Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1558 - 157 : Symbol of Enduring Bond

*Aiden*

“Are you leaving already?”

I looked up to see my sister in the doorway of my office. I was collecting some important documents I needed to take on this trip that I was just getting ready to embark on.

I grinned at my sister. Even though we were only a few minutes apart in terms of age, I still viewed her as my little sister. I felt protective of her. Even though I thought it was silly, I knew she felt protective of me as well. “Why?” I asked teasingly. “Are you going to miss your big brother that much?”

Adelaide leaned against the doorjamb and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. It was hard to believe that before too long, she was going to be the dean of an entire magical college. She had been training to take on the role since she entered adulthood, and I couldn’t have been more proud of her. She was going to help a lot of young magic wielders.

“Just wondering if you were going alone to the Dragon Realm,” she said, not bothering to verbally acknowledge my jest. One corner of her mouth tilted upward into a smirk of her own.

I sighed heavily. “No, I’m not going alone,” I admitted.

Adelaide’s jaw dropped, but I could tell that she wasn’t actually surprised. “You wouldn’t be going with a certain cute dragon shifter, would you?”

“Adelaide,” I said firmly, a clear warning in my voice. I didn’t use my sister’s full name often. When I did, she knew I was being serious and was no longer playing around.

Adelaide pursed her lips before pouting. “Lighten up, brother,” she said. “I’m only messing around.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You shouldn’t joke about things like that,” I said. “You know that a relationship like that is unprecedented.”

Adelaide just shrugged. “I wasn’t saying that you would seriously pursue anything,” she protested. “There’s no law against you admiring her though. She is a woman, after all.”

I shook my head before standing from my desk. “I better get going,” I said, stepping past my sister but not before ruffling her hair fondly. “Stay out of trouble,” I teased.

She swatted my hand away but winked at me. “Never.”

“I will never get tired of this view.”

I grinned at Lila, who was staring at the vast landscape of the Dragon Realm. We had just arrived through the portal, and my advisor and best friend already looked ready to cry as she stared at the beautiful land.

“That’s good since we’re going to be here for a while,” I said, trying not to sigh at the thought. We were likely going to be there for several days, probably over a week as we oversaw some more recent moves toward rebuilding the realm.

It was going to be exhausting since I would be expected to make some major decisions, many of which wouldn’t be made lightly.

I glanced at Lila. Her golden eyes were shimmering like gemstones, her bright red hair getting toyed with gently in the breeze.

I felt something stutter in my chest and swallowed. “Thank you for agreeing to come along with me on this trip.” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Lila tilted her head to look up at me. “I wasn’t aware that I had a choice in the matter,” she teased.

I felt a little bit of heat creep up my neck as I looked down into those expressive orbs. “You always have a choice,” I assured her, staring intently at her.

Lila’s eyes rounded. I thought there was a touch of pink coloring her cheekbones, but it was gone the moment I blinked. She gestured ahead and started walking briskly. “We should go. Axureon and Saphira are expecting us.”

Axureon and Saphira greeted us warmly when we got to the Dragon Palace. They were benevolent leaders and even more attentive hosts.

“We appreciate you both coming to aid us in rebuilding our precious realm,” Saphira said as she hugged me.

“Of course,” Lila said, gripping the dragon leader’s hands. “We’re happy to be here.”

“We are essentially family,” I said to both Axureon and Saphira. “We will do whatever it takes to bring the realm back to its full potential.”

We stayed in the palace and had multiple meetings with various higher-ups within the Dragon Realm. We reviewed renovation projects to revitalize the heart of the realm as well as pushing efforts to help those still recovering from the turmoil of the realm’s tragedies.

Several times during these meetings, I found myself watching Lila. She tended to be a soft-spoken person in general, but when she was passionate about something, she became fiery.

I loved seeing her that way.

One evening, we decided to get some air after a long day of meetings and took a walk through the gardens of the Dragon Realm palace.

“I think things are going really well,” Lila said as we walked.

I nodded in agreement. “We might be able to leave a little ahead of schedule,” I said thoughtfully.

Lila stopped and looked over her shoulder to frown at me. “Are you not having a good time?”

I paused to consider that, momentarily distracted by the way the moonlight shone on Lila’s fiery hair. “We’re not really here having a good time,” I pointed out with a light chuckle. “I do enjoy the Dragon Realm, but I think I’m always a little anxious to return home. There are duties that I’ve postponed because of this trip.”

Lila’s expression fell.

I felt panic go through me, and I stopped walking to face her fully. “What’s wrong?”

Lila shrugged her shoulders, but she was staring at the ground now. She was shaking slightly, and shock went through me as I realized she was crying.

