NOT WORTHY TO BE KING: FEARLESS WARRIOR

23. LOGAN'S MIND MADE A CONNECTION

Logan sat in his room, lost in thought. Tiara's disappearance weighed heavily on him, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Kaden was involved somehow. As he stared blankly at the wall, his mind wandered to a conversation he had with Tiara a few weeks ago.

As he sat alone in his room, he was lost in thought as memories flooded his mind. He remembered the day when Tiara had told him about her brother and his wife, and how they were meant to be together despite the odds. Tiara's words had always stuck with him, and he had always admired the love and dedication that Selena had for her husband.

Tiara had told him that she believed that Logan and herself were also meant to be together, just like Diego and Selena. As he sat there, lost in thought, he felt a sudden wave of emotion wash over him. He missed Tiara so much, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Kaden.

He wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but somehow he also knew that his brother was keeping something from him, and he was determined to find out what it was.

He remembered Tiara's written words, "I believe you will figure out where I am because I trust you." Logan knew he had to follow through with Tiara's trust in him. Suddenly, Logan's mind made a connection. Tiara's words and that conversation have to be connected somehow.

He decided to talk to Clayton about his suspicions, hoping his brother could provide a different perspective.

"Clayton, can we talk?" Logan asked, as his younger brother walked by his room.

"Sure, what's up?" Clayton sat down on the bed next to Logan.

Logan recounted the conversation he had with Tiara about her sister-in-law's marriage to Diego and how it was meant to be. Tiara believed that Logan would figure out where she was because of that conversation.

"She didn't exactly say that but I think she was hoping that I would remember that conversation and use it to find her. Nothing makes more sense than this at this moment."

"That's a long shot," Clayton said. "Just because you think those two are connected doesn't mean they are."

"I know, but something just feels off," Logan said, frustration creeping into his voice.

Clayton thought for a moment before speaking. "Look, Logan, I know you want to find Tiara, but like you said before, accusing Kaden without any evidence is not going to help. It might even make things worse. Maybe you should focus on finding new leads instead of trying to prove Kaden's guilt."

Logan nodded as he tried to calm himself down. Since Tiara's disappearance, the need to shift into his dragon has been strong and since he knew how painful it can be, he tried his best to avoid it even though his mother keeps telling him that he shouldn't fight it.

"Maybe you're right." He waited for his brother to say something more or tell him that he really was right, but Clayton didn't say anything. He just looked at him as if he knew that Logan wasn't fully convinced that Kaden wasn't involved.

Maybe he could have been convinced easily before, but now, he didn't want to risk that if he wanted his wife back in his arms.

They sat like that for what felt like hours before Clayton decided to break the silence and bid his brother goodnight.

Logan sat in his room, alone and deep in thought. He knew that Clayton was right. Accusing Kaden without any evidence could make things worse. He needed to focus on finding new leads.

He couldn't help but wonder if he was the only one who felt like something was off. He kept wondering if Axel's words about Kaden as well as remembering his conversation with Tiara had played with his sense of reasoning.

After all, he had spent all his life believing in his family, and his ability to see good in people, and that isn't something that can be changed overnight.

Suddenly, he heard a knock at his door. He sat up, feeling a surge of adrenaline. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't even heard someone approaching.

"Logan, it's me, Kaden. Can I come in?"

Logan hesitated for a moment before answering. He didn't want to confront Kaden, but he also didn't want to be rude.

"Sure," he said, trying to sound calm.

Kaden entered the room, looking at Logan with concern. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Logan replied, trying to keep his tone neutral.

Kaden sat down on the bed next to Logan, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I know you're worried about Tiara," Kaden said finally. "I am too. But we have to stay strong and keep looking. Tiara needs us to believe in her and to never give up on finding her."

Logan looked at his brother, trying to gauge his sincerity. He couldn't tell if Kaden was telling the truth or not.

"I just want her back," Logan said, still trying to keep his tone neutral. He wanted to see Kaden's reaction.

Kaden put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her, Logan. I promise."

Logan nodded because he didn't exactly know what to say to him.

When Kaden left, Logan lay back down on his bed, feeling more lost and confused than ever. He needed to find Tiara, to bring her back to safety. But he also needed to find the truth, no matter how hard or painful it might be.

The next morning, Axel came to his room.

"Couldn't you at least wait until I took a shower and had breakfast?" He said to Axel, who was standing by the door.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty but I want to talk to you. It's urgent."

"Since you're already here, just go straight to the point."

Axel hesitated for a moment before speaking. "It's about Kaden."

