Dragons of Cinderhollow Bundle

by Hawke Oakley

  Raja flinched.

  Sotu was nearly shaking with anger. He approached me slowly, his ferocious glare on the poachers who trembled in my grip.

  Good. I hope they get what’s coming to them.

  “You two were already banished for your heinous crimes,” Sotu exclaimed, “and now I hear that you attempted to kidnap my old friend’s pregnant omega son!? Have you learned nothing from your banishment?”

  Sotu gestured a signal to the guard, who silently obeyed. He ran off, and returned quickly with more guards.

  “Take these men to the jail,” Sotu ordered, glaring at them both. “Clearly, banishment that let them live freely was a mistake.” Sotu glanced at me with a quiet shame, even though none of this was his fault. “We will take responsibility for our problem now.”

  The Skrofa clan guards took hold of the poachers, who didn’t struggle as they were dragged away. Sotu turned to Raja with sympathetic eyes and put his hands on his shoulders.

  “I am sorry that this happened to you,” Sotu said. “I feel responsible for banishing those men from our clan.”

  “It’s not your fault, it was theirs,” Raja protested.

  Sotu grunted. “Nonetheless, you did not deserve to experience this. Does Chief Eka know?”

  Raja shrugged. “Yes, he knows about the initial attack that happened a while ago, but not this one. And he doesn’t know I’m pregnant yet.”

  Sotu shook his head, sighing with anger directed at himself. “Please, come inside the village.”

  “I really did want to get going,” I said quickly.

  Sotu met my gaze, then pointed up at the pitch-black sky. It was early evening when the poachers attacked, and after the battle and journey here, it was deep into the night now.

  “It is late, and you have both had a difficult night,” Sotu said. “Please, let my clan take care of you. It won’t make up for what you have suffered, but we will try.”

  Raja and I exchanged a brief, awkward glance.

  “Okay. Thank you for your hospitality,” Raja said, bowing his head.

  I shifted back to human form and followed as Sotu lead us into his village. It was similar to Raja’s in many ways, but also wholly different. Everything was built from the ground up using wood, metal and hardened mud, and there were no platforms or homes in the trees. It was clearly built for hefty boars instead of agile leopards.

  We stopped in front of a small but cozy-looking hut, and Sotu said, “This is our guest house. Please use it, and everything else in the village freely. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

  “Thank you, but we should get going in the morning,” I told him.

  Sotu nodded. “I understand. You are a young married couple now and have things to do, I imagine. Goodnight.”

  He ambled off before either of us could say anything. Once he was gone, an uncomfortable silence fell on us like a dust cloud.

  A large bed stood at the far wall of the hut, alongside a small table and lamp. I headed straight to bed and climbed in. Despite my initial hesitation to agree to Sotu’s offer, fatigue hit me like a brick the moment I sat down, and I was grateful to have a place to rest.

  Even though the last thing I wanted right now was to sleep in the same bed as Raja.

  His soft footsteps indicated his proximity to the bed. I stared at the opposite wall and ignored him.

  “So, now what?” he asked quietly.

  “What do you mean?” I muttered.

  He sighed hard. “Are we fighting?”

  I sat up in bed and faced him. “I am rather angry with you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “You’re angry?” Raja spat, his face twisting.

  “Yes, I am. I almost watched you walk right into a sex trafficker’s hands while you’re pregnant with our child. Do you expect me to shrug that off and pretend like it never happened?”

  His jaw dropped. “Lorenzo, they were threatening me and my family!”

  “Only with information. And you didn’t even try to break the recorder,” I growled. “It should have been easy for you with your reflexes. Instead, you just gave up and nearly let them take you away.”

  “You don’t understand!” he protested. “My family would have thought I was better off dead if they found out!”

  Anger surged through me like fire. I bolted up out of bed and glared at him. “Yeah? Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you put up an ad for a fake boyfriend. Because if it was anyone other than me, they could have sold you out instantly. But not me. Why? Because I actually give a shit about you, even though it’s not like you even notice!”

