Alpha Island: My Enemy Mate

2. Butterscotch

RORY

Her words were like a slap in the face. I needed her the most right now, and this was what she said to me?

"Mum," I whispered, hoping that she would have some kind of comeback for that. She couldn't seriously think this nonsense was true. She knew me!

"All these years, I raised you in hopes you would be more like your father," she said. "Instead, you are just like that… mutt!"

I gasped, my eyes stinging from the tears forming in them. My lips twitched uncontrollably as emotions flooded my brain, overpowering all my senses. I could feel my wolf's anger as well as my dragon's distress. We were one, and we were hurting.

Dragons weren't friends of lycans, but we never used such language. Not to mention that it was Mum… and she knew that it would hurt me.

"Mum…" I was still hoping to reason with her. "You know I'd never…."

"Evidence speaks for itself, Rory." She stopped me right there. "Your aura is on that thing. It was found in your room. Why would you have something like that?"

"I wouldn't! And I never did! Don't you see that I am being set up here?!" I practically yelled at her in desperation. "Why would I try to help Skylar's kidnappers?!"

"You are the next in line to the throne after Darren." Lance's face was so serious as if he really believed what he was saying. "You can't kill him because he is stronger, but losing his mate will drive him crazy eventually."

"You are confusing things, Lance! That's YOUR brilliant plan! We heard it all on the video!" I hissed. Gosh, I hated that man. As terrible as right now was, at least I knew I wasn't going to marry the done-in-five-seconds guy!

"We will have to talk about it later," King Rodion said, and I noticed that dangerous glint in his eyes. There was no chance Lance was getting away with his words.

Unfortunately, that didn't help me much.

"My apologies, my king," the damn bastard bowed respectfully. "I am not proud of this, but I only said all that to get the girl… you know… willing to give me the release I so needed after finding out my fiancée was a traitor connected to the renegades."

Of course he did. How typical.

"There is no proof of that!" I exclaimed. If no one was going to protect me, I would do it myself! "You had access to my room; you could have brought it inside yourself! What were you doing there going through my things without me anyway?!"

"So, it is yours!" He smirked triumphantly.

"I never said that!"

"Enough!" The king roared, and we all stopped speaking at once, turning to face him. His facial expression was unreadable. I knew that expression very well. As a king, he had to use it a lot when dealing with tricky matters. It was impossible to figure out what he was really thinking. But I didn't like that he used it with me. We were family, after all…

Queen Regina placed her hand on her husband's shoulder. "I have to say I don't believe Rory had bad intentions. She is a young royal dragon," she stressed the last word, "and still has a lot to learn. If she was a part of the elaborate wedding plan to kidnap Skylar and her friend, then it was without her knowledge."

I clenched my lips. It still wasn't the truth, but at least she didn't think I was evil. That was a relief. My mother, however, still didn't say a single word.

"So, what are you proposing?" The king asked sternly. "This has to be investigated. If Aurora is, by any chance, connected to the renegades…" He stopped talking and gave me one short glance as if he felt guilty for saying that. "And she lives in the capital… the castle…"

I clenched my lips and my fists harder. This was humiliating.

"We can send her away while we investigate," Aunt Monica suggested, and my heart skipped a beat.

Banish… They were discussing banishing me. My own family…

"Is it wise, though?" Lance chimed in as if he was a part of the discussion.

"We are not imprisoning a royal family member unless she is proven guilty!" The Queen arched her brow and raised her chin. There was an air of dominance around her, but the decision was still on my uncle.

Our eyes locked, and I met his gaze without looking away. I had nothing to hide before him, so I wasn't intimidated one bit.

"Aurora will leave the Dragon Kingdom to one of our protected territories." He announced my punishment. "She will have a royal guard with her at all times for protection and to ensure she isn't involved with anyone dangerous."

Lance didn't seem particularly happy, but no one dared to argue with the king.

"I'll handle it from here," Aunt Monica said, and her husband nodded.

"Everyone is dismissed." His eyes landed on my now ex-fiancé. "Lancel, you stay. I have a few more questions for you about this… video where you mention my son, your future king."

