16 Chapter 16

Robbin's POV

I can still feel him. His skin on mine. The beads of sweat that dripped onto my body. The length of his cock sliding in and out of me. That feeling. The thought of it alone made me crave it once more. His body was a mixture of pain and pleasure.

I never thought my body was capable of feeling something so...good. It was indescribable, the two of us, the way we moved. Everything about it just felt so right, so natural.

And then it was over, neither of us saying a word as we laid on the bed, not wanting to disturb the last wave of contentment that filled the air. But even in all of that pleasure, the feeling of being whole never took place.

I knew enough about the werewolves' mating process to know what happens after it's completed. Our bond should be stronger, it should-not that that's what I want. I assume it's only natural to feel this way, with my mark affecting my thoughts and all.

I lift my hand to my face, placing a forkful of food into my mouth. Today's events still coursed through my mind as Xander and I sat in the dining hall, never once breaking the silence that was tied between us since our mating.

"Robbin!" I'm snapped out of my lustful thoughts as Lilliana approaches us with a sunny smile,. As she grew closer, I noticed the filth that coated her body.

"Training?" I ask, returning my gaze to my plate.

"Not for me. The pack trainees on the other hand were pretty wild if you know what I mean."

"I'd like to think it's because they're unorderly."

"Well don't you have a dirty mind." I spare her a glance and watched her cunning smile unfold. I guess it's no surprise that I'm feeling better, and she knows the reason why.

"Hello, Alpha." She greets Xander as well. "How are you feeling?"

I ignore Lilliana's inane comment as if it were directed towards me, and continued eating. It seems Xander did the same as he diverted the conversation, "How are the new trainees doing?"

Lilliana takes a seat on the other side of me, instantly being served her dinner. "They're fine. We sure breed strong fighters."

"That's good. With the rogues attacking constantly, we'll need all the men we can get."

"Don't tell me you're scared, Xander." Lilliana lets out a small laugh, and I'm suddenly uncomfortable being in the middle of their exchange. Literally.

"They don't scare me, Lily. I just have to protect what's mine." Xander spoke dominantly.

I can feel the direction of the conversation being pointed at me, knowing what he meant by that. I almost opened my mouth to question his blunt speaking, but a certain stench filled my lungs. I snapped my eyes up to see Sage walking over to us, or more specifically, Xander as her gaze rested solely on him.

She stepped onto the platform unbothered and stops in front of us. "I'm sorry for being late to dinner, Xander." was all she had to say. Here we go again. A sudden urge to gauge her eyes out with my fork ran through my mind, but I didn't stop it. I'll deal with her my way.

Xander doesn't respond immediately but does place his fork down. "You will greet your queen, or you can find a new king to serve under." Chills ran through my body as Xander spoke in his alpha tone. I almost looked at him; my head turning quickly in his direction but stopped myself before I could catch whatever look he had in his eyes.

I look up at Sage instead; the same look of shock that was plastered of my face was on hers as well. I can feel the energy of an alpha blazing off of Xander's body, almost filling me with the same power. Almost. The feeling was fleeting, but enough to hype my senses momentarily.

It seems their confrontation has caught the attention of the other pack members, who have now stopped eating to witness their king keep one of his pawns in place.

My study falls back on Sage, who now moved backward at the sight of her ruling alpha. Even though she looks taken aback from Xander's attitude, her eyes held a look of...challenge? Was she so dull-witted that she thought this was appropriate?

After a few still moments, Sage finally gave in to her alpha's command and turns to me, bowing. "My apologies, luna." Although it didn't feel genuine, I was glad she finally listened to someone regarding my rank. But this doesn't mean she won't get off easily with me when I'm the queen.

Sage doesn't say anything else and retreats away from us. I get the feeling that her half-assed apology won't bring us any closure or sprout a new friendship, and I'm completely okay with that. I take a sip of my water, trying to look unphased with the theatrical performance I had just witnessed.

"Well look who finally grew some balls," Lilliana said in a taunting manner.

Xander doesn't retaliate this time. He stands up abruptly, skidding his chair back loudly, and walks away. His direction was toward the exit, and once he was out of earshot, Lilliana spoke again. "Alright, spill it! How was the sex?"

I nearly choked on my drink, coughing slightly at Lilliana's candid words. "Excuse me? What makes you think that's any of your concern?"

"Well, I kind of encouraged you to go to him, so.."

Are you kidding me? I roll my eyes at her eagerness but decide to give her what she wants. "It was fine. At first, we argued, then we had sex, and went to dinner." I doubt my level of vague will send her away, but that was the most I could say without actually thinking about it because if I began it reminisce, the feeling would come back and I don't know if I want it to.

