When I woke up my muscles were stiff and my head was killing me. Taking in my surroundings, I saw I was back in my room at the Jackson’s house. I finally found what I was looking for, water. When I reached for it though my torso grabbed at me causing me to cry out quietly in pain, so I just bent the water to me. My small bits of movement alerted a she-wolf I hadn’t met of my awake state. “You’re awake, good.”
“Ho-” I tried to say but my throat was still dry despite the water, “How long have I been out?”
“A day and a half. I’m Laura Fleming, the Pack healer,” she pulled back the blanket that was covering me and began undressing my wounds. “You’ve healed nicely. You will probably scar slightly but nothing too big. Take it easy the next couple of days, no running, fighting, or shifting, but you don’t need to lie in bed the whole time.” I looked down at the puckering wounds and gave her a nod, “Good. I’ll let everyone know you’re awake.”
“No,” she gave me a confused look, “Let me get dressed and I’ll come down with you.”
She helped me out of bed, I sucked in a sharp breath in pain, “Are you sure you don’t want to stay in bed? I’m sure everyone would be fine coming up to see you.”
“I’m fine,” I said through gritted teeth. She pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. I slowly put on an oversized sweater and a pair of sweats. I was quickly exhausted by the amount of energy that went into doing just that small task. I steeled myself against the urge to crawl back into bed and have everyone come visit me or take a nap before Laura and I headed downstairs.
I had somehow missed Daniel and Josie’s scents in my room as they hit me by the time I hit the bottom of the stairs. Daniel was the first to see me, probably scenting me, he looked over from his conversation with Charlie and Aaron, who I was surprised to still see here. He crossed the room and wrapped me in a hug, “How do you feel?”
“Sore and hungry,” on cue my stomach growled causing us both to chuckle.
“Don’t worry Mom and Luca are making dinner. It should be ready soon,” Jax said from somewhere in the room, but I was still wrapped in Daniel’s hug.
Dragons enjoyed contact especially from loved ones and especially if there had been something wrong with them. “All right stop hogging her. It’s my turn to hug her. I don’t care if she’s your daughter, she’s my best friend, now hand her over,” Daniel growled low, “Ooo I’m so scared. Now hand her over.”
I chuckled at their exchange and decided for Josie’s sake to pull myself out of the hug with Daniel, “Goddess Jos seriously.”
She pulled me into a hug, “What? He’s fine, he knows how this goes. There are rules.”
“Hugging rules? Really?”
“Yup,” I didn’t realize how tense she was until I felt her relax completely in my grasp. I tightened my hug a little bit more and we stood there for a few beats until she finally started to pull away from me. “Please don’t do that again.”
“What get attacked by a power mad misogynist? Because I can’t promise that.”
She hit me gently on the shoulder, “No faint and then don’t wake up for almost two days.”
“I will do my best,” I said.
Jax came up to us and wrapped me in a hug, “Oh sure don’t worry about the conversation we were having,” Josie said to him.
“I won’t. It seemed finished anyway,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. I stifled a giggle into Jax’s chest.
“Well you’re wrong it wasn’t,” Josie said.
I pushed out of Jax’s chest, “You’re both pretty,” I said with a smile and a pat to both of their cheeks. They both scoffed but didn’t say anything else as I pushed past them.
King Aaron stood and bowed his head, “Your Majesty, I must apologize for James Scott’s actions. He is currently being held in my cells and will be tried for his crimes. His clan is being investigated to see what other crimes he might have committed.”
“And who’s in charge of his clan currently?”
“My oldest sister and her mate. There will be a mental contest of control and once the candidates have been narrowed down the clan will vote. She has a good head on her shoulders and could easily lead the kingdom if she wanted. I’m hoping they choose to keep her in charge.’”
I nodded, “And Conner? What becomes of him? What if he passes and the clan decides to keep him as their next leader? I’m sure they’ve been significantly scarred by the Scott family, and that they have supporters within the clan as well.”
“Connor and his mother have not been allowed to stay in the clan. They were moved to mine, and Connor will not be allowed to be in the running for leader of the clan. He lost that right when his father attacked you. He’s just as bad as his father when it comes to respecting those around him.”
