The Centenary Dragon Hunt

Competent Secretary

Lightning landed on the balcony of his office with a clearer head and was ready to get back to work. As he walked into his office, he noticed his mother and brother, who did not look happy, and the Doctor, who was seated in the only clean corner reading.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to.." Thunder didn't get a chance to finish before their mother interrupted.

"See I told you she would cause trouble and she's only been here three days." She spoke louder than needed while pointing a finger at him. "I demand you send her and that bastard of hers to the dungeons. She is not to be trusted."

Lightning was getting tired of his mother's demands. "You do not give demands, mother, and I will not be sending her to the dungeons". The dungeons were on the lowest level of his castle. It was cold, wet, and dark. It was no place for a new mother and her baby. He did not wish her harm, he simply didn't want to mate her or be a father anytime soon. He was still young and could wait another 50 years before trying. He needed to focus on his kingdom.

How dare he talk to her that way. She was the queen mother and before that she was queen. She felt she knew more about running the kingdom than him.

"I knew you weren't ready to be king. I'm going to have a talk with Fire if you aren't ready to run this kingdom. I'll run it until you're more responsible."

Lightning knew exactly what Fire would do if she went to him. He would simply roll his eyes and tell his mother that he didn't deal with family conflict. Either way, it did not paint him in a good light. Plus, there were only two ways for someone else to take over. He either had to step down or be killed and he was not stepping down.

"Mother, you know there are only two ways for you to become queen and I’m not stepping down. Are you going to kill me, Mother? That's the only way you'll become queen is if you can beat me." Lighting walked closer to his mother. His dragon was close to the surface. How dare his own mother try to push him off the throne. Thunder stepped in between them, careful not to touch Lightning. He didn't want to set him off.

Kerryn put on a smile everyone knew was fake and said "I simply meant I would take over temporally until you were more ready. You'd still be king, of course. I'd just take care of the day-to-day stuff. That’s all” she said in her most sweet, innocent voice.

“No, mother, this is my Kingdom and I will run it as I see fit. If you don’t like how I run things, I can always send you to another kingdom, the Frost kingdom perhaps.” It was an empty threat. Lightning would never send his mother to another kingdom. She was his problem, not there's. The threat hit its mark though. She turned and left without another word.

Lightning was staring at the door for a good minute before he remembered he wasn't alone. He was ready for this day to be over.

He turned to Thunder and punched him in the face, letting out some of his anger. "What the hell? You are supposed to be the person I trust the most and I caught you almost killing a human female!" Lightning was ready to punch him again.

Thunder backed up with his hands raised. "I know. I f****d up and I take full responsibility for my actions. It won't happen again, I just lost it." Lightning could tell he was telling the truth, but it would still take some time before he could fully trust him again.

"Is she your true mate?"

"Who?" not looking Lightning in the eyes.

"You know who. Embers! Is she your true mate?" Lightning growled.

"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know. Does it really matter? I can't be with her. I have to choose someone who can bare my children, just in case you don’t have any or if you only have one there will need to be a second. And there’s the whole dragon race going extinct." Thunder started pacing the room.

"Not every dragon has to mate with a human and have children," Lightning said.

Thunder stopped and looked at his brother. There were dark circles under his eyes and he was wearing the same clothes as the day before. He changed the subject. “When’s the last time you slept or showered?” Lightning didn’t answer, just looked out the window.

“You know, brother, if you need anything, I can help. I can do more. You’re not alone.”

Lightning just gave him a small smile and turned back to the window deep in thought. Thunder took that as his cue to leave and quietly closed the door behind him.

Lightning took a seat in his chair, leaned back, and closed his eyes, only to realize that the doctor was standing in front of him.

"How is Rayne?" Lightning asked the aging doctor. It was a little embarrassing for him to have the Doctor witness the family drama, but the doctor was old. Older than his father would have been if he was still alive and had probably seen it all.

As it was, the doctor didn't comment on the drama he had just witnessed. "She will have some bruising but other than that she is fine. I recommend she take a week off to rest." The doctor said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Why does she need a whole week off if it's just a bruise?" Thunder asked, confused.

