The sounds of battle faded slightly with each roll, replaced by the rapid beating of her own heart.

As she reached the bottom of the hill, she scrambled to her feet, casting a glance back up the slope to gauge the progress of the battle.

Emory shifted into her wolf and took off like the wind. She kept moving, driven by the primal need to survive and the knowledge that Rodyn would come. They couldn’t keep up, she knew that. Chav’re speed was impossible to match.

As she ran, her feet barely touched the ground. The forest was a blur of greens and browns, the sounds of nature momentarily drowned out by the thunder of her own heartbeat in her ears. She moved instinctively, weaving through the dense trees with a grace that spoke of years of training and her inherent Chav’re capabilities.

She kept going, even as she thought about Rodyn and the others she’d left behind. There was no doubt in her mind that they were strong and capable of holding their own, but the bond of the pack - the bond of family - made her worry about their safety.

Up ahead, the forest opened up, the trees thinning as she approached a clearing. She slowed, her senses heightened, alert to any sign of danger or the unexpected, but she hadn’t picked any pursuers or Rodyn so far. Should she slow down for him to catch up?

That’s when she saw it—the entrance to what appeared to be a cave, hidden partially by overgrown vines and shadows cast by towering trees. The mouth of the cave was wide, the darkness within swallowed the light.

As she approached cautiously, the smell of sulphur and ash hit her, a surprising difference from the earthy forest scents. The ground near the entrance was scorched, blackened by fire and heat.

Taking a breath, Emory slowed down and shifted before creeping in. The overpowering sulphur scent would hide her scent from any sniffers around. She crawled in, slow and steady, her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. The cave wounded like a snake, stretching further, and it got darker the deeper she moved.

Her steps were heavy, her boots scuffing against the soot-covered floor because of the darkness, stirring up the faint stench of ash. Every breath she took, the smell of brimstone grew stronger. It was like walking into the belly of a charred beast.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed the walls shone with a strange, iridescent sheen—like scales under the faint light that filtering through the cavern. With every step she took, the echoes of her own movements grew louder, bouncing off the rocks and creating haunting whispers.

Then, deep inside the cave, she heard movement - large, heavy steps that shook the ground.

She tightened her grip on her daggers and crouched down, her senses heightened by the darkness.

“What in Aworyn’s name?” she whispered under her breath when she saw it.

Towards the back of the cave, in what looked like a huge crypt, a massive silhouette slowly took form, its features cast into shadow by darkness. There was a vibrating growl from it, like” was it waking up?

When it raised its head into a sliver of light, its scales shimmered, revealing the majestic and spine-tingling form of a dragon. Its eyes sparkled like molten gold, piercing the darkness to find hers, and Emory froze.

Dragon! Dragon’s lair!

Run, her instincts screamed, to escape the dragon’s fury. But she couldn’t move, caught and captivated by the dragon’s gaze. It stirred, its massive body shifting with graceful power. The light played off its golden scales, and its wings unfurled with a quiet rustle, the sound filling the cavern.

There was a dragon alive and breathing in front of her. How was it hidden here, going unnoticed by anyone who came near it? Why couldn’t she run? For Aworyn’s sake! She swallowed, trying to figure out what to do next.

The dragon stretched out its long neck, raising its head higher. As scared as she was, she was enthralled by its presence. Taking a deep breath, she tried to keep her nerves in check. She couldn’t run. Not from this. Not from a dragon that seemed more curious than hostile, for now. Besides, the Lycans were out there hunting her.

Holding her ground, she steadied her voice, the metallic tang of adrenaline sharp on her tongue. “I mean you no harm,” she called out into the space. In comparison to the dragon’s omnipresence, the words felt inadequate, small.

It watched her, tilting its head slightly, its gaze piercing right through her. Then, in a moment that defied her understanding of anything, the dragon began to shift. Its massive form shrank and morphed, transforming before her eyes into something—someone—startlingly human.

There he stood, dressed only in a brief black skirt with a skull-shaped buckle on the front of his unique golden tasset. His torso was bare, muscles sculpted like marble, covered with intricate black glyphs spiralling around his biceps and trailing down his left arm. Silver hair, slightly tousled, framed a face with eyes glowing a dazzling gold, the same piercing eyes as his dragon form.

A soft sigh escaped Emory; he was absolutely breathtaking. As her eyes locked with his once more, a deep, unspoken recognition struck her. Her blades dropped to the stone floor with a clang, echoing through the crypt.

Mate.

The discovery echoed within her, an overpowering connection that made her breath snag. Somehow, this man, this dragon, was hers. She swallowed hard, her body reacting to his presence.

The way he moved toward her was graceful and imposing at the same time. She backed away, but the cold, unyielding stone wall behind her stopped her. Her breath hitched, and for a moment, she shut her eyes, hoping to steady her racing heart. When she opened them again, he was right there in front of her.

“There you are, mate,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble that echoed softly through the cave. He leaned closer, his breath warm against her neck as he inhaled deeply, savouring her scent. The warmth of his body wrapped around her, his nearness an unexpected comfort.

Her emotions churned—a maelstrom of fear and fascination. As his large form shielded her, a part of her felt surprising safety, like a shield against all the world’s chaos.

A dragon as her mate was unthinkable, unreal! This twisted her fate into a mess, complicating the already complicated prophecy of the Last Hunter. Her mind reeled at the implications, struggling to reconcile her reality with what would happen now that she found her mate.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you,” he said, his gaze softening as he stepped back to give her some space. A smile teased the corners of his lips, disarming and unexpectedly genuine, and it stirred up something unexpected in her. “You’ve found my lair at long last.”

