Dragon Alpha's Special Mate

6. My Dragon

Maxson

Something seemed off about Sophia when she left, and I really wish she stayed longer. Maybe she just doesn’t like me.

I don’t know much about her. Her best friend is Sapphire, and her parents own a coffee shop. But, other than that, I don’t have the slightest clue of what she’s into.

Despite the uneasiness I feel inside, I go back to the party.

I can’t help but think about how Sophia was with Rina and my brothers for longer than she was with me. I really wanted to get to know her, so if I survive tonight, that’s going to be my main goal.

To keep my mind off of it, I continue to dance and talk with my family while keeping a brave face, but deep down, I’m terrified. I can’t help but check the time every few minutes until there are merely 15 minutes until midnight. Mostly everyone has gone to bed, and I look at Mom and Dad, staring at me.

“Do you want us to be with you?”

I quickly shake my head no, though I’d love nothing more than to tell him, yes, I want you there with me.

This is something you do by yourself. And even though I’m scared shitless, I’m going to do this myself. I’m going to pretend I’m not afraid.

What’s the saying, fake it ‘till you make it, right?

I slowly walk up the stairs, waving to some of my second cousins as they continue to run up and down the halls.

I go into my room sitting down on the bed. The clock ticks by slowly, but I can’t tear my eyes away from it. I’ve waited my entire life to find out what I’m going to be.

The clock rolls over to read 12:00, and I instantly feel a rush of power course through my skin. I look down, blackness starting to consume my fingertips. I try to shake it off, but it continues to grow on my skin, running up to my elbows.

It looks exactly like the material my dragon scales are made of. Mom told me she thinks it’s because of the Zinnalite sword she and my father absorbed while pregnant with me. I desperately try to rub it off of me as it continues to coat my skin, coming up to my neck. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels almost wet as it finally consumes me and covers my vision.

~

“Hello, Maxson,”

“Hello? Who’s there!”

I try to look around but am surrounded by blackness. There’s no response, but I can feel a presence around me. “What am I!”

I scream into the void when there’s no response. I’m desperate to learn about my dragon. About my lineage. About what the f**k I am. I’m tired of waiting.

“Your powers are a gift.”

There’s a deep voice talking to me as gold glints around me. I wait patiently, hoping it’ll light my dragon and I can see it. See what’s going to share my life with me. “But there is no gift without sacrifice.” My heart hammers so loud I’m sure whoever is talking to me can hear it, too. “Did your parents tell you their story? How you came to be bound to Zinnalite?”

I nodded into the nothingness, then answered confidently, “Yes.”

“So you know they were willing to sacrifice your life rather than let your father die?”

“Yes.”

My parents told me everything as I grew up. They told me why my magic was different and the gamble they made. Mom had lost so much, and she wasn’t willing to lose Dad, so she did what she had to.

I’m thankful to be alive, and I’m thankful they took that risk so I could have siblings and my dad. They didn’t tell me all at once, of course. But they couldn’t exactly not tell me why I have a dragon, and others don’t until they’re 15.

“Then it’s time to tell you how you survived. It was my duty to keep you alive when they absorbed that material. I told your parents it was dangerous and that if it didn’t work, you all die. I gave you my powers to make you strong enough to withstand the material. I am Avian, and I saved you that day from perishing inside your mother, killing her and your father. In doing so, I inadvertently disconnected us from our dragon ancestors.”

“No gift without sacrifice… Do I not have a dragon?”

If I don’t, how can I shift and use my magic? Avian laughs at my question, and I push my anger down, waiting for him to tell me what he thinks is so funny.

“Quite the opposite. I am your dragon, imbued in this Zinnalite.” As he finishes, the blackness clears, and I can see him in his true glory. He’s enormous, the black sheen of his scales shinier than when I shifted into him previously. The gold seems brighter, shinier even. He releases a roar that spreads fire, water, earth, and air from his mouth, reaching as far as my eye can see.

The power rolls off him, and I feel him step into my body and mind.

“This feels better,” I hear Avian’s voice in my mind as he speaks to me. “Now, I know dragons typically tell their companions their life stories during their time on Earth, but I regret to inform you I have none. This will be my first time on Earth, and I’m not used to occupying a dragon form in such a way. I’ve been with my other Gods and Goddesses since creation. It will take me some time to adjust to this new form and new reality. But together, I know we’ll find a way to reconnect with our dragon ancestors. We’ll find a way to co-exist together.”

I think about his words in my mind and have one question that’s haunted me.

“Will I have a mate?”

If I’m not connected to my ancestors, they won’t know to give me a mate. Do they even know I exist?

“Auriel.” His words are almost like a whisper in my mind, and he sounds desperate for his love. “I’m sure they sent her to help me. And if they didn’t, I’m sure she took her own route to get to me.”

I’m relieved that I’ll have a chance at getting a mate. No matter what, I won’t have to go through this life alone. I’ll have my other half there to help me navigate whatever we face.

“So, what do we do?”

“We try to get out of here.”

“Won’t I just wake up?”

I stare into the abyss, waiting for something to happen, when I realize I’m not waking up. I start walking in this place, and soon, I’m fully sprinting. Once I reach top speed, I let Avian take control, and it’s so much different than when I would shift previously. Before, it was as if no one had control. All I could do was prevent myself from shifting because once I changed, there was no one driving.

But now, with Avian, he flies through and starts learning how to control himself. I don’t feel scared, watching myself fly with no direction. Every so often, he releases a stream of fire, lighting the way ahead of us. So far, we can’t see anything in this barren void.

But I have to wake up at some point, don’t I?

I let Avian keep control when we see something a little brighter in the distance. When he sees it, there’s no stopping him from reaching it.