The Alpha's Dragon

Chapter Five

Drakania

I couldn’t get out of bed. I felt like I could barely breathe. Newt tried multiple times to make me eat since I woke up but I couldn’t. Anything he brought made me sick to my stomach. I could barely drink water. Necros came by to check up on me, and the look on his face was disappointed to say the least. He didn’t know what was wrong with me.

“Drakania, please eat something,” Newt begged me for the tenth time. He sounded desperate.

I shook my head. “I can’t.” I wanted to cry, or scream, or maybe both.

“Why? I’ll get you whatever you want! You’ve never refused apples before and you won’t eat that. I’ve brought you various meats that you like, vegetables and still you refuse. You haven’t eaten in four days. You need your strength, so please, tell me what you want.” His voice was becoming a burden. Even his presence was becoming a nuisance.

“If she won’t eat, leave her be,” demanded a familiar voice.

“Alcyone,” Newt addressed my sister with a stiff body. She had a habit of making others uncomfortable with her presence. Newt was no exception.

“Newt, go to Necros and ask him for an apple from our family's orchard.” She didn’t even look at him. Her eyes fixated on me.

After Newt left I began to protest. I told her I wasn’t hungry and she told me she didn’t care. “I’m not here to force you to eat. Honestly I couldn’t care less if you do.” She was always so cold. “Whatever the reason for your sickness, you need to stay in bed until after the festival.”

“I have to go.” I tried again to sit up.

“Ember might kill you if you do.” She looked across the room and sat on the bed.

“The goddess will kill me if I don’t.” Her head snapped and she glared at me in confusion. I confessed to her about what happened after I blacked out. If anyone would understand it was her. She was always conflicted talking about her premonitions.

“At least you know your purpose. Even if it was a cruel way of telling you. Have you told mother yet?” Alcyone asked.

I sighed with frustration. “How can I tell her that the goddess basically rejected me and wishes I was dead? She would kill me.”

“Actually, she can’t.”

“What do you mean, she’s the Queen, of course she can.” She’s threatened to do so before.

“Not if the goddess wants you alive. It sounds like she needs you alive long enough to mate with a wolf,” she said it so casually. Like it wasn't absolutely terrifying.

I began to protest. “What if I don’t want to be nothing but a womb?”

She shrugged. “Doesn’t seem to matter what you want.” Ouch. My head started to hurt again. “Look, Drake, you’re the smartest person I know. Ember is physically stronger and my magic could kill you in an instant but neither of us have studied like you. You try to learn about everything, not just war and fighting like we do. Look at all the work you put into your research on werewolves! You’ve spent years writing their history, studying their fighting techniques and the structures of their packs. You care about others in a way neither Ember or I will ever understand.”

She was right. I was much smarter than all five of my siblings. That gave me a little hope that maybe I could find a way out of this. “Plus,” she added “if it means anything, I think you’ll make a great mom.” She smiled at me. It was a weak smile, as it was uncommon for her to be anything but serious, but I appreciated it anyway.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Yeah, well don’t thank me yet. Let’s see if you survive the festival.” That's my sister.

She stood to leave, looking back at me one more time as if to say something, but shook her head and walked out the door. I was alone again. I pulled the covers around me to try and find some comfort. What had I done to deserve such hatred. And more importantly why was the moon goddess so determined to save my life?

I knew very little about the wolf goddess. There were things I could assume from how our own goddess worked, she chose the counterpart for the shifters, but unlike ours everyone received a wolf. Whelps, as we call them, are Dragonborn without dragons. And really the only ones blessed with dragons were the daughters of the Queen. Even the northern dragons were the same way, with their star goddess. Though they could control water and earth like how we controlled air and fire.

I studied them for at least five years, after I finished my studies of shifters. I studied their pack behavior, their fighting styles, even their medicines and there was something different about how they worked together versus how we worked in our classes.

My thoughts were interrupted by Newt crashing through the door in a huff. He had clearly been running around trying to find Necros with no luck. He didn’t know my mother sent him to the North to invite them to the festival.

“Drakania, I know you’re tired, but could you tell me where he is?” He begged. I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh. I laughed so hard I could feel tears coming to my eyes. Newt's nervous face turned into a look of confusion. “Are you ok?”

“She knew. She always knows though doesn’t she?” I could barely get the words out.

“Alcyone? What happened? What’s going on?” He was so concerned for me, My sister knew sending him on a wild goose chase would give her enough time to talk to me privately before he gave up and asked for help.

“Newt, I’m feeling a bit better. I know it’s late and you’ve been taking such good care of me, but do you think you could help me to the library? I want to do some research on the moon goddess.” I tried to sit up a little bit more. He rushed to my side and held my shoulders.

“How about you stay here and I go get you some books ok? I’ll light the candles and you can stay right there and eat something,” he pointed to the tray of food on the nightstand next to me. I still felt nauseous thinking about eating but I needed answers.