His touch was light as he brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, his fingers tracing a path down her cheek that made her shiver despite herself. He tilted her face up to look at him, and she was caught in that golden gaze again.

“Who are you?” Emory’s voice was a whisper, her eyes locked onto his mesmerizing gold.

“Kane,” he answered, his hand resting gently on her cheek, his touch sending waves of warmth through her. “And I have waited a very long time for you, longer than you could possibly imagine.”

“This can’t be real. Dragons” they’ve been extinct for ages,” she murmured.

He chuckled softly, a warm sound. “That’s a common misconception. Dragons have always been here, hidden from the rest of the world. We were the original shifters, blending into human society after the Great War ended. We’ve been living quietly among you all this time.”

Ah, that made sense. In her thinking, Emory took a step back. Still, it challenged everything she thought she knew about their world. Did anyone else know dragons had survived and lived among them? Did the Lycans know?

“That’s a lot to take in,” Emory admitted. “So this whole place is a dragon’s lair and nobody’s found it? How many dragons are there?”

“There’s nothing more important to a dragon than its lair, which dragons guard with their magic. Only our mates can find and enter our lairs.”

“So, why are you here?” she asked, trying to understand. “If dragons can live among humans, why are you here? Have you been asleep this entire time? And waiting for” what exactly?”

“For you,” Kane said simply, his eyes holding hers with a tenacity that could light the dark corners of the cave. “The bond between dragon and mate is old magic, powerful and deep. It connects across time, waiting for the right moment, like a prophecy.”

“Me?” Emory asked in disbelief. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling suddenly vulnerable in his vast, shadowy lair.

Kane stepped closer. “Yes. My lair has been safeguarded through the ages, waiting for the moment when my mate—when you—would arrive and awaken me from my slumber.”

Emory folded her arms, feeling the chill of the cave seep into her bones. “And if I hadn’t come?”

“There was no “if” in this,” Kane replied with a slight chuckle. “It was always when. Such is the nature of fate.”

“How long have you been here?” she asked, trying to figure out the scale of his isolation.

“Time is different for dragons,” Kane said, his voice lowering to a soft murmur. “But to put it in terms humans understand, many lifetimes. Each one passing with the hope that the next would bring you here.”

“And now that I’m here, what happens? You wake up and we” what, live happily ever after?” Emory sounded sarcastic because all this had my emotions spinning.

Kane’s smile faded into a pensive expression. “We will face whatever comes next together.”

Her gaze dropped to the ground, then back up to meet his. “This is a lot. I came here running from Lycans, not expecting to find” all of this.” She walked around him to pick up her daggers.

“Running, why?” he asked.

Kane’s question paused her actions, and she turned to face him again, her hands clutching the hilts of her daggers for a moment of reassurance. “I was ambushed by Lycans. They’re after me because I’m tangled up in a prophecy that says I’m supposed to end a war.”

“A war?” Kane’s voice rumbled with a sharp edge, his gaze intensifying.

“Yes, between the wolves and Lycans. It’s been going on for too long, and somehow, I’m meant to stop it,” Emory explained.

“That is a heavy burden for one soul to carry,” Kane said, walking closer with a gentleness that contrasted his imposing physique.

Her eyes searched his, but she didn’t know what she was looking for. It was probably because his eyes were so beautiful that she couldn’t stop staring.

He reached out to gently touch her arm. “Whatever your destiny is, you’re not alone any more.”

She let out a deep breath, feeling her shoulders loosen slightly. “So, you’ve been asleep all this time, waiting for me to wake you?”

Kane nodded. “Dragons sleep when their purpose dims, when the world no longer needs our fire. But the arrival of a mate rekindles that purpose, awakens us to new possibilities.”

“And if I had never come?” Her voice was a whisper, heavy with the weight of the “what ifs” that filled her mind.

“Then I would have slept until the stars burned out,” Kane said. “But you are here.”

Emory looked around the cavernous lair. “I guess I am,” she murmured, a small smile breaking through her apprehensions.

Kane reached out again, his hand inching towards her face, but she stepped back, wondering why he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Her reaction made him smile, his golden eyes slithering over her with unsettling finesse. Then, his expression softened, his movements slowing as he respected the distance she put between them.

“The pain of solitude, the sting of loss—I’m no stranger to them,” he said softly.

Emory’s defences weakened as his words struck a chord deep within her. She looked away, her gaze settling on the rough, stony floor of the cave as she struggled to contain the vulnerability creeping in.

“I” I can’t stay here,” she finally said. She needed to get back out there. Maybe this fog, whatever it was, would disappear once she was above ground. Besides, Rodyn and the hunters might be searching for her out there.

“I understand the pull of duty,” he said. “But think, after centuries alone, could I let you face danger alone now that I’ve found you?” His eyes locked onto hers. After a little pause, he added, “I don’t even know your name.”

“Emory,” she said, feeling the name echo around the cavernous space, as if claiming it all over again.

“Emory,” he repeated, his voice wrapping around it like a caress. Once again, he stepped closer, and this time she stayed. “A beautiful name for a fiery soul.”

The closeness was intoxicating, his presence holding her in an invisible embrace. “I need to get back to my pack,” she said, fighting against his spell. “They might be worried. I can’t just vanish.”

“Nor would I ask you to,” Kane assured her. “I will come with you. From now on, your battles are mine. Wherever you go, I follow.”

She almost asked him to say it again, slower, to let the promise sink in deeper, burning itself into her core. But she simply nodded and stepped back from him.

“Maybe you should lead, I don’t know the way out of here,” she told him.

He gave her a gentle smile before guiding her out of the cave. Even though she knew the Lycans were up there, she wasn’t scared any longer. As impossible as it was to believe, her mate was a dragon who could destroy them all on his own.