It was over just like that. They were no longer interested in me. My lips trembled as I wanted to say something else, to tell them how it hurt me that we even had this conversation. But the king made it obvious that he was done with the conversation.

I wanted to speak to Mum, but she was already at the door.

"Mother…" The words left my mouth uncontrollably, and she stopped at the door. I hoped she would turn and give me a reassuring smile, a hug… or at least tell me to follow her.

"Don't call me that anymore," she said, and the remnants of my world were shattered.

She had already left the room when I said as loudly and coldly as I could, "No worries there. I never will again."

She kept walking as if it didn't matter, and I didn't even know what to do next. Where was I supposed to go now if they didn't want me here?

The Queen caught up with me while I was slowly walking down the corridor and gave my shoulder a little squeeze, startling me.

"Don't let that break you." Her tone was calm and friendly. So unlike the one from a few minutes ago. "Rory, we will find out the truth sooner or later. Let me deal with this. This smells rotten, and it will be better if you are not here."

"Why?" I knitted my brows.

"Because if you are not here, you can't be set up again." She used the royal mental link instead of words.

"But…" I didn't know what to say to that. There definitely were a lot of pros and cons.

"Alpha Island, Rory." Aunt Monica took my hands into hers. "You wanted to go there, remember? Now your mother is not a problem anymore. I’ll take care of everything and you go to Alpha Island University and stay until Darren is back."

"I am his future general, for gods' sake! Do you expect me to sit and wait for him to save me? What does that say about me?" I felt anger rising in the pit of my stomach.

"It says that you are wise and know how to pick your battles," the Queen reasoned with me, and, unfortunately, that made sense.

Yet I was me. And it didn't promise anything good.

So another plan formed in my head almost at once. I was at the wedding and stayed for the following days, helping Darren. We tried searching for the girls, but everything seemed futile. Every inch was turned upside down, yet we didn't find a single clue under the barrier that suppressed magic. I never got the chance to search the place in a calm atmosphere without the members of the four great clans running around in shock.

It's been a year, of course. The chances of finding anything now were low, but I wanted to give it a try. After all, they preserved the place, so everything stayed precisely as it was on the day when Skylar and the future Lycan Princess Ava disappeared.

"I'll gather my things and leave today," I told my aunt. She nodded understandingly.

"Rory, remember that despite everything, you are still a royal and represent our family wherever you go. All your accounts will stay open. You can keep your usual lifestyle."

"That's great," I tried to smile, although I could bet it didn't reach my eyes. It wasn't money I needed now... But a hug would make a big difference.

"Good, Rory, go." The Queen dismissed me.

"Actually, can I at least ask one thing?"

"What is it?" She looked uneasy. Requests from an alleged traitor probably weren't on her agenda. This made things harder, considering what I needed.

"Well, I was hoping you would allow me to go to the Fae kingdom to investigate Sky's disappearance. The sooner we find her, the sooner…"

"No," she interrupted me curtly. Then exhaled heavily and looked me in the eye. "Rory, stay as far away from all of this as possible. One wrong move and you will be cast away from here forever. Or worse…"

She stopped talking, but I knew what she meant. We have had a few renegade prisoners in the past year. I knew what was happening to them… Would I have the same destiny if proven guilty? The thought alone made me shiver.

I didn't want to think about that.

"Rory, remember that you will have a guard with you." Aunt reminded me.

A spy. The correct word for it was a spy.

"Is that really necessary? I have an oath to Darren. He can find me anywhere."

"Rory…" The look in the Queen's eyes became painful. I could see that she was hurting. "Darren… He isn't our Darren anymore. He is…"

We stood silent for a few moments. I knew what she meant. Losing his mate was soul-destroying. Every day he was changing, and not for the better.

"I understand," I sighed.

"So, please, don't leave without your appointed guard and don't go anywhere but Alpha Island. It is one of our protected territories. You will be safe there and…"

"Didn't they have missing students there just last year?" I couldn't help but scoff.

