Don't Mess With My Dragon Mommy! Full EP (2026) ๐ ๐ ๐
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#NOFAKE
#REALMOVIE
#shortdrama #bestdrama #actionmovie #Drama #Film #Show #Anime #Movie #cdrama #Movies #BILLIONAIRE #dramashort #shortfilmdrama #minidrama #shortstorydrama #webdrama #indiedrama #shortfilmseries #shortdramaseries #dramashorts #englishmovie #drama #movieshortfull
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#goodfilms romance #bestfilmromance #romance #filmromance #drama romance
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The day we were supposed to complete our blood bonding ceremony, my mate Rylan had the clan sentinels drag me
00:07out of the sacred hall.
00:08He walked in with his childhood sweetheart instead.
00:11Lila's baby needs a father on paper. Once we divorce, I'll marry you.
00:16Everyone thought I'd swallow my pride and wait another month. After all, I'd already waited seven years.
00:22But that night, I accepted my family's arranged alliance and left the Abyssal Reach entirely.
00:27I disappeared from Rylan's world completely. Three years later, I returned to Abyssal Reach with my mate for a clan
00:35ancestral rite.
00:36My mate had a work emergency, so he had his people to collect me.
00:40At the border crossing, I walked out and froze. That person was Rylan, my ex.
00:46The arrival clearing. I spotted a scout holding a marker carved with my name, my formal alliance name, Hela, and
00:53walked over.
00:54However, Rylan was holding it. He had Lyra with him, plus a few of his clansmen, all craning their necks
01:00toward the tree line.
01:02Hey, isn't that Rylan's obsessed ex? Isn't that Evara?
01:05Rylan looks surprised to see me. He covered it fast.
01:09Told you she'd come crawling back.
01:12Evara vanished without a trace. Now she sees Rylan is in a higher rank.
01:16She probably cries herself to sleep every night.
01:19Evara, if you're gonna fake a random run-in, why show up like this?
01:25Couldn't you at least put on some makeup?
01:27Without Rylan, you can't even buy a nice outfit.
01:30Look pathetic.
01:31It was true. I used to make myself perfect every time I knew I'd be near Rylan.
01:37Sharpest claws, finest scales on display. Best version of me. Not anymore. No point.
01:44Because I'm carrying, and my mate refused to let me be uncomfortable.
01:48He had this soft traveling wrap, custom-tailored for me.
01:52Listening to them mock me, it suddenly clicked.
01:54They only knew my alliance name.
01:56They had no idea the one they were here to collect was me.
02:00Evara, hey, it's good you're back. Rylan's been asking after me for years.
02:04Yeah, our son is entering the young training cohorts. Now I'm in charge of the drama.
02:07He was still so incredibly arrogant.
02:10But I wasn't that naive girl anymore.
02:12I didn't want to waste another second on them.
02:14I was just about to tell them exactly who I was.
02:17I am-
02:18Please don't blame Rylan. He's just trying to take care of you.
02:21You disappeared for three years.
02:22Who knows what kind of shady stuff you had to do to survive.
02:25Don't worry. Caring for my son is a respectable role.
02:29No one will look down at you.
02:31Rylan caught my expression and thought I was jealous.
02:34Something flickered in his eyes.
02:36All right, Evara, drop the attitude.
02:38You clearly can't survive out there, so stop throwing tantrums,
02:42take care of the kid, and learn your place.
02:45Damn, Evara, look how good Rylan is to you.
02:48He's given you free room and board.
02:50Isn't babysitting better than whatever trashy life you're living now?
02:53Hurry up and say thank you.
02:55Don't worry, dear.
02:56If my son acts up, I'll handle him myself.
03:00You won't be mistreated.
03:02Why would she be mistreated?
03:04She ran away over a tiny little misunderstanding.
03:06If she hit rock bottom out in the wilds, a little humility is good for her.
03:11My heart actually skipped a beat.
03:13Three years had passed, and he still thought it was a small matter to dump me and married Lyra?
03:17The Rylan who used to love me was truly gone.
03:21He wasn't the young warrior who'd carried me, wounded,
03:24across three territory borders in the dead of a moonless night.
03:27But whatever.
03:28It was all in the past.
03:30None of it mattered anymore.
03:31Besides, I was about to carry my second patchling anyway.
03:35I looked at Rylan calmly and said,
03:37Aren't you here to pick me up?
03:38Let's go.
