Chapter 16: Tension Between Friends

Alyssa

My mind was spinning; they hadn’t stopped. I thought I was the only one they tortured, but they did this to innocent people.

“Hey, you alright?” Vincent said as we walked through the halls of the castle.

“This is insane! Why did I have to be the gold dragon? Why did the Moon Goddess make me this way?” I cried.

“I won’t let those bastards hurt you; they will never touch you again!” Vincent’s voice was filled with resolve. “We should go and get your things; my father was clear; you move into the castle now. I think it’s best we get that out of the way,” Vincent said.

“Izzy is going to think that I don’t want to stay with her anymore,” I was about to cry. I don’t want Isabella to change what she thinks about me; she is one of the few people I care deeply for.

“Don’t worry, she’ll understand,” Vincent said confidently.

When we got back to Izzy’s house and told her that I was moving to the place, she didn’t understand.

“I don’t understand!” Izzy shouted.

“It’s for her safety, Isabella,” Vincent shook his head.

“Are you fucking telling me that she’s not safe with me, your grace?” Izzy mocked.

“I’M HER MATE; SHE IS SAFER WITH ME!” Vincent’s voice shook the house. “Don’t fucking test me, Izzy,”

“Alyssa’s perfectly safe in this house,” Izzy shouted back.

“It’s not my call, it’s my dad’s,” Vincent snarled.

“You’re FATHER! Since when did you listen to your dad?” Izzy gasped.

“Astarot and I are not in the mood to argue with you on this,” Vincent said.

“Oh, I’m in the mood to fight with you on this, Vince. There is something your not telling me!” Izzy took a step closer.

“I can’t tell you,” Vincent looked away.

“Why? Because daddy said so?” Izzy laughed.

“BOTH OF YOU, STOP IT!” I shouted. “Izzy, I felt safe in these walls during my stay here, and I can do nothing to repay the kindness you gave me. Also, this might be a good thing; I’ll be living in the palace in the future regardless, and I make my focus on my bond with Vincent. I don’t have a choice anyway,” I said.

“But you DO have a choice. Vincent being your mate, should never play a part in your decisions,” Izzy said.

“Isabella, please don’t make me pick sides,” I said with sadness. “I don’t want to choose between my mate or my best friend.

“Izzy, back off. This is happening, I’m sorry, but you have to accept that,” Vincent growled.

“Please, tell me why?” Izzy begged.

“I can’t! I’m sorry,” Vincent huffed.

“Fuck you!” Izzy yelled as she left.

“I’m going to talk to her; I won’t tell her the whole truth,” I nodded at him.

“I will got get your things and put them in the car,” Vincent kissed my cheek and went to my room. I went to Izzy’s room, where I heard her crying.

“Izzy?” I said behind her, but she didn’t answer. “Izzy, I don’t want to leave; I love staying with you. I need my best friend, I never wanted to hurt you, and I don’t want you to be mad at me. I am trying to figure out what to do or exactly what is happening,”

Isabella turned around and hugged me. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you. I may be angry at Vincent, but never with you,”

“Vincent is only doing what he thinks is best,” I sniffed.

“Maybe, but I don’t want you to go,” Izzy cried. “I just wish someone could tell me what is going on,”

“I wish I could, but I can’t. Please trust me that it’s for the right reason,” I said.

“Okay. Promise me that you will call if you need anything,” Izzy smiled.

“I will,” I said. Isabella hugged me again. Then we heard Vincent knocking on the door.

“Everything is ready,” Vincent said.

I nodded, walked out of the room, and heard yelling between Vincent and Izzy. Vincent walked out with a sad look. We returned to the palace, and Vincent punched one of the pillars.

“Let me show you to your room, or would you like to stay with me in my room?” Vincent smiled. “This secret might have cost me my friendship with Isabella. I know I can trust her to keep her mouth shut, but I can’t risk the elders doing goddess knows what to her if they know that she knows,” Vincent gritted his teeth.

Audrey appeared out of nowhere and looked at me with shock. “Is it true? Are you moving in?”

“I guess so,” I nodded.

“I didn’t know you guys were serious,” Audrey winked.

Vincent and I blushed at each other. “Relax, you two. Mom told me it was to help Alyssa with something or whatever. But this is amazing; we’re going to be like sisters,”

“Aren’t we eventully going to be sister, Audrey?” I giggled.

