Dragon Alpha's Special Mate

22. Worst Way To Start

Sophia

I’m not surprised Ax absolutely destroys Lucien. He’s been fighting and training his whole life. I’ve seen him fight many times, and it always ends the same - his opponent is bloodied while not even a hair is out of place on Ax.

When the fight is over, Ax stands next to me, but I refuse to look at him as Tage calls the next pair.

“Rina Shaw with June Samara, please step forward.” They both walk to the middle of the mat, and I realize how big June is. She has very short, light brown hair that sits just at her chin. “Now, I don’t have to worry about you stopping this fight too, do I, Maxson?” Tage asks, and I can feel the blush on my skin.

“No. Rina’s been fighting her whole life. She’s got this.” I can’t help but feel the pang of jealousy I feel at that statement. I wish he’d be that confident in me. Maybe I should have started training a while ago. Once I found out we were mates, it would have been a good time to start. I don’t know what I was thinking.

Rina and June shake hands, and I watch as they both go hit for hit and block for block. It’s a quick fight, but honestly, very fairly matched up. When Tage ends it, they both look pretty decent, maybe a little bruised, but no visible blood.

They shake hands, and Rina stands right next to Ax, “f**k, that felt good.” She laughs at him, leaning forward and looking at me. “You really need to learn to fight. It’s a whole new level of freedom.”

I nod at her, not saying anything, as I just wait for class, and my humiliation to end. Once it’s over, I declare it a personal victory that I get to leave on my own two feet and not on a stretcher. Though, I’m not sure which is worse: leaving on a stretcher or being embarrassed because my mate saved me.

I walk out of the classroom, still upset with Ax, when I feel him grab my arm and pull me to the side in the hallway.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t stand there.”

“And now I look pathetic. So, thanks.”

I turn on my heel to walk away when he grabs me again, and I let out an aggravated sigh.

“I love you.” He tells me, pressing his lips to my forehead. I calm slightly at the intimate moment, but he’s not getting out of this that easy.

“I love you too, but that doesn’t mean I’m not mad at you. You have to let me learn, or your mother will never think I’m good enough to be the Czarina.”

“I don’t care what my mother says.”

I stare up at him, a small smile playing on his lips.

“I do.”

“Okay, fine. But, then you’re going to start training with me after school. I can’t stand to see you get hit.”

A small smile creeps up on my lips, see now he’s starting to get it.

“I can do that.” I lift on my tiptoes, giving him a gentle kiss before we go our separate ways.

~

“Welcome to Intro to Fire Magic, specifically for Dragons. I am Hamish Stone. You may call me Mr. Stone, or Hamish if you’d prefer. I’m obviously a fire dragon, and I’m here to help you get a grip on your fire magic to better use it when not shifted. I need a volunteer to help demonstrate the first spell, passing fire back and forth. Any takers?”

I watch as Hamish’s dark brown eyes scan the room, finally landing on me.

“If no one volunteers, I’ll have to choose someone.” He raises his eyebrows at me, but I want nothing to do with being the first person to volunteer. My fire magic is weird, it’s not like anyone else's, and I don’t need to be a failure in two classes right away.

“Alright, let’s choose our future, Czarina, Sophia, please join me up here.”

He has a large smile as I nervously stand up, tugging at my shirt before getting to the front of the room.

“It’s lovely to meet you.” He holds his hand out, and I timidly take it.

“You too.” I smile at him, trying to steel my nerves, but it’s really no use. When I pull my hand away, I watch Hamish wipe his hands on his pants, no doubt cleaning away the sweat that pours from my palms.

“Okay, go ahead and make a fireball and toss it to me. I’ll catch it, then return it.”

I nod at him and pull the magic from within me while holding my hand in front of me. The fireball appears on the tips of my fingers quickly, and I can feel the cold from it, cooling my sweaty palm. I watch the eerily black outline of my fire, the part that I’m sure makes it more chilling, before I take a deep breath and toss it to him. He catches it effortlessly, and I see his eyes widen as he feels the deep cold that comes from within. Goosebumps spread on his skin, and my stomach drops when he drops the fire to the ground. I dissipate the magic that created it so it doesn’t spread and others find out, wishing I could be anywhere but here.

“Oops, butterfingers over here.” The class laughs lightly at him, and I smile for a moment before he turns his attention back to me. “Let me make one and have you catch it.” I nod at him, thankful that he doesn’t say anything out loud about my cooling fire.

He creates the fireball, tossing it over to me. I catch it, and can feel Auriel press against the magic.

“It’s so warm.” She relishes in the heat of the fire, and so do I. I’m glad it doesn’t burn me, but I already knew it wouldn’t since Rina and I’ve played with her fire before.

I dissipate the magic again, and Hamish smiles at me before turning to the class again.

“Alright, everyone pair up and practice. Sophia, can I see you in the hall for a moment?” My stomach drops as I nod at him, following him into the empty hallway.

“Why was it cold? How did you do that?”

“It’s just how my fire magic is. My spells are advanced. I should be in the advanced class. But since it’s cold, and has that blackness to it, Alpha Marina put me in the beginners class.” I watch as he considers my words. He doesn’t say anything for a while, thinking thoroughly about my response as I stand there awkwardly.

“You’ll be paired with me going forward. It’s kind of cool, but I’m not sure everyone will think so. We have an odd number of students, so it works out.”

I give him a small nod, going to head back into the classroom when he stops me.

“Are you okay? Any questions?”

I stare back up at him, unsure if he’s someone I can actually trust or ask. I know Auriel has an interesting backstory. She’s a dragon, but she’s a God. She only made it to me out of pure luck of circumstances. Maxson and I agreed to keep our dragon’s story a secret, something just for the two of us to know. So, I won’t tell him anything specific, but…

“Have you ever seen this before?”

I watch the smile falter on Hamish’s face before he slowly shakes his head.

“No, but I’m fascinated. Cold fire. Does it burn things?”

I nod, “It does. But instead of being burning hot, it’s freezing cold. It can still turn items to ash, like your fire, but instead of it being hot, it’s cold.”

He chuckles a little bit, nodding his head.

“f*****g cool.” I laugh at him for swearing. It’s not something you usually hear a teacher say. “Well, let’s get back in there. I hope no one got burned.”

I nod and follow him back in the room to see a couple of students attempting to put the blinds out. There’s a small fire on the desk next to mine and I walk over, opening my water and pouring it out.

“Thanks.” She says, looking relieved that I was there.

“Anytime,” I tell her with a smile, but before I can ask her name, the class ends, and it’s time for lunch.

~

I take a bite of my sandwich when Sapphire sits down in a huff, the food on her tray scattering as she looks at me, then Ax.

“Everything alright?”

“Yes, well no. I flooded the building today in class. We had to evacuate and it was so embarrassing.”

I raise my eyebrow at her, she’s usually so in control of her magic, I wonder what happened.

“It’s my stupid teacher,” She continues, looking off in the distance, “He’s so hot I got so nervous and just lost control. There should be a rule, you know, that you can’t be that attractive and teach us.”

I can’t help but laugh at her as we continue to eat lunch. I don’t tell anyone, even Ax, about Hamish helping me specifically with my magic. I just really want this day to end.