03:39Silence fell over the clearing.
03:41Then someone left.
03:43Pick you up?
03:51Hela is the mate-bonded consort of the Frostridge line.
03:55She is blood-bonded to Lord Kale.
03:58Kale is a living legend.
04:01Coldest dragon alive in the field, but completely devoted to his wife.
04:05Rumor has it he refused all alliances for years.
04:09Just waiting for Hela.
04:11Everyone knows the rule.
04:12If you want Kale's favor, go through Hela.
04:15She is his entire world.
04:17Listening to them gossip about my marriage, I couldn't help it.
04:21A genuine happy smile spread across my face.
04:25We had been married for three years.
04:27Kale's reputation as a fiercely devoted husband had spread everywhere.
04:31To claim Hela as his, Kale went to the ancient exchange and paid down a legendary artifact,
04:36the Eternal Fang Bracelet, just to give to Hela.
04:41She's the most envied female in every territory.
04:48That bracelet!
04:49That's it!
04:51It's a pretty good fake.
04:53Which a lowborn Klansman bought you that?
04:56Buying you a cheap imitation.
04:57Absolute trash.
05:01Wow, it really is high quality for a fake.
05:04Way better than the replica I had made.
05:06But I'd never actually wear mine in public.
05:08These outer territory emmucations though, the craftsmanship is something else.
05:13The weight actually feels real.
05:17Or what, Evora?
05:18Are you going to tell us you're Hela?
05:21Are you Lord Kale's bonded mate?
05:25Of course they did.
05:26It was absurd to them.
05:28Kale was a living legend across all territories.
05:32Cold.
05:33Absolute.
05:34Untouchable.
05:35And three years ago, I was just the girl Rylan had left standing outside the Sacred Hall.
05:41There was no version of reality where those two things connected.
05:47Just give it to me, Evora.
05:49I'll pay double whatever you traded for.
05:52Give it back.
05:54Kale gave me that.
05:58Shut your mouth!
05:59Rylan looked furious.
06:01Evora, do you have any idea what you're saying?
06:04You think you can just casually invoke Lord Kiel's name?
06:08Are you trying to get me killed?
06:10His clansmen piled on immediately.
06:12Do you know how hard we fought for this pickup assignment?
06:14Get on a trine for this pickup of season.
06:16Kale absorbed Rylan's clan faction last season.
06:18Our entire livelihood depends on him now.
06:20Are you two trying to ruin Rylan entirely?
06:23I wiped the blood from my lip, slowly turned back to Rylan.
06:27Whatever he saw in my eyes made him flinch.
06:29Lyra caught it.
06:30She stepped forward and pointed a claw at my face.
06:35You ungrateful snake.
06:37Rylan offered you a place and you throw it back at him?
06:39I know you're still bitter about the past.
06:41Trying to sabotage his standing out of petty spite.
06:43That's sick.
06:44Hearing her say that, it felt exactly like three years ago.
06:48No matter what I did, Lyra would twist it.
06:51Feed her poisonous version of the story to Rylan.
06:54In the early days, he used to defend me.
06:57By the end, he always took her side.
06:59Just like now.
07:01Jealous shriek.
07:03For old time's sake, I'll let this go.
07:07Take these, get yourself proper clothes.
07:09If you really don't want to tend Lyra's hatchling,
07:12I'll find you something tolerable next season.
07:14Don't worry.
07:15Ever since Kale absorbed us, this kind of thing cost me nothing.
07:18No thank you.
07:19I don't take things from strangers.
07:28Not three steps out, Rylan grabbed my arm.
07:32You won't take what I'm offering?
07:35What does that mean I'm a stranger to you?
07:37I kept walking and said evenly,
07:40We dissolved our bond.
07:43Better not to stay tangled in each other's lives.
07:46Others might get the wrong impression.
07:49I was thinking of Kale,
07:50who had a very particular dislike of misunderstandings.
07:54My faction is hosting a tribute feast for Kale in three days.
07:57I was going to bring you,
07:58show you something real,
08:00but you'd need to present yourself properly.
08:02You can't embarrass me.
08:03I'm fine, but thank you.
08:06Fine, I'll take Lyra.
08:07I won't let you down.
08:09I didn't look back.
08:10Hope you're still this confident in three days.
08:13Fresh air.
08:14I stood there for a moment,
08:16breathing it in.
08:17The nausea faded.
08:19My mind flashed back to three years ago.