“Even better!” Audrey’s smile grew wider. “Now, I have to go, see you around,” Audrey ran into the palace halls; she’s weird, but I always wanted a sister like her.

Vincent guided me to my room, and I was shocked at how amazing it looked. On the wall by the back of my bed was an oil painting of Astarot and Dahlia dancing in the sky together. “Vinnie, this painting, did you?”

“Make it? Yes, finishing it took me a while. I made it so we can remember the night we completed the mate bond and received our mark.” Vincent smiled. “You also have your private bathroom and closet for your clothes.

“It’s amazing Vincent, thank you,” I kissed his cheek.

“My room is across the hall if you need anything, and dinner will be about an hour,”

“Vincent wait!” I found that my hand grabbed his forearm and dragged him to me. I kiss him with passion in my movements. I was sad when our kiss ended.

“I’ll let you get settled,” Vincent left my room.

Living at the palace, with Vincent in the next room. Although I hate leaving Isabella, this room is beautiful, and Vincent painted our dragons flying in the air. I took a shower and got dressed for dinner. I wanted to look my best in front of Vincent’s family, so I wore a blue dress that I had received from Izzy.

Dinner was better than last time; it was alright. I had dinner with Vincent and his family; Alexandria and Vincent are still at each other’s throats. I could feel the tension they had with each other and their father. I’m excited to try the new bed. I put on my nightclothes and went to bed; the bed was soft to the touch, and before I knew it, I was sound asleep.

(One Week Later)

It has been a week since I moved in with Vincent. I have not spent much time with him as Zayne always had some assignments to complete. Isabella is still mad at Vincent, and they barely speak. I hated being the cause of it and that I couldn’t tell Izzy the truth. Audrey questioned why Izzy was so pissed, and I pied that I had no idea. Some friends I am.

Dragon training class for the first years began, and I was troubled; talking to some of the students helped me forget my troubles for a while. It was hard listening to Vincent and Izzy fight all the time. I was honestly relieved that only first-year dragons were in this class.

“Welcome, class. Today, I’m going to teach you about the Mind-Link. Does anyone know what this is?” Mr. Reid asked the class.

“Being able to talk to other dragon while in dragon form.” Saga said.

“Indeed. It’s most recognized in werewolves, who have a shared connection in their pack. But with dragons, it’s different. The mind link works for every dragon, and everyone can talk to each other in dragon form. This will allow two or more dragons to link their minds, but there is a unique mind link between fated mates that can only be shared by the mated couple. Now who would like to go first?” Mr. Reid said.

This time, no one said a word or moved.

“So you want to go inside our minds?” Audrey said.

“I don’t see your memories if that’s what you’re afraid of. I will only be able to feel your feelings and hear your thoughts. You may find this scary, but there’s no need to be afraid.

Well, that’s not creepy at all.

“Two of us in here are more then enough,” Dahlia snickered.

“You can say that again,” I said.

“Wanna try it out?” Dahlia asked with curiosity.

“Mr. Reid, I’ll do it.” I raised my hand, and my classmates looked at me with worry.

“Perfect, now we will shift into our dragons, and I’ll place my forehead on yours. It will feel like someone is trying to enter your mind, but I promise you it’s safe. The only thing you have to do is allow me to enter your mind,”

Mr. Ried shifted first. He was a large Earth Dragon, his scales mossy green. He looked down at me with his brown eyes, giving me the ahead to shift. I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes; I could feel my body grow, a feeling I was starting to like.

I stood beside Mr. Reid in my dragon form; he was at least a few meters taller than me. I nodded that I was ready. He lowered his head and placed his forehead up against mine. I started to feel a strange sensation inside me; it was exactly how he described it. I allowed him into my head and lowered my walls to let him in.

Then I found myself in a starry void with Dahlia, my spitting image, except she had golden hair.

“Did it work?” I said as my voice echoed

“I can hear you and we are in the Mind Space, It worked,” Mr. Reid smiled at me. “You did it,”

“This is weird,” I said.

“Try anything funny, and I’ll flay you alive with my MIND!” Dahlia growled.

Mr. Reid nodded at Dahlia, then faced me. “It’s always strange to let someone into your mind. I’m impressed by how quickly you managed to master this skill. How will you react to the mate bond version of the mind link? That’s a lesson for another time. Now we shift back.

