The pain is unbearable. I scream as tingles run along my body and I try to calm myself. I know that I am scaring him but I have no idea what is happening. It feels as if my back just broke and I could have sworn I heard the snap before I screamed. Oh, god I would do anything just for the pain to stop.
This is only the beginning. I'm coming to you now and we will never be apart.
I look around the forest as I try to decipher where the voice came from but I can't seem to focus on anything but the pain. I close my eyes as something else hurts me and I try to fight. I only just accepted him. I can't leave him now that I am finally his. I try to clear my gaze so that I can see him one more time and I hope that it's a smile on my face he sees.
His bushy eyebrows are furrowed in confusion and sweat beads on his forehead. His golden hair cascades around his face as it hangs loosely. His lips are plump from our ministrations as he clenches his jaw. I wish that the relaxed look from earlier would come back. I would give anything to see that look on his face once more. As my eyes finally succumb to the pain he disappears from view and I find myself in a world of darkness.
The first thing I notice is that the pain is gone. I test my extremities as I wiggle each one in turn to make sure. When moving everything doesn't bother me I rise to stand. I look around the room I am in and immediately get confused. Where the hell am I?
"You my child, are in a portion of the ether" I whirl around at the sound of the voice and see a beautiful woman. Her facial features are smooth and pristine. Her hair is perfectly styled on top of her head and held together by two sticks. I can immediately tell that she is either Chinese or Japanese from her facial features. As she moves around me I can't help but to stare at her robing. The pattern moves as if she is surrounded by a river. It almost looks like she is the river.
"Who are you?" I ask her as I look around warily. I have no idea how I got here or where Xander is. Here I sit gawking at a stranger and I could be in mortal danger. I take a step back away from her as she chuckles.
"If I wanted to hurt you child, I wouldn't have brought you here. I handpicked you just for him. You still breathe because of the power that I gave him. He just had to be willing to use it" she states as she gestures for me to follow her. "Come on dear. We don't have much time before your other half joins us" She says as she walks through a blue door that suddenly appears.
I follow her tentatively after I think for a bit. I could have easily attacked her from behind but she gave her back to me anyway. I also didn't see her with any weapons so maybe she doesn't mean me any harm. When I walk through the blue door the room is bright. I have to lift a hand up to shield my eyes as I look around. I smile when I recognize the same meadow that he took me to. The trees are smaller and the flowers are more abundant. All the same it is still the prettiest place that I have ever been.
I walk through the flowers as I look for the older woman. She couldn't have gotten very far. Just as I am about to give up looking for her I watch as a young boy enters the field. Even though he is tall, the chubbiness of his cheeks gives away his age. If I had to guess I would say that he is a teenager. To my shock, he walks right up to me.
"Hey Lady. What are you doing in my meadow" He ask as he cocks his head at me. His eyes move around the forest as if he is trying to see if there are others here.
Unsure of how to answer I decide to think of something quick in reply. "I'm just here looking for someone. I lost my friend just a bit ago" I tell him as I look for the older woman again.
He steps closer to me as he sniffs the air. His eyes flicker gold and I cock my head to the side as I look at the boy more closely. A smile hits my face as I look at his features. His golden hair is much shorter and he doesn't have the muscle mass that I know of now. A cocky smirk hits his face as he looks at me up and down. From that look alone, I know that this is my Xander as a boy.
"You smell amazing. If you like I could be your friend. We could do everything together. Here" he says as he talks fast. He bends down to the ground and pulls a wildflower to offer to me. I take the flower from him with a chuckle and bring it up to my nose. The flower smells heavenly and I watch as he bends and does the same. His eyes continue to flash and his smile widens.
"My dragons says that you are going to go soon. He also says that you are mine and not to be sad. Someday you will have my heart and soul and be mine forever. Do you believe that too pretty lady" He ask shyly as he pushes his sandals into the ground and avoids my gaze.
"Yes, Xander. Someday I am going to be everything to you just as you are to me" I tell him as I step forward.
His head flies up as his lightly brown cheeks turn a deep red. The smile that showed on his cheeks was all teeth as his eyes changed. It was almost like I could see his dragon smiling at me too. The edges of the room start to fade slowly and I don't know what comes over me. Just before it hits us I lean forward and place a kiss onto his slender cheek. As the room changes into another I can hear the twinkling of his chuckle follow me through.