08:22My family had arranged an alliance overseas.
08:25I'd gone to Rylan for the first seven years together.
08:29I wanted to seal our bond before the journey,
08:31force the decision.
08:33He agreed.
08:34But at the Sacred Hall,
08:35it wasn't just Rylan waiting.
08:37Her hatchling needs to be registered under my bloodline.
08:41I'll dissolve her bond claim in a month.
08:44Then I'll bond with you.
08:45This is just about hatchling.
08:47I watched him take her inside.
08:49That was the last thing I needed to see.
08:52I crossed the border that night,
08:53met Kale,
08:54bonded with him a month later,
08:56had our son the year after.
08:58Now I was carrying it again.
09:00And the only reason I was even back in the reach
09:02was to attend a clan ancestral rite with Kale.
09:06Honestly, if it wasn't for the rite,
09:08I never would have set foot back here.
09:10And I definitely wouldn't have run into Rylan.
09:12Three days later,
09:13I painted on a light adornment,
09:15threw on comfortable traveling leathers,
09:17and made my way to the feast grounds alone.
09:20The second Rylan saw me enter the clearing,
09:22his eyes lit up.
09:24A smug smirk spread across his face.
09:26You said you weren't coming,
09:27but here you are.
09:29Listen,
09:30if you want me back,
09:31you need to at least present yourself properly
09:33to match my standing.
09:34I walked past him without a word.
09:37Evara, I'm talking to you.
09:38Our circle is here.
09:39Where do you think you're going?
09:41I pulled free and said simply,
09:43That's your circle.
09:45Mine is up there.
09:46He followed my gaze to the head circle,
09:48the raised dais reserved for lords
09:50and their bonded mates.
09:52His face went pale.
09:53Lyra spotted my bracelet from across the ground.
09:56Evara, how did she get in here?
09:58She's here to cause chaos.
10:00How dare she wear that pendant tonight?
10:02Of all nights,
10:04tonight is the first time
10:05Kale is bringing his bonded mate out publicly.
10:08Is she trying to humiliate Hela?
10:11She slipped past the sentinels.
10:13She's trying to make us look disloyal
10:14in front of Lord Kale.
10:16Rylan?
10:18Is this female with you?
10:19Rylan straightened.
10:20No.
10:21Take that bracelet off and get out.
10:23I looked at her with a faint smile.
10:25You sure you want me to leave?
10:27Lyra realized others were watching.
10:29Her eyes went vicious.
10:31Stop acting like you're something.
10:33Take it off now!
10:35She lunged forward to rip it from my wrist.
10:38I swatted her claw away and stepped back.
10:40Someone behind me tripped me.
10:42I hit the ground hard.
10:44Lyra stepped on my arm
10:45and ripped the bracelet off my wrist.
10:47Treating this like it's something sacred?
10:49Trash.
10:50My wrist was bleeding,
10:52but I just sat there,
10:53staring at the bracelet lying broken on the ground.
10:57Pick her up and throw her out.
10:59A few sentinels moved toward me.
11:01They reached for my arms.
11:03Stop!
11:03I struggled.
11:04I am Kale's...
11:05Lyra struck me across the face
11:07before I could finish.
11:08Are you going to start spreading rumors
11:11that your Lord Kale's kept female?
11:15You wish.
11:17She struck me again.
11:19When I came back to the Reach,
11:21I hadn't planned to make a scene.
11:23It had felt beneath me,
11:24but now she had made it worth it.
11:27Rylan crouched down in front of me,
11:29reached for my wrist.
11:31I pulled back instinctively.
11:33Are you done throwing your fit?
11:35Huh?
11:36You show up wearing the bracelet,
11:38dressed down on purpose.
11:40You wanted me jealous.
11:41Just say it,
11:43and I'll give you what you want.
11:45I laughed.
11:46Short.
11:47Sharp.
11:47Rylan,
11:48you're finished.
11:51He frowned,
11:52opened his mouth,
11:53and then the clearing went dead silent.
11:56Guests began to straighten themselves,
11:58drifting toward the entrance path.
12:01Kale is here.
12:02Behave yourself.
12:07Lyra and I have dissolved our bond,
12:09by the way.
12:10I stared at him.
12:11I was cradling my nearly broken wrist,
12:14looking at the male in front of me,
12:16thinking,
12:17how did I spend seven years on this person?
12:20What did his dissolution have to do with me?