“Can I make a suggestion?” Daniel said moving over to our conversation, “Why doesn’t Connor come to Virginia with us? We’ll train him, teach him discipline, and teach him to respect those around him.”
“I’m not training him,” Josie and I said at the same time.
“Jinx you owe me a coke,” Jax said.
I glared at him, “I regret telling you about Letterkenny.”
He gave me a big smile. I rolled my eyes, “You’ll both train him, along with Alanza,” Daniel said to Josie and me.
“Oh he’s going to love that. Not just three girls training him but they aren’t even all dragons. Great. Yeah he’s going to be super receptive,” I said sarcastically before walking to the kitchen.
Jo wrapped me in a hug when I walked in, “I’m glad you’re okay sweetie.”
“Thanks Jo. Do you guys need any help in here?” I asked.
“Nope. Have a seat with Feray, we’re almost done,” Luca said.
I did as he said and sat down with his mate at the bar, “How are you feeling?”
“Sore and somehow still very tired,” I said.
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it, “You’re healing well though?”
“Laura says I am. I should be completely healed in the next couple of days.”
Feray nodded, “Good. You should be healed by the time our other guest gets here.”
“So who is this mystery guest? Other than you guys mentioning they’re human you guys have kept them pretty under wraps.”
“It’s just someone Jax knows and is in business with,” she added that last part almost as an afterthought.
I nodded. I was curious about the human they had visiting but not curious enough to continue asking questions. Jo had Feray and I set the table. We got everything put on the table and got settled at the table.
As everyone had their own conversations around us, King Aaron, who was seated next to me, leaned in, “You aren’t mated.”
“Neither are you,” I pointed out, before going back to my plate of food.
“Have you just not found him yet?”
“Bit uncouth of you to ask. To answer your question though, yes I’ve met my mate. We haven’t mated yet because he doesn’t know I’m his mate,” I said, getting increasingly bored with this conversation.
“How could he not know?”
“He’s human,” I continued to eat as Aaron’s silverware clattered to his plate.
“He-he’s human. How?”
“Well I would venture to say he was born that way,” I said, giving him a sardonic look, “I met him at the same time I met Jax when I was training.”
“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“No. For now I have other things to worry about, like training an unwilling former heir.”
“Well should you find yourself without a mate,” I growled low, not liking where he was going with this, “I would be happy to throw my hat in the ring. If you’re looking for someone.”
“I’m not,” I barely gritted out, “I will either have my mate or I will have no one at all.” I scooted my chair back from the table. “Jo, Luca, dinner was lovely but I’m still very tired. I’m going to go back to my room, excuse me.”
When I stood I did so a bit too quickly, momentarily forgetting about my injuries, and I nearly doubled over in pain. Lucky for me Jax was seated to my left, he quickly grabbed me, “You good Little Duck?”
“Fine pup,” I said quietly through gritted teeth.
“Yeah sure you’ve got me fooled,” he said as he picked me up, bridal style, “Let’s get you back to bed.”
“Alexander Jackson! Put me down right now,” I demanded, unable to really struggle because of the pain in my torso.
“Oooo the full name. If only you knew my middle name, then you might actually have some effect on me. Until then Little Duck you are stuck being carried. Get used to it.”
I hmphed into his chest like a child, and he carried me back up to my room and settled me into bed. “Okay you’ve tucked me in. You can go now.”
“Come on Little Duck don’t be like that. You need to rest up and get well. I have a lot planned in the next few days. Plus we’re supposed to have the feast tomorrow night,” he said, sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Speaking of which, who’s the human you have coming? What business could you have with a human?”
“We do business all the time with humans. It’s just more of that, except this one is coming to stay for several days while we talk over some new contracts and stuff.” He kept his answer as vague as possible, which irritated me and made me wonder if he would be stupid enough to actually invite Fox here in an effort to force the mate bond.
Finally he left me alone so I could fall asleep. When I woke up again it was early the next morning. I felt marginally better than when I went to sleep. I tried getting out of bed, finding it was much easier than yesterday, I quickly took care of my business before heading downstairs. “Little Duck. What are you doing out of bed? Mom was getting ready to bring you something for breakfast.” Jax said as I entered the dining room.