As the new room comes into focus I take a look around. It's obvious that I am in someone's bedroom but I just have no idea of who it belongs to. The room is covered in blacks and greys. As I run my hand along the surface of the dresser I frown when I see no personal artifacts. After waiting for a bit I get bored and turn towards the door.
Just as I do it swings open as a man enters and it shuts loudly behind him. The crack from the slamming of the door is so loud that it causes me to jump. His heavy booted feet stomp toward the bed and he takes a seat on the edge. His body plops right on the bed and I chuckle as the top of it lifts. His arms flail in the air as he tries to catch himself as he braces his feet.
He must hear the sound of my chuckle because his head turns in my direction. Xander rises from the bed so fast and cowers me against the wall as he stares into my eyes. His hands try to touch me but instead all they do is go right through my form. I frown wanting his touch but knowing that I can't have it.
"You took a lot longer to show yourself this time. I had hoped that this time you would be real. I needed for you to be real" He whispers as he looks at me.
"I am real. I'm standing right in front of you" I answer in reply.
"No, I'm starting to think that my dragon is just messing with me. I am over age after all. I've been an adult for three years and yet I haven't even been able to kiss someone. To kiss you. Maybe I really am going feral without my mate. I can't even see your face to find you" he says as he walks away from me. He takes his seat on the bed once more and places his head in his hands.
The slump of his shoulders is so low that he might as well be curled into a ball. Walking forward I sit next to him on the bed. Apparently I am able to do that because I don't go through it. "I am real Xander and you will see me." I tell him with all the conviction I feel. I know that's it's the truth. However he chooses to remain quiet and to continue hiding his face from me.
"You like your coffee black. Every time you use an item it has to put away right after. Your human eyes are gold just like that of your dragon" I tell him. He slowly lifts his head as he looks at me. Seeing that I have his attention I continue. " I choose a beautiful name for your dragon who is my beloved. I've rode him in the sky and watched your transformation" when I admit to the last tidbit I watch as his color fades.
"No, they are beautiful. Someday you will see that they mean so much more than markings on your skin. Everyone will want to see them because they provide the answers of the future. When I return to you later, I plan to trace the pattern with my tongue just to show you how much I like them" I tell him with a smirk.
His eyes turn heated as Ceron makes his debut. Their eyes flicker back and forth as he licks his lips slowly. I would have to be a blind to not see exactly what he is thinking about. My gaze flickers to his lap as I watch him squirm in his seat. It seems that Xander has been well endowed all his life.
"That's right, alpha. I have seen every inch of your ink" I tell him salaciously. His cheeks redden as his eyebrows raise. Happy to see that he is finally understanding the underlining meaning of my words I rise from the bed. When I spin around after swinging my hips for him to see the edges of the room are already fading. I blow him a kiss goodbye as he smiles at me.
When the room finally adjust I have to shield my eyes. This room is so bright that it takes me a few moments of blinking to be able to see. What I see surrounding me causes me to gasp. The room is the riches color of gold that I have ever seen. The beauty of it is so stunning that immediately walk over to run my hand along one of the squares.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The older woman says as she appears beside me. I smile at her as I continue to touch the walls of the room.
"I have grown to like the color very much" I say as I compare it to the eyes of the man I love. Besides my confession in the forest, this was the first time that I have even admitted it to myself. Speaking the words to him just seemed so natural. I truly never though that I would have this feeling. As I look around it's almost like the walls of the room know exactly how I feel because they shine with my joy.
"That is why you were chosen. For a young woman who grew up with the barest minimum of love that someone could give, your heart is big. If you earn his soul, he will need it in the days to come. Without it I am afraid that many of our creations will perish" She says as she turns away from the wall.
I turn with her and notice the other hooded figures in the room. No part of them is truly visible because their robes are so large. I am unable to even tell genders as I try to identify the figures. I turn toward her with many questions in mind but I no longer see her. I turn back to the robed figures but they have also disappeared.
The room goes black and I watch as four golden squares stay illuminated. I walk toward them to get a better look. The scene is like that of a movie. Even though I can see my face in the film I have no recollection of the actions that took place. My eyes are freakishly black and there is an odd look on my face. I am encased in Ceron's claws as we fly into the sky. His golden dragon looks fierce as he charges through the clouds.