"Oh, that," Queen Monica rolled her eyes. "That has all been resolved. Now it's safe there. We even enhanced the barrier around the school.

"All right," I agreed, crossing my fingers behind my back. I felt like after everything today, one quick trip to the Fairy Kingdom would be something I deserved to do for myself.

Not to mention that I couldn't count on everything being resolved independently. I was still a royal but couldn't stay in the palace or capital. What did it make me? A royal rogue?

In my room, I quickly packed my bags and wrote a note for my guard saying I couldn't wait any longer and left without him. It was too risky to stay here for long if I wanted to get to the fairies. So, when everything was done, I said goodbye to the place where I had spent all my life and went to the balcony.

My mood was very low, and, as always, it reflected in the weather outside. Dark clouds were gathering around the castle, and only bolts of lighting were zipping across the sky.

Looking at it for a few minutes, I realised it was perfect. Dragons didn't like to fly in such weather unless it was vital. But being a storm dragon, I had no such problem. Usually, I caused such weather as it was my true nature.

I shifted into my dragon and flew into the sky.

I loved being one with my dragon. She was a beauty in shades of purple with silver scales over her sides. I got the lilac strands in my chocolate brown hair thanks to her. I got my silver eyes from my Lycan wolf. She had silver fur and eyes, although her glow was purple as well. Not that it mattered. I almost never shifted into my wolf. I was a dragon above all!

I soared through the skies, feeling all kinds of emotions and trying to convince myself that everything was for the best.

I reached the Fairy Kingdom faster than usual this time. All the anger fuelled me, and I felt much better after the exercise.

My mood, in general, though, was still sour.

I shifted back into my human form while I was still in the sky and landed gracefully in the middle of the clearing that was supposed to be used as a dance floor during the wedding.

I could already feel the influence of the magic suppressing barrier. It was so weird… a feeling I could never get used to.

However, I decided not to waste my time. I had to start searching as soon as possible. I couldn't scan anything with magic, so I just started looking around as a regular human would.

We had already done it a year ago but found nothing. I didn't hope for much, but my inner gut told me there should be at least something. Something that was missed before.

I started with the tents where Sky and Ava were preparing together with Shawna, the fairy Princess who was supposed to get married that day. Then I looked at the path where they had disappeared. Of course, there was nothing.

I returned to the spot marked as where they found the girls' flower crowns. It was searched through and through. Nothing new was there. It was probably stupid of me to think I would find anything here…

There was a small spring nearby, and I went to it to look between the nearby bushes. Theoretically speaking, the kidnappers could have been waiting somewhere around there.

I noticed one huge oak tree that would be perfect for hiding behind. Although many believed that the kidnappers were dressed like security warriors, I circled the tree three times just in case. It would be fortunate to find something new, but luck wasn't on my side.

I walked a few steps away, ready to leave this place, when I heard the bushes rustling.

At first, I had no doubts that it was some kind of animal. Nevertheless, a tall guy walked out instead. Sun-kissed skin, dark hair, blue eyes and a smirk that begged a fist to connect with it. I recognised the annoying wolf at once. Kayden, a Lycan royal. Also known as the a**hole who spilt his drink on my dress during the wedding and never apologised. And the last person I was in the mood to see today.

"Who do we have here?" His grin became wider, and he gave me an approving glance over. "The dragon princess in the flesh! I am honoured to be in your presence. It's so hard to get a glimpse of you these days. You haven't been at a single meeting of the clans."

I gritted my teeth. I couldn't attend any of those meetings because I had to participate in my engagement events. There were plenty of those. My warrior career was on hold because of them, as I couldn't say no to my mother… Now that I was thinking about it, I should have saud no. And I probably should stop calling her mother too.

"And you are?" I raised my brow questioningly, pretending I did not remember who he was.

"You are a bad liar, Aurora." His lips curled into a sly smile. "Which only proves I have made a lasting impression."

"And how do you know my name exactly?" I wanted to wipe that smile off his arrogant face.

