Ember of Hope

“Okay, spill”, once in her room, Sarah immediately pounced on Raegan for info.

“I’ll start from my last trip here then… when we were just friends… or at least I thought that’s what we were. That’s why I had no issue coming back to my normal life because it was supposed to be just an accidental trip to wonderland, right? But from the day I got back, I started missing everything and you weren’t back either… so I was really losing it. But I thought I was just missing every one and you… and that this feeling will pass in some days’ time”.

“Only it didn’t… and you weren’t the same girl that went on that trip anymore”. Sarah supplied.

“Yeah, I guess. It was like I couldn’t adjust in my own life any more. I was a stranger in my own house. So, to remedy that, I started dropping my CV everywhere. But as if fate wanted me to come back here – not a single call came. And then you came back and you know the rest of the story and…” Raegan trailed off.

“And?”

“And then I had these dreams every night… they were always same… there was a guy with black hair and deep blue eyes who beckoned me to him… every single night I had this same dream and I knew it was Valiance. I just knew Sarah. The dream became clearer and clearer with each passing day and so did my mind. I told you I needed to come here… and last night in my dream I finally walked toward him… and I knew it was time for me to break my mate out of his misery” she squeezed Sarah’s hands in her lap “and you came with me. You believed me and came here. May be you too were meant to come here. Think about it. May be you are meant to break someone’s curse too.” She would’ve told her about Damien in a heartbeat but Sarah had to figure out her feelings for him on her own. She left Sarah to contemplate her words and went in search of her mate.

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Being back in Evreux didn’t just mean partying and outings with Val, it also meant getting her ass kicked in training by none other than General Roth – Raegan’s personal trainer from hell. When Val had suggested that he’d continue her training now that he was back to his sexy as hell human form and all, Coach hadn’t even let him finish his sentence. Said he was already so pussy whipped he couldn’t train her for shit.

And so here she was, in a day-after-day nightmare of getting her ass whooped and tasting what the sand of the arena floor tasted like. Because ‘coach’ Roth on a mission (i-e. train the human damsel because she foolishly asked for it) was a beast. And he wasn’t even ‘putting in his whole weight’ yet. Of course, he’d conveniently forgotten that he was a bloody dragon and she, a measly human. If he’d decided to really get into it; she’d have her bones squashed to jelly and her head mounted on his drawing room wall as a grotesque trophy the first day of training.

“Ow fuck” Raegan landed hard on her butt yet again, jarring every bone in her body, after failing to sweep his feet from under him. The damn man was built like a boulder. It’s all about balance – well fuck balance.

All around them, people were pretending they didn’t exist but still giving them a wide birth. God forbid, General decided to make one of them his next punching bag instead of her. Cowards! Even Val and Damien were doing their ‘routine’ in a corner but she could’ve sworn their eyes stranded in her direction every five seconds or so.

When she whined for the hundredth time to let her rest a bit, General Roth lost his cool “Stop acting like a brat kid and pay attention”. He scolded her.

“Stop acting like a grumpy housewife Gen and stop beating the human “. She retorted.

Silence.

Sheer and utter silence fell upon the arena.

Nobody had ever dared speak something so blunt in front of General Roth.

Moments ticked by as everyone held their breaths... and then the most unexpected thing happened.

General Roth threw his head back and laughed... his laughter was rusty like he wasn’t used to it... and by the looks of pure shock on everyone’s face, it was indeed a rare, if not a completely unfamiliar sight.

“I like you kid, you’re not like these pussies. But that’s not going to save you from doing the hard work. Come on, move it”.

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Katherine’s Journal:

Today I went to the adoption center to take a look at the list of couples who wanted to adopt a child. Three of them caught my eye in the long list and the center called them to set a meeting. The ones I finally chose were so humble and sweet I immediately knew that they would make perfect loving parents for my little girl. I saw their eyes lighting up when I told them my decision. It was relief and burden all at once. It only made things more real than ever before. The moment was coming nearer and nearer when I will have to part with a piece of my heart – my baby. My own pain is enough to drive me insane and when I see Alex’s smiling face and when he kisses my stomach so adoringly – my heart bleeds on the cruelty of all this. This is karma for me. He says he’ll name his baby angel after his late mother. This I can make possible by talking to the family.

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There were tears streaming down Dragomir D’evreux’s face when he beheld his son – fully human, with glistening eyes and a huge smile on his face. His mate tucked in his side with an identical smile on hers. He’d grown fond of the girl when she first came to Evreux in his arms; a broken and battered body knocking on death’s door. He’d felt sadness when she returned to her world and then greeted her with warmth when she’d arrived back.

But this – he hadn’t expected this. It was something else for someone born in their midst accepting a cursed dragon mate. But for someone who was as far away from his world’s reality as possible – it was a marvel to behold. And his son, God bless the girl who’d given the beautiful smile back to his son.

He took a step forward and then found himself running towards Valiance, not caring in the least that a “king” was supposed to maintain his poise. After half a century, he was able to take his son in his arms so he held on tight.

“Father, my ribs” Valiance choked out.

“Don’t be a wimp, son” he grunted, letting go of Valiance only to thump him on the back hard enough to make him stumble. With a heart filled with happiness and gratitude he turned towards the one who had brought them this huge happiness.

The king took Raegan’s hands in his and bowed his head in gratitude. “When I found you injured in that forest, I somehow knew you had so much to live for yet, but this – it hadn’t crossed in my wildest dreams that you can be a mate to one of us. But I’m happy that you are my son’s mate and now my daughter”.

He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and laughed when she threw her arms around him and said; “So I can tell you whenever Val is bad to me and you’ll kick his ass for me?” she grinned at her mate.

“I’m never bad to you”. He narrowed his eyes at her. She was up to no good.

“Oh yeah? Just last night you weren’t willing to bring me home when I was tired and asked so nicely to fly me home” she winked at him while trying to stop the smile threatening to unfurl.

“Valiance Alexander D’evreux, if I ever hear my daughter complain against you again, I will give you the spanking you deserve no matter how grown up you’ve become”. He warned his son.

“You’re my father, just so you know.” Val rolled his eyes at his father like a kid but then sobered up, “When can we go meet mother?”

“Tomorrow. Both of you have suffered enough. I can’t make you and your mother wait any longer”.

He felt a happy anticipation in his heart for the look on his mate’s face when she sees her son after such long years.

The next day, after handing charge to his second in command – General Lasiter, all three of them started their journey to surprise Valiance’s mother.

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