His Eternal Escape (Book 2 of the Hybrid Series)

Chapter 4: The Past Mixed With the Present

~Adam's P. O. V.~

Matt and I held Anika as Whitney burned the rest of Gene's body. After Klein and Peter were freed from that prison box, they told Anika that Gene had gone back to her home state. Clearly, that wasn't the case. Anika sobbed for her friend. Who did this to her? And why? She was just a human. I can even tell that now after living with other mythics for so long.

Matt: This reeks of Yellowstone.

Me: You can't know that, Matthew.

Whitney: I am with Matt on this one, Adam. I have a theory, if you're willing to hear me out.

Matt: I'm listening.

Me: What is it, Whit?

Whitney: I recall Anika saying that she once helped Gene get out of an abusive relationship. The guy almost killed her. We all know that back then, Anika was still ignorant of her birthright. And yet, she was able to hurt a wolf in your castle, Matt.

Matt: You are not suggesting...

Whitney: I am. She was dating a werewolf. One from Yellowstone.

Matt and I stopped breathing. Me: That doesn't make sense.

Matt: Makes perfect sense to me. Adam, put your feelings aside. What once was a friend is now a foe. To be honest, gentlemen, I think they found out before the twins did.

Whitney: Why do you think that?

Me: How do you think that?!

Matt: If I may continue, I'll tell you why. He paused and looked at our wife. She is hurting right now. The same night I took her was the same night I smelled wolf on her floor. I thought it was a client of theirs. Since werewolves can be in sunlight. And look human. He looked at us with anger in his eyes. The smell only stopped at the front desk. Whitney and I understood what he meant. If he hadn't kidnapped her, she would have been...

Whitney: Tch. Damn mutts wanted to kill her at work!

Me: She was alone. And vulnerable.

Matt: But since he couldn't find Anika...

Me: He looked at the last thing that put him in jail. But that doesn't explain why you think he came from Yellowstone or that he knew of Anika.

He groaned in our heads. Matt: She managed to hurt him. A human cannot harm a wolf. He thought angrily. I think he was on a mission. Ran into Gene, dated her to get close to Anika before she knew she was a mythical being and kill her along with Gene. Then I came along, stole her, he got angry and murdered Gene.

Anika: SHUT UP ALL OF YOU! We flinched. f**k. We didn't close the mindlink. It doesn't matter how or who. My friend is dead! A-And it's my fault.

"Angel. No." Whitney pulled her into a hug. "It's not your fault." She was crying into his chest.

Matt and I held our wife too. "He's right, love. Her death is not on your hands."

I leaned my head against hers. "We will get justice for her, honey."

The kids came back. Riftyn looked horrible. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shown you that." Poor kid.

Charlie kissed his cheek. "Don't be. You didn't kill her."

Anika's body began to shake. f**k. Whenever she is like this, Viper takes over. Viper would rather have her feel nothing than the pain of losing someone close. We normally let her because she is too strong for us. "Mom." Lillian came up to her and hugged her. I saw my daughter shed tears too. "It's going to be okay. We will find the person who did this." Anika was calming down. I don't know how, but Lily always knows how to heal someone who is hurting. She let go of Whitney and hugged Lily back. It was then that I saw it.

Me: Can you both see this? I made sure Anika didn't hear us this time.

Matt: I can. Is that normal, Whitney?

Whitney: No. There are a few among our kind known as "Dragon Healers" but they are few and far in between.

We watched as Lily mended Anika's broken heart. Swirls of greens and blues engulfed them both. I wondered if she knew. The boys also saw this. Charlotte's eyes were wide. Riftyn looked like he was in a candy store. The swirls never stopped when she backed away from Anika. Other beautiful colors emerged when she smiled at her mother.

"Uh... What?" Micah broke the ice.

Caleb inspected her. "How did you do that?"

Charoltte was in awe too. "Lil... How long have you had that ability?"

Lily smiled at everyone and looked up at the sky. "Since I was 4. The Dragon God came to me once. Since I am a pure dragon, he told me who my counterpart would be. Call it cheating, but he told me that I had the ability to heal others. And that my dragon would be one of beauty and grace. As if she were part of the forest and wind herself."

Anika smiled and kissed her on the head. "Thank you, baby. I needed that."

Micah crossed his arms. "Lucky. The Moon Goddess hasn't told us who we are getting." My sons pouted. I wanted to laugh.

Caleb sat criss-cross on the grass and humphed. "That is totally not fair. Charlotte is a Vampire Dragon, Lily knows hers, like... What are we even doing, dude?" He looked up at his older brother. They may have been twins, but Caleb was born after Micah.

Micah looked down at his brother. "We could ask, you know. They tend to answer us mostly."

He wasn't wrong. "I'll summon her, boys. Just keep your boxers on." I closed my eyes and thought of The Moon Goddess. Lunem? Can we talk to you?

