Dragon Fire & Wolf Blood

Chapter 10

The following morning, Alexander and his group left the coven. Returning home with their heads hung low. They had some answers, but not enough. Tensions were high. This wasn’t how they had hoped things would go. They were coming back with a riddle that could mean anything.

Until they got more answers, Alexander and Ember would have to get to know each other an hour at a time. Rather than focusing on his frustrations, he turned his attention towards the next conversation headed his way. The one where he figured out if Ember even wanted to try and figure this out with him or if she thought it would be easier to move on.

Things had gotten so complicated since the night of the ball. His world was no longer just worrying about a mate, but now it was whether or not he was going to get to keep his mate and be able to break this curse. This was much more than a string of bad luck.

“Addaste,” Alexander called out in his mind.

“Yes Alexander?” He replied.

Alexander had taught Addaste not to call him by his title. It drove him mad. Addaste was blood. There was no reason for the formalities.

“I need help coming up with something for Ember and I to do. We only have an hour.”

“A simple meal would be a nice start,” Addaste replied.

Internally smacking himself, Alexander realized that the meal he had made for Ember was ruined when he got hit with the pain of the curse. He hadn’t been able to enjoy it with her. This was the best opportunity as any. They only had an hour and was going to drive him insane, but it was better than nothing. He did worry that the pendant wouldn’t last as long as he had hoped. The only way to find out was to put it to the test.

After cleaning up, he made his way to the shore by the creek. It provided the best spot to watch as the sun went down. The reflection on the water of the moon rising in the sky would make for a perfect atmosphere.

Addaste had the kitchen staff making a small, but grand meal for the two of them. It was mostly Dragon delicacies. Alexander hadn’t had much of their food, but he was willing to try if it gave him the opportunity to get to know Ember.

It was an hour before she would show up. For the first few meetings, they would be accompanied by Addaste and several other warriors to ensure Ember remained safe and Alexander didn’t try and kill himself in close proximity to her.

Laying down a thick knitted blanket, he watched as the grass gave way. It would provide protection from bugs and dirt. He didn’t know what she would be wearing, so he wanted to make sure she would be comfortable in whatever she wore.

The kitchen staff brought out the food as Alexander was setting up the blanket with utensils and plates. Due to the waviness of the blanket on the ground, he couldn’t bring glasses of wine or cans of beer. Instead, he went with bottled water.

The blanket was large enough. It allowed plenty of seating room and where they can comfortably place the assortment of food choices. For many of the dishes, Alexander could not pronounce the names of them. Some were made from pork, others sea food. Dragons were huge meat eaters, but they liked the lighter meats. They weren’t big on cows for some reason. Very few dishes had steak or ground beef in it.

The food was releasing a mess of aromas into the air. Alexander had to focus on keeping them from clouding his senses. He wanted to know when Ember was close.

Within a few minutes later, Ember was a few hundred feet from him. Addaste stood at her side. Two warriors standing behind her, followed by 2 walking over to Alexander to stand with him. Addaste waited until the warriors were in position before slowly coming towards Alexander. Each step was slow and calculating. Addaste started his timer to ensure they weren’t going to go over on time.

Alexander held his breath as Ember walked closer and closer to him. She was breathtaking. Her hair curled down her back in waves. Her hair reached her hips, just accenting the rest of her body. Light bouts of makeup brightened her eyes, drawing his to hers. She was barefoot, it allowed her to take each step-in silence.

Finally reaching Alexander, he put his hand out to take hers. Once her hand was delicately placed over his, he could feel the pendant heat up and his heart, ever so slightly, squeeze. Bringing his lips to the back of her hand, he gave her a quick peck. Partially bowing as he did so.

“You are breath taking.” Alexander gently led her by the hand over to her seat. A cushion was placed there for her, so she was comfortable.

