Dragon 2 Chapter 25

The next morning, I found myself trying to figure out how I’d ended up with the day I had planned. It was Monday, so I had classes, but I was also getting married. And then I had to figure out how to take down a god. Just your typical day.

Wanting a bit of normalcy, I found myself back at my apartment, pushing cereal around my bowl as I tried to figure out how I was going to fight off a god, but it was hard to focus on that when I was about to get married.

“Morning stranger.” My roommate Frank emerged from his room, Maddie trailing out behind him.

“Morning guys. You look decently rested, almost like you two slept some last night.” I teased. When I’d gotten to the apartment after the council meeting, it was late, and our shared wall was suspiciously quiet.

Maddie rolled her eyes, moving around Frank and towards the kitchen, fishing through the fridge.

Frank plopped himself down across from me. “Everything okay? You are normally in class by now.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just have a few things that came up on the new job last night, went late, and are going to carry over into today. Well, that and I have a date this afternoon that has me nervous.”

“Which girlfriend?” Frank seemed to enjoy asking the question, a teasing look in his eye. He’d pestered me about all the women he’d seen in my life, thinking I’d become a player. Between my actual girlfriends and Kelly and Morgana, I had to admit I was surrounded by a lot of beautiful women.

Not sure how he’d take me confirming his theory, I decided to just go for it.

“Jadelyn.”

“Wait, I don’t think I’ve met that one.” Frank looked at Maddie for help.

She squinted for a moment before recognition dawned on her face, her eyes filling with questions. “Wait, that was Chad’s girlfriend before he died, wasn’t it?”

“Yep.” I tried to sound casual as I ate my cereal.

Frank paused what he was doing. “Wait, that girl from the club? The one you got in a fight with Chad over? Damn man, well done.”

Maddie raised an eyebrow at Frank, who walked over and squeezed her against him to placate her while keeping his eyes on me as we talked. “So, let me get this straight. You have Scarlett, who is a lovely girl. And you’re also dating Jadelyn? Let’s not forget the mysterious boss of yours, the one in all the fancy cars. And I’ve also seen you with that cheerleader.” Frank tried to wrap his head around it all. “Where is the dude I used to live with?” He teased.

“Cheerleader?” Maddie asked.

“Kelly.” Frank clarified. I laughed. Of course, he’d recognize the cheerleader on sight; before Maddie tamed him, he was quite the aspiring playboy. “And they all know about each other?”

“First off, I’m only dating Scarlett and Jadelyn. They are sorority sisters. And yes, they know.”

Frank leaned back and whistled as something started sizzling in the skillet. “Damn. I hate you a little. Maddie, think I can get another girlfr—?”

A wooden spoon thwacked him on the back of his head before he could finish his sentence. “Like you could handle more than me.”

Frank recovered quickly and gave an innocent whistle, but from behind Maddie he gave me a thumbs up and mouthed ‘How?’.

I played out what my advice would look like. Step one, be a dragon. Pretty sure that one would be a non-starter.

Step two, bumble into the paranormal world and somehow manage to woo the women. I smiled to myself, happy it had happened to me.

No matter how I had managed to ensnare these girls in my life, I had been blessed. My heart warmed as I thought about it.

“Where’d you go off to?” Maddie asked, catching me lost in thought. A knowing smile played on her face.

But before I had to figure out what to say, my phone buzzed on the table.

“I’ll bet that thing buzzes all the time. I’m sure having that many women keeps you busy.” She finished up what she was cooking. “I can’t imagine the hassle of running about with all of them.”

Ignoring her, I looked at my phone. It was a text from Kelly. ‘Zach, we have a problem at the football stadium. Get here ASAP.’

I was surprised by her text. She’d told me to avoid the football team until they figured out their alpha problem. It should have been the last place she wanted me. “I thought it was off-limits.”

‘Hurry, this is big.’ She texted right after.

Frank sighed. “I know that look. You are going to rush off again. I swear, it’s like you think it’s life or death situations all the time.”

I tried to fake offense, but I knew it was likely true. After all, I was often running off to save lives. “Best to get things done and not procrastinate.”