12:22At that exact moment,
12:25Kale walked in with our son in his arms.
12:27Once they reached the feast grounds,
12:29our son squirmed and climbed down.
12:31He hit the stone path,
12:33all soft cheeks and small clawed boots,
12:36and every eye in the clearing went straight to him.
12:40His guardian scrambled after him.
12:42Rylan hadn't noticed who the cub was yet.
12:44If you stop being jealous of Lyra,
12:46I'll forgive you for disappearing three years.
12:49I'll give you another chance.
12:51Carry my hatchling,
12:53a real one,
12:54ours.
12:55Just come back and tend to my son.
12:57I'll get rid of Lyra.
12:58I didn't say a single word to him.
13:00I just looked past him into the crowd,
13:03trying to catch Kale's and our son's eyes.
13:06Then it happened.
13:07Kale followed the cub's small, clumsy steps,
13:10straight to where I was.
13:13The second my son saw me,
13:15something broke open in his face.
13:17He threw himself into my arms.
13:24Why is there so much blood?
13:26One word.
13:27Mom.
13:29Every dragon in that clearing turned from the cub to me.
13:33The ones who have watched me get knocked around without doing a thing.
13:36All of them staring.
13:38My son's warmth in my arms washed away everything that had been pressing down on me.
13:42I crouched down to his level,
13:44cupped his cheek.
13:46He took my hand.
13:47Cubs.
13:48They see something hurting someone they love,
13:50and they just fall apart.
13:55Who did this to you?
13:56Protecting you is mom's job, too.
14:01Before I could say anything more,
14:02the air in the clearing changed.
14:04A heavy, suffocating stillness washed over the crowd.
14:08Kale was walking toward us.
14:09That quiet, controlled walk that made the air around him feel different.
14:13Dragons moved aside without knowing why.
14:15I felt him before I saw him.
14:17I picked up our son and turned around.
14:19The blood on my wrist looked stark against his white wrap.
14:22Our son looked up at Kale immediately.
14:27Father, someone hurt mother.
14:29We have to make them pay.
14:32Kale stepped forward and very carefully lifted my arm.
14:34His face was unreadable,
14:36but his voice was quiet.
14:37Avara.
14:39What happened?
14:41I'm right here,
14:43and you're already hurt.
14:43I can't take my eyes off you.
14:46Whoever did this...
14:57Looking at this cold, absolute lord turn into a fiercely protective mate made my heart ache.
15:03He was always like this.
15:04A mosquito bite.
15:06A bruise from sleep.
15:07Even just eating half a portion,
15:09he'd be beside himself with worry.
15:12The feast hall's ambient light was low and dim,
15:15but our son felt something hard beneath his boot.
15:18Father, isn't this the bracelet you gave mother?
15:21Kale took it from him,
15:23turned it over,
15:24saw the engraving.
15:25Then I looked at the shards scattered across the ground,
15:27and at my wrist.
15:28The nearest stone pillar cracked in his grip.
15:31He drew me gently into the light.
15:32Bring every torch to the ground over here.
15:35When our eyes met,
15:36his pupils narrowed slightly.
15:38What happened to your face?
15:40They actually dared to do this to you?
15:44I softened my voice.
15:46I'm fine, Kale.
15:48Ivera, I am your mate.
15:50You never have to swallow this kind of treatment alone.
15:54Our son pressed close.
15:56No one gets to hurt mother!
15:58Honestly,
15:59I could have handled Rylan and Lyra myself,
16:01but perhaps it was pregnancy.
16:04Or perhaps it was just finally feeling safe.
16:07My voice cracked.
16:08All the weight I'd been holding for three days broke open.
16:12You weren't here,
16:13and they all came at me.
16:16The feast grounds had gone dead silent.
16:19Rylan's scouts from the border crossing
16:21were somewhere in that clearing,
16:23shaking hard enough that they needed the standing stones
16:25to hold themselves up.
16:27They didn't expect it either.
16:29The female they'd spent three days
16:30calling Rylan's lovesick cast-off
16:33was Lord Kale's bonded mate.
16:35Every single one of them
16:37was now looking for a way
16:38to disappear into the tree line.
16:40But then Lyra's companion,
16:42a female named Vesa who had arrived late,
16:45strutted out from the crowd.
16:48Ivera,
16:48where did you find these two?
16:50Their performance is impressive.
16:52Do you want Lyra to get them placed with a traveling troop?
16:54Not that you could afford the placement fee.