"I am naturally curious," Kayden confessed with a smirk. "There aren't many royal dragons with lilac hair strands around, you know. Finding information on you was easy."

"So, you did research on me!" I folded my arms on my chest, lazily grazing my eyes over him. He wore a black leather jacket with black jeans and a T-shirt. It looked… decent for such a pr*ck.

That wasn't a vacation outfit, so he was here on business. Considering that his future king had precisely the same problem as mine, I could guess why.

"That would be an overstatement." A laugh rocked his chest. "You dragons know how to keep your secrets."

"And lycans are an open book?" I rolled my eyes. Each Kingdom had its secrets, and we all knew it very well.

He moved to tower over me in less than a second, probably trying to intimidate me, and was now so close that his breath was burning my skin. I inhaled his scent that was surprisingly sweet for a guy who was built of muscles.

"Is that... butterscotch?" My eyes went wide at the realisation. He smelled like candy, and that made me grin at him.

"It's ponderosa pine!" Kayden clenched his jaw. Life with that scent probably wasn't easy for a guy, and I bit my lip, trying to contain laughter. "It's a rare tree, and it smells of both vanilla and butterscotch. But it's pine, okay?!"

"Of course, it is, Butterscotch," I said and saw his eyes flashing red.

"Go back to hiding in your pretty golden castle, Rory." The lycan took another step forward, but I didn't budge. "You have nothing to do here."

"On the contrary," I smirked. "I am Prince Darren's warrior and future general. I have all the right to be here."

He looked at me with some kind of newfound respect, and I tilted my head to study him better.

"You will not find anything," he grumbled. "Everything is clean here."

"Then you go home, Butterscotch," I suggested, but, for some reason, he didn't like the idea at all.

"You need a license to be here," Kayden said all of a sudden, and I did my best not to flinch. I previously had one, but... it was expired. Technically, I wasn't supposed to be here... for many different reasons.

Somehow the damn lycan understood my frustration and grasped my hand, pulling me into his broad chest.

"Oh, little Rory doesn't have a permit?" He sneered at me. "What do I do with you now? How about turning you in and enjoying the show?"

"You can try," I ran my hand over his broad chest as seductively as I could muster. His glowing eyes gave him away, and my lips curled. However, I knew that this time the game was over. I had to go. "You know what, Kay. I can call you Kay, right?" I tried to blush and looked away. "I think I owe you something..."

"Surprise me," he lowered his head, so our lips almost touched.

"Oh, I will," I whispered and then tripped him up, shoving him away from me as far as I could without my lycan and dragon strength. Luckily for me, he was too sure of himself and absolutely did not expect this, stumbling and falling into the spring.

A laugh escaped me as I leaned over the oak tree for balance, enjoying the show of Kayden in the water. I was ready to leave when I noticed something white and tiny poking out of the tree roots. I bent down to have a closer look and realised that it was an old tossed cigarette.

It could be nothing.

But it could also be a potential clue to solving the case. A wide grin spread over my face, and I glared at Kayden again.

He saw it too and probably noticed the glint in my eyes that told him what I was going to do next.

"Don't you dare!" he growled. "You aren't even supposed to be here! Give that to me!"

"And let you have the DNA of one of the kidnappers?" I let out a chuckle. "I don't think so. See you never, Kayden."

I ran to the border of the barrier as fast as I could, feeling on my back how close he was. Almost ready to catch me. I could have sworn I felt his fingers in my flowing hair, but he never pulled it, so it was probably just an illusion.

Nothing was going to stop me, not when I was so close.

"Wait!" another growl emerged from behind me, but I crossed the line, feeling my dragon and wolf again. Not thinking twice, I shifted back to my dragon and charged for the sky, leaving the annoying lycan behind. Guilt prickled me, but I was going to share my discoveries later with his clan anyway. And we were not going to meet ever again. So... I could live with it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Remember that Kayden is also mentioned in Alpha Island: My Unbearable Mate by JM Snap, and you can find out more of his backstory there. And also, don't forget to join Alpha Island Arc group on sss. The surprises will begin soon ;)