Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder

Chapter 1425 - 24 : The Past

*Saoirse*

"Did you have to abduct me to introduce yourself?" I asked, looking at him skeptically. "Last I checked, most people just say hello."

He had the audacity to smile at me.

"I didn’t want any interruptions," the dragon man said, as if drugging people was a normal occurrence in his life. "And be honest. Would you have chosen to follow me?"

I stared hard at the bald man, taking in his bright silver eyes and shimmering appearance. He was attractive for sure, but like Keelana, he had an aura about him that was just off.

"Yeah, probably not," I admitted with a shrug.

I was playing it cool, but my nerves were still on edge. Being drugged didn’t make the best first impression. My eyes moved from the man in front of me to glance around the cave.

The cave seemed to be set up as a small home. There weren’t many belongings, but it could have been called comfortable by some. The air held a chill as well. We had to be very high in the mountains.

I wondered if he had flown me up there.

"You are here now, so will you sit and listen to what I have to say?"

My eyes shot back to him. I crossed my unbound arms over my chest. "Do I have a choice?"

Another small smile appeared on his face. "I suppose not. However, you just have to listen to me. You will have the choice of what to do after."

The two sides of me were at war. On the one hand, this guy had just drugged me and taken me who knows where. I didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say.

But on the other hand, he was offering answers. I had no idea if they were the ones I was looking for, but at least I was getting answers in some form. The neverending questions were exhausting, and I wanted to know something...

Especially something nobody else did. Maybe whatever I learned would help me find a way to stay in my pack and convince my father to get rid of Conall. It was a long shot but a risk I was willing to take.

"Fine," I said. "Talk."

"As you are aware, I am a dragon," Axureon began. "Am I right to assume that Keelana has not awakened and that you know nothing of my kind and how we joined your world?"

I hesitated but then nodded slowly.

"Well, centuries ago, I crossed into this realm through an interdimensional portal." He held up a hand to stop the influx of questions that were already bubbling up inside of me. "I promise I will answer anything you ask, but please let me tell the story first."

I wondered how he could expect me to be quiet when he just admitted that he had been around for centuries, but maybe he was from a completely different realm than ours. I bit my tongue. When he was sure I wouldn’t interrupt, he continued.

"Myself and a few of my faithful followers were exiled from our world because we tried to put a stop to the tyranny in our lands. A war ensued, and, sadly, we weren’t on the winning side." Axureon began to look off in the distance as if he was seeing it all.

"We chose to flee and make a better life for ourselves. A life of exile was a death sentence in our world. We found a portal, and it led us here. Once we crossed over, we destroyed the portal to make sure that the tyrant Dragon Lord Pyroth would not be able to find us."

I bit my tongue harder as he paused. Questions burned again, making me want to cough. There was a giant “but” hanging at the end of his sentence, and I was just waiting for the shoe to fall.

"The land I come from is all but destroyed now. From the information we’ve gained since Keelana came over, it appears that Pyroth is conspiring to seize human territory, this territory." Axureon looked at me. "I believe you play a pivotal role in the coming confrontation."

His last sentence was like a splash of cold water, making me lose my thoughts.

"Me?" I muttered, not meaning to ask it aloud.

"Yes, you, Saoirse Strider." Axureon’s voice held no doubt. "That is why I came to find you.

My thoughts started to tumble back now.

"Why show yourself now after centuries of silence?" I asked, my voice demanding. "I know you once protected Hunter’s Glen, but then the dragons abandoned the pack."

"I just told you why. I came for you." There was no trace of humor in his voice. He was serious. "As for the matter with the pack, we tried to aid the Hunter’s Glen pack as gratitude for allowing us to live peacefully in the mountains.

“However, after some time passed, the wolves got greedy. My people were being used and exploited by those who knew of their secret. The relationship was turning dangerous for both of our kind, so we went into hiding."

"That still doesn’t answer why you came out now," I said. "I’m eighteen. You could have grabbed me at any time, not that I am convinced I am so crucial in your plight. Are you telling me that nobody else in the centuries you have been here could have helped you?"