“See, that’s the kind of attitude you need if you want another girlfriend.” Maddie said to Frank. “Can’t laze about with more than one. They keep him on his toes.”

Frank sighed, and I grabbed the suit from my closet for later. It was the only one I had. It was a nice classic black and would have to do. “You two stay out of trouble.” I joked as I left the suit hanging over my shoulder.

The stadium wasn’t a far walk from my apartment, and since I’d become a dragon, it would take a lot more than walking to tire me out.

Listening to the snippets of conversation of students walking by was less amusing than usual. What excited them was no longer exciting compared to what I’d experienced. It only reminded me how much I didn’t really fit into my old life anymore. That life had been dull compared to what I’d experienced in the paranormal world.

Which made me wonder what I was doing spending any time in classes anymore. Was that a life I wanted to pursue?

The part of me that had spent my entire life up until recently wanting to be a doctor said yes. But I didn’t need it financially. I made more money working for Morgana. Even if I quit now, I could only take a job or two a year and be perfectly content slowly building my hoard.

And it wasn’t like I had a ton of time to spare. I was about to be committed to two women, and our current jobs and god problem had my schedule filled. School just didn’t fit, despite how much I wanted it to.

As I walked towards the football stadium, I paused. Kelly and the wolf pack had decided to still pursue college. Continuing forward, I tried to piece together what they got from attending the university. The most rational answer I could get to was using it to build a bond between them as they formed a new pack, maybe even build a bit of independence away from their parents.

Jadelyn attended, but I assumed to run the family business, a college degree would be helpful. And she seemed genuinely interested in learning. And Scarlett was just tagging along to play bodyguard.

But my role in the paranormal community didn’t really need college. Morgana’s lessons had been far more valuable.

My musings ground to a halt as I neared the football stadium.

The school’s stadium was like many colleges, their prized possession. A massive parking lot surrounded it, though at the moment was mostly empty. A small huddle of cars for those who commuted in sat to one side, another set ringing the stadium. Those were no doubt the players’ cars.

Shouting spilled out of the stadium before I even reached it. Over the shouting, I could also make out angry growls like there was — well, exactly what there was — a pack of werewolves fighting inside the stadium.

The short tunnel into the stadium proper opened up into a literal bloodbath. I knew Kelly had commented on the fighting before, but seeing it was an entirely different thing. The fight for alpha had gotten bloody.

The football team had over a hundred players, and the field was filled with werewolves tearing each other apart. It looked like the line of scrimmage had turned into a brutal assault, and those on the sideline had piled on.

Cheerleaders were sitting along the bleachers, boredom on most of their faces, except for one that was eyeing me as I walked in. I was surprised they weren’t more freaked, given Kelly’s tone in the text.

I stood there, not sure what I was supposed to do, when Kelly shouted my name. I turned, ready to help her with whatever she needed, but then I caught her face and paused. She was pissed.

“What the hell are you doing here, Zach? I told you to stay away.” Her frown deepened.

I pulled out my phone and showed her the texts. “You’re the one that asked me to come, Kelly. And what the hell is happening out there? This is insane.”

Kelly ignored the second part of my statement, instead grumbling as she patted down her tight jeans and came up empty. She whirled on the girls in the bleachers. “Who the fuck has my phone.”

That angry yell from Kelly suddenly put the two of us in the center of everybody’s attention. Not only for the cheerleaders, but the brawling wolves nearest us paused and turned, hearing her tone. And the others picked up on the momentary pause, also growing curious.

A blonde-haired girl that looked like she could’ve been straight out of a mean girl stereotype meme stood up on the bleachers and cupped her hands over her mouth. “It is time we put an end to all of this.” She gestured out towards the field. “Boys, this is the man that killed Chad.”

Shit.

All the wolves were paying attention now, as the last growling and tussling on the field died off, and I found myself the focus of attention for over a hundred glaring male werewolves.

Kelly shifted herself between the blonde and me, and the flicker of fear on her face told me that this was going in the direction it felt like. These wolves were about to pull me into their mess. “Tiff. You have no idea what the fuck you are doing.” She glared at Tiff, but the other wolf didn’t back down.

