Protected by the Dragon

by Kayla Wolf

  “Perks of having a human around,” Lisa said, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips. “Just imagine how powerful we’ll be if your wolf girlfriend moves in too!”

  He laughed—it felt incredibly good to hear that sound echoing in the corridor—then turned, making his winding way through the corridors of the palace to where the library was. After the ballroom, and the huge chamber used for their most reverent celebrations, it was one of the biggest spaces that had been hollowed out in the rock. And it needed expansion, too, he thought, wrinkling his nose a little at the smell of dust. Dragons were known for their fondness for hoarding—and books were no exception. Samuel and Alexander’s father did a great deal of work trying to keep the place organized, but there were just so many books… dragon volumes as well as human. Samuel suspected there may even be one or two wolf books hidden among the piles if one knew where to look. Unfortunately, he didn’t. But his time spent with Lisa sent him almost unconsciously to the section where they kept human books. There was something about the way humans wrote—it was so energetic, somehow, so full of life compared to the stuffy old dragon histories. He needed a bit of light.

  His eye was drawn to a huge old volume, its spine cracked and battered with more wear and tear than their human collection usually got. The name on the spine was familiar for reasons he couldn’t quite place, but it wasn’t until he leafed through to the table of contents and spied a familiar title that he remembered what he’d been talking about with Lisa. Shakespeare. This was the work of the human writer Shakespeare. A man who must have been long dead, he reflected, still surprised by the tiny, brief lifespans of human beings—why, this book had been written only four hundred years ago. By dragon standards, this man had written his entire lifetime of work as a child. An infant, really. He made a note to check in with his father about how he was progressing on the project of sharing some of the draconic lifespan with Lisa. She had so much to share with them—and a human lifespan was simply not enough time.

  He took the volume to a table and settled himself in, flicking through the pages until he found the play Lisa had told him about. From the prologue, he was hooked. Why, the story being told on these pages was in a language achingly familiar to him—he’d spent a little time among humans in the sixteenth century, and he could almost hear their voices. Lisa spoke so differently to the humans he’d known back then—still understandable, but only just. It was astonishing, how quickly so many things changed.

  But the story was strangely familiar. Two households (both alike in dignity) in a faraway place—but like the wolves and the dragons, they hated one another for reasons that had been lost. And amid all of this chaos, two young people met each other and fell in love. He couldn’t help but picture himself and Jessica in their roles, even found himself assigning the people he knew to the other roles… Alexander was Lord Montague, the stern patriarch of the family—but he was also Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin, so worried about his wellbeing. He pictured the Capulets as other wolves, Jessica’s family. Lisa was the Prince, working so hard to try to make the families resolve their differences…

  “What’re you reading, nerd?”

  He looked up, startled by the brash voice in the quiet of the library. There was Helena, looming over his table, eyes bright beneath her dark fringe. She’d been experimenting with her hair since Lisa had arrived—the two got on like a house on fire. Helena had always been obsessed with humans, and especially with her human body—she was the only dragon Samuel knew who actually preferred to be in this shape.

  “Hi, Helena. Thought you’d be sunbathing.”

  “It got cloudy. Is that Shakespeare? You’re reading Shakespeare!” Wide-eyed, she deposited herself on the seat beside him. She’d never had much regard for personal space. The mystery of the battered book had been resolved, at least—she craned her neck over his shoulder and made a delighted sound when she saw the page he was on.

  “Romeo and Juliet! Good choice. Do King Lear next, though, if you’re starting with the tragedies. It’s incredible. Blow, wind, and crack your cheeks!” she bellowed suddenly, her voice filling the library, and Samuel winced. “What? Nobody’s around. Nobody comes down here except you, me, and Dad, you know that. Why’re you reading Romeo and Juliet? Still pining for Amara?”

  “Nope,” he said, teeth gritted. “Just trying to think.”

