Kaine

"Don't worry about your sister Kaine, she'll be fine. You need to focus on yourself right now," my mother snaps.

I clench my jaw. "I'm fine," I mutter.

She growls. "Yeah you're fine. You just mauled a wolf from the pack but yeah you're definitely fine," she snarls, throwing me a fiery glare before turning back to the trail.

"He deserved what he got," I spit.

She stops dead in her tracks and whips around. The top of her head barely reaches my chin but she radiates power. "I don't care if he deserved it, you lost control and killed a wolf Kaine!"

I snort. "You're one to talk."

Her face goes stoic but her eyes flare. Her fists are clenched and I can tell she's trying to hold her dragon back. "Yes, I killed a wolf. I killed hundreds—I killed entire packs of wolves Kaine. But not once did I ever make an excuse, I took responsibility for every single life I took," she growls. "Now shut up and walk."

*********

I watch the flames dance around on my palm. A comforting heat emanates from the fire that slowly engulfs my hand.

"It's calming, isn't it?"

I look over at my mother, sitting on the other side of the cave. A tiny smile rests on her lips as she watches me.

I sigh a little. "Being away from the pack is calming. I don't like the wolves, being there just doesn't feel right," I admit, closing my hand and stifling the flames.

She nods numbly. "I know. Dragons and wolves have always struggled around one another. Even as allies our relationship was always . . . tense."

"You and dad seem to do just fine," I mutter.

She sighs then growls, "I swear if you repeat this to anyone—"

"Mom! I wouldn't do that, I never have and never will, I like being able to talk to you," I say quickly, holding my hand up.

She takes a deep breath, staring at the ball of fire between us. "Your father and I have always had problems. Hell the first time we met he tortured me just because he thought I might be a dragon," she growls.

My eyebrows shoot up in shock but I don't say anything. She never talks about how her and dad met, no matter how much we ask.

"Anyway even after all the crap we went through together and you guys were born, I didn't like it there. I can guarantee you that we feel the exact same way," she sighs, smiling sadly. "Kinda like you don't belong, you feel trapped, like you're living inside enemy territory?"

I nod. That's exactly how I feel. "I can't shift there, I can't talk to anyone, my dragon drives me insane and now my wolf does too. I hate it there, and no one understands," I growl.

Her lip twitches a little. "Well now you know that I understand. Jaxon doesn't, but his dragon is strange, she seems much more controlled than most Fury dragons and that is absolutely terrifying," she breathes nervously. "But I'm not worried about him at the moment and that's why he is staying with Maia and your dad."

"Right, so are you going to tell me what we'll be doing there or is it a surprise?"

"I'm honestly not sure yet. One of our allies requested to speak with me so we'll meet as soon as we get there but after that I don't know."

"Who wants to talk to you?"

"A young woman named Syrra," she tells me.

"Syrra? I swear I've heard that name before," I mutter with a frown.

She nods. "She's very well known. I even told you and your brother stories about her a few years ago."

My eyes widen in realization. "Wait is she the girl who became queen at 15 years old after her parents disappeared and then made peace between the three witch clans and formed the alliance with the dragons all on her own?"

She chuckles, narrowing her eyes at me. "It sounds like you've got a bit of a crush on her Kaine," she sneers and I growl.

"No, I just admire the fact that she's had so much success at such a young age," I explain.

"I'm sure," she snorts, rolling her eyes.

"I don't have a crush on her!"

She smirks. "Did you know that whenever you lie, your voice gets slightly higher and your heart rate increases?"

I purse my lips in annoyance. "Okay fine, maybe I do," I growl under my breath.

Her smirks grows wider. "I knew it. Anyway she asked me to have a meeting with her, I'm not sure why but it must be important. You can tag along if you'd like and I'll introduce you," she tells me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Thanks Mom."

She laughs. "Get some sleep, we should be there tomorrow," she says.

I nod and lay down, my bag underneath my head. The stone floor of the cave is smooth and warm with the heat of the fire in the center, it's actually pretty comfortable. I close my eyes and fall asleep after a few minutes.

*********

"It's so nice to be home again," my mother sighs as we walk through the rock tunnel.

On the other side I look around in awe. I've been here several times but it still takes my breath away. Dozens of massive, black mountains in a monstrous circle, almost all of them spewing black clouds of ash or bursts of fire. The most impressive is Mors—mom's favorite.

A shadow passes over us and I look up. Over a dozen dragons soar in the sky, all different sizes and colors though most are a shade of red, orange, or black.

A man in obsidian armor jogs up to us, bowing to my mother. "The witch queen arrived this morning, she is currently staying in a room in the palace," he informs her.

She nods. "Thank you."

The man bows again before leaving. My mother leads me toward the palace, completely black against the light of Mors. Two guards pull open the doors and I smile a little. The floor gleams like glowing embers and the walls are streaked with golden fire.

Directly across from us is a single throne, black and covered in red and golden jewels. I catch my mom smirking as she looks at it. "That will be yours one day," she says.

"What about Jax?"