"I'm already here, Adam." We all turned to face Lunem. The boys looked like they had seen a ghost. "If you must know, very well." She playfully shook her head. "Micah. Your wolf will be an extraordinary one. Because you are also half dragon, your counterpart will be one of wonder. Excitement. And he will have something no other wolf would have." She looked at all of us. "What? I can't give you every detail." We all thought the same thing. Liar. She grunted. "You lot are hard to please." She laughed. "Very well, Oidecros and I actually made a being between wolf and dragon. We call it a 'Grypwolf'. Let's just say that the imagination of humans got to us." She smiled and looked at Caleb. "Your wolf is the opposite. More wolf than dragon. Wolgen. Neither had been thought of before. But we are always watching and I cannot wait to see how you and your wolves turn out." She smiled again and left in a blinding white light. Why does she do that?

Caleb stood to his feet quickly. "We're gonna have wings, bro!" Both of them shook each other and fist pumped.

I may have showed them what they looked like. Lunem said to me.

Just as we were all about to celebrate, Anika fell to her knees. She was holding her head. "Wh-What is-" She passed out. I quickly ran to her and picked her up.

"Mom!" The kids cried out.

"Angel!" Whitney looked scared.

"Anika!" Matt checked her over.

Her pulse was weak. And fading. "Her breathing is hard!" Lily tried to heal her again. But it wasn't working. "Nathaniel!" I cried out. I didn't want to move her.

The beating of wings was heard. I looked up and saw 4 giant dragons coming this way. Silence! One of them said. I couldn't tell who, though. One looked like a volcano erupted on his body. Another looked like it was born from ice. The third was all black and had an ominous glow to him. The last one, she frightened me. She was the biggest of them all. Her dragon was gold. Her horns made it look like a crown was on her head. I swallowed my fear. She will be fine. This happens to all dragons in our bloodline. My grandson called us here. It was the gold dragon talking. The gold one touched Anika's head with her nose. Awaken, dear child. Anika's breathing stabilized and her pulse came back. Her eyes fluttered open.

"The hell happened?" She groaned and held her head. Then she looked up at the 4 dragons before us. "G-Grandmother?"

Indeed, I am your great-grandmother, sweetheart. Come. We have much to discuss. We all stood back up and followed these ancient dragons. They shifted when they entered the room. My jaw dropped at the fact that their clothes were not shredded. We got back to the library where we saw Nathaniel passed out too. "Awaken, my adorable grandson." The woman crouched down and touched his forehead too. "It is a curse all Aradace dragons endure. Except you, great-great-granddaughter. Why?" She looked at Charlotte. "Lilian has yet to gain her dragon, but you are mere days into gaining Hydra."

The other woman came over and inspected my daughter. "I might know why, mother. Her Vampyric blood. It blocks the curse." They got all of that from just one look?

One of the men finally spoke. "'Tis true. You can see it. No mark on her."

I wanted to intervene. But Anika stopped me. "Lily has a birthmark. One that is shaped like fire..."

The other man went over to Lily. "I see. Forgive us, children. And forgive us Riftyn. We had no clue that you were in those dreadful caves."

Matt pulled Anika into his arms. "Darling? Don't you have a birthmark similar to fire?"

She nodded. I looked at these old dragons. "It's the symbol of the curse. We took Aradace Castle by force. It was no small feat. The previous King and Queen were tyrants. They were what we called Blood Dragons. Because we killed them, their final words were ones of a curse put onto our family."

Nathaniel stood to his feet and had all of us sit. "They are extinct now. Because of their ability." He paused and looked at Matt. "Vampire Dragons are the closest thing to Blood Dragons now. Back then, they could control another's blood."

Matt placed a hand over his mouth. Charlotte held onto Riftyn's arm. "In other words, child, they were abominations. They would use other dragons to do their bidding. Whether that was to cause war and chaos or to build and be slaves to them." The gold dragon lady said.

"We are here to not only apologize, but to put a protection spell over you all. The Dragon God informed us of what had transpired."The man sitting next to the gold dragon lady stated.

"Before all of that, mother, father." Nathaniel motioned for something.

"Oh, right. This is our official first meeting, isn't it?" The other dragon lady chuckled. "The war didn't count. We didn't stay after you all defeated that god." She turned and looked at everyone. "I am Veronica. Anika's and Quinn's grandmother."

The man next to her cleared his throat. "I am Dayton. Their grandfather."

The gold dragon lady spoke next. "I am Queen Lorraine. You would also know me as their great-grandmother."

The abyss dragon man stood and looked at Whitney. His eyes hardened. His gaze turned to Matt next. Then they landed on me. What is this feeling? His eyes. They are crushing me. "I am called Desmond. Their great-grandfather." He looked at Anika next. "Where is your brother?"

Lily spoke up. "Uncle Quinn is gone for the month. He's making treaties."

Desmond looked at her and narrowed his eyes. "I see. Nathaniel."

Nathan looked at his grandfather. "Yes?"

