Page 80 of A Luna's Dynasty
Asher followed Caden’s line of sight and saw it—an enormous creature moving toward them with a deliberate, menacing focus. It locked its gaze on Asher, a challenge and a threat that left no doubt about its intent.
The creature’s voice echoed, low and taunting. “Prince Asher, I challenge you.” The words hung heavy with the promise of a fight, but Grayson met them with a confidence that seemed to shake the ground itself.
He chuckled, deep and resonant. “In what lifetime would you be worthy to fight the fairy prince? Never. You’ll deal with me now.” Grayson accepted the challenge with a defiant, fearlessgrin, and he peeled off his shirt, revealing muscles that rippled with strength and preparation.
The beast growled and reluctantly shifted its hostile stance to Grayson. It did not readily accept the new fairy prince, not without a challenge. That was how its kind was. Leaders had to prove their worth. Even if those leaders were only part of an alliance, like fairies. He bellowed at Grayson loudly, challenging him to a fight.
Grayson cracked his knuckles with a chuckle. “Time to learn your place, wyrm.”
Chapter 49
The wyrm roared loudly, flailing his tail around in defiance. It showed its fangs in intimidation and flicked its tongue as it hissed. The sounds it made began to bring in a crowd. Thiswas not a crowd of fairies and werewolves, though. Relatives of the dragon family began to pour in to watch the challenge. The dragon family banded together with those that were kin. They would watch this match and accept the outcome as a unit. They could not readily accept an outsider. This was how dragons existed and kept themselves safe. The knowledge of their whereabouts had always been very secretive. An outsider could expose their lairs and jeopardize their kind. This was something they couldn’t allow. So, in true dragon fashion, a duel would settle the matter at hand. The loser would accept the outcome.
Cockatrice, wyverns, kirin, and fae dragons all began to trickle in to watch the battle, fae dragons being the smallest. They could fit in the palm of your hand and were as much kin to fairies as they were to dragons. Dragons were not fairies but were creatures welcomed by the fairy kingdom. As such, they could challenge situations, even a decision made by the royal family. After all, dragons had their own lords and royalty.
“Caden, some of these you can see, but some you can’t. I think you should be thankful for what you can’t see.” Asher looked around as the different creatures began circling the area. Some perched on nearby trees that were big enough to support their weight.
“I always thought fairies would be like an X-rated show. I’d get to see half-naked women flying all over the place. This is not at all what I pictured and, had I paid, I would have wanted my money back.” Caden looked around hesitantly and then back toward the other pack members who were on high alert. “I’ll fall back and keep them calm.”
Lita watched as Grayson and the wyrm sized each other up. She had to stop the fight. “I can’t let this continue. I’m putting a stop to this—”
“No, Lita. You can’t stop this. It’s important. What’s even more important is that a guardian is about to fight on behalf ofAsher, your chosen prince. He isn’t fighting on your behalf, but to protect him. This shows that he’s fully accepted by the fairies. He’s your mate, so obviously you’re going to accept him. The outcome of this fight will determine Asher’s acceptance among the dragons.” Caspian looked at Grayson and then back toward Lita. “You’re about to find out exactly why guardians are so terrifying.”
“Are there any dragon dragons?” Asher asked, as his eyes scanned over the different kinds that had assembled. The animals flocked toward them in growing numbers. These were creatures that did not exist to him before today. He wasn’t afraid, but he was very intrigued, to say the least.
“We won’t see them here, but if you’re asking if they exist, then yes. They exist like werewolves do.” Caspian watched Asher nod absentmindedly as their focus was pulled back to the center ring.
Lita watched nervously as Grayson squared off against the towering wyrm that bellowed loudly at him. The other dragon kin raised their voices in a thundering sound, answering the wyrm’s call. She noticed Grayson as he glanced back toward her.
When Grayson saw her nervous eyes, he gave her a flashy grin. He was about to show her what he really was.
Lita watched as Grayson began to transform in front of her. Dark brown fur enveloped him as he grew in size. He was already very tall in stature, but the creature he turned into was likely more than five times larger than her wolf, Mira. His arms turned into massive paws with long claws on the ends. His ginormous head roared loudly as his transformation completed. Grayson was a werebear, and had he not been on her side, she would have been terrified.
The fairy creatures headed away to watch the fight from a distance, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. The dragon kin were becoming increasingly excited and began roaring and stomping loudly, creating a commotion around them. Grayson'scolossal bear faced off with the angry wyrm, its fangs dripping with saliva as it growled and hissed at him. The gold eyes locked onto the brown ones in front of him, neither conceding.
Asher reached for Lita and pulled her backward, forcing her to retreat further away from the imminent battle. Judging from the size of the two monsters, it would be best to get some distance. When he felt like they were far enough away, he stopped but kept Lita locked in at his side. He didn’t know what to expect but wanted to make sure she was safe.
The wyrm suddenly struck out, like a snake lunging for its prey. Grayson raised his monstrous paw and swatted at the head, letting out a powerful roar. The creature coiled itself back up and hissed at the werebear, baring its teeth as its eyes glowered at him. Quickly, it struck again, but when it did, it stopped short and flailed its tail around, hitting the broad side of Grayson with a terrifying force. The moment he lost his balance, the head struck back at him, and its teeth sunk into Grayson's shoulder. The bear roared loudly in pain as he managed to shake the wyrm free.
Lita watched the blood drip from the wound and splatter into pools on the ground. She let out a small whimper as she worried for Grayson and the outcome of this battle.
The bear glanced toward her, his warm, chocolate eyes smiling at her reaction.
I would never lose to the likes of him. Don’t worry, princess.
Lita heard Grayson's voice inside her head. She was shocked. How was he able to communicate with her telepathically? She thought she could only mindlink with members of her pack. She wasn’t able to analyze the reasons behind it since the dragon creature lunged again at Grayson.
The likes of him? The likes of the wyrm? It was an opponent he would never lose to? The vicious monster in front of her did not look merciful, and it attacked with deadly aggression. Shecouldn’t help but be worried about Grayson. It would only take one mistake. One wrong move and he could very easily lose his life.
The monstrous animals watching roared violently and loudly as they observed the fight. It was as if their roars were cheers for their champion. It was a lot for Lita to take in. These creatures were friends of the fairies, but they had rejected Asher. She felt a bit of bitterness toward them for that. Who were they to dictate who she chose to stand by her side? She knew that Caspian said the fight was necessary, that they would accept the outcome of this fight, but she hoped to prevent an incident like this in the future. Sure, she could have stopped the fight from happening, but if there was ever a moment that Asher wasn’t with her and a dragon type was around, he could be attacked. Grayson fighting and winning would prevent an incident like that from ever happening.
She had recovered the memory of when her mother had mentioned that some dragons even walked among them. They gave up their constant form to be able to shift, much like werewolves do. The Great Dragon Sage was one of the ones who had become a shifter. He was in charge of the dragons, right below their king, who was also a shifter. One day, she would travel to the Dragon Sage and work out a diplomatic agreement between them, that unless there was any real reason, their kind would accept the fairy royalty’s decisions.
Grayson charged into the wyrm and sunk his claws and teeth into its body. The creature roared loudly and recoiled, managing to wiggle itself free.
“He’s just playing around. Seriously, end it already.” Asher looked bored watching the fight in front of him.
Lita looked up at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