Me. Reid and I shifted back into our human forms. “Can you hear my thoughts now?” Mr. Reid asked me.

“No, I can’t,” I said.

“You did good, Alyssa,” Mr. Reid smiled as I returned to my classmates. “The link is only active in dragon form, but that doesn’t mean it will activate again when you shift. Dragons don’t always have to touch their head to activate the link. But if we were to link again, it would be much easier. Now, who’s next?”

(Weekend)

Ah, the weekend; I like Dragon Academy and being around my friends, but it’s hard lying to them. Izzy and Vincent had a huge argument that lasted for at least an hour.

Vincent visited me in my room as it was the first time I’d seen him.

“I know we haven’t seen each other the last few days, and I wanted to know if you wanted to fly with me?” Vincent smiled as he asked.

“YES!” Dahlia screamed. “Fly with him!”

“I would love to; Dahlia wants to fly with Astarot, too,” I smiled. “Dahlia would scold me to death if I didn’t let her out soon,”

“I heard that!” Dahlia joked.

“Let’s go!” Vincent grasped my hand.

Vincent and I walked to the gardens and started sprinting. I ran a little more, admiring their strength. Now that I got my full strength back, I loved running. I felt alive. Vincent sprinted off a long drop on the nearby cliff, shouted excitedly, and shifted into Astarot. Those two like to transform in style. I heard Dahlia purring at the sight of them. Vincent looked down at me, waiting for me to join him in the sky.

I jumped and swiftly transformed and joined Vincent. We danced over the islands and ascended higher into the sky, forming a dragon heart.

“I love you, Alyssa. I can’t wait to one day call you my queen,” Vincent said in my mind.

“I love you too, Vincent,” I told him.

We flew side by side, looking over the city and other beautiful places. I never knew everything was prettier in the sky, every problem so tiny. I knew I had issues with being a dragon, but now I love being one; I love flying. I don’t know how long we were flying, but it was starting to get dark out. The moon began to rise on the horizon. Vincent’s scales reacted to the light of the Full Moon. We landed on a clearing on the far side of the Island.

We shared at the large lake as the fireflies flickered their lights over the water. “This is beautiful, Vincent,” I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“I come here sometimes to get away from everything. You could use a place like this to forget the world’s troubles, even briefly.

“How are things between you and Isabella?” I asked.

“It’s complicated. Izzy is mad at me, and I accept that. I trust that she will come around eventually. Just give her time,” Vincent took a deep breath. “Everything will be alright. I promise you.

His lips suddenly met mine, and I melted in his arms. I don’t know why his kiss always affects me, but I can for everything when I embrace him. I felt one of his hands slide under my top and was now on my stomach. I felt his hand touch my scars.

“Vincent, wait! Please don’t, you don’t to see them,” I begged.

“Babe, you are beautiful,” Vincent cooed.

“I don’t feel like it,” I said.

“I wouldn’t have you any other way, I want you, Alyssa, and only you. No one on this planet can take your place. May I see them?” Vincent said to me.

I nodded. Vincent slowly lifts my top. For some reason, I am holding my breath, expecting a disgusted look on his face. But I looked at him and saw the same blue eyes I love. I felt his hand slide over my scars, but for some reason, I think there was no discomfort. It felt nice.

“You are beautiful, Alyssa,” Vincent said between kisses.

We heard an explosion.

“What the hell!” I said.

We saw smoke in the distance.

“The watchtowers!” Vincent looked in terror.

“What’s happening?” I said.

“We’re under attack! I’m going to check it,” Vincent started running, but I stopped him.

“I’m coming with you!” I said.

“Absolutely not!” Vincent growled.

“I’m not going to let you go alone, when you have no idea what you are deling with,” I said.

“Exactly, I don’t know. It’s the only reason you are not coming with me; I will not put you at risk,” Vincent said as I gave him a cold glare. “There is not talking you out of this, is tgere?”

“No,” I crossed my arms.

“Fine, You’ve learned how to do the mind link, right?” Vicent asked.

“Learned it today; since we are mates, we don’t need to touch heads or any of the sort; I can talk to you like I can now,” I said.

“Good, let’s go,”

Vincent and I shifted and headed toward the smoke.

Who would be foolish enough to attack Varrfarrinn?