That's the end of the regular chapters. Two epilogues to go.
I’ve been working as many hours as I can without taking too much time away from my mate and our newborn twins. I’m exhausted, but I can’t stop. I can’t figure out what Oliver did to cause the problems in Ancalagon’s DNA. What I do know is that his attitude has become abhorrent. He’s gone from the sweet, kind dragon that he used to be, to an arrogant, asshole prick who loses his temper over simple things. Yesterday, he blew his fire over the hybrids and it was only because of Ajax and Elio that he didn’t burn some of them alive. The three of them, Cal, Jax, and Elio, had started to get closer as friends, but now, I’m not sure if that will last. Ancalagon is being an equal opportunity jerk, lashing out at the elves, the werewolves, the hybrids, the lab dragons, the elemental dragons, and even his friends. The hardest part is that those who have dragon genetics in them feel the draw to answer to him because he’s their Alpha, no matter what kind of prick he's being. I’m not sure how I d
Six months later School is in full session. We nearly tripled the number of students in this semester’s classes. A large portion of those are werewolves, which has brought an entirely new set of problems and solutions to our growing school. Cedric wanted more protection around the school, so he added werewolf patrols. Sometimes, those wolves take their jobs too seriously and not only keep others out, but try to keep the students in. And while I don’t want students wandering around on their own outside the school boundaries because it’s unsafe, I also know that a lot of our hybrids were held captive and knowing the are free to leave at any time goes a long way to making them feel safe here. Thankfully, Cedric and Tana manage the wolves and Cedric holds them accountable when they become overzealous about not letting the students out of the territory. The other group that has added to our numbers this year is the elves. We had several already, but now most of the troupes have sent at l
***This is Book 4 of the Elemental Dragon series. While this book can be read as a standalone novel, it is meant to be read as part of a series. References will be made to events in the other books without specific explanation in this book. If you would like to read the series from the beginning, start with The Arena.**I wake up alone to the shouts coming from just outside the main doors of the school. We opened our doors three months ago and everything was great…for about five minutes.Who knew that including all shifters, elves, and our current residents of laboratory created dragons and hybrids could cause so much chaos? Not only that, who knew that in our very first year, that we’d have to start a waiting list? I had no idea that a university for shifters was so desperately needed. We’ve already started plans to build an addition to the main hall and to build out a separate laboratory for Everett, moving his current medical space out of the main hall and giving us a couple more r
I’m furious that this child threatened Kaylani. I may not feel worthy of her, but I feel an extreme amount of protectiveness for the beautiful dragon. My mate.In the privacy of my own mind, I can call her that. I can’t say it out loud, can’t let her have hope that we’ll ever be together. I have no idea why she was mated to someone like me, but I do know that she deserves a strong, powerful protector for a mate, not some weak human that can’t even claim her properly.“Fenian, is it true that you threatened Kaylani?” I ask him as we walk back inside.“I wasn’t going to hurt her,” he grumbles.“You, an elven teenager, threatened a full-grown dragon? Do you think that was wise?”He shakes his head, no. “I was angry. I didn’t mean it.”I stop and turn to him. “And yet, you continue to pick fights with the others, call them names, demean them. Do you know, in my experience, it’s the bullies that have no self-esteem. They have to make other people feel bad so that they can feel better about
I watch Everett and Fenian walk inside before turning back.“He’ll figure it out eventually, Kaylani,” Kenna says kindly.“I doubt it,” I say, turning to her. “What brings you to the school? Registering for classes?” I ask, smiling.She growls at me, but I just look at her. She needs to be here as much as anyone else. Yhendorn will as well once she’s old enough.“Given the waitlist you already have, I think that’s a good idea, Kenna,” Yhendorn says to her.“You can’t be serious,” she snaps at him. Fire dragon and Lycan. She’s a powerful hybrid and in her current youthfulness, I lot of that burns as fiery emotions.Her mate, however, not only loves her fire, but seems to know how to stoke her flames without allowing them to burn him to ash.“I want to be a good mate to you, Kenna. Always. There are many things that I don’t know about you and that you don’t know about me. We have time, but sometimes the expectation of what is to come becomes overwhelming the closer you get. I don’t want
“As you all know, this is Eric, a 12 or 13-year-old male, found by Ishir and Zephyr in the laboratory where the hybrids escaped. He was the only survivor still in the laboratory. Zephyr found him having already shifted and we quickly identified that he had been injected with polar bear and kamado dragon DNA. The kamado dragon DNA is the biggest problem, being that his human and polar bear DNA are both warm blooded animals. I added Kaylani’s DNA, and it has bonded to his human DNA, allowing him to shift back. The polar bear DNA also bonded to Kaylani’s DNA, but the kamado dragon DNA is still a problem. Until I can figure out how to bond that DNA to the others, I’m keeping him sedated.”“What about elf DNA?” Fenian asks. “From everything I’ve learned so far, it seems that elf DNA is the best bonding agent of DNA.”“In general, you’re correct, Fenian. But we already have one hybrid that can shift into two different animals, not including her human form. I’m concerned about giving Eric to
I work with Naida until I have to shift and get ready for class. I’m an animal, I’m used to being naked. The elves, however, are not as used to nudity and I find them staring, not just at me, but at all of the shifters when they shift. Being the mother of a teenage daughter, I find it uncomfortable that teenage elvish boys are staring at my naked daughter when she shifts. I need to talk to Yhendorn about that while he’s here.I wait for Naida to shift and watch as Aithlin openly stares. I growl at him, just as Tesha smacks him in his chest.“Get lost, perv. Naida doesn't want you gawking at her naked body.”Naida turns to look at Aithlin who has turned an uncomplimentary shade of red. He drops his gaze and races off. I hand her my clothes to put on since hers shredded when her dragon answered Ancalagon’s call.As we walk inside, I send Naida to her room and I head to mine, quickly getting dressed before heading out to my classroom. Because today's class is Elemental Manipulation and t
After Kaylani leaves, I check on Eric again, just to make sure that he’s settled for the night. Usually, I sleep in here with him. It’s easier to sleep on a cot in a medical room than it is to sleep in my own bed without Kaylani. Nothing feels more empty or alone than my bed when I sleep without her. Not that I let myself sleep with her often. I have no willpower when I do, so I try, so hard, so stay away. But I know it’s hard for her too and that’s what ultimately breaks down my walls. A beautiful dragon shouldn’t look tired or sad.I set up the alarms, in case something should happen overnight, but he’s been in this coma for so long that I feel confident that I can leave him for one night. Then, I head to my room.I can smell the food before I get there. Kaylani has brought up what used to be my favorite dish, chicken parmesan. However, now, because I know how much she loves nearly raw meat, I enjoy eating steak with her. That’s my new favorite, because I get to watch her enjoy her