Then it's like the screen chooses where to focus. It zooms in and I scream when the image fills the screen. I watch as Ceron takes the sharpened tip of his talon and cuts open my chest. Blood flies everywhere as he rips out my heart and I grow sick. I turn away from the screen and dry heave against the wall as I try to shake the image from my head.
He killed me. I just watched his dragon kill me. My dry heaving ceases as I truly think about the statement. This must be something that is going to happen. If that is true then I need to see the rest to warn him. I rush back over to the screen glad to see that it was paused. My stomach churns as I watch him cut open his own chest. With the action it's like all the blood released evaporates.
Tears spring to my eyes at the roar that leaves his chest as he rips out his own heart. The piece glows as his wings stutter in their rhythm. I practically press my face to the screen needing to see the rest. He can't die. He just can't I want to scream. However, I grow surprised as he pushes the piece of his heart into my chest. My body jerks as he throws a blaze of fire at my chest. My body ceases movement and then the flame dies.
As soon as its out we are falling the sky only to be caught by a black dragon. Something is tickling in the back of my brain as I watch the scene unfold before but I just can't put my finger on it. However, when it hits me, I find myself ripping open my own robe to look at my chest. When I see the faint pink line I sob. Tears rush down my face as I drop to my knees and the power of his action hits me.
He gave me his heart. Not metaphorically but literally. Now, his reaction by the river makes so much sense. He really did lose me. I died. My heartbeat picks up pace as I continue to think about this. As soon as I woke up I told him that I loved him. I let him mark me. Now, I don't know what to believe. Did all of these feelings only come out because I have his heart?
"Now, you see. He has been waiting for you all of his life. He has been taunted by your existence. He knew his love for you before you were able to recognize your own. Now that he has shared his heart with you, you are so much more to him. You are the very air that he breathes" She says as she pets my hair. My mind is in such a turmoil that I can barely concentrate on her words.
"You have a job to do child and I am afraid that it won't be easy. You are tasked with protecting the leader of an entire race and the secrets he holds. Are you to stand by his side or will you revert back to that scared little girl who killed her parents" She states. Her words ignite a fire in me and I start to get angry.
"I am not that girl anymore. Killing my parents was an accident. I may not have believed their love at the time, but they did the best they could with what they knew. Love whether it is with family or not doesn't have conditions" I tell her as I rise to my feet. She can insult me and talk about my past all she wants but for the first time in years, I am ready to move past it.
The old woman smiles at me and I honestly consider the fact that she may be insane. However, it's true that her words spark something inside of me. I really don't have to be that broken girl who barely wanted to live. I want to be more. I want to be with him. its then that I know that I loved him before he gave me his heart. I've wanted him from the very beginning.
"He will be just fine with me by his side. When he gave me his heart he made me a part of him. His soul will never be in jeopardy because he has me. I will stand by his side for as long as I am breathing. Xander is my mate and I don't think that there is anything that you can do about" I tell her with a challenge. I've finally figured out just who she is. She is the one that has made this mess, now she is just trying to clean it up and using the dragons as pawns to do it.
"I'm glad to see that I was right about you. Apparently you do have what it takes to be a leader in this race. I feel that I should warn you that you and your mate will not be the only ones. His strength as an alpha will always come from his love for you. Love him well child and know that you are his heart and his soul. Those are the only things that need to be strong enough for an alpha to lead" And with that odd decree she vanishes. I am left all alone in the bright room as I wonder what to do next.
The room glows brightly as I continue to walk around it. I survey to see if any of the cubes are different because they may lead to a door. I huff in annoyance when I don't find one. Tired of standing I decide to lean against the wall and I gasp. Before the wall was simply cool to the touch. Now the feeling that it gives is like the one when I touch Xander. The tingles travel over my skin and it makes me smile. It's like I can feel him.
My hands travel along the wall as I enjoy the sensation. I lean further into it and a piece finally moves. Using all the strength I can muster I push the piece until it promptly slides out of the way. A whole pitch black in color is made. As I measure it I realize that it is just enough for me to fit through. With a deep breath I climb through the wall to see where this place will lead me next.