The Twin Dragons Mate

Chapter 9: Drake

I groaned at the thought of what was happening behind that bathroom door. What were we thinking, offering to let Ana stay with us? We should have just negotiated with the landlord so Ana could have stayed with her friends. Elliot chuckled, “What are you laughing at?” I asked with a sneer; Elliot put his hands up defensively,

“Just what you said through the link.” He replied, “I think you were almost busted.” Realization hit, did Ana really hear me? She asked if I had said something, but I didn’t actually speak; I was talking to Elliot through our link. Thoughts began circling through my head. What if he’s right? What if this girl really is our mate? 

I sat in the lounge, staring at the picture of Maryanne and us; the image swirled just a bit and depicted Maryanne with purple streaks in her hair and a more modern look. I soon realized that it wasn’t Maryanne anymore, it was Ana. I looked at the image for another moment, then looked at my whiskey glass; perhaps I’ve reached my limit, I thought to myself. A form walked into the doorway; I didn’t look over. I just continued to stare at my glass; the person didn’t say anything, so I assumed it was Elliot, “Not now, Elliot. I’m busy.” The form cleared their throat, 

“It’s not Elliot.” I heard Anas’ voice come from the direction of the doorway. I turned to see her; her hair was damp and in ringlets around her face. She wore a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. I had to fight the urge to bite my lip when I noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra. I cleared my throat, 

“Sorry, Ana, I was just,….” She smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder, 

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you.” She smiled sweetly at me then began taking a look around. She was in awe at the architecture and decor, which was obvious, but then her ocean blue eyes fell on the fireplace with its purple flames dancing in the pit. It was like she was hypnotized by the delicate forms of light. Anas’ gaze trailed upward until she saw the portrait. Her eyes grew wide, and she stumbled backward, ”W-What is….” I muttered a curse under my breath, but just when I was about to panic, Elliot appeared to save the day, 

“Relax, Ana, they are our direct ancestors, Nathan and William Leviathan and their bride-to-be.” He lied; I tried to follow along with the story, so I knew what I needed to say if she asked questions. “They were the last Dragon Kings before the fall.” Ana sat down, clearly haunted by the portrait,

“And the woman?” Ana asked, “Why does she….” Ana trailed off, still trying to wrap her head around the image, 

“Well, it could be possible that you are a descendant of her bloodline. That’s typically the case in many matters. But that,” Elliot pointed to the picture, “is Lady Maryanne.” Ana nodded, “Sadly, they never got the chance to be together due to the fall of the kingdom. When the woman known in history as Aladora the Great murdered the young bride and destroyed the kingdom.” Ana raised a brow, clearly skeptical, then, in a joking tone, she asked, 

“So, she was a dragon?” Elliot chuckled and nodded to me to continue. I knew just what to say, the truth, just with some minor adjustments. 

“No, she was human, but according to our family history, Nathan and William were dragons. In fact, it’s said that they were cursed by Aladora to roam the earth until her direct descendant breaks the curse and takes the throne.” Elliot gave me a look; why he didn’t just tell me through the link, I don’t know. I cleared my throat, “But that’s all just a legend. It’s probably not even true.” Ana scoffed a bit,

“At least the dragon part.” She muttered. I fought back the urge to tell her the truth, or rather, show her, but first, we needed more information. We needed to talk to Victoria again. Elliot placed a hand on Anas’ shoulder, 

“Come, it’s time for dinner.” We all went to the dining room, but the way Ana stared at the flames and the way she looked at the portrait, it had me concerned. If she didn’t get distracted by the picture, she looked like she was about to walk into the flames. 

After dinner, I sat at my desk in the office. It was the only room in the whole house, besides the big bedroom, completely soundproof. I wanted to know more about Ana, so I decided to track down her past, perhaps even her parents. I need to know the truth. There was a slight knock on the door, and Elliot walked in, “Brother, you must be mad if you actually invited Victoria here.” Victoria emerged from behind him, 

“Please, Elliot, dear, he clearly missed me.” She brought her left hand up to her face and began exposing her ring, “Alas, I am a married woman. Our love shall have to only be in your fantasies.” I snickered a bit at her forward demeanor, 

“Victoria, thank you for coming. I’m happy that your husband was so keen on you coming.” Just as I said that a bulky man appeared right behind her, a hand on her waist, 

“At least not alone.” She giggled, “Darling, I don’t believe you have met the Dragon Kings, have you?” His red eyes met mine, but when I thought they’d be glaring, I instead saw kindness in them,

“I’ve met Elliot, but not Drake, dearest. Drake was away on a training mission when I spoke to their parents. You two were but seven, perhaps eight, I believe.” Elliot chuckled,

“Yes, it was your husband that helped our father when he was injured in battle during the Dragon War; if I recall, our tutor told us about it,” Elliot said; I nodded. I actually never knew that; that’s what I get for not paying attention. Victoria cleared her throat,