The dress she wore was medium green with place lines wrapping around her body. Going from her shoulder, down her body and around to the end at the seam of her dress near her ankles. Her hands were soft and welcoming as Alexander ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

Helping her down, she was able to sit elegantly on the pillow. Turning her body to face him as he took his seat. Once they were both seated, Addaste and the warriors stepped back a few feet to give them some privacy. Once they were about 10 feet away, they turned around as to not make the experience awkward for themselves or others.

“How have you been Alexander?” Ember’s voice was like music it his ears. Hearing his name roll off her tongue. Coming from her, this simple question sounded so intimate.

“I’ve been good for the most part. I am better now that I know we can spend some time together. I know it’s only an hour at a time, but it’s better than nothing. How have you been?” Alexander began filling his plate as Ember followed suit.

“Good. Busy with everything going on on the islands. I have spoken with the district reps and they aren’t thrilled about our current situation. To be honest, many of them aren’t happy about you being my mate. I know most of it is fear that I am going to leave them. Have you thought about what we are going to do?”

Alexander knew this conversation was going to come up and wished he had more information.

“As of right now, for obvious reasons, I will be staying here. I would like us to get to know one another. Then, if we decide to move forward with us, I will step down as future King.”

Ember’s eyes went wide. Concern filled her eyes.

“Alexander, you don’t need to step down. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be? Things happen for a reason. It would cause you less stress if we just moved on from one another.” Ember’s words hit him hard. Causing his wolf to howl in pain.

“I can’t until we have tried. My wolf can still feel the bond. I can’t, but he can. It would be unfair of me to give up on us when he can feel it. It would be torture. I know we don’t know how long this is going to take, but we need to at least make our decisions based upon information and not what’s easiest.”

His appetite had been lost with the conversation. Looking down, he pushed his food around on his plate with his fork. His stomach tossed and turned.

“I can respect that. I know things are different, because I don’t feel the mate bond the way you do, but I am willing to give this a real try. We will need to find a way to get you over to my kingdom so you can meet my people. They are anxious. There’s no bad blood between them and your kingdom or them and your species. It is more of a concern for their line of succession. They went for so long without being united. They don’t want to go back to that.”

“I understand. That’s why it’s best if we take things nice and slow.” Alexander was slowly eating the food on his plate.

It tasted delicious. It looked good, but he was still skeptical until he started eating.

Ember started eating away at her food. A comfortable silence settled over them as they enjoyed their time together. She was hopeful that things would work out between her and Alexander. He was very kind and understanding. He was still fighting for her even though he felt nothing. She was scared, understandably so. They were going to have to figure out how to break the curse.

Addaste approached them as they were finishing up eating. They had small talk throughout the meal. Learning different things about each other. Ember knew much more about Alexander than he knew about her. She was good friends with his mother and they talked frequently, which allowed Ember to almost grow up with Alexander.

He learned about Ember’s history. It was impressive that she was able to help the dragons find a new home. Since then, the human hunters had gone into hiding if any were left. A report would come in here and there, but nothing significant.

“Excuse me your highness. You are down for 10 minutes.” Giving a bow, she stepped back.

Keeping his eyes on Alexander to watch for any signs of distress.

They both stood and bowed to one another.

“I enjoyed our meal. Thank you for setting this up, Alexander.” She gave a kind smile.

“It was my pleasure. Hopefully, we can do this again in a few days.”

Ember turned to walk away. Her hair blowing in the breeze as she took each step away from him. Soon her silhouette disappeared into the trees and headed back towards the cottage she had moved to. It was her idea. She didn’t want to accidentally cause any pain to Alexander.

Alexander gave a heavy sigh as he began cleaning up from the meal.

“Your majesty, the staff can handle the cleanup. You are tired and weary. Find the rest.” Addaste motioned for him to head towards the castle.

“I will clean up. To be honest, I am not looking forward to spending another night alone. Especially when she is so close.” Alexander looked in the direction Ember had headed.

Longing clawed at him. Their evening gave him hope that things would work out. There was a long road ahead of them.