Dragon fire

"Frederico, the kingdom has fallen. We haven't much time!" Lady Lisbeth Delgaard rushed to where the babies lay, sleeping in their crib. Knowing she wasted precious moments-nevertheless, the Dragonlady gazed upon her children. The twins looked so different, yet she loved them equally as fierce. Ragnar took after her with his fiery temper and the telltale bulk that spoke of his dragon heritage. Whereas  Gio was smaller, with dark eyes that changed color according to his mood, and there was no doubt that he held his father's wolf genes. Mixed species couples were killed on sight in Desdayos, and as the war reached the inner sanctum, a difficult decision needed to be made.

The sound of the door being rammed downstairs caused Lisbeth to grab Ragnar and Gio, holding onto them protectively as Frederico burst into the nursery, "The guards are here, my love. There is no more time." Lisbeth handed Gio over with a gentle kiss, and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the man she loved, "Til we meet again," She vowed, kissing him fiercely, and then she was running. With a giant leap, Lisbeth went through the window with Ragnar held tightly to her chest. A flash of gold followed by thunder caused Frederico to avert his eyes, and when he opened them again, the dragon queen was flying, flanked by her guards as they escaped the brutality of war. With a heavy heart, Frederico watched as his mate became little more than a speck in the distance. 

"Well, my boy, it's just you, and I now-what say we disappear for a while until things cool down?" The wolf didn't bother removing his clothes; there wasn't enough time for that. Instead, he put the backpack on that Lisbeth had made and prepared especially for their journey and let his beast free.

The door broke down seconds later, and the wily black wolf dodged his own kind as he flew through the entrance in a blur. Frederico didn't stop until he was in the heart of the city, and when he phased back to his human form and opened the hatch leading to the underground systems, he sent a prayer to the Moon Goddess to keep his family safe, no matter what side of the world they were on.

Ten years later...

"Ragnar? Where on earth is he now?" The Nanny started muttering, looking under the covers and in the wardrobe, but the mischievous child couldn't be found anywhere. 

"Lady Lisbeth will have my head if I've lost the little shite again, Ragnar!" The heavyset woman left the room, deciding to try the library, hoping she'd have more luck there. As soon as the door closed, the ceiling shimmered, and the golden dragonling landed lightly on the floor. Ragnar Delgaard was a confident child. Despite the war that raged on between Dragons and werewolves, he would still venture outside to play in the orchards or breathe in fresh air-much to his mother's dismay. Today he had a sneakier objective in mind.

Late last night, Ragnar had overheard something. Tales of when the war first began were always whispered about among the staff in the halls, but whenever he tried to talk to his mother about her experiences, a sad look would cross her face. She would tell him that some things were better left in the past and then close herself off so completely that he'd given up asking until he overheard a phone call that changed everything.

Now he was on the hunt for a photograph. A family picture that would contain all the answers a curious dragonling needed. Because late last night, when he was supposed to be in bed, Ragnar Delgaard learned that he had a twin brother.

2.

Gio swung his legs back and forth as he sat on the side of the underground train tracks. His father was busy with the latest pack business, and the little wolf pup waited for his best friend Con to arrive and keep him company. Being the son of a Mafia Don meant a lot of time waiting around, and the ten-year-old learned early on that complaining about this was fruitless.

"Sorry I'm late," Con muttered breathlessly, dropping to the space beside him, "Mum was nagging my ear off about finishing my veges. I had to wait till she left the table before I could bury them in the cactus. I love my Mum, but she can't cook to save her life." The pups laughed, and Gio knew Con was telling the truth. Marigold Murphy would always ask Gio to stay for a meal if he was hanging in his friend's room. He figured it probably had something to do with him not having a Mum. Mrs. Murphy had been widowed during the latest Dragon attacks, and with Gio's father also alone, there was a stage where Marigold thought they'd make a great blended family. Frederico had let the beta wolf down as gently as a mafia boss could, but it made things awkward for a while.

"Well, what are we doing today, Alpha?" Con ducked in time to avoid a slap to the back of his head as Gio muttered, "First off, don't call me that. Dad said, we don't have ranks here. We're all equal, remember? And today, I want to do something stupid."

A look of dread settled on Con's face, his brown eyes darkening in worry, "No way Gio, tell me we aren't going up. Anything but that." 

Gio stood and dusted off his pants, "Look, you don't have to come if you don't want to, but I don't think it's fair that those giant lizards get to see the sun while we're stuck down here like sewer rats." Gio looked over to where his father was conducting business with his Capo's and knew by his tense body language that Frederico would be there for a good part of the day. There wouldn't be a better time than this.

"Aw, come on, Gio, don't get your balls all twisted. I was joking-when do we leave?" Con sprung to his feet and feigned a right hook, followed by a left uppercut. Gio chuckled, "Look at you, all Mohammad Ali and shit, jeez Con." They bumped shoulders, looking at the shifter community that lived in the subway system. It was a hard life, and the wolves hardly ever saw the moon, but the underground was the only place where the massive forms of the dragons couldn't fit in. They were safe as long as they didn't go to the top. Above them, the city grew larger. Dragons controlled the business empire, growing wealthy off of humans' ignorance, while a life of crime was the most the wolves could look forward to.

Bitterness grew in Gio, and his heart hardened as he witnessed how hard his father hustled to put food on the table. How was it fair that they lived in squaller while the dragons grew fat and lazy off the wealth. One day Gio would turn things around, and the wolves would rule in Desdayos again. Maybe then a new day would dawn—the day of the werewolves.