“Lila,” I said urgently. I put my hands on her shoulders, bending to look into her face. “I’m sorry. I must have said something thoughtless.”

Lila bit her lip and shook her head hard. “No, I should be the one apologizing,” she said, wiping some tears off of her cheeks. “I’ve been enjoying myself immensely, and I guess I feel a little bad knowing that you haven’t been.”

“I never said I’m not enjoying myself,” I said quickly, horrified that she came to that conclusion. Before I knew what I was doing, my hands slid down her arms so I could wrap them around hers. “It’s been a while since the two of us have just been able to hang out. Now we’re getting to spend a lot of time together, and it’s been amazing, Lila.”

This time, I was positive that Lila’s cheekbones colored a soft pink. She smiled softly up at me but then flinched. “I’m sorry for being sensitive,” she murmured. “While I’ve been having fun, it is still stressful. There’s so much pressure to do well. I want so badly for this realm to go back to the way it was before Pyroth.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I told her firmly. I was touched by her compassion and selflessness. I squeezed her hands. “We’ll help this realm get there, Lila. I promise.”

Lila stared up at me in wonder for a moment before she practically glowed, a wide, grateful smile spreading across her face.

It was at that moment I realized I was beginning to harbor feelings for Lila that extended past friendship.

As we continued through the garden and talked about our hopes and our dreams for the future, I realized that a future without Lila by my side wasn’t one worth living.

There was one issue, and that was that wolf-shifter and dragon-shifter relationships were unheard of. And the fact that I was a prince made things even more complicated.

As soon as we returned to the Light Realm, I decided to consult my parents and ask for their guidance.

“You’ve always had a passionate mind of your own, Aiden,” Mother said, grinning fondly once I explained the situation.

“You’ve always known what is best for you, Son,” Father added with a proud nod. “Lila is a fine young woman and would make a compassionate queen.”

My jaw dropped. “I thought you would feel as hesitant as I do,” I admitted. “A relationship like mine and Lila’s could be looked down on. Aren’t you worried about that considering I will one day be king?”

“Sweetheart,” my mother said, setting a hand on my shoulder, “even before you were born, your father and I dreamed of the day where wolf and dragon shifters could be united. A love like yours and Lila’s would be a huge step in that direction.”

“So long as you continue to uphold the morals that we stand by, I see no reason you and Lila can’t be together,” Father said. He smiled. “I’m proud of you, Son.”

My heart soared now that I had my parents’ blessings. I went about my princely duties with a skip in my step, knowing that if my family was behind me, my kingdom had a higher chance of following.

“Where are we going, Aiden?”

I chuckled and gripped Lila’s hand tighter as the terrain started to get a bit more precarious. We went up the trail together, taking in the gorgeous evening sights from the moonflowers to the sky that was darkening with the setting sun.

I had planned this out perfectly and could tell Lila was starting to realize where we were.

“Aiden?” she asked, but she was practically shaking with excitement. “What are we doing here?”

We arrived at a beautiful waterfall that happened to face the setting sun, causing the light to react beautifully with the cascading water. When I was deciding where to take Lila, it very quickly became clear that it had to be there. It was a place where she and her siblings would run to the few times they went to the Dragon Realm. It was a place of precious memories for her.

We gazed adoringly at the glittering waterfall for a moment before I took both of Lila’s hands in mine and spun her around to face me.

“Lila,” I began, my heart thumping wildly at what I was about to do. “I love you. I have loved you for a long time, but it’s only recently that I realized that I don’t want a life without you in it. I want you to always be by my side.”

Lila stared at me, her eyes widening with each word I spoke. She gasped softly when I lowered myself to one knee before her and opened the tiny velvet box I held to reveal a stunning ring I had custom-made. It contained symbols from both our cultures, intertwining with filigree patterns.

Lila gazed at the ring in awe, tracing her finger along the patterns of unity. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured.

“Marry me, Lila,” I said fiercely. “I promise to stand by your side forever, to love you forever.”

Lila sobbed, but her eyes shone with happy tears. “Yes,” she said breathlessly.

I jumped to my feet and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly before spinning her around. We were both practically shaking as I slipped the ring onto her finger. I held her gently as we gazed down at it, amazed that this was really happening.

“I love you so much,” Lila said. “I never thought this would be possible. I thought we couldn’t be together.”

I shushed her with a searing kiss, pressing my lips firmly to hers and caressing her face with my hands. “Our love will forever serve as a symbol of the enduring bond between dragons and wolves,” I vowed. “It was always meant to be, Lila. We were always meant to be.”

Lila smiled through her tears and pressed herself against me. I held her tightly to me. My arms wound around her waist, where they would stay for the rest of forever.