"I declare to you that a woman must not depend on the protection of her man, but must be taught to protect herself..."
Susan B. Anthony
...
Tied in thick chains at the end of the ancient temple was a female dragon, looking enraged, jaw clenched hard and nostrils flaring. The chains restrained her with difficulty, despite the shackles around her wrist and ankles. The remains of a tattered dress clung to her body, hanging in loose pieces. Her dark hair, looking disheveled and matted, framed her round face and fell over her eyes that were currently glaring at the five figures standing before her.
Riven stood with Cade and the ancient shifters in the temple, staring down at the female dragon shifter with an indifferent expression.
"The warriors found her hidden at the far end of the island",Ren said to him with her eyes trained on the chained creature.
"What part?",Riven asked quietly.
"The part where the dragon shifters were banished to",Ren said and looked over to Riven. "She was mated to Magnus"
So that was why the female dragon was this distraught and furious. Her mate was gone, so she was going through the terrible pain that came with the snapping of the mate bond. Riven swallowed the bitter taste that arose in his mouth at the mention of the late dragon lord's name.
"Has she said anything yet?",he asked again, while his golden eyes clashed with the wrathful red eyes of the female dragon.
"No",Ren said. "She just stares at nothing in particular. She doesn't weep. She doesn't grieve"
"She's probably building up her rage, and plotting out ways to escape",Zeke said with a disgusted look on his face. He hated the entire race of the dragons and wished Riven would just wipe them out. If he were Supreme Alpha, he would have done that a long time ago. As that thought crossed through his mind, he began to imagine how it would be if he were the Supreme Alpha and Alpha king, instead of Riven.
Unaware of the thoughts going through Zeke's mind, Riven turned away from the female dragon and prepared to pass an order to Cade.
And hell broke loose.
The female dragon that had been sitting docile and quiet from the onset suddenly sprang up in a fit of rage and lunged at Riven.
"ALPHA!",Cade yelled and acted instantly, throwing his body in front of the enraged dragon. He received a blow on the side of his face and his body flew away, landing at the other end of the temple.
"She's gone crazy!",Ren screamed when the woman ripped off one of the chains attached to the wall. Her body shook and jerked as she tried to shift, but she wasn't strong enough to defy the curse placed on her kind. She tried again to strike Riven but Zeke and Xerxes slammed into her and pinned her down, while Ren quickly secured the broken chain with a new one and pinned the furious female dragon back to the wall.
Through out everything, Riven didn't move a muscle nor did he flinch from the obvious fury in the woman's eyes. He just watched her calmly, as if he knew something like this would happen.
After properly restraining the woman tightly to the wall, she was released from the ancient shifter's hard grip and she glared up at Riven.
"Murderer!",she spat out in a vicious whisper.
A cold smile lifted the corner of Riven's lips and he turned fully to stare at her.
"You finally have the courage to speak to me",he said mockingly.
"Seraphina fears no one",the female dragon whispered while her red eyes shot daggers at Riven. "And the day will come where I will avenge the death of my mate"
"You must know the treason your mate commited",Riven slowly spoke to her. "No one goes unpunished when the laws of this island are broken. And while I'm in a right frame of mind not to kill you now, I wouldn't hesitate to end you, should you be a threat to me and my mate, or this island"
Seraphina was quiet for a while, staring strangely at Riven. And then she laughed, a cold heartless laughter with absolutely no humour in it.
"You might be the strongest Alpha",she said finally in a whispery voice. "But you also have a weakness. You have many enemies already, and the more enemies you make, the more you endanger your mate"
Riven's eyes flashed with rage as he realised that Seraphina's words were similar to the words of the late dragon lord. He wasn't surprised though. He knew with the arrival of his mate, his enemies would awaken and try to use her to get him. But he had no worries about that. He was more than prepared to protect Layla.