Quickly, Kelly pivoted to speak to the wolves on the field. “And boys, this is not a fight you want to pick. Chad had the power that corrupted him and three wolf packs to draw from, yet he lost to Zach. Do not do this.”

“What happens if we kill him, Tiff?” Number 72 had his torn jersey still clinging to his chest.

Tiff, still on the bleachers, ignored Kelly’s plea. “The bitches are in agreement. We’ll support whoever can bring me the heart of the shifter that killed Chad. Full support for them to become alpha. Full backing from the girls, isn’t that right?” She turned to the rest of the girls, who pointedly turned away from Kelly.

Kelly’s back straightened at being ignored, and I was glad I wasn’t on the other end of the look she was giving Tiff.

Grumbling and grunts started to pick up across the wolves on the field, a few starting to move around where they stood. I had a feeling I’d need to put my suit down if I didn’t want to ruin it. “Kelly, this is a problem.”

“Let me handle this.” Kelly covered the ground between her and the bleachers in just a few strides as she shifted, leaping up and catching Tiff in the face with her claws. She tore the blonde off the bleachers and was on her in an instant.

Tiff shifted as well, but by the time she was ready to fight, she’d already lost. She was torn up, her fur matted in enough blood that I knew she wasn’t getting up any time soon. Kelly apparently didn’t fuck around.

“Calm down, boys. Tiff doesn’t speak for the girls. Does she?” Kelly asserted herself, but the girls on the bleachers turned away, awkwardly not making eye contact.

72 stepped forward, a leader among the fractured pack. “You’ve been out of it ever since your father died. Tiff is the new head bitch. Her word goes. Besides, we are all tired of fighting. We need a leader. You’ve been too distracted with this boy-toy, anyway. I don’t mind giving him a good thrashing.” The wolves on the field howled and barked in my direction.

While they couldn’t decide who should be alpha, they seemed to at least be able to unite around attacking me. It looked like I might unite them after all for Kelly, although I wasn’t sure how effective it would be without getting my heart ripped out, and I was pretty happy with where my heart was right now.

I was planning to give it to Jadelyn today, after all.

I warned Kelly one last time. “If they come, I’m not holding back. There’s too many of them for me to not go all out.” Eyeing the size of the pack arrayed out before me, I had a problem. A very lethal problem if I wasn’t careful.

Kelly cursed under her breath and dove into the men.

But she wasn’t going to be able to stop it. Two wolves jumped me.

Golden scales wrapped my body as I towered over the wolves, shifting into my two ton hybrid form. I wasn’t playing. There wasn’t time to worry about my secret.

Most of them paused, but the two would-be-alphas full of bluster came at me. They became the first two victims.

My claws tore apart the first wolf, and I tossed the second into the air only for him to become a short-lived chew toy. His blood and flesh showered the ground below me. The sudden violence froze the wolf pack just as much as my shift.

I had noticed that they didn’t fight to the death on the field, instead submitting, but if they expected the same from me when I was facing a hundred of them, they were crazy. As far as I knew, they were coming for my heart. This was a battle to the death for any who attacked me.

They were shocked as I opened my maw, snatching up the next closest wolf and spinning, my tail flinging back another dozen wolves.

The smack of my tail seemed to snap them out of their daze, and the wolf pack rushed me.

I plowed through the pack on all fours, flinging them aside and using my claws to tear through them in swaths.

Wolves leapt onto my back, but I rolled over and through the pack, crushing those on my back.

Spinning around, I reared up and stomped the ground with my front claws, bellowing a roar that made the thin metal bleachers vibrate. I worked to intimidate them with my power, hoping to avoid needing to kill more than necessary.

The wolves trembled at my roar, looking at their fallen pack mates littered around me. Those that could still move fell to their knees. I could smell fear and a hint of piss as many of them rolled onto their backs and put their limbs in the air.

I looked over and noticed that Kelly was the only one still standing on the field. Even the bitches off the field had rolled over onto their backs.

Shifting back to my dragon knight form, in case someone had the wise idea to try to surprise me, I asked Kelly. “What the hell just happened?”