  “What about?” Helena sat up, head tilted to the side. “Love?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Aw. Babe. You’ll find someone, someday. And you’d feel less lonely if you spent more time with your family,” she added, raising an eyebrow. “I miss my brothers. Xander’s always doing boring king stuff, and you’ve been a million miles away…”

  “Sorry,” he said, sincerely. She was brash and somewhat aggravating, but he had to admit, his sister was a refreshing presence. A little like Lisa—she’d always moved a little quicker than the average dragon. “You’ve read this?”

  “A million times. I could play Juliet if I had to. But Mercutio’s the best role,” she added, eyes twinkling. “Queen Mab speech? Brilliant.”

  Something about that text had resonated with him, he had to admit—especially the part about being plagued with romantic feelings, with no control over them. Quietly, he assigned Helena to the role of Mercutio in the evolving casting he was playing with in his head.

  “Has something got you thinking about love?”

  “Not really,” he lied, reluctant to tell Helena the whole story. Until he had everything straight in his head, he wanted to keep it to himself. “Just seeing how happy Alexander is with Lisa, you know? I want that someday.”

  “You can’t force it, babe. Humans might be able to, but dragons? When we know, we know.” She grinned. “Every account’s the same. When a dragon meets his mate, it’s all he can think about. Absolutely unmistakable. Lisa says it’s a bit boring, but I think it’s romantic. Like Romeo and Juliet. The minute they met, they knew they were meant for each other. Even if it didn’t go according to plan.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Helena stared at him, then looked down at the page. “Oh, shit. You’re only halfway through. Keep reading, Sammy.” She kissed him on the cheek, dulling some of the irritation he felt at the nickname. “And don’t give up on love, hey? I haven’t. Who knows what the future holds.”

  He watched his sister sashay out of the library, moving with that enviable grace that came from spending a lot of time in her human form. Then he returned his attention to the book, frowning to himself. What she’d described—that head-over-heels feeling, the inability to stop thinking about someone… it sounded suspiciously like what he was feeling for Jessica. But she wasn’t a dragon—she was a wolf. Could the same rules possibly apply? And just because he felt this way, did it mean she would feel the same way too?

  By the time he’d finished reading, it was getting late—he could tell as he emerged from the library, blinking in the glow of the bioluminescent plant life that lined the corridors and kept the cave system well-lit even far away from the sun. But he knew what he had to do.

  “Friar Laurence.”

  Lisa looked up, a little confused. She was sitting with Alexander, sharing a plate of food as they looked over plans on a table just outside the kitchens. His brother had never been one for formal dining, after all.

  “You okay, Samuel?” He could see her mind working rapidly. “Oh! Did you find that… cave… we talked about?”

  “Yes,” he lied quickly. Alexander was still immersed in the paper in front of him—Lisa pressed a quick kiss to the side of his head, then grabbed Samuel’s arm and led him away. Once they were a safe distance away from Alexander, she raised her eyebrow.

  “You read the play, then.”

  “Yes. You’re the Friar. He helped Romeo and Juliet find each other, right? He tried to help them be together?”

  “He failed,” she pointed out. They were heading for her office, and she slowed as they reached the door.

&
nbsp; “You won’t fail. You’re much cleverer than some old priest. I need to talk to her again. Can I use your rectangle?”

  “That’s what Alex used to call it,” she muttered, grinning. “You can use it if you call it what it’s actually called, alright?”

  “Phone, phone, phone,” he said impatiently.

  “It’s late. Will she answer?”

  “I hope so.”

  Lisa dialed the number for him, and he held the phone up to his ear, hoping against hope that Jessica would see it, would answer him, would let him speak. After he’d called her earlier, Lisa had helped him to send Jessica a message—like a short letter that she would read when she next looked at her phone. It had reassured him a little to know that she would know that he was thinking about her, but he needed to hear her voice. After reading the play, he knew that he wanted to be with her—no matter the cost. But he needed to know what she thought about it before he did anything drastic. If she didn’t want him… well, he’d leave her alone. But it would break his heart. He knew that much.

  “Hello?”

