Chapter 14

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I didn’t do anything.”
“The hell you didn’t, Aja. Even some of the council cowered. Let’s not even mention the servants. And oh my Goddess, Tiffany’s face. Worth it! It’s about time she got it through that thick skull of hers that you are not to be messed with!”
Sasha narrowed her eyes on her younger sister. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Bullshit. I felt it.”
“I don’t know what you think you felt, but I didn’t do anything.”
“It was an energy that surrounded me and initially made me want to submit. It took over my mind, but then it stopped.” She stopped walking to turn fully to Sasha. “Why did it stop? Everyone else was still fully affected.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Sasha weakly denied again.
“But you did. I have never felt it come that strongly from you.”
Sasha stopped walking. “What do you mean it was never that strong?”
“I’ve always felt this energy from you that screamed you’re in control, but it was always very much controlled. Back there it wasn’t. Back there it felt like you wanted to kill that girl. Why were you so upset?”
“She hit you. Why wouldn’t I defend you?”
Kalani eyed her. “You said ‘That includes everything that is mine.’ Were you talking about his royal highness?”
Sasha flushed. “You are mine. That’s what I meant.”
“Aja, I felt you when she walked up to the king. I’ve never felt that much anger from you. It was really terrifying.”
“I’m sorry, Lani. I really don’t know why I’m so angry lately. Maybe I’m about to start my period.”
“You really like the king, Aja. Why won’t you just tell him that you want to be with him?”
Sasha rolled her eyes and began to walk down the hall again. “You know why I can’t, Lani. Now, I do not want to discuss the king.”
“He likes you, too.”
“Shut up. Which way to the library?”
“At the next hallway turn to the left. It is the only room down that hallway.”
Both of them jumped at the gamma’s sudden amused voice a few yards behind them. Kalani hesitated, glancing back at him, before she sighed. Sasha let out a laugh.
“It’s okay, Lani. I give you my blessing. He seems to be a good guy.”
“Gamma Gregory, do you know what happened back there?”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
“That, my dear, is called an aura. It is a special power, per se, granted to alphas, betas and sometimes gammas to control the lower members. The king’s aura is powerful and when it’s aimed at someone in specific, it can bring them to the floor unable to move. Kind of what Sasha did to Tiffany. All aura’s have different power levels and King Aiden’s, luckily enough for us, is top notch and that allows us to be top of the pecking order.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that his aura is stronger than other alphas and that offers our clan, being smaller, a protection that is above all else. Even if he were to be challenged, he would probably win. Dragon’s are not usually challenged by other shifter species as we are top of the food chain and they know we will devour them. Being dragons though, sometimes other dragon leaders will see our… for lack of a better word.. treasure and try to claim it.”
She looked at him again. “You guys have treasure?”
He shrugged. “We are dragons. We like to hoard shiny stuff.”
“Shiny stuff?”
“Yeah, our clan creates diamonds and has gold mines. Other clans deal in other precious gems and metals.”
Sasha frowned. “Why are you telling us this?”
“Because Kalani is my mate and it is your business as well. I would never lie to her and you will never be lied to either.”
“Why is it my business?”
“The king changed the entire council for you. He filled it with respected men in our clan who would not challenge his desires as their mates are all human, too.”
“What do you mean he changed the council for me?”
“All of the councilmen were old farts who would not allow our clan to mate with humans. Aleksey, Shaun, Zubin and I are all mated to humans. We want to be with our mates, so our vote is for mating with humans. Emile is infatuated with the king’s sister, Ana, so he will never go against the king’s desires. He ended the other terms on the council yesterday and they were replaced with us.”
“But what does that have to do with me?”
He ignored her question to push open a door. Sasha’s mouth tried to drop open at the sight of the books, but she caught herself. She drew in a deep breath and moaned softly as the scent of millions of books enticed her into the library. She ran her hands over the books on the nearest bookshelf, savoring the feeling of the leather bound books. She moved deeper into the library reading the book titles. Goddess, how she wanted to not have to pretend to be blind. Why did she agree to this? She was going to go crazy having all these books in her grasp, but not having the option to just pick one up to read it. Someone fell into step beside her and she turned to them. Kalani smiled at her.
“Want me to take you to somewhere specific?”
“I… can you find out for me if there is a section of my favorite genre?”
She raised an eyebrow at her. “Why read romance instead of living your own story?”
“Because, I’ll never truly have it.”
“I say you should just tell him and forget mom. He will protect you and if we were to let her decide on whether or not we should be with them, we would both lose. If her opinion doesn’t matter to me, then why does it matter so much to you?”
“It’s about honor. My honor.”
“Where is the honor in this? You have loved him for years. How could you do this to him? To yourself?”
“Lani, shush. Just take me there.”
“Whatever.”
She led Sasha around bookshelves, deeper into the library. She looked back the way they came.
“Do you need me to stay with you?”
“No. Go get your milkshake, girl.”
Kalani shoved her playfully. “Take your own advice, sis.”
She darted off back the way they came and Sasha was left alone to explore the books surrounding her. She ran her fingers slowly over the spines of the books. Dust came off of every single one of them and she groaned.
“You have not been taken care of very well over the years,” she whispered to them.
Raised bumps on one of the spines made her stop at the book. She pulled it from its spot on the shelf. She looked down at it and her breath was expelled in shock. A first edition Romeo and Juliet translated into braille. Her favorite novel in the entire world was here. She hugged the book to her chest and slowly made her way to the table in the corner. She sat at it and turned the cover over. Her fingers moved over the inscription that had been written by William Shakespeare himself. Her heart thudded in her chest. Whoever Mary Katherine was a very lucky woman to have known the best playwright to have ever lived. She turned the page and her excitement grew. Her fingers moved over the braille slowly. She read for hours, getting lost in the world he had created. The library began to grow dark and she shifted in her seat. She stood up to stretch her stiff limbs out. She walked around the table and back to the shelves. She followed the shelves to the wall where she placed her hand on it to hold herself up as she stretched her back out. Someone approached her from behind and before she could turn around she was shoved against the wall. She tried to push off the wall and lips landed on her neck. A moan was wrought from her as her body was immediately electrified.
“Aiden,” she purred.