"You come alone, Alpha," Duncan stated, surprised that such a man of status and position would travel without support.
"My driver stayed in town while I spent the night with Kai Becket at his cottage," Eli answered. He stood a few yards in front of the King, and the King remained seated while the Knights stood on either side of the room. "He tells me the situation regarding his property has been resolved, but I chose to follow through with this meeting in the hopes of starting a better understanding between our peoples." Eli went on, and Duncan listened.
The meeting proved to be enlightening to both sides. They learned that there were actually few things that they disagreed upon and that the health and welfare of their people was the driving force behind all their decisions. The Alpha was honest, forthright, and respectable and held himself to a standard that was commendable. By the end of their time together, the atmosphere had lightened considerably, and the rigors of firm discipline that is required at such meetings was loosening.
Before the meeting closed, Duncan took the opportunity to question the Alpha in regard to Jude. He was a proper Alpha, and he would know what was happening with his people. "You are aware that Kai and my brother Jude who is also one of my Knights, are in fact mates." It was a question but more a statement that forced an explanation.
“Yes, I am. I was with Kai last night when he returned to the cottage. He is deeply distraught by what has taken place. I believe he acted in haste with prejudice and fear coloring his behavior.” Eli told him and then fell silent as the room became deadly still.
"He's distraught." The King stated sarcastically and snorted in disgust. "What happens to a wolf whose mate openly rejects them?" The King's presence bore down on the Alpha, who stood his ground but took in the change in demeanor.
"They fall into a depressive state, often losing contact with their wolf for a while. The wolf works to salvage and repair the relationship. It is a hard time, but generally, the union is ultimately sealed." Eli explained carefully.
The King took a deep breath and sat forward in his chair, leaning his right forearm on his thigh while bracing himself with his left hand gripping the arm of his throne. He looked as if ready to leap from his chair and do some serious damage to someone. "Do you know what happens to a dragon who is clearly and blatantly rebuffed as my brother was last night?”
"No, your majesty," Eli said while never taking his eyes off the King and bracing himself for whatever was to come.
"The dragon spirit gradually forces a shift, and slowly their humanity is devoured. A dragon shifter becomes a feral beast lost to their world and the life they knew. Kai's rejection was cold and clear and left no room for wonder or possibilities. Therefore, Jude's dragon immediately began to disconnect, and his control started to fail. My brother will ultimately die, savage, and insane." Duncan looked over at Rafe and then at Locke and back to the Alpha.
“I asked him to take Kai and force a mating because I could not imagine losing my brother in such a way, but he refused. He would not take from Kai what he would not willingly give to him.” Duncan stood and walked to stand directly in front of the Alpha.
“My brother has been taken to the mountain north of us to the spires and caves that run deep within. He will remain locked away as his dragon slowly loses its mind. My youngest brother Grey has taken the position of Gate Keeper to watch over the entrance of the cave that has become my brother’s prison and to make sure he never escapes. That is what happens to a dragon who is rejected by their Fated mate.” Duncan finished and turned to slowly walk back to his throne and sat down. His sadness hung heavy in the air.
"Kai is not aware of this," Eli told him. "He is trying to reach his wolf and establish his connection to Jude." Eli then went on a tangent in hopes of presenting an explanation. "Kai was a good son. Sadly his father, Hank, was not a good father. Kai's mother abandoned him to a man so lost in his own anger and hate that he severely damaged his son. Kai believed the lies his father taught him about the myth of mates and the destructiveness of commitment, and he taught him to distrust everything, including his own feelings. He is damaged, but he is not lost. He will find his way through this, and he will find his way to Jude."
"He has very little time to make a difference if indeed he has the desire to do so." The King stated, and the meeting was ended.