16:57Vesa threw her head back
16:58and laughed at her own words.
17:00Usually half the clearing would laugh with her.
17:02But this time,
17:03the entire grounds just stared at her
17:06like she had lost her mind.
17:08Vesa noticed the dead silence.
17:10She doubled down.
17:11She turned to Kale and smirked.
17:14You're actually quite striking.
17:16If you ever want to leave her,
17:19I wouldn't mind taking care of you.
17:21My mouth twitched.
17:22She was propositioning my mate
17:24in front of me.
17:26Vesa finally registered the clearing's energy.
17:29She drifted toward Lyra for backup.
17:31Lyra wanted nothing to do with her.
17:33Before Vesa could even speak,
17:36Lyra spun around
17:36and struck her viciously across the face.
17:39Vesta?
17:40Are you insane?
17:42You just insulted Lord Kale
17:44and his bonded mate.
17:45Do you not banish?
17:46Do you want to be banished?
17:53Lyra's healer.
17:56I just told her mate
17:58I'd take care of him.
18:01Oh no!
18:03Then someone near the back of the clearing
18:05made a sound.
18:06Heads turned.
18:07Vesa had lost control of herself entirely.
18:10Her shift reflex had misfired
18:12in the most primal, humiliating way
18:15a dragon can in public.
18:17Scales broke out down one side of her neck
18:20and arm in a panicked, involuntary half-shift.
18:23The kind that happened to hatchlings
18:25who couldn't control their fear responses.
18:28Kale's jaw tightened slightly.
18:30A sentinel materialized
18:32and quietly escorted her from the grounds.
18:34Lyra and Rylan went scarlet.
18:37The guests looked at them
18:38the way you look at those
18:39who have shamed themselves
18:40past the point of recovery.
18:42Meanwhile,
18:42a healer Kale had summoned
18:44was tending to my wrist nearby.
18:46I hissed.
18:47Kale and our son
18:48both turned with the same expression.
18:50Can you perhaps be a little more careful?
18:52The healer's hands started trembling.
18:55I shot them both a look.
18:56He's helping me.
18:57Stop.
18:58They immediately turned
19:00identical wounded expressions on me.
19:02Father and son.
19:03Same face, same pout.
19:06Okay.
19:07I know.
19:09I'm sorry.
19:10Keep going.
19:11I told the healer.
19:13He visibly relaxed.
19:14When he finished,
19:16he turned to Kale.
19:17My lord,
19:19your mate is perfectly fine.
19:20The unborn is safe.
19:22The wrist is the worst of it.
19:24I will source the best remedies available
19:26and do everything possible
19:28to ensure no scarring.
19:29Kale said nothing.
19:30I knew exactly
19:31what that silence meant.
19:33It was the one that came
19:34before something irreversible.
19:37Standing in the crowd,
19:38Rylan looked terrified.
19:40But underneath the panic,
19:42he burned with something else.
19:44Jealousy.
19:45Watching how close
19:46Kale stayed beside me.
19:48His old possessiveness
19:49was peaking.
19:50But the survival of his faction
19:52was on the line.
19:53So he had to bite it down.
19:55Kale stood beside me
19:56and surveyed the clearing
19:57with the kind of stillness
19:58that made everyone in it
20:00feel like they'd already
20:01been found guilty of something.
20:03He looked almost cold.
20:05Almost lethal.
20:06I actually found it
20:08a little endearing.
20:09Especially with our son
20:10standing right beside him
20:12like a tiny, furious mirror image.
20:15I want to know
20:16exactly what happened.
20:18Everything.
20:19If you speak now,
20:21perhaps you survive this.
20:23If I have to find it out myself,
20:26every single one of you
20:27goes down with it.
20:28It was a naked threat.
20:30These dragons had clawed
20:32for the chance
20:32to attend this feast.
20:34None of them wanted to burn
20:35for Ryland's sake.
20:37Ryland panicked.
20:38He stepped forward.
20:39Lord Kale.
20:40There's been a misunderstanding.
20:43As Ivara's,
20:45as her former bonded partner,
20:47I was simply reconnecting with her.
20:50Things got out of hand.
20:51He unexpectedly said
20:53former bonded partner
20:54with a particular emphasis.
20:56God blessed him.
20:58Such an idiot.
20:59The worst possible moment for it.
21:01He actually thought
21:02I had spent three years
21:04keeping myself for him.