  Raja gasped. “What?”

  “You’ve practically ignored my obvious feelings towards you for weeks now,” I continued, urged on by my own chaotic emotions. “So it’s clear how you really feel.”

  He stepped forward. “What are you even accusing me of?”

  “I’m saying you don’t care about me, or our child.”

  He stopped as if struck. His mouth opened to speak, then closed it slowly. I watched the anger build in his expression until he said in a cold voice, “How dare you?”

  I growled. “How dare I? You’re the one who almost got yourself killed, or worse, without even thinking about our baby.”

  Raja’s jaw tightened.

  I couldn’t stop myself. The words dripped from my mouth like loose venom. “And what for? Just for the warm feeling of knowing that your village didn’t raise someone who runs off and elopes? That you didn’t bear a bastard child?”

  With a choked sob, Raja punched me in the chest, then ran out of the hut.

  I stood there, motionless, as the pain spread. But it wasn’t just the physical pain. I know that I had hurt him deeply, but furious adrenaline made me apathetic to it. Everything I said was the truth. There was no denying the fact that he did put himself and our unborn child in danger.

  I sat in bed and stewed in my own emotions. I didn’t know where Raja had run off to, but I knew he would be safe inside the village - unless he did something stupid again. That was the point I kept coming back to - could I really be with him if he was so immature?

  Maybe this whole experience was a big mistake. This entire time, I could have been at home with my brother and friends, and doing something productive like babysitting my nephew. Instead, I’d flown all the way out here to meet someone I met online on a damned dating site.

  But the stakes were higher now. Raja was pregnant, and I was the baby’s father.

  I let out a deep sigh. It was clear that Raja wasn’t returning to the hut anytime soon.

  Despite the confusion and chaos storming in my mind, I knew deep down that I did care about Raja, and I wanted him and our baby to be safe no matter what. I couldn’t let him run off on his own and get into trouble again.

  I searched for him outside in the village’s main clearing, but he was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, my sense of smell wasn’t sharp enough to track him.

  “Where are you…?” I muttered to myself.

  “Looking for someone?”

  I nearly jumped at the sound of Sotu’s voice. I didn’t even notice him standing behind me.

  “Oh. Yes, I’m looking for Raja,” I said.

  Sotu nodded. “I know. I saw him running around blindly and told him to go wait inside my home. But you know, Silver Beast, he was very upset at the time. Did something happen?”

  I frowned. How could I explain the entire situation to him?

  “Yes,” I admitted. “But it’s a long story.”

  “I have time,” Sotu said.

  He took me to a fallen log in the center of the clearing. He sat slowly, then gestured for me to sit beside him.

  “When I was at the wedding ceremony,” Sotu began, “I got the feeling there was something different about the two of you, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.”

  I shrugged. I didn’t know if it was safe to tell him the whole story, but I was compelled to tell him the majority of t
he truth.

  “Basically, we had an argument over our values,” I explained. “Raja was about to throw his life away - and the life of our child - because he wanted to protect his family and village.”

  Sotu looked surprised. “That is quite serious. Why would he ever do that?”

  “Those men, the poachers from earlier, they had evidence that would, er… discredit his family,” I said. I didn’t want to hide the truth from Sotu, but telling him the entire story would blow our fake marriage’s cover, and I didn’t need Raja to be even more pissed off at me.

  “I see,” Sotu said. “So what happened?”

  “I destroyed the evidence, and saved Raja using my dragon magic. But if I hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened to him?” I sighed in frustration. “He wasn’t thinking about his life, or our child. He was so obsessed with his family’s reputation, of all things.”

  Sotu nodded slowly, taking all of this in. He then asked, “When you say reputation, what exactly are you referring to?”

  I paused. The conversation entered dangerous territory now.

