Mate To The Queen

Jaxon

He stares at me with glistening eyes. "That's just it though, I'm not trying―I never have. I don't even know where I would start," he admits.

I am stuck without words again. This is so hard, I groan.

It is just going to take time. He has a few mental obstacles keeping him from opening up, just give it time and go slow. He will talk eventually and if you take it slow then he will probably be grateful you stuck around, Azazel offers.

You know, you being one of the original dragons is so helpful sometimes.

What do you mean sometimes? she snorts.

Okay fair, I honestly don't know what I'd do without you, I sigh.

I snap back into reality to see that Ash is asleep. His blonde hair is long and covers most of his face, but I can still see his sharp jawline and high cheekbones.

I shake my head a little as I notice the scars on his face too. One on his lip, another across the bridge of his nose―slightly crooked as if he'd broken it and it didn't heal properly―and two lines on one cheek.

You keep staring like that and you are going to wake him up, Azazel chuckles.

I tear my gaze away with a small sigh. I lay down on the solid ground, making a face at the feeling of the grass poking through the blanket. I ignore my discomfort and close my eyes, slowly slipping into unconsciousness.

********

Jaxon get up now! Azazel snarls at me.

I jerk up just as a man leaps on top of me with an incoherent yell. I smash my fist into his throat and he collapses onto me, gasping for air. I shove him off with a groan and turn to see two men restraining Ash while a third holds a knife to his neck.

"Hey! Let him go!" I growl, pushing myself to my feet.

They snicker at me before turning their attention back to Ash who doesn't even seem to care.

I take a step forward but something tackles me to the ground. I taste dirt in my mouth and growl angrily as I feel hot breath fan against my ear.

They are all dragons, Azazel tells me.

I throw my head back hard, hitting the man's face. The weight is gone and I scramble to my feet.

The man glares at me, holding his bleeding nose. Then he grins and runs at me. I clench my fist, waiting until he is right in front of me before punching him hard in the throat for the second time.

He collapses onto his hands and knees and I rush to lock my arm around his neck. He scratches at my arm as I squeeze the sides of his neck but I don't let him go. It only takes a few seconds for his body to go limp.

I look around for Ash and the other men but they're nowhere in sight. "You got to be fucking kidding me," I growl under my breath. I run my hands through my hair in frustration.

I take a deep breath and listen intently when I can't find a scent. I hear muffled yelling coming from the trees.

I sprint towards the sound, shoving branches out of the way and jumping over boulders and gnarled roots. I burst into a clearing with a growl.

At the sight of Ash's battered and bloodied figure Azazel takes over and I feel my eyes burn a fiery red. "All of you step away from him right now and get out of here before you become an enemy of the Queen," I snarl in my dragon's thundering voice.

Their fear fills my senses almost instantly. They start to step back but then the tallest one pauses. "Who are you?" he sneers.

"Prince Jaxon, son of the Dragon Queen," I growl, smirking a little at their reactions.

Their eyes widen and one immediately takes off, dropping his blade onto the ground. I turn my attention to the other two, narrowing my gaze.

"Please give the Queen our apologies," one mutters and then they disappear into the trees.

I swear loudly and crouch down beside Ash. He is unconscious but still breathing. I shake my head. "My gods Ash."

********

"Look I'm sorry―just stop―fucking stop moving Ash!" I growl.

He clenches his fist again and takes a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm trying not to move," he grits out.

I make a face. "Well if you'd just let your dragon heal you then this wouldn't even be necessary," I grumble, tugging on the needle as I finish stitching the gash in his side.

"The last thing I need is to shift, the first thing Cassie would do is go after those dragons and that's not going to help anything," he says then winces sharply and gingerly touches his lip.

I grab the wet cloth again and hand it to him with a small sigh. He takes it and presses it against his swollen and split lip. I lean against the tree with my eyebrows furrowed deep in thought as I watch him.

"What?" he asks.

I shake my head a little. "There's no way they beat you that badly in a matter of minutes," I mutter.

"Jax there were three of them."

"But only one was a Fury."

He shrugs then winces from the movement. "So?"

"Ash you said you spent most of your childhood killing Fury dragons, there's no way that one Fury and two fire dragons beat you to a bloody pulp in two minutes. Unless," I growl, "you didn't fight back."

He clenches his jaw. "I got what I deserved Jaxon, that's the end of it."

"Fucking hell Ash, everyone makes mistakes! My brother just tore a wolf to shreds a few weeks ago. My mother slaughtered entire wolf packs. My father tortured my mother even though he knew she was his mate just because he grew up believing fire dragons are evil. One of my grandfathers gave the kill order on fire dragons. My other grandfather is the reason that order was given in the first place," I growl. His eyes widen as I list off my family's history.

I take a deep breath to calm myself before continuing. "I don't care what you did in the past. It's history. The important thing is that you know it was wrong and you're not going to do it again. Now all you need to do is work towards making up for it. And the first step in that is realizing that you do not deserve to be beaten, or taunted, or called names, or any of that shit. Can you do that Ash?"

His eyes are glassy as he stares at me. Then he cracks a smile. "I think so."