"Any one who tries to harm my mate will face instant death",Riven was both ruthless and dangerous as he spoke icily to her. "And you will be no exception. Lock her up in the dungeons. Away from her kind",he said to Cade who was already standing close to him. Without a backward glance at Seraphina, he walked away.
The grief and pain Seraphina had buried within her at the loss of her mate suddenly overcame her and tears gushed out of her eyes. She bit down on her lip, drawing blood as she tried to keep the tears at bay but they poured out nonetheless.
"DAMN YOU ALPHA RIVEN! DAMN YOU TO HELL!",she screamed out as she strained against the chains holding her.
Riven stopped by the entrance of the temple when he felt Ren's presence behind him.
"What?",he asked without turning back.
"Riven...Layla strangely arrived at this island months ago",the ancient shifter began.
"What's your point Ren?",Riven asked impatiently. Hearing Layla's name made him realize how much he missed her presence. He needed to return to her.
"We all know she isn't human",Ren continued. "We need to find out what she is. She could be a threat to..."
"Do not speak of my mate in that manner!", Riven said angrily, turning around to glare at the woman behind him. He didn't like the way every creature had their eyes pinned on his mate, and his beast didn't like it too. It enraged him.
"I mean no disrespect Riven",Ren continued in her quiet tone. "But you know I speak the truth. We must take her to the ancient Fae, and find out what she really is"
Riven was quiet for a long while, a brooding expression on his handsome face. There was a lot on his mind, things he couldn't share with anyone, not even with the ancient shifters. When it came to his mate, he trusted to one.
"Leave all that to me",he finally said. Before disclosing what he knew, he needed to have a word with the Sorceress.
"Very well",Ren said and was about to turn away when she noticed how Riven suddenly went still. His body turned rigid and his eyes became alert. Ren didn't feel any sign of danger around that would aggravate the lycan so she began to wonder what could ruffle the usually stoic Alpha.
"Riven?",she called tentatively.
Riven didn't hear the shifter because his mind was somewhere else. He could feel the mate bond he shared with Layla straining, like a thin thread being stretched out. It was as if someone was trying to sever that special link he shared with her. He tried to mind link Caleb or any other of the shifters in the mansion, to make sure Layla was okay and still with her mother.
But he couldn't. He couldn't reach any of them. Something seemed to be blocking the mind link from connecting. And it made him worried.
"Ren!",he said suddenly, startling the woman. "Has there been any case of the mind link being severed?"
"You can't use the mind link?",Ren asked and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"I can't connect with my warriors. I feel something is off, with the mind link, and with the mate bond I share with my mate"
Ren didn't need to think much about it. Ever since the last pure blooded Sorceress arrived at the island, she knew something was bound to happen. She just didn't think it would happen so soon.
"Only Sorcerers and Sorceresses have the power strong enough to disrupt the mind link",Ren explained quickly. "And with Annabelle in the island, my guess is as good as yours. But why would she...?"
Riven suddenly let out a deep growl as realization dawned on him. Annabelle! Knowing that he would never agree to let Layla go with her, she was going to take Layla away from him. And she obviously knew Riven would feel the strained mate bond and would want to inquire about the safety of his mate, hence she disrupted the mind link so he wouldn't be able to communicate with the other shifters.
Thereby giving her the time she would need to take Layla away.
He also knew Layla would never agree to leave him, bringing him to the conclusion that Annabelle must have done something to Layla.
The fear of losing his mate twisted his gut, and a stronger emotion suddenly overshadowed the fear.
Red hot rage!
"Riven what's the problem?",Ren asked when Riven's eyes suddenly bled red and his canines elongated. His voice was tight with controlled fury as he answered.
"She's going to take my mate away"
He shifted instantly into his golden beast and gave a ferocious roar that shook the entire temple.
Ren watched the beast race out of the temple in blinding speed and quickly sent a mind link to Zeke and Xerxes. Remembering that it wouldn't work, she shifted into her dark grey lycan form and let out a long mournful howl.
The message was clear.
The Alpha King's mate was in danger.