His Breath of Fire

Chapter Twelve

    “He’s gone, Alpha,” one of the men notified Robert and it’s like everyone took a breath.

    “What’s going on?!” Robert screeched, turning to look at Paul and Lucas.

    Paul, Lucas. I called out, pushing my thoughts into their head. The men tensed, looking at each other before looking around.

    Bren? they tentatively responded, confusion evident.

    Tell Robert and Easton to meet us at my house, I instruct, we’ll explain everything there.

    The two men nodded and I didn’t wait for the rest of the conversation. I kept my bubble up but let my scent run seeing as the danger was gone at the moment. The flight back home was short and I dropped my bubble before stepping into the protective bubble my mother erected.

    “Bren?!” my mother screeched, running into the foyer.

    “I’m here,” I murmured, holding her tightly as she hugs me. All her fear and anxiety finally left her body knowing that I’m safe at the moment, but we have to figure out what to do about my father. “Alpha Robert and Easton are on their way here. We need to tell them.”

    “Are you sure about this?”

    “I don’t see any other choice,” I answer, breaking out of her embrace before using the counterspell to reveal the home. “My father is losing his mind, slowly going crazy from the fact that you severed the bond and are running from him. He’s unpredictable and if we have any chance of making it out alive we need their help.”

    My mother doesn’t respond as she helps me set up a different bubble allowing us to shift into our dragon forms without the outside world knowing. Never would I have thought that in a month I would have met my mate, revealed both my forms, and come to see my father. All before I turned eighteen.

    “Kaida? Bren?” Paul’s voice calls out, and we make our way to the living room. Paul, Lucas, Easton, and Robert crowd our living room and we lead them outside. Paul and Lucas sit down on the lawn chairs, relaxed since they already know what’s going to happen while Robert and Easton are tense, coiled, seeming ready to attack at any moment.

    “Alpha Robert,” my mother starts, breaking the uncomfortable silence surrounding us. “Bren and I have not been completely honest with you since Paul and I have found each other.”

    “What do you mean?” He asks.

    “I think it’s best if we explain everything first and then ask any questions you may have,” I interject, earning a glare from Robert. I may be his son’s mate but Alphas hate anything that qualifies as disrespect in their eyes, which apparently I just did.

    “You will speak when spoken to, girl,” he demands, Alpha powers swirling around me as he tries to get me to submit.

    I growl, eyes glowing as my own power swirls around me. “You do not tell me what to do,” I snap, my own Lycan powers swirling through the air towards Robert. He stiffens at the presence of my power, doing his best to reject the will to submit.

    “Bren, calm down,” my mother instructs, to which I take a breath and step back. Robert releases his own breath but keeps his eyes trained on me. “Alpha, I understand the ways of the pack and that you demand the utmost respect from those you lead. However, Bren did not partake in an oath to swear her loyalty to you, and frankly, if a fight were to break out, you will lose.”

    All eyes jumped from me to my mother, shock and disbelief evident in their expressions. See, what they didn’t realize is that one year I found out I could combine my two forms.  It’s why my father is trying so hard to get my mother back, to have that perfect weapon in his grasp. If I had grown up in that kind of environment, who knows how I would have turned out. But instead I was taught to love, have compassion—basically to be a human being. That would not have happened if my mother didn’t run when she had the chance.

    “It’s probably best that I show you,” I say, moving to step away from the group. Besides, I was tired of beating around the bush. As I moved away, Easton made to follow me but stopped when I held a hand up.

    Keeping my gaze locked on him, my eyes flashed opal as I cast a spell onto my clothes, keeping them intact after I shifted back to my human form. The two Alphas did a good job of keeping their surprise to a minimum but that changed once I shifted to my full dragon height. Once fully shifted, I opened my mouth to let out some fire, which all of the men ducked instinctually at but my mother threw up a shield to protect them from the flames. After that, I shrunk my size down to that of a wolf, wings still extended as I looked into Easton’s eyes. His expression was unreadable however I needed to show them everything before we talked. I shifted again, changing into my wolven form, howling once the shift was complete. I shook out my fur then shifted once more.

    This form was one that was terrifying. My eyes were mismatched, one opal and one mint, the majority of my body was that of a wolf’s, however my dragon wings sprouted from my back, while on each leg the last limb changed to those of a dragon’s seeing as their claws are deadlier and can cut through a dragon’s hide. The tail was that of a dragon’s too and I pulled my lips back into a growl. After that I shifted back into my human form, standing tall in front of the men before me.

    Silence met me for a handful of minutes as the two Alphas processed everything they had just seen. After about another minute or so Robert turned to my mother, “Are you a shifter too?”

    “Yes,” she answered, “but not like Bren. I only have one form and that’s the dragon form.”

    “And you two already knew of this?” Robert accused, pointing to Paul and Lucas.

    “Yes,” Paul answered, putting an arm around my mother’s waist and tugging her close. “We kept it secret for fear of her old mate finding her.”

    “And that man we saw at the border…” Easton asked but trailed off.

    “Is my father and my mother’s first mate,” I answered, and Easton’s eyes snapped to mine. His eyes were guarded and my other forms were going crazy under his gaze.  I took a couple of steps closer and he looked away from me.  My heart constricted.  Did he hate me?  Did he not want me?

    “No, Bren,” Easton said, turning back to me.  “I just need time to process.”

    I gulped and moved to go back into the house.  I can’t take his disappointment so I walked away.  My mother instructed everyone to join me in the house and I heard the group coming in after me.  I curled up on one of the lounge chairs and waited for everyone to find me.

    Why did Paul immediately accept my mother and her other form while Easton has to “process” everything?  The image of Paul walking up to my mother’s dragon form, hand on her snout, fluttered behind my eyelids and I swallowed to dislodge the lump in my throat.  How come I’ve been so cheated by my mate but my mother got a wonderful second-chance mate?  The moment I got my tears under control, I opened my eyes to see the group was surrounding me in various chairs around the living room.