21:06Waiting for him
21:07to snap his fingers
21:08so I could come running back.
21:09He completely missed
21:11the murderous stillness
21:12crossing Kale's face.
21:13I heard the stone goblet
21:15in Kale's hand crack.
21:17Ryland kept going.
21:19You likely know
21:19she was quite devoted to me
21:21before the disavolition.
21:24Reconnecting after years apart,
21:25it's natural
21:26that emotions would...
21:28the goblet shattered
21:29in Kale's grip.
21:30Stone fragments fell.
21:32Blood ran down his fingers.
21:34I pushed Ryland out of my focus
21:36and reached for Kale's hand.
21:40Stop!
21:41Stop trying to put yourself between us!
21:43You had your chance
21:44and you threw it away!
21:45Don't flatter yourself.
21:47I have loved exactly one person
21:49my entire life.
21:50And it is you.
21:52Everyone here can hear me say it.
21:54I grabbed a clean wrap
21:56and frantically began
21:57binding Kale's bleeding hand.
21:59Ryland looked genuinely hurt.
22:01Evora,
22:02I know you're bitter.
22:03But Lyra and I
22:04have dissolved our bond.
22:06Her hatchling is ready
22:07to call you mother.
22:10You only bonded with Kale
22:11to wound me.
22:12I understand.
22:13I'm not angry.
22:14Just come back.
22:16Whatever he can give you,
22:17I'll work twice as hard
22:18to match it.
22:18Just return
22:19and tend to my son!
22:22If you don't want Leia,
22:23I'll make her disappear.
22:26I honestly could not believe
22:27what I was hearing.
22:29Kale's blood was smearing
22:30onto my wraps,
22:31but as I urgently pressed
22:32the binding to his palm,
22:34he suddenly let out
22:35a low, genuine laugh.
22:37I looked up at him,
22:38furious.
22:39Why are you laughing?
22:40Kale reached over
22:41with his uninjured hand
22:43and quietly rested it
22:44on top of my head.
22:45Evora,
22:47you just said
22:48I'm the one you love most.
22:49Our son made a face
22:51and looked away.
22:51His cold, fearsome father
22:53was currently acting
22:55like a lovesick hatchling,
22:57all because I'd defended him.
22:59The entire feast grounds
23:00went still.
23:01Half the guests were in shock.
23:02The other half
23:03were dying of quiet envy.
23:05The whispers spread
23:06through the crowd
23:06like fire through dry grass.
23:08The rumors are real.
23:10He is completely
23:11diverted to his mate.
23:14Rylan stood there,
23:15his knuckles white
23:15with humiliation.
23:16But our son wasn't finished.
23:18He looked Rylan up and down
23:19with open disdain.
23:20Cub tender?
23:21My mother is the most
23:23protected one in our den.
23:25You think you deserve her?
23:27Mother only carries two cubs.
23:29Me and my sister.
23:32You really think
23:33your unacknowledged hatchie
23:35gets to call her mother?
23:38I know all about you.
23:41You're the one
23:42who broke my mother's heart.
23:44You're not as impressive
23:45as my father,
23:46not as strong,
23:48not as well formed.
23:49He tilted his head,
23:50studying Rylan
23:51with the kind of cold disdain
23:53that was entirely
23:54too familiar
23:55on that small face.
23:57And you smell like someone
23:58who peaked too early
23:59and never recovered.
24:00It's making my eyes water.
24:02Is your hatchling
24:03going to grow up
24:03bleaching off others
24:04just like you?
24:06The guests surrounding us
24:07erupted.
24:08They couldn't help it.
24:10Rylan bit his lip
24:11hard enough to draw blood,
24:12shaking with shame.
24:14Everyone in that clearing
24:15knew the truth.
24:16He had coasted for years
24:18on Lyra's family resources.
24:20It was not a secret.
24:21Hearing all of this,
24:23Lyra had completely lost
24:24her grip on rational thought.
24:26Her hatchling
24:27was the most important thing
24:28in the world to her.
24:31The most exceptional cub alive.
24:34And this female
24:34was going to replace her.
24:36Rylan had essentially
24:37said so himself.
24:39Lyra grabbed a bone-handled
24:40knife from the nearest table.
24:42You little wretch!
24:43I'll kill you!
24:45I didn't think.
24:46I let go of Kale's hand
24:47and threw myself
24:48entirely over our son.
24:50A blinding, searing pain
24:52ripped through my back.
