Memories
1120 Words
He stared at Esther's face as she recounted how she was found and how she was raised. His face contorted with disgust when she told him what the Alpha had done to his mate, Staci, after she defied him. She detailed the abuse they both suffered at his hand for many years. Halfway through she began to cry and all he could do was hold her as she spoke of the horrors they had endured. When she got to the part where the Alpha forced himself on her, he held her even tighter-now he knows why she wasn't a virgin and yet didn't seem to know anything about the bedroom; she was forced.
Holding his rage in, he held her as she sobbed in his arms. She was so worried he would be disgusted by her. He rubbed her back as her sobs became little hiccups. Taking several deep breaths, she lifted her head up and continued her story. He was disgusted, apalled, infuriated and proud all at the same time by the time she was done. She had been through so much and yet here she stood, the most powerful being in the world. Had the Alpha succeeded in killing her, the Prince would never have found his mate and chaos would have reigned. He shuddered at how close they had all come to total destruction.
They sat in comfortable silence, arms wrapped around each other as they basked together in the sun. He still couldn't shake this feeling of deja vu, however, and by the way she was staring at him, he could probably guess she felt it too.
"Where have I met you Adrian?" she whispered.
"What do you remember of the time before they found you? You said you were covered in blood...do you remember what happened to you?" he replied.
He had a feeling, that wherever they had met, was before she was found by the Dominion Pack. He watched her face as it scrunched up in concentration. After a few minutes, she shook her head with a pained expression.
"I'm sorry Adrian, every time I try, my heart pounds and I get a splitting migraine," she said.
"That's okay beauty, we have time to figure it out," he assured her.
His mind was racing. 8 years ago a small child is found, covered in blood like she had been in a battle...the only battle that happened 8 years ago was the one that killed the king and queen of the Southern Kingdom. No one had ever located their child, and he remembered when his father had told him that the child had most likely perished. He remembered the anguish in his heart, and then the confusion. Why did he feel this way about a child who he had only met a handful of times. He remembered how cute she was though, she loved to play and would always try to jump out of places to scare him. She followed him around like a puppy and always tried to hold his hand. She told anyone who would listen that he belonged to her and only her, making him blush. The adults would just laugh and tell him what a pretty admirer he had while winking at him. If one could die from embarrassment, he would have right then and there. As it were, he simply told the little girl that she was too little for him to be hers. She had looked at him skeptically, and when he only raised a brow in response she withdrew her hand with a huff and stalked off in the direction of her room. He grinned at the memory, forgetting where he was for a moment,
"What are you smiling at my love?" she asked.
He came back to himself with a start, his eyes focusing on the set of warm violet eyes in front of him. He had been so caught up in his memories, he had forgotten she was there.
"I went for a walk down memory lane and got a little lost," he assured her.
She smiled at him and he was enchanted all over again. He never knew that having a mate and finding love could be like this. As he stared, an idea hit him,
"Esther...we are very much alone right now, and I have been a little curious...would you shift for me?" he asked softly, a little afraid of her reaction.
She laughed as she saw the trepidation on his face. Without saying yes or no, she got up and stretched. She walked a ways out into the clearing until she was in the middle of it. She planted her feet and took several deep breathes, by the 7th, steam had started billowing out of her nostrils. It swirled around her as she threw her head back and shot a line of flame at the sky. When the smoke cleared, there she stood in her dragon form. She was stunning. She was a white dragon, with black accents along her body. Her wings were a beautiful black and white, almost tie-dye, experience. They glistened in the sun as she stretched out her neck towards me. I rubbed the underside of her jaw, earning me a purr as i took in her magnificence. She pulled back to stare at me; I met this unwavering gaze with one of my own-averting your eyes from a dragon is a death sentence...mate or not. She growled at me in approval, and then broke the eye contact herself. I felt myself breath easier after she released me-my mate is one powerful woman.
We enjoyed her dragon form for a while longer, but the closer she seemed to get to the portion where she brings out her third soul, the more agitated she became. She morphed back into her human soul and sank to her knees in the grass. She hugged herself as he slowly approached her.
"Why are you afraid to let out your third soul Esther?" he asked softly.
Instead of answering, all she could do was whimper. She cleared her throat and replied,
"The last time I let her out...she killed a village full of people-forever wiping them off the map. She made them all completely disappear. They deserved it, but still...I can't be responsible for that again."
Tears sprang to her eyes and he quickly gathered her up in his arms as the damn finally broke for good. With determination in his voice and his heart he said,
"I will always have your back, and with my help, we can help you learn to control your hound. You can do it, I believe in you"
All she could do was cling to him and nod.
- Writer
