Mate?

3 years ago...

The Black manor, is a gleaming 5-storey building. It's made of the strongest wood, with chrome and glass walls. The darkness outside didn't dim the grandeur of the Manor. The shine of the expensive chandeliers, paintings, and air-dropped fresh flowers in the vases greeted the onlooker even at that hour.

"Princess Sage, Her Highness, is inside."

The butler escorted Sage inside a huge bedroom with a huge gold-plated four-poster bed sitting in the middle, along with the softest beige and red drapes and carpets. The room was screaming rich, like the rest of the house. A tall, imposing man and an elegant woman were seen inside the room.

Sage made her way toward the woman, who was sleeping. She nodded at the man, who was the dragon king himself. He acknowledged her silent greeting. Sage checked on the woman, who was Vanessa Black, Queen and mate of the dragon king Alexander Black. The same woman who was disabled because of Sage.

Sage unwrapped the gauze carefully. Tension thick in the air. For years, they had been trying different medicines and approaches to heal Vanessa. So far, nothing worked. It's like a trial-and-error method.

"It's working," Sage gasped with relief.

Alexander let out the breath he was holding.

"Really? Is she healing?" he inquired eagerly, approaching his mate.

Sage showed him the healed tissue underneath the gauze she wrapped a week ago.

"See this? Her burned flesh is rearranging itself. Tendons started healing," Sage pointed out.

Alexander noticed the changes, and his eyes shone with happiness.

"After 10 years, you finally found a medicine to heal my queen," Alexander spoke up with overwhelming emotions.

Sage felt relieved too. Guilt is too heavy a burden to bear.

"I am responsible for this. I am merely righting my wrongs. I cannot thank you enough for giving me a chance to correct my unintentional mistakes," Sage replied softly.

Alexander looked away from her. Something flashed in his gaze.

"Don't blame yourself. How long will it take for her to heal completely? Can she be able to fly again?" he inquired.

Sage applied a purple-colored salve onto the burned flesh before wrapping it back with the gauze again.

"It might take around 3 to 4 years for her to heal completely. After that, she will be fit to fly again," Sage promised.

Alexander nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

"You worked hard these past years. I hope you can stay here until Vanessa recovers. Your admission to the Westmore Medical University is also confirmed. It would be much more convenient to attend your classes from here. Once the queen recovers, I will remove the lock blocking your powers," he promised.

Sage packed up her stuff in the cloth bag that she carried here. She didn't refuse. She was planning to stay in her university dorm. So staying here would give her a chance to keep a close watch on Vanessa's recovery. Moreover, both the dragon king and queen always treated her well.

"I will stay here. I will take my leave now." With that said, Sage walked out.

After she left the room, the queen, who had been sleeping, opened her eyes. Her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"You were right after all. She managed to find a cure. But are we doing the right thing?" she spoke up, seemingly with something close to regret.

Alexander shook his head, his eyes on his mate.

"We had no choice. We are so close. I don't want to take chances now," he replied.

....

In the same Manor, Kael Black, the Prince of the dragons and the future king, was seen standing by the pool while glancing at the text his father had just sent him.

'She found the cure,' the text read. Just three words, but a shadow appeared in his gaze. Not just happiness or relief. But something else. Something he couldn't speak or address, just yet.

He is trying to enjoy the surprise party his friend Michael arranged. He is surrounded by friends and beautiful women. Standing at 6'7, Kael Black is intimidating and insanely handsome. His jet-black hair is combed back, while his brown eyes with orange specks look like they are the bottomless pits to visit Hades. Both human and dragon women fall all over themselves to please him. At 24, he is the most successful businessman in the world.

"Prince Kael, Happy birthday!" Kael's best friend, Michael, greeted Kael with a grin.

Kael didn't respond. Instead, he accepted the drink Michael handed him and downed it in one gulp.

"That was fast. What happened?" Michael inquired curiously.

Kael didn't respond, not immediately. After a while, he nodded at his mobile. Michael read the text from the still-lit screen. His eyes lost all the playfulness from before. A shadow crossed his features.

"Good, but will she forgive you once she finds out?" he muttered.

"With her temper, I don't think so. She holds a grudge," Kael replied, absently rubbing his chest, as if it's hurting.

"We know this is not the ideal approach. But we had no choice. It's a good thing that she is not your mate. If she were, things would have been complicated," Michael murmured thoughtfully.

That's when Kael sniffed the most delicious smell carried by the wind.

"It's lilies, isn't it?" he murmured absently.

Michael looked lost.

"What lilies?" he inquired with confusion.

'Mate, it's Mate, ' Kael's dragon Draco declared in his head excitedly, fighting for control.

Kael took off into a sprint in the direction of the scent.

............

Sage was walking through the familiar corridors of the Black Manor. She dared to finally take a deep breath of relief. It's been 15 years of this trial-and-error method, living with guilt, feeling trapped in an endless loop. Finally, she saw the end of this darkness.

Just then, she bumped into a she-dragon who might become the next queen of the dragons. The she-dragon stumbled as her arms flailed comically in the air before she righted herself.

"Ahh, you blind fool. Can't you see?" Laila Houston snapped at Sage arrogantly.

Sage gave her a look.

"Ms. Houston, if you could somehow manage to look ahead instead of looking behind you while walking, you probably might not bump into people and blame them for being blind," Sage spoke up calmly. Sage is no pushover. She will not take shit from anyone if she is not in the wrong.

Laila glared at her before she sniffed the air.

"What is that scent? You smell different," she mumbled, leaning closer to Sage.

Sage frowned and momentarily glanced at the pearl pendant around her neck. When she didn't find the pendant, she started panicking.

"You, why do you smell different?" Laila demanded and raised her arm, pointing at Sage. That's when Sage saw her pendant dangling from one of the many bracelets wrapped around Laila's wrist. Sage snatched her pendant back. The moment her palm touched the pearl, her scent was immediately masked again.

"Smell? What smell? Did you damage your dragon senses or something?" Sage muttered sarcastically before she walked away.

A moment after Sage left, Kael came running. When he saw Laila standing there, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, seemingly disappointed.

She frowned.

"Prince Kael, I was just coming to find you," she cooed.

Kael ignored her while looking around, searching for his mate. He searched the entire Manor, but did not find his mate. The scent vanished as fast as it appeared.