  He almost shouted for joy at the cautious voice on the other end of the phone.

  “Jessica. It’s so good to hear your voice.”

  “Samuel, hi.” He heard her hesitate. “How are you?”

  “Great! Good. I’ve spent the afternoon reading. How are you?”

  “Okay. I met some people. Made some friends, I think.”

  “That’s good.” He looked up—Lisa was sidling out of the room, mouthing the word ‘privacy’ at him. He smiled. “Did you read my message?”

  “Yeah.” A long pause. “I—would like to get to know you better too. But it’s complicated.”

  “I know. It’s okay.”

  “My family—sorry, Samuel, my pack hates dragons. We’ve handed down memories of the war for hundreds of years. I’m sorry if it seems like I don’t trust you, but—”

  “I haven’t earned your trust yet, Jessica. Of course, you don’t trust me. It’s completely fine. I hope—I hope I can earn it, one day.”

  She took a breath—almost as though she was surprised by what he’d said. Then: “I’d like that. I don’t know what—” Her voice sounded strained. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have no idea what the future is, for me. My pack… the day I met you, I left home.”

  “By yourself?”

  “Yes. And I can’t—you wouldn’t understand. Wolves from Fallhurst, we don’t… leave. When you leave, you’re as good as dead.”

  He took a deep breath, processing this. So she was an exile from her home. That explained a lot about why she had been travelling alone—everything he knew about wolves suggested that they travelled in groups. “So you can’t go home?”

  “No,” she whispered, and he ached to reach out to her, to hold her and comfort her.

  “Can I ask why you left?”

  “I was unhappy. There was… my father… they wanted me to marry someone I hated.”

  His eyes widened. Paris, the young man Juliet’s parents had tried to get her to marry, even before she’d met Romeo. It was all falling into place.

  “So I ran away. But—I didn’t think it through, I shouldn’t have… my sister’s still there. She’ll be heartbroken that I abandoned her.”

  “She’d understand,” he said gently, thinking of Helena. “Sisters … they know us better than anyone. She’d understand why you did what you did.”

  A short bark of laughter. “Have you told your brother you harbored a wolf yet?”

  He hesitated, tempted to lie—but he didn’t want to deceive her. She deserved his honesty. “Not yet. But I’m more than willing to. I wouldn’t change what I did, Jessica. It meant meeting you. I—” He hesitated. He didn’t want to frighten her, but he wanted her to know how much he cared about her. It was difficult. He wished he’d talked to Lisa about his feelings before he got on the phone. “I want you to be safe, and happy.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I care about you. Because—you deserve happiness. And if I can help you in some way… I want to.” He hesitated. “Come back. Come back to the valley. I’ll introduce you to my brother, I’ll tell him what’s happening. We can fly to Fallhurst, get your sister, you can both come and live with us. We have plenty of space, I promise—”

  Jessica was laughing, a heartbreakingly hopeless sound. “Samuel, you—that’s lovely of you, really, but it doesn’t work. None of that would work. But thank you. Really. It’s—” A long silence. “It’s good to know someone’s on my side. I’d never have thought…”

  “Jessica?”

  “I have to get some rest, Samuel,” she said gently, and he shut his eyes.

  “Okay. Can we talk again sometime? I could call you tomorrow.”

  “I’d like that,” she said softly.

  “Sleep well, Jessica.”

  He stood for a long moment, just holding the phone in his hand, as though he could somehow reach through it to hold her. His heart was drumming in his chest, and he was so full of feeling that he felt like his chest was going to burst. Just the sound of her voice was enough to make him feel like this—like he’d never felt before. He knew how Romeo must have felt when he saw Juliet for the first time at the party, how it must have felt to gaze up at her on the balcony, to see her face in the moonlight.

  But he hoped, with all his heart, that the story of him and Jessica wouldn’t end the same way as Juliet and Romeo’s did.