…
Grey drove Jude to the mountain, and once they were well and away from humanity, they shifted and flew to the peaks and to the cave that would become his home. It had been forty-eight hours now since he'd last seen Kai and had heard the words that set the rest of his life in this downward motion. Every day, every hour even he felt a piece of himself begin to slip away
This is what happened to dragons who were denied and dragons who lost their mates. Once found, a mate was the dragon's heart and life, and to lose that heart lead to death or insanity, or both.
Jude considered the idea that to have never found Kai and never discovered his secret would have been better than the agony he was now suffering, but it was not true. Those precious few minutes he had with Kai in his arms, responding to him were in his heart forever. He owned him for a moment, and that was worth all that he would now endure. Jude tried to calm his dragon and bring him back to heel as the memory of their mate flooded his mind. He ached, physically ached to hold him, and love him, but that would never be.
"Duncan will figure something out," Grey assured him as they stood at the mouth of the cave. "Hold on, please hold on." Jude silently nodded, not able to give him the hope he asked for.
“Promise me one thing, Grey.” He said.
“Anything.”
"Don't hold this against Kai." Jude saw the flash of anger as it shot across his brother's continence at the mention of Kai. "He doesn't know what he has done, and nowhere is it written that we have a right to the heart of another. Don't hate him for this."
"I'll try, brother." Was all Grey could promise.
Jude took his provisions and moved deep into the mountain cave so as to not be seen or heard as chaos descended. Grey would make sure no one got close and that he did not escape for a feral Dragon Knight on the loose could lay waste to kingdoms.
…
Kai ran as fast as he could, but it still seemed to take forever. He'd shifted into his wolf at the base of the mountain in order to traverse the rough terrain, but he couldn't move much faster than he had in his human form. The obstacles were many as if nature herself were punishing him for causing this debacle in the first place.
According to Alpha Jackman, his window to save Jude and save himself was rapidly closing, and he needed to reach him, needed to beg his forgiveness, and pledge his love and loyalty. The thought of Jude suffering and refusing to inconvenience Kai even to ease his own pain was horrifying. He had to reach him, he had to make this right, or he would die trying.
When the Alpha returned to the cottage after his meeting with the Dragon King, Kai was surprised to see him. He was under the impression that the Alpha was heading home after the meeting, but once he heard the reason behind his return Kai's devastation over the loss of his mate, quickly turned to crippling guilt.
His rejection was literally killing his mate and, at best, driving him insane. He had never considered such dire consequences. His father had not informed him of any of the details around a mating or failure to connect.
He never told him because he knew nothing about a true mating or the bond that existed between a Fated pair. Kai felt like such a child, an idiot for not investigating further and taking into consideration the darkness his father carried in regard to his mother. He was able to exist without her because she belonged to someone else and not to him. His father had never been saddened by her departure only filled with anger and hate, and that was not the truth of true mates.
True mates were so much more than just a relationship and he understood that now. He felt his mate deep in his heart and in his mind. Jude was slipping away, losing himself to his dragon, but Kai could still
feel the man within the beast. Jude belonged to him and he was not going to lose him, again.
In his wolf form, Kai was larger than expected based on his average size as a human. He was able to scale the worst of the mountain trail in his wolf form but knew he would have to shift before reaching the Gate Keeper. Grey Adair was the Gate Keeper, the very man who had started all of this would be the man to decide whether or not he could proceed. Regardless of Grey's decision, Kai knew what he had to do and vowed that no one, not even a Dragon Knight, would stop him. Conviction, he'd finally found it, and his goal was clear.
“Shift! Or I will kill you where you stand.” Came the thundering voice of the Gate Keeper. Kai quickly stopped and shifted to stand before this man whose hatred shone brightly in his eyes.
"What do you want here, wolf!? Have you come to gloat and torment my brother?" Grey stepped closer, getting into Kai's face as he continued. "Your job is done here, go destroy someone else." He made to turn away, but Kai caught him by the upper arm, causing him to turn back with murder in his expression. Kai held his ground.