“They submitted.” She said simply, her eyes registering only shock.

I used my dragon sight, cringing at what I found. Tethers of amber magic rose out of each of them, weaving a massive tapestry that tried to center itself on me. “No. I growled. Remember what I said.”

Already, images of the bitches going back to the betas riled me up, and I could feel the beast inside of me excited at the prospect and ready to kill all the betas to make it happen and claim all those women.

But the part of me that was still human firmly rejected it.

The pack magic slid off of me, failing to find purchase. I wasn’t sure if it was my reluctance, or if I was actually not able to accept the pack magic as a dragon, but it didn’t lock on me. Tentatively, I focused and pushed on the focal point of the magic, willing it to move to my desire.

I quickly glanced around. 72 had seemed to be a leader. Maybe he would make the best alpha? But as I searched the field, I couldn’t find him. Giving up, I tried to push the magic into the nearest wolf, but it rejected him.

Frustrated, I wondered if I was going to have to try wolf after wolf until it accepted one, when my eyes locked on Kelly. A smile split my face as I imagined how pissed she would be if this worked.

Pushing the magic’s focus onto her, it was like the final puzzle piece snapping into place as the pack magic eagerly joined with her. It poured into her without end as she sucked it up in what seemed like an endless moment.

Kelly gasped, her eyes wide and glowing amber with the pack magic.

There was a moment of disappointment as I felt the power leave me, but it wasn’t meant for me.

I had just been lured here because of Tiff. The beast still wanted me to take the power and all the women that came with it, but I pushed it back down. Sometimes, it wasn’t right.

“What the hell did you just do?” Kelly came out of it. “You can’t. That’s not possible. They accepted you as alpha, not me.”

“Seems the pack magic was more than eager to accept you.” I pointed out.

Her body swelled with power before my eyes. She wasn’t so much bigger, but she seemed… denser.

She just kept shaking her head, muttering to herself and then to me. “This can’t be. This shouldn’t be. Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

“Sure, I made you alpha.” I didn’t give a fuck about their rules. There was no reason it needed to be a man. I’d just seen Kelly tear apart several wolves for disagreeing with her. And she’d learned from her father. She was the best one for the job.

But I didn’t get a chance to say that before Kelly jumped me.

She took me by surprise, and we went down in a tumble. Her claws were out, and I grabbed her by the wrists before she could do harm that she would regret later.

“What are you doing?” I rolled us both, ending up on top. “You’re alpha now. I can see the magic solidifying, even now.”

The pack was coming out of their stupor, clearly not entirely pleased with the new development. 72 reared his ugly head. “No way. A bitch is a bitch. She can’t be alpha.” He strode over, clearly about to make some sort of move.

I popped up off Kelly, grabbing 72 by the throat and throttling him back into the field, my knee landing on his chest. “She’s alpha, if I say she is. You’ve already seen what happens to those that come up against me. Would you like to join them?”

Another wolf tried to tackle Kelly, but she jumped, spinning and kicking out with a clawed foot. She caught him in the neck and sent him spinning away without a throat. “Anyone else have a problem with me?”

It seemed her display of violence reminded them exactly who they were dealing with and no one stepped forward.

“See, you can do this.” I said with a smile of self satisfaction. Kindly, I had omitted the ‘I was right’. Oh, how I was tempted to say those words.

“You.” Kelly whirled on me, poking me in the chest and forcing me to take a step back. “Have messed this all up. What’s going to happen to the pack now? Huh? Who’s going to breed with the girls, or are we just going to be a barren pack? A pack destined to have no little pups?” Her voice broke a little at the end.

But fierceness returned to her eyes as she stalked closer. “You had the right to alpha, yet you gave it to me. I expect you to take responsibility.”

“There’s a whole world of science and magic.” I countered. “A solution for this exists, even if I don’t know it off-hand.”

Kelly punched me. “This isn’t a joke! This is two hundred people’s lives.” She gestured to the wolf pack around us. “They are my pack, my responsibility. The last thing I want is for them to look forward to a childless life.”