“I’m fine Jax. Well better than yesterday,” I shrugged, “Besides I need to get up and walk around if I’m going to make it to the feast tonight anyway.”
“Whatever. Get back upstairs, or I’ll carry you back up,” he said, coming for me.
I put my hands up in surrender, “Fine. Fine. I’ll go back up, Jesus.”
“Thank you,” Jax said with an exasperated sigh.
Soon after I settled back into bed, Jo brought up a tray of food for me, “How are you feeling today sweetie?”
“Better than yesterday, but still not fully recovered,” I winced as I adjusted in bed, “Where are Daniel and Josie? I don’t feel them in the house anymore.”
“Daniel went with Aaron to help with the trial of Scott and Josie decided to head back with Conner before our other guest arrived. She said she would get started on training with Alanza, was it?” I nodded, “Alanza, and you could step in and take over when you got home.”
“Did Daniel say if he was going to call when the trial was over?” I asked, munching on some of the bacon.
She nodded, “He said he would call as soon as it was over.”
“I wish I could be there,” I said almost to myself.
Daniel’s POV
“Thanks for letting me be here, Aaron,” I said to him, more out of formality than anything because nothing could’ve kept me away from this trial today. I was seated next to Aaron, between him and one of his clan leaders. He requested the presence of all his leaders, which considering he was punishing one of them, I think it was the right call.
“Thank you for coming. I don’t have a lot of experience, still, at this sort of thing, so your presence and experience will help.”
“Not to mention he wants to kiss our ass in an attempt to win Amaya’s hand,” Ruairi said in my head.
I snorted, “Like that will ever happen. He doesn’t know that I’m not the one he needs to convince.”
I shifted my focus back on what was happening in front of me. Scott was led into the room in iron chains. Aaron had members of the royal clan present, but he also brought in members from Scott’s clan. Aaron banged his gavel to quiet everyone in the room and brought their attention to him. “Okay. Let’s bring this meeting to order. Let the trial of James Scott begin.”
Representation for Scott stepped up first, “Your Majesty, my client didn’t know about Queen Amaya Wardwell having a title. She wouldn’t tell him who she was, and she lost control of her dragon several times before my client lost control of his.”
I laughed, causing Aaron, the lawyer, and the other clan leaders to look over at me. Aaron gestured for me to speak, “I’m sorry it’s just she didn’t lose control. She’s highly trained to stay in control of her dragon. All storm dragons are. If we weren’t and we lost control, you would know, and besides we would still be attempting to get Niamh under control.”
“And who are you to be such an expert?” He asked, chin raised slightly.
“Daniel Wardwell, King of the Storm Dragons,” I smirked slightly as his face fell, “I trained Amaya the same way I was trained and everyone in our clan has been trained to stay in control of their dragon for decades. She has far more control than anyone I’ve ever met, even me. What makes your client think she lost control?”
“My client says her dragon spoke through her several times,” the lawyer said.
I smiled, “Niamh likes throwing her weight around when she faces insolent dragons who don’t know their place. Amaya was never not in control of what was happening. She and Niamh share a special relationship, unlike most dragons.”
“Would you care to define that relationship, your Majesty?” Scott’s lawyer pressed.
“No I wouldn’t because my daughter is not on trial. Your client is, so let’s continue. My daughter didn’t lose control, only your client did. Moving on,” I waved my hand telling him to start.
“Right. According to King Wardwell, his daughter didn’t lose control. Any dragon who doesn’t know her could easily make that mistake and feel threatened, given how dangerous storm dragons are,” he paused, glancing in my direction, but not holding my gaze. My lips held a smile, but my eyes, I’m sure, showed my deadlier nature. He cleared his throat, “My client felt justified in allowing his dragon to take control and protect him.”
“Your client only lost control after he was called out for the racism and misogyny he has always displayed. Scott was angry and lost control due to that anger, not fear. He attacked even after learning of her status as Princess of the Storm Dragons and Queen of the Dragons, because he touted her position of power due to her gender,” Aaron said, voice unyielding.
“What will happen to my son?” Scott said, interrupting Aaron.