  Chapter 9 – Jessica

  It took Jessica a long time to get to sleep that night. She lay awake, gazing up to the sky, trying to count the stars long enough to get drowsy. She got into the thousands before it even seemed to put a dent in her feelings. Why did she have such strong feelings for this dragon? She’d known him barely a few days—they’d talked so briefly, had so little to do with each other, and yet she couldn’t get him out of her mind. Was it really just infatuation—just sheer, dumb animal magnetism? Was she reading a bunch of positive qualities into his behavior just because he happened to be extremely good looking, just because her body was drawn to his? A flash of the memory of their night together made her blush.

  But no—it couldn’t just be that. She’d experienced infatuation, short-term crushes that burned brightly then disappeared within a few days. This didn’t feel like that. He was something else. He wasn’t like any of the wolves from her hometown—there was no arrogance in him, no sense of competitiveness or possession. When she’d run away, his only concern had been her safety. He was kind—he listened, he cared, he paid attention to the things he said and worried about the impact they had on her. He was—good. But he was a dragon. But he was… a good dragon? Was there such a thing? Her upbringing screamed that that was impossible—that the only good dragon was a dead one. Could her upbringing have been wrong? Could her pack be so deluded? They’d been hidden away in their tiny little prison of a town for so long that maybe the truth had escaped them completely.

  She fell asleep eventually, and slept hard, haunted by disturbing dreams of Samuel’s face covered in scales. She saw her father’s wolf form leaping onto the back of a dragon, then saw a horn like the trophy kept by the pack ripped from the back of Samuel’s head. And finally, she saw the humans she’d met—her new friends, the ones who’d shared their food with her—standing by a fire, watching sadly as she was dragged away and slammed into a cage with steel bars…

  She jerked awake, twitching and whining in her sleep, her fur in disarray—she’d clearly been tossing and turning for hours. It was just after dawn, the sun low in the sky but climbing, and a thin fall of snow had turned the ground a strange color. It was beautiful, and she took a moment to steady her breathing before she got up and padded down to the stream to drink. Her mind was still turbulent, racing—but she was beginning to find a way through the labyrinth of thoughts. Being outside of the village had shown her that things weren’t quite so simple as her family believed. Human beings weren’t so bad. And neither were dragons—or at least, the
one she had met seemed okay. Perhaps she needed to investigate further. Perhaps she could even find a home among human beings—she could follow these three back to wherever they came from. Find a place to live—maybe even find a job, like the people on TV had. A job that paid her in money that she could choose to spend on whatever she liked, rather than the job she’d had back home—work she did out of obligation and according to the needs of the pack. According to the wills and whims of her father, more like.

  With these thoughts still roaring through her mind, she shifted form. It was early, still, but Samuel had said he was going to call to talk to her, and she didn’t want to miss him again—he might think she was ignoring him and might be too polite to call back again. She wanted to hear his voice, she realized, a little surprised at the strength of that feeling. Jessica frowned as she switched her phone on—a low battery warning flashed on the screen. Phone calls took more power than she’d thought. Maybe she’d spend the day finding a campsite or something where she could plug her phone in to charge. She knew there were portable battery packs, but she didn’t have one—why would she, after all, if she never left Fallhurst?

  There was no message from Samuel. There was, however, a text message from her father. She frowned down at the phone. It wasn’t like him to send text messages—he was the kind of man who preferred to speak his instructions out loud. There were a whole bunch of messages, actually—she skimmed through them quickly. A dozen from her sister, she noticed sadly—she’d open those in a second. She was frightened but curious about what her father had to say.

  Jessica—your abandonment is disappointing. Return home immediately and marry the Alpha, as you have been instructed, as pack law dictates. Or Angela will take your place. The choice is yours.

  Her heart sank into her feet. It was worse than she could ever have imagined. She’d expected threats, anger, even violent suggestions from her father—he had an incredible temper. But she’d never imagined that the problem of marrying the Alpha could be passed on. He wanted her, didn’t he? Her, Jessica, the fastest wolf in the village, a woman who didn’t want him and never would. It was about power, control. Why would he want Angela instead?