The Last Dragon Princess

Chapter 6: Lavinia

I heard my mom calling me through the Den's mind-link, telling me to go back to the lake. Apparently, we need to have a Den talk with Devlin. Why does he have to be part of the family discussion? He's not part of me Den. He doesn't need to be there. I already know that he doesn't want me. He's made it clear that he doesn't even want me in the pack. I'm not sure what I ever did to him to make him hate me. Can't he just leave me alone?

"Because he is your mate, honey. I know you haven't accepted him yet, but he just gave us some information about the alpha that you need to hear for yourself. Please come back to the lake. You should also know that your father has issued the right to the Pride test. We haven't told you about this test yet because we didn't know who your mate was. This is a test for him to pass. It will show us that he can protect you, defend you, and prove to us that he means to keep you as his mate. It's a lion sifter test for those not born a lion. You can also put him through your Den test. Diamond can help you with that, since we don't know how the dragons hold their Den tests," Mom laughs. Apparently, she is going to have some fun with this.

"Has he accepted the Pride test?" I asked her.

"Alright, I'll be back in less than a minute. I flew to the mountains west of the pack," I let her know where I was.

“Why should I believe a word that you say? You have treated me like I am nothing more than gum beneath your shoes. You have already received one gift from me before even knowing what or who I am to you. What makes me think that you are worthy of being my mate?” I respond, trying to keep a level head about this. Before he is able to respond, Kate runs up to me, making sure I'm OK.

“Yo, sis, where did the crown come from?” I hear Nate ask.

"We will talk about that later when we are at home, Nate." No one needs to know that I'm a princess, but apparently I can't get rid of this damn crown. It just suddenly appeared in the cave when I shifted, and now it won't leave.

I hear Devlin's chest start to rumble. Almost between a growl and purr. I'm not sure what is going on with him, but then he is wrapping his arms around me and burying his face in my neck, breathing in my scent. Then he just starts purring really loudly. I used a move that my dad taught me to break out of someone's arms and push him away.

I hear Dad clear his throat to get everyone’s attention. Though I am curious about why Wade is even still here.

“How about we start with the Pride test, and then we can talk about everything else back at the house?” he asks us.

I looked over at Devlin to gauge his reaction and then add in “after the Pride test, he will go through the Den test.”

Devlin turns to look at me, “What is the Den test?” he asks.

“According to Diamond, the Den test is where she looks into you and throughout your life through your memories to gauge if you are a worthy mate for her.” Looking him in the eyes to gauge his reaction and waiting to see if he agrees to the Den test, Diamond can’t stop laughing. Granted, it is actually how the Den test is done, but only for those who weren’t born a dragon.

To my complete surprise, he actually agrees to the test. Turning to my parents, I nodded my head at them. They are the only ones who know that I’m the dragon princess and wait for my go ahead to start their test before the dragon test.

“Okay, so since we are starting with the Pride test, who do I fight first? Kate or Nate?” Devlin asks no one in particular. I laughed; I couldn’t help myself. How is he supposed to be part of my Den as mom claims he is and does not know which twin was born first?

Kate and Nate both raise their hands and smile at each other with smirks on their faces. Mom and dad both shook their heads.

“If you want, you could fight both of them and then just have us to fight, Devlin,” Dad offers him.

Devlin looks over at Wade for a minute, then turns back around to face us. “If it's alright with you, Mr. Lion, I would like to follow the rules for this. As a way to show that I won’t take any shortcuts when it comes to the mate bond,” Devlin says.

“Good response. We also stand for fair fights and no cheap shots when it comes to our mates and the lives with lead,” Dad tells him. Already earning one point in his favor from lion shifters.

Nate steps up first, since he’s the youngest of the twins, and gets into a fighting stance. Devlin joins him in the makeshift fighting ring. Dad had already stated the rules for the fight before I got back and mom told me while I was on my way back to the lake. Dad blows a whistle that I didn't even know he had on him.

Nate waits for Devlin to attack first. Lions are very patient creatures, so they never make the first move. Wolves could learn a thing or four from lions. Maybe even dragons if we weren't all killed off.

Watching Nate and Devlin fight is interesting. They have similar fighting styles, but you can tell that Nate is taking all his anger out on Devlin for the way he has treated me over the last few years.

I’m surprised that Devlin actually beat Nate. He drew first blood, all from a split lip. I guess they forgot to tell him that he doesn't get a break between fights. Just long enough to catch a quick breath, drink water and then go back into the ring to fight Kate.