Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
I felt every reverent word he said deep in my soul. But just as Aurelia had taken one step at a time, so must we. I brought out the hard truths we’d have to face.
“She can hold a bond, but can she work with one? She can run, but can she fight? I have trained all my life; she has just met her wolf. She has the power and blood of an alpha, but she does not have the experience or know-how. We don’t know if she’ll work as half of our alpha pair.”
He didn’t comment, probably because he didn’t want to admit I was right. He wanted to bask in the glory that was this moment, sharing it with our true mate. Just as Aurelia had said, my wolf was instinctive, and I was the logical one. We had work to do.
“Pull her back now,” I told my wolf. “Make sure she will disengage.”
He hated me for telling him to do it. He hated his duty more. But he was an alpha, and he would do right by his pack.
The swell of magic receded gradually, so incredibly smooth, as Aurelia’s wolf took his guidance as truth. It showed how much trust she had in him. How easily she ceded to his dominance and leadership.
“The bond was more than twice as strong,” my wolf said. “The true mate pairing doesn’t just double in power—it grows it exponentially. It’s not in the actual bond, though, but more like . . . in the protection of the bond.”
He was right. If the initial bond was a rope connecting us all, Aurelia’s added power covered that rope in an iron crust. It would be much, much harder to break or rip away.
“We didn’t try communicating through it,” I mentioned.
“Maybe we would have if you hadn’t rushed us into tearing it down.”
It was annoying when he was right.
“Now . . .” My wolf licked his muzzle uncertainly. Aurelia’s wolf looked over to gauge the unsettled feelings through the bond. “We need to see how she reacts to her worst nightmare.”
Chapter 21
Hadriel
Once the power had fully receded, the beta glanced the king’s way. Nyfain’s great gold dragon roared, deep-throated and vicious—a challenge.
“Oh shit . . .”
Weston’s hackles rose and he turned toward the dragon, stepping in front of Aurelia protectively. He must’ve known this would happen, but his instincts had taken over anyway.
The other dragons roared. One lifted its shiny black head into the air and spewed fire. The impatient dragon pushed into the sky, moving into position as though planning to dive and snap Aurelia up.
My wolf bared his teeth, hackles rising. Aurelia’s hackles rose, too, the threat obvious.
The king dashed forward, faster on the ground than anyone would expect he’d be. By nature, dragons were clumsy on land, but he’d had a shitload of practice. Weston dodged to the side, and Aurelia darted in the opposite direction. Despite being new to all this, she was still faster than Weston’s much larger, more experienced wolf.
Weston sprinted between the dragon’s legs, gnashing his teeth along the back of an ankle. It was one of the few vulnerable spots a lone wolf could reach; to defeat a dragon, a pack needed several strong wolves to bring the dragon toppling to the ground, where the rest of them could then get at the softer underbelly and throat. Weston was showing Aurelia, already training her. He wasted no time.
She followed suit but didn’t go out the other side, instead systematically darting between his legs, over and over, sometimes barely missed by his stomping feet or swinging tail. Weston yelped at her, trying to get her away. Nyfain roared, turning as the other dragons began stomping into the fray.
“Oh shit, oh shit,” I said, feeling our heart picking up pace. “Go help! Get her out of there!”
“She has to heed the beta’s training,” my wolf gritted out, his body tense. “We can’t get involved unless he calls for us.”
He wanted to, though. I could feel it in his coiled muscles, in his quivering haunches.
Weston’s ears went back flat. He darted between the dragons, trying to get to his mate. Aurelia didn’t relent. She was working Nyfain, gnashing at him. The relentless determination she’d shown in her work earlier that day was just as evident now.
The huge golden dragon stopped and then dropped into a crouch, as though going down onto his belly. He stopped at his knees, though, his control incredible; most dragons were not able to complete that maneuver. He was doing it so as not to crush her.
He wouldn’t have.
She darted out like she’d been on four legs all her life, spun, and launched up. Her jump was clumsy but still high, and her teeth sank into his belly.
“There she is,” I said in a hush. “There’s the crazy bitch Vemar said was in there.”