  “I’m afraid I can’t tell you the whole truth,” I admitted. “It would make Raja very upset if I did.”

  The corners of Sotu’s eyes wrinkled as he smiled. “Ah. I see. Do not tell me, then.”

  Relief washed over me when he didn’t push the topic.

  “You know, Silver Beast - and I say this with utmost respect - but you are clearly not one of us,” Sotu said. “You come from a culture deeply different to ours. Wrong and right might be different here than where you are from. What may seem like a small issue to you might be a matter of life or death for Raja.”

  I paused as I took in Sotu’s words. It was true that Pardus clan and Cinderhollow tribe were two very different cultures. Suddenly, I felt ashamed that I hadn’t realized that before. I didn’t even spare a moment to consider Raja’s background when I’d yelled at him.

  “Now, that is not to say Raja is not a bit immature - I knew Chief Eka when we were both young boys, and the similarities between him and his son are astounding - but perhaps you should consider his point of view as well as your own,” Sotu concluded. “Do you understand?”

  I nodded slowly. “Yes. Thank you, Chief Sotu.”

  He touched me affirmingly on the hand, then gestured to his home, where Raja was sequestered away. “Go to him, now.”

  I began the torturous walk towards Sotu’s hut. It pained me knowing Raja was inside, crying and upset because of my words. Now that my adrenaline-fuelled emotions had cooled off, it sunk in just how terribly I yelled at him earlier.

  “Raja?” I called as I entered the home. From the back corner, hiding behind a wall of mud and steel, someone flinched. Raja huddled deeper into his blanket while curled up on the floor with tear-stained eyes. Guilt cut me. This was all my fault.

  “Raja, please listen,” I said.

  “Go away,” he muttered. “I don’t want to see you right now. All you do is scream at me.”

  “I promise I won’t raise my voice this time. And I’m sorry for doing it earlier,” I said quietly.

  He cast a suspicious glance over his shoulder before muttering, “Fine.”

  I sat across from him. With his wet eyes and tear-streaked cheeks, he looked like an emotional mess - which he had every right to be.

  “How do you feel?” I asked.

  “Like shit. How else do you feel when your fake boyfriend yells at you?”

  I winced but I couldn’t argue with that. “I’m sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me.”

  Raja glanced at me warily, but he let me talk, which was a good sign.

  I continued. “To tell you the truth, I was scared out of my mind. I’ve never felt fear like that before, in my entire life. So when the danger passed, I took it out on you, and I shouldn’t have.”

  The wariness in his gaze waned a bit. “You said a lot of hurtful things to me, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “I heard you talking to Sotu outside,” he mumbled. “What did he say to you?”

  “He explained something to me that I hadn’t thought about until I heard it from someone else,” I admitted. “About culture, about right and wrong…”

  Raja’s eyes flashed with fear. “Did you tell him about - ?”

  “No, I didn’t, don’t worry,” I said quickly.

  He calmed down a little. “Okay, good.” After a moment, he asked, “What did you mean about all that? About how it’s clear how I feel?”

  Guilt stun me as I remembered the cold things I’d said to him in the heat of the moment. “I was frustrated because I couldn’t get a clear answer out of you.”

  “An answer to what question?” he asked firmly.

  It was a simple statement but it stunned me. Raja was right - I didn’t even ask him the question that burned on my tongue for so long. It was right on the verge of coming out out before the poachers attacked us.

  Now, the whole truth had to be revealed.

  “Earlier this evening, before the poachers came, and I showed you the whole magic display, I was going to ask you something,” I said softly. “But then obviously, all that happened and… it never managed to come out.”

  His eyes flashed. “Then ask me now.”

  This was it. Now or never. I couldn’t be a coward any longer. For this to work out between us, there had to be no more secrets. And I was sick of running away from the truth.

  I held my breath and took the dive.

  Meeting his gaze, I said, “I… I love you, Raja. I’m tired of us being in a fake relationship. I want this to be real. The marriage, the relationship, everything.”

