The Dragon Paladin

Chapter 20

Ellie's p.o.v 

My head pounds as I wake up the next morning. 
I vaguely remember leaving the party early, and nothing after that. 
I try to open my eyes, but the light is blinding. 
"Ellie?" 
I turn my head towards the voice, unable to place a face to it. 
"How are you feeling? Kaylum said you passed out." 
I grumble a non-verbal reply. 
"Is that good or bad?" 
"Leave me alone..." I whine. 
Almost immediately, I choke on the sour smell of a rotting bog. It's just enough for my eyes to work properly. 
The owner of the voice is Alpha Brooks. 
"Are you okay?" He asks again. 
I nod and apologize. 
"I wasn't trying to be disrespectful." 
"It's fine, the fever must have been pretty bad." 
"Yeah... the fever..." I look away, out the window. 
"I have a niece." 
I look back at Alpha Brooks and meet his eyes. 
"Her name is Anna." 
Why is he telling me this? 
"Would you want to meet her?" 
"I would," I say. "It's just..." 
"Just what?" He scoots a little closer. "What is it?" 
"I can't," I tell him, looking right into his beautiful eyes. What? No. "I'm supposed to be training." 
"Oh, you fight?" His smile has no right being infectious. And yet, it is. 
"Yeah, I fight. Nearly killed my uncle by accident." Why did I say that. 
"Oh yeah, I saw that," his grin widens. "It was awesome!" 
"Really?" What is this feeling? Why do I feel this way? 
"Yeah! Wanna be sparring buddies?" 
"But..." I shift positions a little, trying to get comfortable. "You're an alpha. You're in charge of a pack." 
"And?" He shrugs. "Do you not want to?" 
"Not really," I admit. 
"Okay," he says. "Do you remember anything?" 
I shake my head slowly. 
"Still nothing?" His ears droop. 
I hate lying. 

"Puppy~" 
"Yeah, baby girl?" 
My alpha smiles as I wrap my arms around him as he sits writing at his desk. 
"The boys are wondering where their father is," I whisper, his ears soft as I place gentle kisses on each. 
The tickle makes him giggle. 
"Baby girl." He turns slightly and pulls me into his lap, placing kisses along my cheeks and down my neck. "I'm busy working, right now. Whether I'm done or not, I'll stop in an hour and take over the boys while you go out with your friends. How does that sound?"  
"But I wanna stay in, tonight," I whine,putting on a pout that always got me what I wanted. 
"Is that right~?" 
God, I love when he does that thing with his voice. 

"Ellie?" 
I blink as Carter snaps his fingers in front of my eyes. 
"I wasn't daydreaming!" 
"Did you hear what I said?" 
I shake my head again. 
"Don't worry, then," he says, getting up. "I should be heading back to the cabin to get Anna, anyway." 
"Carter." 
He looks at me with his hand on the door knob. 
"What was your last mate's name?" 
"Ophelia. Why do you ask?" 
"No reason," I say. "Good luck with Anna." 
He nods, and disappears. 
Once he's gone, I face the window again. 
What am I getting myself into? 

Jax was waiting for me when I was finally healed and able to walk around again. 
"There you are!" 
I can't help but flinch when they grab my arm. 
"What's wrong?" 
"Nothing..." 
"Ellie-" 
"I'm fine!" I snap. 
Jax takes a step back, their face falling. 
"I'm sorry," I sigh. "Just got alot going on in my head." 
"It's okay. wanna come to my room to talk about it?" 
"You have your own room?" 
"Yeah." They take my hand and pull me through the hallways. "Will didn't want to get in trouble with my family, so I usually just get whatever I want." 
"Oh." 
Their room is just a mess of scattered electrical equipment and half-finished projects. 
The only soft spots are a pile of old laundry in the corner and some blankets in a heap on what I'm assuming is the bed. 
"Don't worry about all this," they say, tiptoeing through the mess. 
"When's the last time you cleaned?" 
"Last time I didn't have any jobs." 
"How do you keep everything straight?" I ask, picking up what looks like a miniature T.V. 
"Oh I'm not straight." 
"What?" 
"I'm not interested in any relationships that aren't purely platonic." They reach some kind of container and open it, revealing several chilled drinks. "No sex or romance for me. Have a star pop." 
"A what?" I catch the cold can of liquid they throw at me. The covering is a mix of blues and greens. "What is it?" 
"It's a drink from my home. Pop the tab, and try it." 
"Your home?" I open the can and take a sip as they pick up a screen. "I thought you were Altean." 
"No, I'm godspawn." 
The drink burns my nostrils as I choke. 
"Oh my gods, are you okay?!" 
"You're what?" I croak. 
"Uhh, godspawn? I thought you were, too?" They rub my back. "Deep breaths." 
"You're the kid of a god?" 
"Technically, no. But also yes. I was adopted." 
"But godspawn implies-" 
"I know." They go back to their project. "It's just a bit hard to call them 'mom' and 'dad' when he has his own daughter and she has... I'd rather not talk about it." 
"Why don't people like godspawn, if you don't mind me asking?" 
"Because we're apparently overpowered. Which is bullshit. Some of us are just elementals or less afraid of using magic. It's bullshit." 
"I get the feeling... you didn't live up to certain expectations." 
Jax stops working and takes a breath. 
"More like, I was under certain pressures and just said fuck you to the crown so they sent me here so I'd be out of the way." 
"Mhm. Who's your mom?" 
"What?" 
"You heard me." I take a slow sip. "Who is she? Oh damn, this is good stuff." 
"You wouldn't be able to handle it if I told you..." 
"Your element is snow, right?" 
"It's... the entire winter season..." 
"Is that good or bad?" 
"I'm an elemental. No more questions." 
"Noted." 
"Good." 
Silence descends. 
For two seconds. 
"You know Alpha Brooks?" 
"What about him?" Jax doesn't look up. 
"I had kids in a past life with him." 
"Yeah, your name in your last life was Ophelia." 
The half-empty can drops from my hand. 
"How did you know?" 
"I was one of them. Guess which one." 
"Hmm..." I pick the can back up and take another sip. "Three boys and two girls?" 
"Correct. I died early." 
"Were you Xanther?" 
"He was my twin. I was Mikey." 
"Oh...I'm sorry..." 
"It's fine, it's not like you kept much track anyway." 
"He pushed you." 
Jax nods. "Into the river." 
"It was flooded..." 
"And I couldn't swim." 
Jax... I'm sorry. 
I reach over and pull them into a hug. 
"What are you doing?" 
"Comforting. you didn't get much of it back then." 
They hesitate for a little, before hugging back. 
"This is nice," they say slowly. "Thanks." 
"No problem," I smile. "I may not have been a good mom, but I can be a killer best friend. Anything you need." 
"Mmm, test rat?" 
"Oh, gods."