24:54The color drained
24:55from my face.
24:56Dre, are you...
24:57I didn't finish the sentence.
24:58Everything went black.
24:59I collapsed to the stone.
25:01The last thing I saw
25:02before I lost consciousness
25:04was our son's face,
25:05white with panic.
25:06I wanted to tell him
25:08not to cry.
25:08I didn't get the chance.
25:10I woke to the sharp smell
25:11of healer's den.
25:13Dried herbs,
25:14warm stone walls.
25:15I stared at the ceiling
25:16for a moment,
25:17disoriented.
25:18My best friend Sorin
25:20was in the chair
25:20beside me.
25:21The second she saw
25:22my eyes open,
25:23she grabbed my hands.
25:25Oh, thank the ancient fires!
25:27You're awake!
25:28If you had stayed under
25:29any longer,
25:30your mate and your son
25:31were going to tear
25:31this entire territory apart.
25:35What?
25:36She was definitely exaggerating.
25:39Sorin caught the look
25:40immediately.
25:41I reached for my stomach
25:42on instinct.
25:43You're both fine.
25:44The healer said
25:45it was shock and pain.
25:46That's why you went under.
25:48The unborn is completely safe.
25:51That Lyra is something else.
25:53Going after a cub
25:53with a blade.
25:55My chest tightened.
25:57My son!
25:58Kale!
25:59Are they-
25:59Both fine.
26:00Physically,
26:01completely fine.
26:02Slow down.
26:03Drink.
26:05Sorin handed me
26:06a cup of broth.
26:09I drank.
26:10The tightness
26:11eased a little.
26:14You didn't need
26:15to throw yourself
26:15in front of him.
26:16There were six sentinels
26:17in that clearing.
26:18Dre was never
26:18going to get touched.
26:21That's Dre.
26:22I know, I know.
26:23He's your whole heart.
26:24That terrifying
26:25little creature.
26:25He doesn't need protecting.
26:27He's more dangerous
26:28than most full-grown warriors.
26:30I smiled despite myself.
26:32Where are they?
26:33Sorin's eyes lit up.
26:35Getting revenge?
26:36I wanted to come along,
26:38but your mate
26:38and your son
26:39are genuinely terrifying
26:40when they operate together,
26:42so I volunteered
26:43to stay with you instead.
26:44She settled in
26:45and began.
26:46When I arrived,
26:47you were already under.
26:49From what I pieced together
26:50from the witnesses
26:50still standing,
26:52your son watched you collapse
26:53and went completely still
26:54for about two seconds.
26:55Then he picked up
26:56the knife Lyra had dropped
26:57and drove it straight
26:58through her hand,
26:59into the stone beneath.
27:02A cub.
27:03I don't know where
27:04he gets that guy's strength.
27:06Kale found out
27:07about the strike
27:08at the border crossing
27:08three days ago,
27:09and the bracelet,
27:11and everything
27:11they said to you.
27:12He had his sentinels
27:14hold Rylan down,
27:14and they dealt
27:15with the hand
27:15he used to hit you.
27:16I closed my eyes briefly.
27:18Lyra's face received
27:19the same treatment.
27:20And then Kale had
27:21a chest of gemstones
27:22brought into the clearing,
27:23all the shards
27:24from your broken bracelet,
27:25and he told Lyra
27:26that since she loved
27:27taking things
27:28that belonged to you
27:29so much,
27:29she had to swallow them.
27:35You know what Kale said?
27:42You love taking
27:43what is hers.
27:44So here,
27:45I am giving you
27:46everything you wanted.
27:47The stones,
27:48and the mail.
27:49She refused at first.
27:51So Kale had her
27:52hatchling brought in.
27:53Then she did it.
27:54She swallowed
27:55a great many shards.
27:56They worked her over
27:57until she was barely conscious.
27:59Then Kale had her drop
28:00beyond the outer borders.
28:01Swallowed shards.
28:03Face first.
28:04Every dragon
28:04who stood around
28:05watching you get hurt,
28:06every single one of them
28:07carries a mark
28:07on their wrists now,
28:08just for doing nothing.
28:09If you weren't
28:10my closest companion,
28:11I'd probably have one too.
28:12I gave her a flat look.
28:14The clan records
28:14were updated,
28:15but the only news
28:16that spread was about
28:16Ryland's faction
28:17being absorbed and dissolved.
