The Warrior’s Broken Mate novel Chapter 22

“Do you still think that Alpha Thorne isn’t a bad guy?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly with disbelief.

“There’s no way he could have done this,” Cassian yelled back fiercely, his eyes flashing with. anger and conviction.

“Then who the hell did?” I shouted, my voice rising sharply in frustration. Just then, the dragon opened its massive jaws, and before we could react further, Elias grabbed me firmly. Without hesitation, we started running as torrents of blazing fire shot out from the dragon’s mouth, scorching the air behind us.

Our warriors received the order to retreat immediately. We needed to find a place where the dragon couldn’t find us, somewhere hidden and safe from its fiery breath. Without hesitation, everyone split up, each told to regroup back at the pack only when they were absolutely certain the danger had passed.

Elias and I ran in a different direction from the others. His hand tightly clasped mine as we darted through the dense forest, narrowly avoiding the dragon’s fire that seemed aimed directly at us. Glancing back, I realized the beast wasn’t actually focused on me–it was fixated on Elias. It was clear the creature intended to kill him first, then come after me.

Still holding my hand, Elias leapt over a fallen tree trunk lying across the forest floor. But neither of us noticed the sudden, steep drop on the other side. Without warning, we tumbled down the rocky mountainside, crashing into rocks and trees as we fell uncontrollably.

When we finally came to a stop, I lay just a few feet away from Elias. I lifted my head slowly and heard the unmistakable sound of wings flapping above. Looking up, I saw the dragon gliding down the mountain slope, still in relentless pursuit.

Elias was the first to rise to his feet. He grabbed my arms and helped me up quickly, and together we pushed forward into the thick forest ahead. The trees grew dense, making it much harder for the dragon to track us. After what felt like an eternity, we finally spotted a formation of large rocks that created an opening–a cave.

Elias pulled me inside, and we moved cautiously all the way to the back of the cave. He flicked a lighter to illuminate the space, checking if anyone–or anything–was lurking inside. Thankfully, we were alone.

“What about the warriors?” I asked, my breath still heavy from the fall and the chase. “They’re alright for now,” Elias reassured me. “I would be able to sense if any of them were hurt or worse. And they’re not.”

I let out a long, relieved breath. The thought of us splitting up terrified me, but we all knew it. was the best chance we had to survive.

Because we’d scattered in different directions, Elias couldn’t connect mind–links with any of the warriors. We had obviously run much farther apart than expected, putting us all out of range. Communication was impossible for now. But Elias would sense if any of them died, and so would they if anything happened to him. And I could see how deeply loyal they all were to Elias; they’d protect the pack fiercely until he returned. I trusted that completely.

I slid down the cave wall, my back resting against the cold stone, still breathing hard. Elias sat down beside me. I could see the weight of everything on his shoulders–he was deeply worried about his pack, hating the feeling of being separated from them. But I knew he believed they would be okay.

I reached over and entwined my fingers with his. He looked at me, surprised. Before today, I had never been this openly affectionate. I had been too scared, too guarded. But so much had changed today. I wasn’t afraid anymore to hold his hand–especially knowing it helped calm him. I wanted him to know he had me. I was here for him. I wasn’t going anywhere.

He smiled softly, squeezing my hand tighter in return. I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling the steady beat of his heart. We were trapped in a cave, with danger all around- maybe even death by dragon fire. But in that moment, I was just grateful that we were together. And somehow, I knew he felt the same.

I began to think deeply about everything that had happened, and I wondered how on earth my father could have found a dragon to send after us. Where in the world would he even know to look for such a creature? There was so much about this world I didn’t understand yet, and even more about my father. But this summoning a dragon – felt beyond anything I could have imagined, even coming from him. It was overwhelming just how little I knew. How isolated I had been all these years. I realized I really didn’t know anything at all. And that realization didn’t make me sad or depressed – it made me furious. It ignited a fire inside me. I needed answers. I needed to learn everything I could. I needed to break free from the protective shell I’d been trapped in for sixteen years and finally explore the world around me, no matter how dangerous or complicated it was.

“Where would my father even get a dragon from?” I blurted out suddenly, almost to myself.

Elias answered thoughtfully, “There are a few places, but they’re all tied to underworld dealings. Things humans aren’t supposed to know about. For that dragon to be loose and hunting us, someone has to be controlling it.”

–

And I knew exactly who that someone was. My father. He truly wanted me dead. He was determined to make sure my powers my abilities among the werewolves were never used for good. Instead, he wanted them twisted for evil purposes. The thought made my blood boil. Why would I ever use my gifts for anything bad? I was not, and never would be, an evil person.

I would rather die than let him control me like that. Even when I lived with him, conditioned to obey his every command, I always had my own mind. I still knew right from wrong.

After spending a few hours in the cave without hearing a sound from outside, Elias decided it was time to investigate. I could feel my heart pounding loudly in my chest, but he insisted I stay behind. “I’ll be fine,” he said firmly.

We walked together a short way to the cave’s entrance, then I stayed inside while he stepped outside. Elias moved about twenty feet beyond the cave’s mouth but couldn’t hear or see anything unusual. Then I remembered – when we first saw the creature, it was invisible.

Suddenly, Elias froze in place, his eyes locked onto thin air. Then, a column of fire shot up from the ground, towering all the way to the dragon’s head as it revealed itself in all its terrifying, magnificent glory. The beast stood right over Elias, its blood–red eyes blazing and the fire within it growing brighter by the second.

My heart pounded uncontrollably, and panic surged through me. I was scared – no, I was absolutely terrified. The dragon was about to kill Elias. He looked back at me with fear in his eyes, trapped with no clear path to escape without being stopped by the beast.

The dragon roared triumphantly right in Elias’s face. Elias was helpless against it – all of us were. I had just found Elias, and now I was about to lose him. But I told myself I couldn’t give in. I couldn’t lose him. Not after everything he had done to save me from my father. I had to do something, but I had no idea how to fight a dragon. I didn’t know how to stop it.

Suddenly, I felt like I was ten years old again locked in an attic, walls closing in around me, suffocating. But this time, I swore to myself I would never feel trapped like that again.

I looked back toward Elias. He was preparing to face the dragon alone. But I refused to let him fight by himself. I ran out of the cave, ignoring his screams to come back.

I reached Elias just in time and dropped to my knees beside him as the dragon unleashed a torrent of blazing fire.