She shrugs as we walk down the hall to our bedrooms. "He doesn't really want to take control of the dragons, but if you learn to control your temper, you could be the greatest dragon king to ever live," she whispers, waving her hands dramatically.

I roll my eyes but can't help the smirk that crosses my face at the thought. "Are we meeting with Syrra now?" I ask.

"Anxious?" she sneers. I glare making her laugh. "Sorry. We will in a little bit, we need to look a little more presentable to meet the witch queen, she is pretty traditional and appearance means a lot."

"Okay, well the only thing I have is the armor that I wear during ceremonies."

She nods. "Yeah wear that, and I have a birthday present for you actually, I meant to give it to you earlier but—well, you know. Shit kinda happened," she sighs.

I wince a little at the disappointment in her voice. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that," I mumble.

She squeezes my shoulder with a small shrug then vanishes into her room. I run my hand roughly through my hair, tugging at the strands until it stings before taking a deep breath and walking into my own room a few doors down.

From what my mother has told me, the palace used to be mostly rough stone but she had it completely rebuilt in the black marble that forms around the volcanoes. Veins of gold run through the stone walls in a crackling pattern. My window is open and so the faint smell of sulfur and smoke drifts into my room.

I drop my bag at the foot of my bed and take a shower, washing the dirt and dried blood off of me. I dry myself off with a towel and find my armor on display in my closet.

It is similar to the guards', but instead of solid black it is covered in golden symbols. I don't know where it came from but my mom gave it to me as a gift when I shifted into my dragon for the first time. The symbols engraved on the metal are actually runes and sigils for protection, speed, agility, strength, and dozens of others I don't think I'll ever need.

It takes me a few minutes to put it all on and I smirk when I realize it finally fits. For years I would put it on and it would always be a little too big and uncomfortable. But now it conforms to my body perfectly.

I hear a knock at the door. "Yeah come in," I call, moving to the mirror.

My mother walks in and grins when she sees me. "Hey it finally fits you, I was starting to worry you'd stay too scrawny to ever be able to wear it," she teases.

I snort. "Thanks mom. You know this is ridiculous. Jax's hair is longer than mine but he just runs his hand through it and it looks fine," I growl in frustration.

She rolls her eyes. "Okay princess, your hair is not important. Here," she says, nudging me.

I turn around and see she has a box in one hand a sword in the other. I grab the sword and pull it out of its sheath with wide eyes. The black blade is longer than my arm and looks sharp enough to cut through stone. "I didn't know there was such thing as a black sword," I remark.

"That was a gift from Syrra, she made it herself. Apparently it is extremely special but I've never used it so I don't know what it is," she shrugs.

I put it back into the sheath and hand it to my mother who helps me strap it onto my back. Then she hands me the box. I frown at the weight and then my eyes widen at what's inside. "No way," I breathe. "I get a fucking crown!"

She laughs, a huge grin on her face. "Yeah I figured you'd like it. Jax said you'd refuse to wear it because 'it would make you look like a pussy'," she snorts, mocking him perfectly.

"Okay well now I'm definitely wearing it," I chuckle. It is the most badass crown I've ever seen. It's simple and black but even if my sister wore it, it couldn't look feminine—not that that's a bad thing but I'm not a big fan of being perceived as feminine.

My mother's crown on the other hand, now that is a work of art. Black iron twisted in elaborate designs and speckled with rubies, it must have taken forever to make. It perfectly matches her dress of red and black silk.

"Kaine! Will you stop daydreaming and just put the crown on already?" my mom groans.

I shake my head a little to clear my thoughts before doing as she says. I look in the mirror and laugh a little. "We actually look like royalty for once."

"Yeah yeah whatever, now let's go, we don't want to keep Syrra waiting," she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the door.

I follow her down the hallway, smirking when I realize that the crown fits so well, it doesn't move or come even close to falling off the entire way to my mom's office. Two guards pull open the doors and my jaw literally drops.

The girl inside is absolutely gorgeous. She sits on the edge of my mother's desk, her hands folded in her lap and her eyes closed. Her hair is lilac and cascades down to her waist in ringlets. She wears a gray dress that fits perfectly on her flawless body. She outmatches any girl I've ever been with by a million times with not only her body but her reputation too.

"Syrra, what are you doing?" My mom suddenly asks and I realize I have been gaping.

I close my mouth and try to clear my mind.

Syrra sighs, smiling a little. "Checking on my pet," she says and I swallow hard. Her voice is the most alluring, sultry sound I've ever heard.

She finally opens her eyes and they're completely white. She blinks a few times and the cloudiness disappears, revealing irises of dark violet. She smiles at my mother. "Queen Zari, thank you for allowing me to meet with you. And this must be your son, Prince Kaine, the one infamous for his skills as a warrior."

She glances at me and my heart stops. My wolf starts growling a single word over and over again. Mate.

Wait Syrra's my mate? I ask my wolf. He growls a yes in response and I grin.

"Kaine, are you okay?" my mom asks.

My grin turns into a smirk. "Hell yeah."

**********

Hey guys so here's a long chapter since I've been neglecting my updates recently. I hope you enjoyed it and comment/message me if you have any questions!!!!!!!!