“Your son has already been dealt with,” Aaron stated vaguely, “You will be lashed thirty times and imprisoned for thirty days. After that you will join your mate in my clan, if she will have you, and that is where you will remain. Unless something more is turned up in the investigation that is currently underway in your clan, in which case we will be having another trial, and your punishment will be steeper.”
“You can’t do this! What happened to my son?!” Scott shouted.
“You don’t get to make demands in my kingdom, Scott. You will be told what happened to your son when you’ve earned the right to know; until then you will take your lashes and do the time,” Aaron tapped his gavel and two guards took hold of Scott, who fought to get loose. The guards kept a tight hold on him, escorting him from the room. Aaron banged his gavel to regain the attention of the crowd, “There will be a thorough investigation conducted in the Wyoming Fire Clan. Your full cooperation is expected and appreciated. There will be a contest of mental strength and control, and whoever is left will be up to vote for as leader which will be held after the investigation has been concluded. This concludes the meeting. Thank you all for attending,” he tapped the gavel again, and people began to filter out of the room.
“Thanks again Aaron for letting me sit in on this,” I said, shaking his hand.
“Thank you for being here to give insight to the way Amaya does things. We might not have known that if you weren’t here. I could see she was in control when I got there, but who’s to say someone hadn’t gotten her under control before I got there.”
“If Amaya ever loses control no one except her mate can get her under control; not even me anymore,” I stood getting ready to leave, “That’s why we worked so hard on her control. We knew that one day Niamh wouldn’t bow to anyone.”
“Has she found her mate yet?” The leader of the Oregon Fire Clan, Jun Wang, asked, turning to look at me.
“She has, but he’s human,” I told them.
“Has she decided what she will do if he doesn’t accept her?” Clara Munoz, leader of the Northern California Fire Clan, pressed.
“That’s not your concern,” I said, turning to leave.
“And if she loses control without a mate to calm her down and no one can get her back?” Lila Woodward, the Idaho Fire Clan leader, asked.
“She won’t. None of you have half the training in control that she does. Her discipline outmatches all of you and she hasn’t had her dragon nearly as long,” I said, taking strides to leave.
Aaron’s hand caught my arm to stop me, “Daniel, please. They meant nothing by their questions. We just don’t know anything about Amaya or having a storm dragon as the queen of all of us. You might consider her taking a mate that isn’t her fated. We don’t know if the human will be able to control her the way one of us could.”
“You mean you,” I stated rather than questioned, “Listen, she will have her mate or she will have no one. As you know that’s not me speaking, that’s her. She and I have spoken about it, and that’s her stance on it. I agree with her. I don’t think a non fated mate would be able to control her anyway. Only her fated mate should be able to control her. The goddess doesn’t make mistakes when she pairs us. If you attempt to force her into something she doesn’t want to do, not only will it not happen, but you will be no better than James Scott, who didn’t allow fated mates in his clan. Is that how you run your kingdom Aaron?”
He swallowed hard, “I would hope you know I don’t.”
“I would hope you didn’t, but since you’re attempting to mate my daughter off in a piss poor attempt to control her I’m not so sure,” I narrowed my eyes, “Is it her power you crave? Why are you so eager to mate to her?” I asked in a hard voice.
He cleared his throat, “No. I am tired of waiting on a mate that seems like she will never come. Your daughter is from a good family. I just thought it might be good to bring the two families together.”
“It’s not my choice to make, but I can tell you she will probably choose a century of solitude rather than mate with someone who isn’t her fated mate,” I said, walking out of the room before anyone else could stop me to mate my daughter off to anyone.
I called Amaya once I’m outside, “Well?”
I smiled at her directness, “Thirty lashes and thirty days of imprisonment, unless the investigation in his clan uncovers something. His lawyer attempted to say you lost control of Niamh before Aaron got there and that’s what prompted his loss of control. I had to explain a little bit of your relationship with Niamh, and I mentioned that if you lost control we would still be trying to get you under control. They discussed mating you off to someone other than Fox,” she growled loudly on the other line, “Because he’s human and might not be able to control you. I told them you wouldn’t have it, and if anything else you would remain unmated rather than mate to someone who wasn’t Fox.”
“I’m sure Aaron wanted me mated to him,” she said in a bitter tone.