Desmond looked at him. "Get him here now." Nathaniel bowed and left the room. "Lillain, Charlotte, Micah and Caleb." They all straightened up. "Along with Anika, Gabriel, Adam and Whitney." This man, what is he? "Follow me. Veronica, you and Dayton stay here. Lorraine, could you bring the scroll?"

She bowed to him too. "Of course, dear."

We all followed him down to the entrance of the Catacombs. Riftyn followed because this had to do with him and he needed answers too. Lorraine took the forefront and collapsed the caves. I saw ice stitch the tunnels close and fire melt the sides. How could two different elements work together like that? I mean, Anika's power can, but she's special.

Lorraine wiped her hands. "There. No more tunnels." She pulled out a scroll and began making a circle in fire and ice. It was a circle I had never seen. No more words were spoken, yet a powerful surge shot out of it, making everyone fall on their backs. "Sorry, dears. I forgot to mention that this protection spell is quite powerful. It blows the evil back and kills them." She couldn't have warned us?!

Desmond cleared his throat. "We needed to do it at the base of the castle." He summoned the chairs from upstairs. H-How!? Taking a seat in one of them. "We should remain here until Nathaniel and the others return."

I sat and looked at him. "Can you explain a little, sir?" Sir?! Am I really that scared of him?

Jasper: I am. His dragon is powerful. Not nearly as powerful as our mates, but close to.

Is he that powerful?!?

Jasper: He is. I am going to take a nap. Don't use my body. I like living. He gave out a yawn.

Desmond crossed his arms and looked down. "The war with Bastian and the wolves of Mount Hood. How would you describe it?" He looked at each and every one of us.

"It was hell." Whitney answered. "Zombie dragons and wolves alike. The stench still lingers, even after 20 years."

"I would say that my previous battles, even from so long ago, didn't compare to what happened there." Matt looked down and ground his teeth. "I'm ashamed to admit it. I was truthfully scared. Not for myself. But for her." He looked at Anika. "I feared she would be taken by that monster or The Fae God."

Anika smiled a little. "It wasn't just hell for me. It was the worst thing I had ever gone through. I saw it all from the other dimension." Her eyes became black. "And I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it." Then they began to glow. "I couldn't stop mom's death, either." Her fists began to shake. I stood and held my wife.

"Even at Davis Lake, the battles between us and two other packs were nothing compared to what horror he wrought here." She took a deep breath and calmed down. I saw her eyes return from purple to their beautiful green color.

Desmond nodded. "I am sure." His eyes became yellow and slit. "What your great-grandmother and I had to go through was 100x worse."

We all looked at him in anger. "Darling. You're not making any sense to them."

He calmed down and started to explain, "Bastian. The Royals that lived here. Riftyn. You are a dragon of legend. Do you not think it odd that we would see you now?" We all froze and tensed up. "We fought your foe many times. We had tyrants as our monarchs. And a woman. Who pledged her loyalty to Bastian. To the Royals. Her name? Lilith."

Matthew threw his fist into a wall. "She did what?!" This Lilith must have been one major pain in the ass for him. His fangs and claws came out. I think I preferred the silent anger from him. "That day. That is why he was there?!" He screamed at everyone. "Because she was?!"

Lily didn't even go near him. "Calm down, Matt." Whitney tried to get him to come back to his senses.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "What did she do to you?" I asked him.

His eyes were red and glowing. "She betrayed our kind!" He yelled. "She betrayed her family!"

We were all confused by that statement. "What?" Anika asked.

Matt's eyes returned. "She sold her soul to a demon. I was named prince by that time. Her parents, brother and sister came to me. They begged me to help her return. I looked far and wide. It was during our war with the werewolves that I even found a hint of her. Or rather she found me. Letters poured in. Demanding my crown." That's why he is so angry at Yellowstone's threats. It reminded him of his past. One that he doesn't want to relive.

Anika looked at our kids. Then back at us. She went over to him and left my arms. "Oh, Matt. We understand." She kissed him. If this had been 21 years ago, I would have pounded him into the dirt. But we share her. Hard as that was to admit back then.

Lorraine tilted her head. "How odd." She looked at all of us. "3 mates? How did that happen?" She leans forward and smiles.

Anika sat down next to her. "Well, it's a long story." She started from the beginning. Telling everyone how she and Quinn landed this big contract before her disappearance. Going through the like a fine needle. There were things I didn't know about her still. Art? I didn't know she drew. Matt made the first move?! Tch. Jealous. She mentioned a lot. Going through the part about Bastian finding her.

"He almost killed you once before?!" Desmond yelled. She nodded and continued. She got to the part about seeing me again and how furious she was with all of us. And the rest we all already new. She met Whitney when she went flying with Viper for the first time. How Viper almost took my head off. That was not something I liked hearing about or remembering. How Pearl and Jasper bonded. And how we got into the war to begin with.

Lorraine stood and slapped each one of us. Not sure how we deserved it. "You let her run off?! What kind of mates are you? I am disappointed in you three." We rubbed our faces and Anika laughed a little. Well, we see where she gets it from.

"We're back." Nathaniel called from the top of the stairs.