Ashton
The gravel crunched satisfyinglyunder my bike tires as I pulled up to the familiar wrought-iron gates. Easing to a stop, I dismounted with a fluid motion, born of years navigating the mountain terrain on two wheels. My boots hit the ground, and I couldn't resist tilting my head back to drink in the sight of the grand manor house perched like an ageless guardian amidst the evergreens.
"God, I've missed this place," I said, the words lost to the cool mountain air. The vast windows, darkened by the dense shadows of twilight, held secrets of warmth and laughter that had eluded me during the long, cold months of hibernation. This wasn’t just a house, it was my home, a grand, sprawling lodge of timber and stone, its silhouette vast and comforting against the darkening sky. Usually, its sturdy walls pulsed with the subtle hum of life, but now it felt still,waiting. The hibernation had been a deep, cursed withdrawal, a forced separation from the world, long years that blurred into a cold, isolated existence where my brothers and I lay dormant.
There was always that peculiar ache, a sense of drifting through time, half-aware, longing for the vibrant pulse of life within these stone walls.
The last time I’d been here had been for the quiet, methodical process of preparing for the hibernation that took Drake, Chance, Tyson, Zaden, and me every century. Rooms draped in white, like ghosts. My brothers by choice, their faces grim, moving with a practiced slowness, covering the furniture with linen sheets. There was a solemnity to the task, a grim acceptance of the inevitable.
Every century, the curse demanded its due, pulling us into a profound, chilling decade long sleep that felt like a tiny death. We’d secure every latch, extinguish every fire, knowing that the next time we woke, a decade would have slipped by, and the world outside would be changed again. Aurelia could have remained in the house, but refused, preferring instead to remain in her own home in the town, but she kept the utilities connected and paid, ready for us to wake.
This year was different, wasn't it? Those dormant days might well be behind me, all thanks to Erin. A bright spark of excitement flared in my chest at the thought of her—my life'smate.
I didn't bother locking up the bike. There was no need, not here. With a buoyant step, I made my way up to the heavy oak doors, their intricate carvings whispering stories of generations past. The moment I pushed them open, a blur of auburn curls and exuberance crashed into me.
Aurelia was beyond excited, her arms a vise around my torso. "Did I tell you that I missed you?"
"Can't breathe..." I managed to gasp out, laughing as she finally released me from her iron grip. "You might have mentioned it."
"Come on," she said, tugging me over the threshold, her eyes alight with the same joy that bubbled in my heart. Homecoming was always sweet, but now, laced with the promise of an eternal spring, it tasted even sweeter.
We'd barely taken three steps when another whirlwind of affection enveloped me. Skye, with her uncontainable spirit, leaped onto me, nearly bowling us both over. Her bear hug lived up to its name, squeezing the breath from my lungs as if I were a treasured toy rescued from obscurity.
Skye was a dragon shifter, like me, but she was something far rarer, a female dragon shifter. Most females born to a dragon shifter couple were witches, like Aurelia, making Skye's vibrant, uncontainable spirit all the more unique. Her blue, sea-glass eyes sparkled withunbridled joy as she finally let go, and her skin, naturally tanned from countless hours under the sun, seemed to glow, making the lemon-yellow dress she wore practically incandescent. Always impeccably put together, even when descending on someone with a crushing hug, she was a vision of stylish outfits and artfully applied makeup.
Unlike me and the rest of my male brethren, she wasn't affected by the curse on me and all the rest of our small clan. Only male dragons were forced by the ancient curse to go into hibernation. The witch who’d set the curse in motion after her fated mate rejected her, had only included the males of our species.
Skye was also Aurelia's best friend.
"Skye, easy now...the dead don't need reviving." I patted her back as she finally eased her hold, stepping back with a grin that could've outshone the moon.
"Sorry, can't help it," she said, the twinkle in her eye betraying not a shred of actual remorse. "You being back just makes everything feel right again."
"Good to see you too," I said, warmth spreading through me like the first rays of dawn. With my family by my side, the looming specter of hibernation seemed like nothing more than a fading nightmare. For the first time in centuries, the future stretched out before me, ripe with endless possibilities.
Her eyes danced with unspoken stories and the sheer delight of reunion. "Oh, I can't wait to have everyone together again," she bubbled over, nearly bouncing on her heels. "How long do you think it will take the others to wake?"
"I’m not sure, Skye, I didn’t wake naturally this time," I said, a secretive smile inching across my face. "I have something to tell you."
Before the words could spill from my lips, Aurelia blurted out my news. "Ashton found his fated mate." Her voice was a high-pitched squeal of excitement that echoed off the walls. "I was dying to tell you but wanted to wait for him."
The room seemed to pause; the air charged with her revelation. Skye's mouth dropped open, and at that moment, my disbelief and wonder mirrored in her expression. It was news that would change everything.
I shook my head at Aurelia's exuberance. "You could have let me tell her."
Skye's eyes were wide with amazement—a mirror of the northern sky in their clarity. "Are you serious?" she gasped.
"Serious as the grave," I said. "Erin, the lady who runs the inn—she's my fated mate." We settled into the worn couches of the family room, the familiar scent of aged wood and leather enveloping us. As I recounted the events of yesterday to Skye, her anticipation grewpalpable, transforming the air around us into a static charge.
Her hands clasped together in excitement, the gesture so uniquely Skye. "You know what this means?"
Meeting her gaze, I nodded solemnly. "Yes, if Erin doesn't reject me for some crazy reason, it means my curse is broken."
She clasped her hands together, the sound crisp in the quiet room. "Not just yours," she said, a smile playing on her lips. "But you know when an alpha finds his mate, the rest of the clan will find theirs."
I allowed myself a moment to absorb the gravity of her words, the reality that this extended beyond my fate. It wasn't about me; it was about all of us. The thought sent a thrill through my veins like the first rush of spring meltwater in the streams outside.
"Alpha? No, that's not me," I protested, uneasy with the title Skye so casually gave me.
