Dragon's Claim

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Your mate left us,” Noelle growled before half of his family. She poked a finger into Drake’s chest and he thought he might explode.

His heart hammered inside his chest despite the anger that lined his face as he stared back at the small dragon. He had no idea where his mate might have gone. He didn’t even know what would make her leave. She was not in the field he’d found her in the day before, experimenting with her new form.

Drake had left the Territory to assess the c*****e the One-Eyed Dragon had left behind, taking with him some of his best dragons to canvas the area. It had not been a sight he would have wished on anyone. Whereas the last family had completely disappeared, this dragon had been left behind as a message, his body nearly shredded by dragon claws. The looks on the faces of those around him hadn’t carried the fear or the accusation Drake had expected, but he felt it all the same.

He’d carried it all the way back to the center of the Territory only to find his mate gone. He should have known Layla would continue to be reckless in her brand of bravery, but he did not think she would do any of the things his family accused her of.

Some of the dragons were trying to tell him there was another dragon flying outside the Territory and causing chaos. They claimed it was his mate, the foreigner he’d brought into their family. It couldn’t be. Layla wouldn’t tear down a barn. She wouldn’t spew flames over a town full of people.

Not his mate.

“You need to back down,” Marc told Noelle, his voice gravelly with the threat his body held. He stepped forward, trying to place himself between Drake and Noelle.

He couldn’t afford to have his people fighting amongst themselves. Where had Layla gone? If only he could find her and let her explain herself to them.

“His mate betrayed us!” Noelle shouted after spinning away from Marc. “The woman is running around and acting like one of the raiding dragons. If they really are mates, what does that say about Drake?”

He felt the world shift beneath his feet. None of them knew. They couldn’t. They would never trust him If they did.

The dragons gathered around his porch made the wooden structure feel like a galley. They shifted from foot to foot, murmuring to each other and casting wary looks up to him. Their faith was wavering. So little held them together as a family.

Trust was the only glue Drake had ever tried to use. As long as they trusted him to protect them, they stayed, they respected him.

A small voice spoke up from the crowd. “Is it true? Was a raider family attacked and killed?”

Drake felt his stomach plummet. A small tug at his side had him looking down. Miri stood beside him, the absolute worst place for a child in that moment. He did not want her on display for their accusations and fears. Drake moved to push her away, but she clung to him, standing like an immovable force with her eyes trained on the crowd. She was too strong for a child of only five years, he thought.

The world they lived in had done this to her.

Drake bent and scooped Miri up in his arms. The girl twisted in his embrace, her eyes daring the crowd before them to speak against him. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you a raiding dragon?” Drake asked the voice in the crowd, unable to pinpoint which of his dragons had spoken.

There was a murmur that passed over the crowd as everyone spoke at once. They shifted, looking from one to the next as they each mumbled their thoughts.

“You aren’t because I’ve given you a place to live so that you don’t have to steal to live. I’m not excusing the raiders, by any means. What I’m doing is reminding you that you have it very good right now. Don’t trample over that.”

Without another word, he turned away from the crowd and retreated inside with Miri. He moved to set her down on the couch, but she clung to him, her thin legs wrapped around his torso. Marc followed him inside, a familiar face for Miri. The resemblance between them ended at the shape of their eyes and color of their skin, but he’d been the first face she’d seen here on the Territory.

“The other two are on the door incase Noelle decides to storm the cabin and burn it down.” Marc’s voice felt light, but his words weighed heavy in Drake’s chest.

“I just don’t understand where Layla would have gone. Why would she leave like that? I thought... I thought everything was going alright.” Drake threaded his hand through his hair and tugged. The small amount of pain did nothing to clear his mind of the panic that made his chest tight.

Miri’s little hands touched either side of his face, forcing him to look her in the eye. Her gaze was solemn, but he could tell she was being strong for him.

“Don’t worry,” Miri said to him. “She is going to protect us. She’s going to make sure he can’t come for us.”

Drake froze. Marc asked him what was wrong, but the words fell on deaf ears. The realization of what his mate planned on doing was like a knife through his heart. She was going to get herself killed. He’d loved her for only a few nights and lost her in moments.

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