“Lovely to reminisce, but Drake, I believe you wanted to speak to me?” I nodded, 

“Yes, I want to know if you have any more information on Ana.” She smiled, 

“You want to know if my sisters’ curse will rain true, don’t you?” I sighed. This woman is the Queen of the vampires and a witch; of course, you can’t hide anything from her. Before I could reply to her question, Elliot intervened,

“Do you have information on her? Perhaps know who her parents are?” Victoria looked to her husband, 

“Victor, darling, perhaps they have the right to know.” We both looked at them curiously, “Tell them the truth about the girl.” Victor stood tall, he definitely had the demeanor of royalty, but something about him made me feel off; perhaps the stress of not knowing, 

“Miss Reese isn’t just our niece,” he said, “she’s also our granddaughter.” Hearing that made my heart stop beating. How in hell are they her aunt and uncle from centuries past, but also her grandparents? Victor stepped forward. “I know what you’re thinking; it’s impossible, well, not true. Our youngest son, Samuel, met a young woman one night, and they,” he was trying to find the right words, “got to know each other a little too well that night. And it just so happens that the young woman was Anas’ mother, Miss Emily Reese. Needless to say, they never saw each other again, but Emily also didn’t tell anyone she was pregnant. Later, we discovered that she had died giving birth to Ana, which resulted in Ana being put into foster care.” Part of me wanted to yell at them for making up such ridiculous lies, but I could see the shame and guilt in their eyes that this was not the case.

“Does he know about her?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me; they shook their heads, 

“He’s engaged to be married to another woman. Honestly, it probably wouldn’t change anything.” Victoria said; I felt my hands clench,

“Samuel has never been the responsible one. Perhaps Ana would have had a better life if it was Alexander, and everything could have been resolved. Alas, the poor child has grown up not knowing anything about her heritage.” Victor added. 

“We should tell Ana; perhaps she’ll take it well,” I stated, but Elliot stared at me, smoke falling from his nose, 

“Are you crazy?” He shouted, “Ana is efficient; she’d never believe us. The only way to prove any of this is to show her, and honestly, I don’t think she could handle it, at least not yet.” I sighed, pissed that he was undermining me once again. “Besides, we’re not even sure if she’s our mate, Drake, we shouldn’t try to do anything about her past until we know more about what the future holds,” I growled,

“Elliot, she is our mate, if you see it or not!” I shouted. I was sick of him undermining me; it’s time he heard me, “You have done this our whole lives; if not for you and your wandering d**k, we could have had a long and happy life with Maryanne! But now, here we are, centuries later, with a chance to have what we didn’t get to have with a mate who is just as fiery as Maryanne and, believe me, just as stubborn.” Elliot watched me, his face was stoic, but I kept shouting, “I don’t care that she’s descended from the b***h that cursed us, Ana is our mate, and I plan to love her, even if you don’t.” I turned to Victoria, “No offense to you, Victoria, honestly, I’d prefer you over your sister any day of the week.” She smiled, and I heard a faint giggle come from her. Elliot went to speak, but I left before he could say a word. 

Anger was fuming through my body as I slammed the door to my room. This was pure hell; my heart screamed at me to tell Ana the truth about everything. About who we are, about who she is, about everything. But the agonizing voice in my head continued to say that Elliot was right; I knew he was, but I hated that he wouldn’t listen to me. Before it opened slowly, there was a knock on the door; Victoria came into the room, “Victoria, this is not the time.” I said to her; she gave me a weak smile before taking a seat in a chair, 

“Do you know why I decided to tell you the truth about Ana?” She asked; I raised a brow towards her, “It’s because I knew the moment you two laid eyes on her that she’d be safe, protected.” I sat across from her, ready to listen to what she had to say,

“Why didn’t you take her in when she was a baby?” I asked, “Why not tell her father about her?” Victoria sighed, the guilty expression she wore burned itself into my heart,

“We tried.” She replied, “When we confronted Samuel about it, he denied ever having anything to do with Emily. After about a month, we managed to get a DNA test done anonymously,” How in the hell did they manage that, I wondered, “Don’t bother asking how.” Victoria told me as if reading my mind. “Anyways, when we got the results back, we discovered the truth.” I nodded in understanding, but that still left me wondering,

“Why not take her in after discovering the truth?” I asked, 

“We couldn’t. We were worried for her safety, if I’m being honest.” I gave her an inquisitive look,

“Safety from what?” Victoria tensed, getting up from her seat and walking over to the fireplace, but the action made me worry more. “Victoria, what were you trying to protect her from?” Victoria turned to me, tears welling in her eyes, and she muttered a name. A name that I never wanted to hear ever again; the name that ruined my life so long ago…

“Aladora.”