Fire Proof

Chapter Seventeen

🔥 Banner: Azari's Dragon form. Artist: ME😁 (signed T.L; do not steal) Materials used: mechanical pencil, colored pencil, micron pens 🔥

Bryce🐾
I'm stunned. Completely speechless. Everything in my body has gone numb with shock.

Azari is a dragon.

Azari is a dragon!

This can't be real. The girl who sat in front of me only one second ago, could not possibly have transformed into that!

She lets out a roar that shakes the ground, swiping a clawed and scaly paw at the wolves in front of her. She's nearly double their size, but I can't help feeling this isn't her true, full size.

First of all, dragons aren't the size of wolves —generally, anyway. Second, I was getting a sense of Deja Vu. Azari suspiciously looks identical to the dragon Kiara and I came across after the Flaming Soccer Ball incident. Only that creature was a fraction of this size.

Realizing I've just been standing here staring like an idiot, I snap myself back to what's happening. I start to move around Azari, trying to help, or at least analyze what is happening at this point. But every time I move in either direction, she pounces across the clearing to be in front of me, never faltering in her swipes at the wolves.

After several attempts, I sigh while suppressing a smirk. While my mind is frustrated, my heart swells. She's protecting us! I don't know if it works the same way as wolves, but even in dragon form, she is aware of what I mean to her, and possibly what she means to me.

Azari hisses as an arrow lodges it's way into her thick, scaly armor. Instinctively, I shift and manage to work my way around her. Standing beside her, I snarl at the intruders. They make no indication they have any fear of us whatsoever.

I don't understand. I mean, they're up against an Alpha wolf and a powerful dragon. A dragon for goodness sake! Why aren't they running for the hills?

Angry now, Azari spits a flame at the man with the bow. His clothes catch fire and he instantly drops to the dirt, rolling around in a desperate attempt to put it out. Azari growls thunderously and paws at the ground, her long claws miss the guy by inches.

Suddenly I'm pushed to the ground. Focusing too much on my mate, I'd gotten distracted long enough for one of the wolves to pounce. He bites into my neck and I howl in agony. Writhing violently, I manage to flip him off me and leap to my paws. This time I'm ready.

When he pounces, I rise to meet him, slashing away at his dirt brown pelt. We both snap in each other's faces, trying to latch onto the opponent's vulnerable neck. I swipe at his underbelly, narrowly missing when the ground slightly shakes from another dragon growl. My opponent takes this opportunity and claws at my face. He catches my nose and I recoil, the skin on my muzzle stinging like crazy. Angered, I lunge at him, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there. Using my hind legs, I claw furiously at the soft fur of his underbelly until he's howling in pain. He slithers from underneath me and disappears into the foliage surrounding the clearing.

A hiss of pain come from my right and I snap my head towards my mate, ready to help her in any way. An arrow sticks out from her side while the other wolf's teeth are firmly locked on her hind leg. Her spiny tail whips through the air, trying to get him off. The human stands in front of her, loading arrow after arrow. I bunch my hind legs to go after the human and let her focus on the wolf, but she suddenly takes off into the air, leveling herself with the branches of the trees. The powerful wind from her wings sends the human sprawling across the clearing, but to my surprise, the wolf hangs on tight, going into the air with her!

I growl and leap on top of the downed human. While I'm snarling in his face, he merely wipes the drool off his cheek and gives me a hard look.

"I don't know what you're doing, hanging around a dragon like this, Boy. But take my word, you don't want to be for very much longer." His voice was deep and rough, and it kind of reminded me of gravel. My growl halts in my throat, and I choke a little. What does he mean?

"They're dangerous creatures, I tell you! But I can help you get rid of them, and your pack would be a great help to me." My growl was deep in my throat, and I debate killing him on the spot. He just laughs, but it fades when a yelp comes with the thud of something hitting the ground. We both turn our head to see the wolf that had been attached to Azari was now stunned on the grass in a heap of grey fur.

While I'm distracted, the man kicks the wind out of me and shoves my paws off his shoulders, making me trip over them and bang my chin on the ground. He takes this chance and dashes away into the trees. A ball of fire follows him, splashing against the tree next to him and erupting the bark into flames. A second later, the fire vanishes.

I scramble to my paws, taking a couple bounds after the guy, but halt when I realize it's no use. Instead, I spin around to see Azari — as a human — crouching beside the wolf. With a sweep of her fingers across her thumb, she sets the body on fire before standing up and walking back to our picnic blanket, not meeting my eye.

I growl, but not menacingly. More like asking if she was okay, although I doubt she understands. I pad over and sniff her everywhere, my wolf checking if she's alright. She just stares at her lap.

I whimper and she gives a slight shake of her head, as if blocking the sound out. Hurt, I lower my head and walk away, knowing we won't get anywhere while I'm a wolf. I trot into the trees and find a pair of sweatpants tucked under the roots. I shift and tug them on as fast as I can before slowly walking back out to the blanket.

"Azari," I say softly, wanting to let her know I'm not upset. "What's wrong?"

She stays silent for a while, fidgeting with her hands. When she finally looks up, there are tears in her eyes.

"Hey!" I exclaim, still keeping my voice incredibly soft. "What's wrong? Oh, please don't cry!"

"I'm sorry." She chokes out and I'm dumbfounded. What can she possibly be sorry for? "I-I lied to you, and you've been so nice. But all I've been is secretive and strange."

Without thinking, I scoot close to her and pull her into my arms. After a stiff moment, I'm relieved when she melts into the hug and buries her face in my neck. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Az. I told you, I'm okay that you are slow to trusting me. It's okay!"

She jerks back from me and her eyes were wide and tearful. "But it's not okay!" She cries. "You were willing to share everything with me, and what do I give you in return?" She just shakes her head and looks down again.

"No," I say, "Azari, don't do this. I'm not upset, don't you see?" I wipe the tears from her cheeks and smile. "You've gone through a lot in your life, and it's okay for you to be slow with your feelings towards me. I'm prepared to earn your affection as slow as you need. But I'm here for you, and—and I love you." She draws in a sharp breath and I hug her close to me again. Her arms wrap around my neck and I can tell I took some of her worries away. But I'm afraid I might have added more as well.

But just as I am about to pull back to start going home, I hear her mumble into my chest, "I think I love you too."