39. The Dragon

'There was fire everywhere and my mother had me and was flying to the highest mountain. At the top, there was a cave. She sat me down at the mouth and told me if she didn't come back, to go to the depths of the cave and to never come out until she felt a mate bond pull. When she felt that, another dragon was close and she would be safe. She watched as the fires spread and the dragons flew fighting an enemy she couldn't see from here. She knew however that it was man. Humans hated dragons and tried to kill them off. She knew other dragons were hidden as the years went by that she stayed at the mouth, she heard the piercing scream of the dragons being killed one after another. She crawled to the very end of the cave and it was like an icebox, so she shifted and blew her fire and made sure no one could get to where she was. She went into a hibernation and knew she would not wake until she felt the pull of another dragon's mate bond.'

Althealine woke with a start. S