The Arena novel Chapter 21

“So, you’re one of the Elemental Dragons,” I make the statement rather than ask the question. My voice is rough and deep because I haven’t shifted back yet. I’ve never come into contact with a dragon before today, and I’m not exactly sure what to expect. I’m not thrilled that Ishir left without telling me where Tana is. And now I have a dragon to contend with.

“I am the Earth dragon,” Avani says. “So, what do you want with Tana?” he asks, making my head snap to him.

“You know Tana?”

“Of course.” He’s looking at his nails as if he’s bored with our discussion.

“How do you know her?” That gets his attention. He looks at me, his eyes narrowing.

“You don’t know what she is, do you?”

I clench my teeth. I don’t, but this arrogant asshole seems to.

His eyebrow raises, and a smirk crosses his face. “Well, know this. If Tana doesn’t want to talk to you, she won’t. She has a very strong personality. I’m guessing you did something to piss her off?”

“That’s none of your business.”

He shrugs as if he doesn’t care. “Very well then.” He looks like he’s about to leap and shift.

“Wait!” Dammit, I need information from him if he knows where to find Tana.

He turns, looking at me smugly. He knows he has the information that I want.

“I may have upset Tana accidentally. I need to talk to her and set things right. Do you know where I can find her?”

“I don’t, and even if I did, I would never betray her trust by giving her whereabouts to someone she doesn’t want to see.”

“You’re so helpful.”

“Any time,” he says and jumps into the air, shifting. The wind from his downward wing stroke makes the dirt around us slap against our skin like we’re in a sandstorm.

When he leaves, I turn back to my warriors. Thankfully, none of them died, but many were injured severely due to the silver bullets. When, not if, because they will do it again, when there is another arena, we’ll have to make sure we’re prepared for the silver bullets.

We dig the bullets out of our pack mates, myself included, and set up camp away from the stench of burning flesh in the arena.

It takes us another four days to get back to our pack lands. When we arrive, I fill Bastian in on what happened during our visit to the arena and how we were helped by two dragons.

“Two? I’ve never seen a dragon, and you got to see two?”

“Yes, one was green. I met him. His name is Avani, and he’s the Earth dragon. He’s the one that Ishir, the tiger I told you about, knows. But there was also a red one, the fire dragon.”

“Whoa!”

“Yeah, it was impressive.”

I take a sip of my drink. “I mated her in the cave where she had taken care of me, nursing me back to health. Then, I marked her. The moment my teeth sank into her neck, I realized she wasn’t an Alpha werewolf as I had thought. I freaked out and took off. When I calmed down, I went back to her, but she was gone. I’ve been looking for her ever since. But between fighting Troy, rebuilding the pack, and now taking down the new arena, I haven’t been able to go after her.”

I put down the rest of my drink, turning to look out the window of my office. “When we were attacking the spectators at the arena, I smelled her. She was there, and so was Ishir. I tried to find her, but everything was chaotic. When I saw Ishir, he was leaving on the back of a dragon. I didn’t see her again, and I didn’t smell her. She left, not wanting to see me.”

Bastian looks thoughtful for a moment, sipping his drink. “What?”

He shakes his head, not wanting to say what he’s thinking. “Just say it.”

“You said this Ishir is strong, powerful?”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible, maybe, that she ran to him? Could it be possible that they are together?”

The thought makes me see red, and a possessive snarl leaves my mouth. “She is mine!”

Bastian’s hands go up in front of him. “I’m not saying that’s what happened. I’m just … if she’s as powerful as you say, she’d need a strong mate. If she felt rejected by you, which I’m guessing she did, she might have turned to another.”

It makes sense. Everything that he is saying makes sense. But he can’t have her. I would fight him to the death, no matter how much I like him. Tana is mine. As soon as I find her again, I will make sure she knows that. And then, I will spend as much time as it takes for her to believe me.

I leave the next morning to go back to the mountain where I mated with Tana. I find the cave where I made her mine, but there is no lingering scent. She has not returned. I went to the top of the mountain, looking as far as I could see in all directions. With my Lycan’s eyesight, I can see another mountain range in the far distance. I make note of the direction of the mountain range before heading back to the pack. After I settle things with the other packs and our pack’s financials, I’ll go back out to see if I can find her in the next mountain range.