"Let me in, let me speak to him." He demanded, having never let go of Grey's arm. Grey glanced down at his hand and then up at Kai.
“Why, what is your business with my brother?” His tone had not softened.
"He's my mate, please let me see him. I know what I've done, and I won't bore you with excuses for my behavior, but please, I need him, I can't lose him, please." Kai laid his heart bare and hoped Grey would hear him and let him pass.
It took several minutes of silence, and Grey scrutinizing him with a stare that actually burned before he stepped aside and waved him on. "Let me warn you." He said as Kai moved passed him towards the entrance. "Jude's hold on his sanity has been failing since the moment the denial crossed your lips. He may not be what you expect, and your safety cannot be guaranteed."
"I understand and I'm sorry, Grey. I am so sorry." Kai implored.
"Very well then, please do what you can and bring him back to us," Grey stated, his tone softening but just barely.
"I will, I promise you." With that, Kai hurried inside the dark, dank, and rocky cave following the path that Jude would have had to have taken. It twisted its way lower and lower sharp stones and deep crevasses, keeping him alert as he made his way towards his mate.
He felt him as he drew closer, the air became charged with intense emotion and the pain of his mate burned in his heart. The need to get to him was overwhelming and Kai found once again that his feet could not seem to move fast enough to satisfy his desire. He tripped over a jutting rock and fell to his knees, crying out for Jude to hear him and to come to him as the cave veered off in two directions.
The sounds of the dragon were surrounding him, making it impossible to follow. He cried out over and over, begging Jude to come to him. He pulled himself to his feet and began to move towards the sound, reaching out with his wolf, hoping for contact hoping for recognition.
"I'm sorry, Jude, I was foolish, and I was scared but I never wanted to hurt you or drive you away. Please come back to me. I didn’t mean the hateful things I said, I want you, I’ve always wanted you.” Kai put every bit of pent up emotions he was feeling into every word as he beseeched his mate to answer him.
The answer came slowly and as Grey had warned not as expected.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The ground shook beneath his feet, and the air vibrated with what felt like an electrical current. Kai had never before bore witness to a dragon in full shift, and the scene before him now was as beautifully magnificent as it was terrifying. He knew that dragons were large, but nothing had prepared him for the size and sight of Jude Adair. Jude's dragon moved towards him, cautiously and wary. He was incredible his size boggled the mind.
The dragon was Jude as much as Jude was his dragon. Long black hair covered the top of its head and ran down the middle of its back ending near the base of his infinitely long tail. The iridescent black scales were reminiscent of the color that flashed across Jude’s face during their lovemaking. The deep emerald green eyes that had flashed love and loathing were staring at him in a way that had him melting and begging for understanding.
The dragon moved closer and dipped his head to first sniff at Kai and then nudge him as if struggling to understand the familiarity it felt. "It's me, Jude. Come back to me, please come back to me." He repeated over and over. The dragon shook himself, unsettling rocks and debris that rained down on them both.
Kai found that he had nothing to fear as a large segmented wing extended to cover and protect him from the falling rubble. The dragon was fighting with itself as Kai tried again to reach him with his mind. It suddenly swung its head back and roared a sound deafening and heart breaking in its misery.
Kai fell to his knees and shifted. It was a long shot, but as much as he and Jude had their issues, the wolf and the dragon had always connected even from the beginning. His wolf ran to the dragon stopping at its feet and rubbing itself against the rough scales and smooth talons. Kai let his wolf take the lead stepping back in his mind and hoping the ploy worked for the distance between them had grown to frightening proportions. It had only been two days, and yet it was so close to being too late.
Then gradually it happened the wolf was whining softly, demanding attention, and the dragon became still. The cave was quiet apart from their combined heartbeat that steadily softened to a lovely rhythm. The dragon crouched down to acknowledge the wolf, and as he did so, the dragon began to shift.