"That's it? Come on, Robbin! I never talk about sex with girls. They think I overstep."

"That's weird."

"Thank you."

"It's more like boundary-crossing."

Lilliana chuckles but doesn't give up. "Okay fine. But do you feel anything different for Xander?"

"Sex doesn't change anything," I say plainly.

"But a mate bond does! Robbin if you ju-"

"Enough Lilliana." I stand up promptly. "That's enough. Whatever feeling you might think I have for Xander are nonexistent. I won't hear any of this nonsense again." I push my chair in and leave the table, heading for the exit.

I don't want to think about this. About him. Nothing he does is trustworthy, and having sex with him once doesn't make him the center of my universe, especially after everything he's done. Lilliana must've forgotten all of the wrongdoings he's done to me and my family.

I push the doors open and look around. The hallway was empty. Everyone is either eating or off duty. I look out the large floor-length windows, up to the sky. It's darkened reasonably with only streams of light tearing through the clouds. I need to fly.

I walk down the hall and exit through a door that allows me to go outside and head down the path that brings me to Phoebion. Hopefully Grey isn't with her. I want to be alone when I fly; except for a dragon.

My direction leads me through the courtyard, and I almost make it through, but my thoughts aren't leaving me be. I glance up at the sky, watching the sun taking its final moments before setting over the forest of trees that blanketed most of the palace grounds.

Thoughts of my family now flooded through my mind. I miss them. I miss my home. My actions were for the greater good, but they were the only risk. Giving up everything I wanted for the last hundred years, just to leave it all behind for a foreign country, and a spiteful man.

I close my eyes at my useless thoughts. If I've learned one thing during my imprisonment, it's that there's no point in wanting to change the past. I couldn't stop the grand council from sentencing Vision and me to exile, and I couldn't stop this. Over the years, I learned to deal with the situation, but never accepted my fate. I guess that's what I'll have to do.

My thoughts transfer over to the loud growling coming from the eastern training center. I walk over to the entrance and the sight surprised me. A crowd was loosely circled in the middle and my curiosity got the better of me. I approached them and saw Xander fighting another wolf.

Did he leave early to spar? His back was facing me as he focused on his opponent. My eyes involuntarily scaled his back that was now shirtless. Thought of adding a few more scratch marks invaded my mind, but I quickly threw them out.

The duo in front of me began to circle each other, Xander's sparring partner lunged at him, but he quickly evaded the hit, swinging his hand to his neck, cutting off his air supply immediately. The poor wolf laid on the ground, struggling to catch his breath, other wolves moving to his aid.

Xander must've noticed my presence; his head turning in my direction, bringing my eyes up instantly. He walks over to me, unbothered by the wolf he almost killed. "Enjoyed the show?"

"There wasn't much of one," I said nonchalantly.

I look away from him to avoid ravaging his body with my eyes. Instead, I survey the arena, and more injured men appear in my vision, laying against the walls. "Ever think about going easy on them?"

"Enemies on the field wouldn't, so why should I?"

"Duly noted."

I continue to examine the training center. Small groups were formed everywhere, some sparring, others learning. I didn't know it was possible to feel so out of place when I've always fit in.

"Wanna give it a go?" Asked Xander, now holding a bottle of water and a small towel cloth.

His words left me dumbfounded as I turned back to him. He was talking to me? "Aren't you afraid?" I asked curiously.

"Don't worry little dragon, I'll go easy on you. Besides, not letting you train will affect any chance of actually fighting in a battle."

I give Xander a sly grin at his response. "Okay, I'll spar with you, but for the record, I wasn't talking about me."

I walk past him and onto the large square mat he had just been on. I need this. I need to do something physical. I turn back to face Xander, and more activities start to pop in my head. "You sure you want to do this?" I give him a taunting smile.

"Stop worrying about me. But we will stop when I say so, so don't overdo yourself." I nod my head, and we just stand there in defensive positions. I've been waiting for this. This might be the only way Xander and I can hash out our problems. Then again, maybe not. I lost my family because of him.

I can feel my eyes narrowing at him, all the while he stands ready for me with a smug smile. Waiting for an opponent to strike first is always a smart move, but I can't help my feet from moving first. First, it was a step then a full lunge for him. I raised my arm to punch him, knowing he'd block the move, maybe by grabbing my arm.

As we were a few inches apart, he did exactly what I predicted, and I continued with my plan. My speed never faltered as I dropped to my knees, leaning back and pulled him down with me. I turned the body, still kneeling, and getting a view of what he was doing.

