JAXON POV
The dragon’s roar shook the entire mountain as I sprinted through the cave opening, my heart hamring against my chest.
"Wait!" I shouted at the huge black beast that was spreading its wings, ready to take flight. "I volunteer!"
The dragon turned its huge head toward , golden eyes blazing like molten fire. Behind , I could hear Kael and Lucien running to catch up, probably thinking I’d lost my mind.
Maybe I had.
But when Elder Malin had explained that soone needed to bond with the old dragon to stop the Shadow Lords from destroying everything we loved, I knew it had to be . Not Kael, who was needed to lead the pack. Not Lucien, who had Aria and a future to protect.
. The middle brother who never quite fit anywhere.
"You wish to offer yourself as my bonded warrior?" the dragon asked, its voice rumbling through my bones like thunder.
"Yes," I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt. "I do."
"Jaxon, no!" Kael burst into the cave behind , followed by Lucien. "You don’t know what you’re doing!"
But I did know. For the first ti in my life, I knew exactly what I was doing.
"Soone has to do it," I said without turning around. "And we all know it’s not going to be either of you."
The dragon dropped its massive head until it was level with mine. This close, I could see ancient scars across its scales and knowledge in its eyes that was older than our entire pack.
"Do you understand what bonding ans, young wolf?" it asked. "Your life force will beco mine. Your thoughts will be open to . You will live only as long as I allow it."
"Will I be able to protect my family?" I asked.
The dragon’s eyes seed to soften slightly. "Yes. But the price is everything you are."
Everything I am. I thought about that for a mont. What was I, really? The wild one. The troublemaker. The brother who always felt like he was in the way.
"Jaxon," Lucien said slowly, "there has to be another way."
I finally turned to look at my brothers. Kael’s face was hard, but I could see fear in his eyes. Lucien looked like he was about to cry.
"There isn’t another way," I said. "You heard Elder Malin. The Shadow Lords are too strong now. They have Void Worms and possessed pack mbers and who knows what else. Without dragon power, everyone we care about is going to die."
"But you’ll die too," Kael said, his voice breaking slightly.
I shrugged, trying to act like it didn’t matter. "Maybe. But maybe I’ll finally do sothing that actually helps instead of just causing trouble."
"You don’t cause problems," Lucien protested. "You’re our brother."
"I’m the brother who tried to steal Aria from you with dark magic," I told him. "I’m the brother who almost got us all killed because I was jealous and stupid. This is my chance to make up for that."
The dragon watched our talk with interest. "Your family bonds are strong," it noted. "That is good. The bonding will be easy if you have sothing worth fighting for."
"What exactly happens during the bonding?" I asked.
"I will mark you with dragon fire," the dragon explained. "It will burn away your human flaws and remake you as sothing new. Part wolf, part dragon, part sothing that has never existed before."
That sounded scary and amazing at the sa ti.
"Will I still be ?" I asked.
"You will be more than you," the dragon said. "But also less. The wild part of your nature will be tad by my old patience. The reckless part will be tempered by my knowledge. You will beco what you were ant to be."
What I was ant to be. I’d spent my whole life wondering what that was.
"Jaxon," Kael said, stepping closer. "If you do this, we might never see you again. Not the real you."
"The real hasn’t been worth much," I said. "Maybe it’s ti for an upgrade."
Before either of my brothers could argue more, the ground started shaking again. Not like when the Void Worms had appeared, but like sothing even bigger was coming.
"The Shadow Lords have found us," the dragon said grimly. "We are out of ti. Choose now, young wolf. Bond with , or watch everything you love burn."
Through the cave opening, I could see the sky turning dark green. The sa sick color as the affected pack mbers’ eyes. And rising from the trees below, I could see shapes that made my blood freeze.
Not just Void Worms this ti. Shadow creatures the size of buildings, with claws that could tear through mountains and wings that blocked out the sun.
"How many?" I whispered.
"Dozens," the dragon said. "Led by their boss. He has co personally to destroy the last Earth Guardian and claim this realm for darkness."
Their master. I’d heard Elder Malin ntion him in whispers. The first Shadow Lord, the one who had started the war against Earth Guardians thousands of years ago.
"What’s his na?" I asked.
The dragon’s eyes went wide with old fear. "He has many nas. But the Earth Guardians called him the Devourer. He consus entire worlds, leaving nothing but void behind."
The Devourer. And he was coming here, to our ho, to destroy everything.
I looked at my brothers one more ti. Kael, strong and stubborn and always trying to protect everyone. Lucien, gentle and wise and finally happy with Aria.
They deserved to live. They deserved to have families and careers and all the things I’d probably never have anyway.
"I accept the bond," I said firmly.
"Jaxon, wait—" Lucien started.
But the dragon was already moving. It pressed one massive claw against my chest, and fire burst through my body.
Not painful fire. Magic fire. Power beyond anything I’d ever dread.
I felt my wolf form changing, growing, becoming sothing new. My senses grew until I could sll the Shadow creatures miles away. My strength increased until I felt like I could lift mountains.
And in my mind, I heard the dragon’s old voice.
"Welco, bonded fighter. We are one now."
The transformation was complete in seconds, but it felt like hours. When it was over, I looked down at my hands and saw scales mixed with fur. I felt wings growing from my back.
I was no longer fully wolf or fully human. I was sothing new.
Sothing strong enough to fight the Devourer.
"Are you ready?" the dragon asked.
I nodded, feeling more ready than I’d ever felt for anything.
But as we prepared to take flight and face the approaching army of darkness, I heard a sound that made my new dragon senses scream with fear.
A roar from behind us. From deeper in the mountain.
We weren’t the only ones who had been hiding in these caves.
Sothing else was down there. Sothing that had been sleeping for a very long ti.
And our dragon connection had just woken it up.
"Oh no," the dragon whispered, fear clear in its old voice. "We have made a terrible mistake."
The mountain began to crack apart around us as sothing huge stirred in the depths below.
Sothing that made even the Devourer look small.
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