"She has been through a lot this past month and she just gave birth not even a week ago. Humans are not as strong as us. An unmated female will take longer to heal and they need to be handled with care and" the doctor had a lot to say today. "I looked at her daughter. She is very healthy."

Lightning looked at him confused. "What are you getting at doc?"

"What I'm trying to say is she has proven that she can have healthy children. She is young, so she can have more. I imagine her daughter will be able to have a child when she becomes of age also. Moira made a good choice to bring her here and it was lucky that you found her. It’s like a two for one". The doctor was all about preserving the dragon race and that sometimes made him a little indifferent to true mates. He was a good doctor, though, so Lightning just ignored his bedside manner. With nothing else to say, the doctor let himself out.

Lightning was thinking about what the doctor said. She would be a good addition to the community. She was beautiful and seemed smart. She had already got a lot done in his office in just a few hours when she was here. Plus, his mouth started to water and his d**k got hard every time she walked into the room. He could admit to himself that he wanted her, but he also knew he was not ready to be a father. Rayne needed a male who would be a good father to her daughter. He worked too much to give the child the proper attention she needed.

It had been a week since Rayne had been at work or seen Lightning or been out of her room for that matter. At first, she loved all the time alone she had with her daughter. The room was comfortable with a big window that let in plenty of fresh air and light. She loved the view. She was so high up she could see the tops of trees, mountains and the ocean with dragons flying by every so often. It was hard to believe the other kingdoms would have a better view.

She imagined the Frost kingdom to just be snow and ice. The Ocean kingdom to just be water with no land in sight. She wondered if the Earth kingdom would be under ground with no windows. That would be the worst. And she knew the Fire kingdom had large meadows with beautiful trees which wasn’t bad, but nothing could compare to this view.

She felt like she was in one of her books. All the romance books made everything more exciting. Mouse made sure she had all the food she needed. But she missed having someone to talk to. Mouse never had the time to sit with her. She was still having trouble picking a name for her daughter. She had started righting them down to help keep trick of them. Meadow, Jane, Florence, Olivia, Harper, Clover. Nothing seemed to fit.

Rayne looked forward to going back to work. Maybe she could ask Lightning to be paid in advance for the three out of the four weeks. The clothes she was given were looking worse every day and even though Embers bought her daughter some beautiful clothes and blankets before she left, she wanted to buy a few things herself. Hopefully, she will find a good male that will take care of her and her daughter. Every time she gave it too much thought, she would start to feel uncertain. Maybe she should focus on a good job that would allow her to take care of her daughter like the one she has. Not finding a mate. Either way, there were 11 hunts left in the Centerary Hunt and she will have to run in all of them. Unless she finds a mate either way, her future is uncertain.

When Lightning walked into his office, he was surprised to find Rayne already there working again. She was humming a song he had never heard before. He was lost in thought when a little hand started waving in his face. "Hello.. Lightning, are you OK? Hello?"

Lightning caught her small hand gently in his large one. "Sorry, Rayne, you were saying"

"I was just trying to say good morning and ask if there is anything that needs to be done first thing this morning?"

Lightning was thinking about all the things he wanted to ask for and none of them involved work. He was staring at her big gray-blue eyes that reminded him of a spring storm. Before he knew it, he was moving closer to her.

(baby sounds)

When he heard the baby, he immediately dropped her hand and stepped away. He didn't even notice the baby in the room. Rayne's daughter was in a white bassinet near the window.

"Oh, yes, hope you don't mind. She's a really good baby. She never cries. She loves the sun so I'll keep her by the window so you won't even see her.

“Just finish organizing my office” he said as he walked to his desk and started his work without another word.

The next three hours went by in a blur. Rayne was good at her work, she was not someone who needed to be micromanaged. Witch Lightning was grateful. She would have his office done within the next day or two. He was already thinking about what other work he could trust her with. Lightning was lost in thought for the second time that day when Rayne took a seat in the chair across from his desk with her baby. He started to ask her what she was doing when she took out a see-through blanket. Draped it over her right side with the baby under it and then took her breast out and gave it to the baby. He got a good look at it before her n****e disappeared into the baby's mouth. She probably had no idea the blanket was see through. At least to a dragon it was.