Xander tumbled on the ground, completely blocking the fall as he rolled and rose. "That's all you got dragon?"

A smile formed on my face as I got up and went for him again, simply aiming for hits, but every move was blocked. I swung my arms, keeping them in L shape, but none were successful. Xander kept pushing my arms away from him, so I used it to my advantage. I swung both arms toward his face, and he used both of his to separating them, creating an opening or me. Instantaneously, I jumped and kicked my legs forward with force, causing him to stumble back and fall, but quickly rolled backward and got up again.

"That's all you got mutt"? I mocked.

Xander gave me a look that almost made me regret asking. He stalked toward me and swung fast. I barely dodge it in time, but it was no use. The swings kept coming, and they were too hard to block. I moved back from him and swung my leg into a backward round kick, but he grabbed it and tossed it, along with my body to the side. I practically flew across the mat.

Before he could get to me, I placed both hands at either side of my head, bent my knees, and rolled the up to my chest before kicking my legs up and bouncing onto my feet. I met Xander halfway. No way am I letting him win.

Xander's POV

It's kind of cute how she thinks she's going to win. Robbin swings her arms at me, but her efforts are leading her nowhere. I grab one of her arms and swing her body around, pressing herself against my front. "Had enough yet? Or would you prefer another kind of exercise?"

She fought out of my grip and pushed herself away from me, but came back with a dropkick, knocking me off balance. We both fell and looked at each other. She looks tired. The lack of exercise mixed with the poison must be getting to her.

"That's enough for today." I didn't want to give her a chance to respond, so I walked away. I heard accelerating footsteps approach from behind and waited until they were a hair's width away before turning and grabbing Robbin's arms.

"Don't quit now, I'm about to win."

"No, you weren't." I snapped back. She pulled herself from my grip and took a wary step back.

"That's not fair."

"I don't care. I said we'd stop when I wanted to." I turned to walk away again, but her demanding tone made me stop.

"I'm not weak. Stop treating me so. If I can't get stronger, how am I supposed to protect myself?"

"This kingdom will protect you, and so will I."

"I don't need them to. I'm a dragon, remember? I don't need you or anyone else laying your life for me." Robbin walked past me, leaving the training center altogether. Part of me wanted to scowl her for raising her voice at me in front of other pack members, but that only causes more problems instead of solving them.

I waited until she left completely before following in suit, but not after her. Not yet. I need to speak with someone first. I leave the training center and head for the palace's communication center. It's where we connect to other members of the pack on Northerner kingdom territory east of the kingdom.

Once I arrive, I type in the passcode and search for Alec. Everyone rises and bows at my entrance, and I command them to resume their work. Alec and I spot each other across the room and we make our way to each other.

"Is something wrong Xander?" he asks me.

"I don't know. Come with me." I turn and head for the door, Alec following after me. I bring us to an empty meeting room and face him.

"Are we under attack? Do you want me to scramble the fleet?"

I let out a small chuckle. "I thought Gus liked to scramble the fleet. He said it gives him power."

"I kind of like it too." Alec laughs with me before become more solemn. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"I know you managed to calm Robbin's heat today. How did you do it?"

"Then how doesn't matter. Maybe it's nonexistent. She needed to relax so I helped her."

His words rang through me. I know he didn't touch her. I just need him to finish something for me. "It's rare for a dragon and werewolf to mate. Only a handful of cases were discovered in the last Millenium, so there isn't much we can prepare to expect."

Alec doesn't say anything. Even his face is still. "You know, now that I think about it, there was this one case where a female dragon mated with a female wolf, but never completed the mating process. Another wolf came into the picture and mated with the dragon, suppressing her urge for her mate."

"Xander, that's enough," Alec spoke with slight anger and shock. Good.

"I'm not finished," I said hastily. "It turned out that the wolf who mated with the dragon was a hybrid. Born both dragon and wolf. He lived in the Westerlie kingdom with his mother, until one day, he wanted to find his father. He set off a trip to the Northerner kingdom, but never made it home."

I didn't finish making my point. There was nothing more to say. Alec knew what story I was telling.

"Does Robbin know?" He finally spoke up, his head looking out the windows up at the sky.

"No, and you're not going to tell her. Not until you tell me everything."

"No. Robbin isn't going to know. And what I tell you, Xander, can never leave this room."

I give him a small nod, the seriousness never falling from my face. "I swear on the Northerner throne that whatever you tell me will never leave this room. Now start talking."