Landing on the right ride of the field, at the edge of the crowd, Aeramen hopped to a stop, letting me down. “Thank you, buddy.”
Nuzzling my cheek, he stepped back, wings fluttering nervously behind him as he looked up. When I followed his gaze, I was taken aback by the two Dragons before me.
“Whoa…”
It hurt to see it with my own eyes, but Evanna was right. The two kids I remembered were gone. In their place were two fierce creatures, confused, startled, and from what I could see, pissed the hell off.
Luna’s sharp bark was clear, calm down, or else! But even when one of them jerked back with her command, the other remained unwavering. Vyper.
Shaking my head, I let my Dragon essence expand, my Dragon Eye glowing gold as I decided to tackle one at a time. Though Draco was the tamer of the two, as usual, he wasn’t exactly playing nice either.
“Look, the Dragon Master!” someone shouted behind me, but I didn’t let it pull my focus away.
Taking a steeling breath, I stepped into the area where Luna restrained them, and Draco’s attention immediately turned my way. He clearly saw me as a threat because his head snapped straight towards me, and a wave of frustration coursed through my being, my essence picking up his feelings. I was another hindrance on his way out of here.
“Sorry, my friend. You are not going anywhere. You are mine.”
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say to a newly awakened, adult Dragon because the whitish scales along his neck and the sides of his jaw slowly extended, snapping upwards like hackles. Except, they were no longer pointy scales. They’d transformed into different-sized horns protruding all around his jaw and the back of his neck. A couple of rows even extended from his eyebrows, all looking extremely sharp and dangerous.
WTF? Draco had retractable horns now? I did not see that coming… at all.
With his eyes on me, he left the family party, turning to give me his full attention. Lucky me.
Pulse racing, I turned to look at Luna, who was now fully focused on controlling Vyper. “What happened to them?”
“The transformation,” she answered simply, without looking at me.
“But why are they so upset?” I couldn’t understand why just waking up as an adult would cause this kind of revolt. Unless it had to do with a burst of hormones taking over them or something like that.
“They want to get out of the lair. Adults are meant to soar the skies, free, not stay in one place,” she explained. “I cannot let them go. If they leave now, they will never come back.” Her gaze shifted to me briefly, her pleading eyes cutting through me. “They must make a bond here. They must join the clan, or I will lose them.”
Draco growled at me slowly, menacingly, calling my attention back to him. The sound clicked deep within his throat, telling me he was pissed that I was talking to his mother. As his head lowered towards me and his claws pierced the ground, preparing to attack, I realized the sweet and thoughtful teen I’d met, who loved my attention and hugs, seemed fully gone. He’d been replaced by a fierce protector.
A protector…
Perhaps my sweet Draco was still in there after all.
Focusing on him, I allowed the family tree of light to bloom and searched for Draco’s location in it. A golden pulse appeared below one of the branches to my right, strong and steady but not fully connected to the rest of us, only a thin thread calling to him.
“I’m not your enemy,” I reminded him in a calm voice, both hands lifted before me while stepping closer. “I’m your family… you just need to remember.”
His chest rumbled even louder as his face stopped merely a few feet away, his mouth beginning to open to roar at me—or roast me, it wasn’t fully clear. Before he could, I pressed my hands to his nose, my energy rushing into him, eager for connection. His grey eyes turned a bright gold, the unexpected exchange of energy freezing him on the spot.
“Please be careful,” Evanna pleaded somewhere behind us, and I knew she had arrived with Kingston, Willow, and the others, but I ignored them, too focused on my task.
“Remember me…” My voice echoed in our linked minds, and I closed my eyes, sending Draco every moment we had spent together.
The images played like a movie for us, in slow motion. We saw the first time he and Vyper healed me on the beach under the Golden Gate Bridge. When they helped me go against Raithian and Azazel, rescuing their princess. Every moment we spent together in the honeycombs, sleeping on the ground together, and how much he loved brushing his nose against my hands or have me hug him.
With each memory that unfolded his feelings began to transform, new emotions flowing into me freely. The golden thread between us grew into a thick branch, becoming a permanent part of our tree. Our family. Draco’s animosity and anxiousness vanished, his breaths turning calm and measured while he remembered our shared history. His need to protect Luna from me, his mother, fully receded, until a wave of love and longing reached my heart.
A slow smile tilted my lips, my hands indulgently rubbing the scaly skin of his bulbous nose. “I missed you too, Draco. You were gone for a while…”
His glowing eyes turned grey once more—the exchange of energy between us complete—and he sighed in contentment, pushing his nose against my hands for more. He still loved to be pampered with affection.
Chuckles escaped me just as people cheered behind us, celebrating that I had tamed the beast. At least one of them.
“That’s my sweet boy,” I cooed, dragging my hands down to his jaw and scratching it. “I knew you could never lose that loving heart. You are too pure to change just like that.”
I began to lower my arms, so I could focus on Vyper next, but Draco’s nose pushed against my palm again, a small growl leaving him. He wasn’t done with me yet.
“Don’t leave me alone.” He sent the image of him in hibernation into my mind, the feeling of loneliness that engulfed him in the transformation spreading through my chest, and I understood what Luna meant about making a bond.
Draco was detached from us after changing so fully; only memories kept him by my side right now. Memories, and my physical touch. He needed a new bond to stay or he would leave, becoming a solitary Dragon. Swiftly searching behind me, my eyes connected with Willow, who was half-hiding behind her mate.
When my gaze returned to Draco, I grinned. “I have the perfect companion for you.” Excitement rushed from him and into me, confirming he loved the possibility of having a soulmate. “But you have to be extra sweet with her, okay? Help her feel safe with you, and above all, take care of her… always.”
With his nod, I turned back again.
“Willow, how was your flight with Spartan?”
Confusion wrinkled her features, but she glanced from the fully grown Draco to me. “It was okay, I suppose. He didn’t eat me, so I appreciate that.”
Deep chuckles escaped Kingston, who hugged her to his side, placing a kiss on her temple.
“Great! Then you are ready for your own soulmate…” Removing one hand from Draco’s nose, I extended it towards her, silently calling her to my side.
Willow’s eyes instantly widened. “Have you lost your mind?!”
“Why? You are a strong and determined woman, a fighter at heart. We all know that,” I admitted. “There isn’t a single warrior here who isn’t afraid of you. I think they fear you more than they do Kingston.”