The scales retracted, and its size began to fold in on itself while the wings and tail slowly disappeared. What was left was an amazing man of muscled tattooed perfection sitting beside a contented wolf. He'd reached him, and Jude had responded. The dragon, contented that their mate had returned, withdrew giving power and control back to their human half.
Jude was shocked beyond words that his mate, in wolf form, lay beside him stroking and comforting him. But like he had told his King, he and the wolf had no problems, it was Kai that refused him. But as he considered those thoughts, he also realized that the wolf would not be there in Jude's makeshift prison if Kai weren't also present, and the only way for him to have got inside was Grey to allow it. Grey had trusted Kai.
The wolf rolled to his side slightly away from Jude and then shifted into his gorgeous and naked mate. Kai moved closer and straddled Jude's lap, where he sat and wrapped his strong arms around him. Jude reciprocated by binding him tightly with an embrace that seemed to seal their connection.
No words were spoken, but so much was imparted through touch and within the smoldering depths of their combined gazes. The energy in the room was alight with love and expectations. Jude held his mate and drank in the scent as fresh and pure as the mountain that surrounded them. He rubbed his cheek against Kai’s and felt the moan that reverberated from Kai as it invigorated him and sated his dragon. The sound and the touch of this man was life giving and mind blowing at the same time.
Mates, what a terrible, magical, amazing concept, and Jude wouldn't have missed it for the world. The astonishing energy and mystical force involved that bound the mind and enflamed the soul was worth every moment of suffering he'd endured. Kai was here, and he was offering himself openly and wantonly to his dragon mate.
"I'm sorry, Jude," Kai said while grinding his hardness against Jude's abdomen. "I panicked, I never wanted you to leave me. I believed so many lies told to me by people who had no experience with mates or even a loving relationship. I'm the careful son of a careless man. I obsessed on how a bond would change me and make me weaker and dependent and never considered how it actually made me stronger to be near you. Your smell and your touch bring me to life."
Kai captured Jude’s face between his hands and pulled him down for a kiss that was pleading for understanding and forgiveness of which Jude was eager to oblige. Jude returned the kiss with equal ardor and pulled Kai closer cupping his ass and reveling in the feeling of having Kai in his arms.
"I'm sorry I
left. I should have explained, but I didn't want to pressure you or take your choices away. I thought you genuinely loathed the idea of bonding with a dragon." Jude told him, and Kai pulled him down for another hungry kiss.
Kai was desperate to make amends for the hateful, dismissive manner in which he’d treated his beloved mate. The absurdity of his beliefs regarding mates came back to make him cringe. He wished that he’d lived life a little fuller than just existing in that cottage for the majority of his time, alone with his anger and his narrow-minded thoughts. He’d left for a couple of years right after his father died but returned when the dragons moved to town and started buying up the mountain. Once he’d returned to the cottage, he immediately fell back into his old ways and decided isolation was the answer to his problems in life.
He learned that his problems were the result of his own dark and narrow view and not caused by any external force or individuals. His father had done him a huge disservice in regard to mates and relationships, but he accepted his father's truth as his own and never questioned, so that was on him.
Fate has given him a second chance, and he wasn't going to squander it. He was going to claim his dragon right here and right now. He rubbed his hardened cock against Jude and felt the hair roughened flesh of his lower abdomen, and it caused his desire to flare and his need to become unrestrained.
"I need you now, Jude, don't deny me please. I love you, everything about you calls to me and every time I see you I long for your touch. We have a lot to learn about one another, but we have the rest of our lives for that. It may sound contrived, but I've loved you since the first time I saw you. Your wildness, combined with your calm consideration and sharp tongue, won me over immediately. But my own stupidity ruined it, and now I want it back, I want you and the way you make me feel. Please, Jude." Kai pleaded.
Jude was loving this knew honesty and openness Kai was embracing with wild abandon. He was holding nothing back, and Jude planned to do the same.
Suffer The Knight: Dragon's Blood M.C. Page 7