Axureon nodded. "It is possible someone else may have helped in the past, but it wasn’t until Keelana crossed the realms, fleeing from Pyroth, that she brought the focus of his wrath with her. Until that moment, we believed the portal to be destroyed. No one will be safe if he is allowed to cross with the army he is preparing to find her and his baby eggs."

His eggs...

"So far, Pyroth’s threats had only been a possibility because we had been monitoring and controlling the portal energy," Axureon continued as I tried to process everything he was telling me. "However, I revealed myself to plead for help from your prince when I found them disturbing the portal and the interdimensional energies."

Was that what had been happening over the past day? That explained the excitement around all of the scientists.

"Your prince did not heed my warning," Axureon stated. His face remained calm, but his silver eyes sparked ever so slightly. "Pyroth will soon find the way to cross over, and he will unleash unstoppable devastation if he harnesses the volatile power of the portal shards."

My stomach twisted, and I tightened my arms across my chest. Axureon was a lot, but he didn’t seem like a liar. The way he spoke of this Pyroth had me afraid. If he showed up, that would mean the destruction of my village to start, and then probably the entire country.

Axureon’s land must have been massive to house dragons, and I was sure our land was comparable.

My chest ached as I fought over what I should do. It still burned from my own father’s betrayal, and how he would use me for his profit. I was just a tool to him. And here I was again, being manipulated by another man, a dragon who had abducted me and wanted to use me for his purpose.

If I said no, the men wouldn’t suffer. My village would.

Noticing my wariness, Axureon sighed across from me. My eyes darted to him as he moved to stand up. I still didn’t trust him to not drug me again or whatever other torture he knew.

Instead of walking toward me, he walked to one of the large chests tucked against one side of the cave. He grabbed an item on top and turned to walk back to me.

As he got closer, I could see the detail on an intricately carved dragon-headed staff. The top of the staff only reached his chest, but I was sure the long wood would easily be as tall as me. It was beautiful. For some reason, I found myself not wanting to look away from it.

"This relic has gathered dust waiting for one worthy to unlock its power," Axureon said in a low, slow voice. "And I believe that is you. I believe you, Saoirse Strider, embody the fierce heart and selfless spirit of my ancient Dragon Guild."

He held the staff out reverently, parallel to the ground. His words sounded as if they were under water as I continued to focus on the staff. My body seemed to move on its own as I stood up and took a couple of steps closer.

There was something about the staff. It was as if I was drawn to it... as if it was calling out to me.

My hand reached out to grasp it. As soon as my hand touched the smooth wood, the crystal orb atop the staff flared wildly. My back arched unnaturally as I felt energy surge down my spine like lightning.

My head snapped back down, and my breathing was ragged as the two of us continued to hold the staff.

"What... was... that?" I managed to ask through gasps of breath.

Axureon had a smug but joyous look on his face.

"That is ancient dragon magic," Axureon explained. "It’s tied you to your fate."

I swayed slightly. The dragon magic, as Axureon named it, coursing through my blood was overwhelming. Flashes of strange visions appeared in my mind. A raging battle between fire and gold dragons... Rhys’ anguished face contorted in flames... A wall made of crystals glowing as a dark, winged shape passes through its surface...

My body was shaking as I looked up to meet Axureon’s luminous gaze. "What have you done to me?"

"It was not me. The staff merely awakened your innate power," he said gently.

"What do you mean by innate power?" I yelled. "I’m not a dragon!"

He shook his head. "Not only dragons crossed over from my realm. Some of those faithful to me were also fire mages and dragon slayers."

"And what does that have to do with me?" I asked, trying to keep the shaking from my body out of my voice.

"It has everything to do with you, seeing as your mother’s bloodline is descended from both."

I stared at him in shock. What had he just said?

My mother, Nora Strider, the dutiful Luna, was a descendant of fire mages and dragon slayers.

"No, this can’t be," I said, to myself more than anything.

"Don’t you see, Saoirse? This means that I was right," Axureon said. “Now that you have listened to me, you have your choice in front of you. You can either help in the coming conflict or witness humanity’s destruction."

My eyes snapped up to meet his gaze. If I thought he had looked arrogant before, it was nothing to how he looked now. He knew what he was doing when he worded that question in that way.

Axureon never had any intention of actually giving me a choice.