, before I call you out, or make you run through it again.”
“I’ve got a bell to ring. Bye guys,” I said to my small group as I started walking toward the bell. I hit it and walked to the bunks where I had already packed my things.
Daniel arranged for Josie to pick me up at the gate. I was surprised to find her waiting on me because she was usually late, “Goddess, Amaya are you a sight for sore eyes. Fuck, it’s been dull around the complex without you,” she wrapped me in a hug, “Any requests before we head home?”
“Yeah, I need to shift. I haven’t in over sixteen weeks. Niamh’s itching to get out,” we got into the car and hit the road.
“Daniel said you met your mate?” Josie looked over at me. I flinched but nodded in confirmation, “Okay, we’ll go pretty far from here.”
We drove for a few hours until we were well off the beaten path. We stashed the car, got out, and stripped. Josie shifted first into her small copper fire dragon. She shook her head and huffed at me, telling me to hurry up and shift. I smiled and started my shift. Niamh was a pure white storm dragon, which was only slightly different from a lightning dragon. The temperament was the same, volatile, but where a lightning dragon could only bend and/or breathe lightning, a storm dragon could bend and/or breathe lightning, water, and wind. I could also bend and breathe ice because my mother was an ice dragon. Niamh was huge compared to other dragons, and Josie’s dragon, Aliz, was small compared to others, tiny compared to Niamh.
“Ready?” Josie mind linked.
“Let’s go,” I sent back before spreading my large wings and taking flight. I bent the clouds around us to shield us from onlookers.
“Amaya, no,” I started to ask her what she was talking about until I realized where I was, heading straight back to Fox. Niamh cried out, and a storm began around us.
Daniel’s POV
I spotted Niamh’s storm on the horizon. Josie took them far enough away, or so we thought, before they shifted. I just hoped Amaya had enough control to not show up here.
The more the wind carried the smell of the storm, the more I could smell Amaya and was sure this was her doing. Storm dragons’ storms had their scent because it was their magic that created the storm. That was why creating storms could be so dangerous for us, depending on what we smelled like and where we produced it. Amaya was walking a fine line, I could smell her distinctive petrichor scent, but I knew it better than most. Humans typically couldn’t tell the difference, but when it was a storm on the open ocean smelling of petrichor that was where it got dicey.
I listened in on her boys’ conversation. “Looks like there’s a storm rolling in,” Randall said.
The Prince looked up and took a breath in, then breathed in deeper with a furrowed brow. He glanced at me, “I don’t think it’ll make it all the way inland.”
“You think?” Randall asked.
“It would be nice. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to enjoy a good thunderstorm,” I heard her mate say. Of course he would be a storm lover. The goddess planned those things down to the last detail.
Shutting them out again I walked down to the shoreline. I wasn’t seated for very long when the Prince made his way over and sat next to me. “Amaya is creating the storm isn’t she?”
I glanced at him trying to decide whether or not to tell him the truth. Based on how much he seemed to care about her, I sighed, “Yes. She’s a storm dragon.”
He blew out a breath, “There’s not many of those left right?”
“No. They’ve been hunted for their magic, but they really took a hit when the royal family of the American clan was murdered along with most of their clan.”
“Were the killers ever caught?”
“Some were. The Prince survived, and he destroyed everything in his path in an attempt to destroy those who had taken from him.”
“You’re him aren’t you?”
I didn’t respond to the question, instead I continued, “I lost my family, my mate, and I had to give up my child that night. It took years to gain control back from my dragon. I had gone mad. Keeping my child would’ve kept me grounded, but it would’ve put her at risk. It was decided she would be raised with her cousin as a human. There would be little risk of shifting if she wasn’t around her own kind and this way she wouldn’t be found by those who had attacked us.”
“Your majesty, where is your daughter today?”
I barely heard him, still caught in the memories from that day and those years. I didn’t answer him; I simply looked out to where Amaya was still casting one hell of a storm.
“Amaya,” he barely whispered. “Amaya’s your daughter? But I thought your daughter was raised human.”
I nodded once, “Amaya was raised by humans. When she was seventeen she was struck by lightning which exposed her true nature. That’s why she was here; it was the final step in her light training. It was about controlling her dragon around humans and going long periods of time without shifting. Storm dragons are the hardest to control. They are the strongest and most powerful in terms of abilities, but if the human side isn’t strong, the dragon side will take over and destroy everything. I’m the only dragon Amaya’s will even slightly submit to; her dragon doesn’t like to listen,” I said that last part with a chuckle.
“Sounds about right,” he replied, chuckling along with me. “You know she has no intention of seeing Fox again, right?”
I shook my head. She didn’t understand not just how lucky she was, or how stupid she was being. “She’s young. She’ll figure it out, or the mate bond will figure it out for her,” my dragon, Ruairi, told me, “She’s already back and it’s only been a few hours.”
“Are you going home at all before you get your assignment?” I asked Jax as a plan formed, causing Ruairi to chuckle.
“Yeah. Once we’re done here we get two weeks off. Why?”
I smiled and relayed my plan, “Think you can help?”
“Let me double check with my parents, but yeah I think I can,” he said with a sly smile of his own.
Author: Kailan Counahan 