"Not this again." Logan rose from his bed, took his phone from the nightstand and looked at the time. 5:30 AM. He groaned. "I can't believe you woke me up at 5 to talk to me about Kade. What is it now?"

Axel took a deep breath. "I've been doing some digging, and I am now convinced that Kaden has something to do with Tiara's disappearance."

"We spoke about this, Axel."

"I know. But you know that I have always been suspicious of Kaden and that too, with reason. I overheard your conversation with him yesterday and then I decided to take matters into my own hands.

"I followed him all the way from here, and instead of going to the palace, he went to this sketchy part of town. I did some asking around, and I found out that he's been spending time with some pretty dangerous people."

"That doesn't mean he kidnaped Tiara though."

"I know that. And that's why I decided to gather more information. I met a guy who told me that he had seen Tiara before and then he showed me proof." He then gave Logan his phone to show him the picture he got from the guy. "It's not clear but I think it will be clear enough for you to recognize that person in the picture.

Logan looked at the picture and realized that one of the guys in the picture was holding a woman and Logan didn't need the picture to be clear to recognize the woman as Tiara.

"That's Tiara." He went to Axel and shook him. "Did he tell you where she is?"

"No, Your Majesty but the people you see in that picture are the ones that Kaden has been spending most of his time with lately. I know their location and that's why I wanted to tell you."

"I'll kill him!" He roared and then he felt the familiar tug in his gut, the call of the dragon. Considering the fact that it's been happening a lot lately, you would think it would get easier or less painful but no.

Axel decided to call Gail because he knew this was going to be difficult. For a while now, Logan has been trying to keep his dragon away and he always succeeded but now that he was angry, it was going to be more than what Axel could handle on his own and Logan could see it in his eyes as he kept calling her.

He tried to keep himself calm but none of the things he did before seemed to be working and he only wished Tiara was with him. He remembered the first time he had almost shifted, his mother had asked Tiara to calm him and it had worked.

"I told you before. You shouldn't fight it. In fact, you must not fight it." He looked at his mother as she tried to approach him.

"The more you fight it, the more painful it's gonna be. Please listen to me." Gail said something to Axel that Logan didn't hear but he saw him nodding before leaving the room.

"I know it's difficult to accept this but you should understand that it's a part of you. Once you shift, you will never be fully human. That's what you're scared of right?"

Logan hadn't even thought about that but his mother was right, he was indeed scared of what would happen if he shifted.

He was scared to accept that he was never be the person that he grew up thinking he was. Everything in his life was changing and somehow, he was not willing to give up everything and if he shifted, he would be giving up his life as a human and accepting that he is a dragon shifter.

"I guess you should ask yourself this, 'Was I ever really human?' I think you will find the answer in your heart.

"I won't force you to shift if you don't want to but you have to ask yourself that question and then answer it.

"When you find the answer, no matter what answer it is, remember that for you to be able to fight for what rightfully belongs to you, you need that dragon."

Logan looked at his mother as she left him all alone and he was expecting Axel to come back but he didn't. He was left alone to think about what his mother just said.

From what he had managed to gather from Axel, dragon shifters are born with their animal, in fact most of them have their animal before they are even born.

Logan is very powerful and that means he has always had his dragon. It was the reason why his mother had to leave Eclipse and move to Mercy 26 years ago.

Considering all that, there has never been a single day in his life when he wasn't a dragon, no matter what his heart was telling him.

He might have spent all his life as a human but that didn't he was one. He was a dragon prince.

When he felt that urge to shift again, he didn't hesitate to look for his mother. He found her pacing back and forth in the living room. She stopped moving when she saw him.

"Logan?" Even though she didn't say anything else, Logan could hear the emotions in her voice. She was hopeful but also scared of what he might ask.

"I'm ready." Gail squealed as she came to him and gave him a very tight hug.

"You won't regret this."

Logan wanted to tell him that it wasn't only because of what she told him but because he always thought something was missing in his life and shifting to his dragon might be the answer to that.

His dragon might also help him search for his wife because of its enhanced senses.

"We need to find a safe spot for you and before you know it, it will be over."

They got ready to leave and Clayton told them that there was no way he was staying behind, so they took him with them.

The more they neared the woods, the pain was getting more unbearable for Logan.

When they finally got there, Logan started shifting immediately. It was taking longer than he expected but Axel and Gail told him it would've been shorter had he not stopped it from happening for a while.

For what felt like a century for Logan, he finally shifted, his skin suddenly replaced by shiny, golden scales.