  For what felt like an eternity, Raja didn’t speak. He stared at me with those intense golden eyes. Finally, in a raspy voice, he asked, “Really?”

  “Yes,” I said without hesitation.

  My fingers twitched, electric with anticipation. Then Raja reached out and wrapped his arms around my neck, then pressed our foreheads together. With a sigh, he said, “Thanks for finally being honest with me. It’s about fucking time.”

  “You’re right. I probably should’ve mentioned it sooner, huh?”

  “Damn straight.” He sighed. “I love you, too. You know that, right?”

  My heart jumped with joy. “It’s good to hear it.”

  “But all this mushy romantic stuff is new to me,” Raja admitted. “It’s a bit scary, to be honest. Who would have thought being in love is scary? On top of the baby, too…”

  I found Raja’s hand and held it. “Everything that happens, we’ll face together. We’re not alone, Raja. We have each other.”

  His eyes shone wet with tears. “I know you’re right. But I’m still nervous… And my parents still don’t know about the baby.”

  I smiled reassuringly at him. “We’ll tell them about that as soon as we return, if that’s what you want.”

  Raja rubbed his arm. “Yeah. I don’t want to keep any more secrets. It turns out it’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

  “No more secrets?” I raised my brows. “So, the whole fake marriage…?”

  Raja’s expression hardened with determination. “I want to tell my parents it wasn’t real.”

  Shock ran through me. I grasped his hands harder. “Raja, are you sure? Wasn’t that the whole point of this?”

  “I know,” he said quietly. “But I’m tired of hiding behind lies. I was scared before. Really scared. I didn’t know what would happen to me.” His eyes flashed as he met my gaze. “But I know that you’re here, and that you love me.” A trembling breath left his lips. “You’re serious about this… Right?”

  “Absolutely,” I confirmed.

  He nodded. “Then I have the strength I need to deal with this.”

  “Only if you’re one-hundred percent sure,” I said. “If you have any doubts at all, you don’t have to go through with it.”

  “I know, I know,” he muttered. “Geez, you’re always so serious abo
ut everything…”

  A rustle by the doorway made us look up. Sotu stood there with a gentle expression and asked, “I sense a calm energy coming from the two of you. Has everything been settled?”

  “Yes,” Raja said, bowing his head respectfully. “Thank you for giving us space. We’ll get back to the guest house now.”

  “Thank you again for your hospitality,” I said to Sotu.

  Sotu hummed in acknowledgment. “No, thank you. You caught those poachers and returned them to us. Without your help, we would not have known of the crimes they were attempting to commit. You are always welcome here in Skrofa clan, Raja and the Silver Beast.”

  Raja and I returned to the guest house, which seemed warmer now that the haze of tension between us had lifted. But despite that, the anxiety of what would happen when we returned to the Pardus clan weighed heavily on my mind.

  “Raja,” I began, “if you’re serious about this, I think we should share a claiming bite before we go back.”

  Raja tilted his head. “Oh, I’ve heard of that. It’s when the alpha bites the omega, right? And they’re bonded together for all eternity or something?”

  “Sort of, but not quite. In dragon culture, we do something different. It’s not just the alpha biting the omega - it’s a mutual claim. We bite each other simultaneously.”

  His brows raised. “Huh. Never heard of that before, but I like that a lot more than the usual one.”

  “I think it would help to prove to your family that we’re serious about this,” I said.

  “Yeah, I think so too.”

  “There’s something you should know about the dragon’s claiming bite first,” I said seriously. “It will lengthen your lifespan at the cost of my own, so that I don’t outlive you, since dragons have a naturally long lifespan compared to other shifters.”

  Raja absorbed this information with a slight frown. Quietly, he asked, “Are you okay with that?”

  “Yes,” I said firmly. “I love you, Raja. I want to be there for you and our child. I won’t hesitate even for a moment to shorten my life to extend yours - “