“So, I was hoping.”

He interrupted her “Do you have to do that here?”

“What, feed her. I’m sorry I didn’t think it was a big deal. I mean, it's just boobs and perfectly natural. Pulse, I'm covered by the blanket”

She had no idea he could see through it.

“The blanket” Lightning leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is very much see through. You may as well not even use it.”

"What are you talking about you can't see through it” she asked, unsure of herself.

“You may not be able to see through it. But I'm a Dragon. We have very good eyesight. I can see everything.”

There was a silent moment as what he said was sinking in. It's just boobs, no big deal, I'm just feeding my daughter. No big deal, she told herself. Squaring her shoulders, ignoring the conversation they just had, she decided to just ask her question.

“I was wondering if I could have an advance” When Lightning said nothing and just looked at her with a confused expression, she went on “ You know money for working. I just want to buy some clothes.”

He looked down at her worn, old dress that looked like it could fall off any moment and he agreed she defiantly needed something more appropriate to wear. The maids didn’t even wear stuff that bad. This is something he should have fixed the first time he saw her wearing it.

He ran his hand through his hair, making it look wilder than it already was. “Please forgive me. I've never had to worry about someone's clothes before. I should have had appropriate clothes delivered to you already.” Lightning walked to the door and opened it and talked to quality for Rayne to hear. After setting back down in his large chair that seemed made just for him, he said “While you're in my care you don’t need to worry about money for anything. If there is anything else you need. You simply need to ask. Also, you are still a guest for the next three weeks. And as a guest of the King you are expected to eat dinner with my family and I.”

“Oh, that isn't necessary” Rayne started to say. She really didn’t want to be in the same room with his mother or brother again, but she was interrupted.

“You will eat with my family and I.” Lighting said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Lightning started working again as if she wasn’t there. Clearly dismissing her, but when she didn’t move and she was clearly done feeding the sleeping baby she just sat there and stared at him, waiting patently for his attention again.

He looked up at her. annoyed she was just staring at him, but didn't say anything. He just raised an eyebrow, she took that as her cue to ask her next question. “I was wondering if perhaps I could take my daughter for a walk outside.” when he didn’t say anything, she went on “It's just so beautiful here and we haven't been outside since the Fire kingdom and it would be really nice.” Lightning raised a hand to silence her.

“I will take you for a walk when I get some time.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I can go by myself."

"No you can’t. You are an unmated female of the hunt. It isn't safe for you to go anywhere alone.” Without another word on the subject, Lightning started working again.

The smell of mother's milk and rain invaded his senses when Rayne leaned over his shoulder, asking “What are you working on, maybe I can help.”

“I’m working on a complex schedule. Its..” Before he could finish, Rayne grabbed the paper “Making Schedules is a specialty of mine.” Rayne walked around the desk and began to work opposite of him as there was no other desk in the room.

Lightning, just stared at her; no one has ever just grabbed something from him before, but if she could truly figure out the schedule that he has been working on for days, that would be a great help. So, he said nothing and began to work on something else of importance. It wasn't long before there was a comfortable silence between them.

As Rayne looked though the schedules, she saw one for the cooks, housekeepers, ground keepers and the guards. There was even a schedule for training his military. This is normally done by each department head, not by the CEO or the King in Lightning's case. She loved making schedules. It was like a puzzle. Everything had its place. The guards and military training were a little more completed because it involved safety, but after Lightning looked over it and made a few agistments she was done and feeling good about herself. Lighning sent Rayne to her room early so she would have a little more time to get ready for dinner.

Lighting was impressed by Raynes' scheduling and organizational ability. He was thinking of all the ways he could get her to stay and work for him without mating her. There were only two ways for that to happen. One she mates someone in his kingdom. That thought made him angry. But the other was waiting 11 months when all the hunts are over and hope she doesn't mate anyone from another kingdom than she could choose to come work for him or she could choose to stay in another kingdom. Considering how close she was with Embers and how his mother and brother treated her. She would probably choose to stay at the Fire Kingdom. No, that choice had to many what-ifs and none were in his favor. She was a competent secretary. He needed her. He just didn't know how to keep her.