“He mentioned it, yeah. Don’t worry about it though. I told them it was your choice, and I’ll back whatever choice you make. Plus they’re afraid of you, you can use that as leverage against them.”
She sighed, “I guess. Are you coming back here or heading home?”
“How are you feeling?” I asked instead of answering her.
“A little better. I’m still a little weak. I’m hoping to be better by tonight for the feast,” she grunted quietly, “So are you coming back here or heading home?”
“Do you need me to come back or would you like me to go back and help Josie and Alanza?” I had been making her make more decisions in Storm Industries. I planned to step down from the majority of the day to day team issues, and hand it over to her. We had more storm dragons coming of age, so I needed to focus on them. She could lead the teams with ease; it was her destiny after all, to lead.
She sighed, “If you want to come to the feast because you’re friends with the Jacksons then come back, otherwise you can go help Josie and Alanza. They might need it, although their respective inner beasts are both pretty dominant, Conner might still need someone more dominant.”
I thought about it for a bit, but ultimately decided it was better if I didn’t attend, “I’ll go help out Josie and Alanza. I think you’re right. Until you get home someone more dominant than Josie or Alanza should be there to help out, plus I need to make sure Jace hasn’t lost it,” I sighed and scratched my forehead.
“He’s still having a hard time controlling himself?”
“Yeah. He’ll get there, but I remember what it was like for Joseph,” Ruairi growled at the mention of Joseph’s name, “When he was learning to control Dubhlainn. He had a lot more trouble than I did. Jace’s dragon is very strong, but I know we can get him under control.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“I will. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Yeah, see you,” she said before disconnecting.
I heard Aaron walk up behind me, “I didn’t mean to offend you or her by suggesting she take a non-fated mate; none of us did.” I turned toward him, “They’re just afraid-”
“You all are afraid of what you don’t understand. Don’t pretend to be any different than the rest of them,” I said before walking into the clearing used for shifting.
He followed me, still attempting to have a conversation I was not willing to have. “Daniel please,” I ignored him, stripping to shift instead. He took in a sharp breath when he saw the scars that covered my body from that night, “Daniel I had no idea.”
Most people saw the one on my face that ran from my cheek over my nose, but people rarely saw the rest of my scars. Like my mating scar, when Amaya’s mother was killed, it collapsed in on itself creating a deep impression. The other scars varied on my torso, arms, and legs from endless fighting. “Yeah most people don’t,” is all I said before I shifted. I grabbed my clothes and bent clouds around me as I took flight, making my way back to Virginia.
Amaya’s POV
Jax had been bothering me since Jo left, throwing things at me or just making noises incessantly. When I got off the phone with Daniel he looked at me expectantly as if he didn’t just hear every word Daniel said. “What?”
“Well? What did Daniel say?” He motioned with his hands as if that would make me tell him.
I gave him a confused look, “You just heard everything he said. Why do I have to repeat everything?”
“It would be rude to listen in,” he shrugged.
“Since when did you worry about being rude?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Okay. All right. Yes I listened in. Is Aaron serious about you mating anyone other than Fox?” He responded with narrowed eyes.
I growled, “Apparently, and of course he’s at the top of the list of ‘acceptable’ mates,” I rolled my eyes.
“I regret inviting him to the feast. I’ll kick his ass if you want me to, Little Duck. Just say the word.”
I laughed, “So you’re my attack dog now?”
“What is it with you overgrown lizards and calling us wolves dogs?” He asked, sounding quite offended.
I laughed harder, causing my side to hurt, “Overgrown lizards?” I laughed louder, “At least a dog has more in common with a wolf than a lizard does with a dragon.”
“Bullshit! I rescind my offer to kick his ass,” he said before jumping up from his spot on my bed.
“That’s fine because I can kick his ass myself, and probably do a better job of it than you,” I said, smiling up at him.
“You’re the worst. You know that? Just the absolute worst.”
I grinned, “Oh yeah, but you wouldn’t have me any other way.”
He finally relented and gave me a smile, “I really wouldn’t,” he grabbed my face with both hands and kissed my forehead. “Rest up, Little Duck. We’re partying hard tonight.”
“Okay. Get out and let me sleep then,” I said, gently shoving him. He put his hands up in surrender and walked out of my room.
Author: Kailan Counahan 