I smiled. “Your pack. Already sounding like an alpha.”

“This isn’t a joke!” She pressed me back again.

A wolf spoke up from the field, sounding a little hopeful. “You could always give it up.”

Thankfully, he distracted Kelly’s ire from me. Poor guy.

“And let you fucking idiots tear each other up every day? No, beat me now if you have a problem with it. I’m not putting up with this every day anymore.” Kelly snapped.

None of the men stepped forward, eyeing 72, who was still on the ground gurgling blood through his impromptu tracheostomy.

As the moment passed, whispers started up among the men, and I caught the couple mentions of the dragon.

The battle fury left me, and I realized we had a huge problem. “Fuck. Don’t let any of them leave.” I pressed a hand to my face. “I need to impress upon them my secret before this goes any further.”

Kelly winced. “Shit. I don’t know. They might stay quiet for now, but… there’s two hundred of them.”

The momentary idea of killing them all flitted through my mind before I squelched the idea. This was Kelly’s pack now.

“Alright. Listen up.” I bellowed over the field, getting their attention. “What I am stays a secret. Do all of you understand?”

A few of the wolves gave half hearted nods, and Kelly stepped in. “Get on your feet and listen up.”

I could see the web of pack magic pulling at each of them as they did what they were told. Even those that limped on a single leg took the shoulder of another and stood up.

“All of you fucked up today. This is the price. If you utter a word about what Zach is, you don’t have to worry about him coming back to kill you. You’re out of the pack, omega for life. And that’s only if I don’t tear your throat out too many times before then. Is that understood?” Her words reverberated on the pack magic, and they all nodded quickly in understanding.

“Now, where’s Tiff?” Kelly fumed.

The crowd jostled, and they threw a bloodied Tiff out in front of the rest of the women. They seemed to have changed sides pretty quickly once Kelly had won.

“Look on the bright side?” Tiff tried.

Kelly’s palm was fast as it slapped Tiff hard enough for her to reel back, stumbling to a knee. “What bright side? We lost a dozen wolves today because of your idiocy. Their blood is on your hands.”

“But I solved the alpha problem, and I got you him.” Tiff pointed at me.

“Got me him?” Kelly looked back at me, confused.

“Think about it, Kelly. The alpha gets to date outside the pack. Think about Chad’s engagement. It just makes sense for the alpha to have ties outside the pack, political shit and all. And it isn’t like any of the betas will be good for an alpha bitch.” Tiff groveled.

Kelly’s lips quirked up at the idea, and she rubbed a hang on her chin as she eyed me up and down hungrily. “Girls, take her away. I’ll deal with her later.”

I didn’t have a moment to react as Kelly jumped on me, looping her arms around the back of my neck and planting a kiss on my lips. Catching her on instinct, I held onto her ass and pulled her up for just a moment longer before putting her back down.

“Clean up your pack and we can talk later. I need to get going. There’s my wedding and then I’m taking on the god that has been behind the troll attacks. I need to focus.”

I’d expected more questions from her, but all she said was, “Can I help?”

I wanted to say no, but in reality, I could really use the help. “Sync up with Rupert and Detective Fox. I have a wedding to go to.”

She gave a growl that wasn’t unfriendly, but I couldn’t quite place what it meant before she slapped my ass. “Will do.”

Then she said louder. “Get the hell out of my field. I. apparently, have a practice to run.”

Kelly whirled away from me. “Get your gear back on, boys. Line up. Girls, stop loitering around. Meg, take my spot on the pyramid. Set thirteen in five minutes.”

The pack became a buzz of activity, and I felt good leaving her in charge. She had taken on the alpha role quickly, and I grinned, still holding back my I-told-you-so. Grabbing my suit, I decided it might be best if I headed over to Jadelyn’s directly and avoided any other conflict before the wedding. If I didn’t make it there on time, I’d have to face Jadelyn and the mothers. A shiver went up my spine at the thought, and I booked it.

Before turning back around, because I was naked as the day I was born. Couldn’t show up to the Scalewrights like that.

AN - And we have the conclusion of Kelly and the pack drama, for now.