28:18Every allied group
28:19in that clearing
28:20with border exposure,
28:21Kale absorbed it.
28:22Some were disbanded entirely.
28:23Some are still bleeding out.
28:26Raelynn was supposed
28:27to go the same way
28:27as Lyra.
28:29But Lyra stopped
28:30it.
28:30Threw herself in front
28:31of the sentinels,
28:32bought him time to run.
28:35I think she made a deal
28:37with him.
28:37It wasn't hard
28:38to figure out.
28:39The hatchling.
28:39When a mother
28:40is running out of time,
28:41the one thing
28:42she'll trade everything for
28:43is her child's safety.
28:45Ryland must have promised
28:45her something about the boy.
28:47Lyra had swallowed
28:48shards and stones
28:49for the chance
28:50that her son
28:50would be alright.
28:51Kale was precise
28:52and he was cold.
28:53But every time
28:54I so much as bruised
28:55my arm,
28:56he acted like
28:57he'd personally failed.
28:58He was brutal
28:59because he was afraid.
29:00Not of losing power,
29:01of losing me.
29:02And Dre,
29:03my sweet,
29:04sharp,
29:04slightly terrifying cub,
29:06had been shaped
29:07by that same love.
29:08I'd been trying
29:09to counterbalance it,
29:10clearly still working on it.
29:15Kale,
29:16can you grab my...
29:17Evara.
29:18It's me.
29:19His face was still swollen.
29:21He'd managed to find
29:22a decent cloak,
29:23the one I'd given him
29:24years ago.
29:25The one he'd told me
29:26was plain
29:27and unworthy
29:28of his rank.
29:29I stayed where I was.
29:30Last time I'd moved
29:32too fast,
29:32it had cost me.
29:34He seemed to read that.
29:35I'm not going to hurt you.
29:37I just needed to...
29:40What?
29:43I still love you.
29:44His voice broke on it.
29:45Every time I think
29:46about you,
29:47I can't breathe.
29:49I know it's too late.
29:50I know what I did.
29:52But I can't just...
29:53Raelynn,
29:54you were with another female
29:55while we were still bonded.
29:57You let me humiliate myself.
29:59You abandoned me
30:00and destroyed me.
30:02And then tonight,
30:03when you had the chance
30:04to do literally anything else,
30:06you stood in front of my mate
30:07and told him
30:08I was devoted to you.
30:09You've had seven years
30:10and three more
30:11to figure out what you want.
30:12What you want keeps shifting
30:13based on what you can reach.
30:15That's not love.
30:16Ryland's jaw worked.
30:18He wanted to argue.
30:19I was always your contingency.
30:21And you were never mine.
30:23Not really.
30:24He looked at me
30:24for a long time.
30:25Then he looked at the cloak.
30:26You gave me this
30:27for the winter solstice.
30:29I told you it was plain.
30:33I know.
30:35I kept it.
30:36I didn't say anything.
30:38I didn't say anything.
30:38He left quietly.
30:40Kale came in
30:41with his hand newly wrapped.
30:42Dre right behind him.
30:43They both stopped
30:44when they saw I was awake.
30:45Then they were both
30:46in front of me
30:46at the same time.
30:47Ivara.
30:48Kale's voice was unsteady.
30:49You're up.
30:50Are you...
30:51Does anything hurt?
30:52Do you need...
30:53Father,
30:54she was fine two minutes
30:56before you got here.
30:57She was talking
30:58and everything.
30:59Kale ignored him.
30:59Are you okay?
31:01Tell me you're okay.
31:02I'm okay.
31:03You say that every time.
31:05Because it keeps being true.
31:06Dre tucked himself
31:07under my arm.
31:08Spoke very quietly.
31:09Mom,
31:10are you upset
31:11that Father
31:12raised his voice at me?
31:13Did he raise his voice
31:14at you?
31:16I am fine.
31:17He didn't yell.
31:18Dre said very firmly.
31:20Kale.
31:23He was scared.
31:24We both were.
31:26He wasn't really yelling.
31:28He was just...
31:29loud.
31:31I kissed the top
31:31of his head.
31:34Protecting you
31:34is also my job.
31:35I'm not sorry.
31:39I know.
31:40I know, Mom.
31:45Sorin eventually
31:46took Dre to find food
31:48and it was just
31:48the two of us.
31:49Kale sat by the bedside,
31:51not quite touching,
31:52like he was still afraid
31:54something would break
31:55if he moved too fast.
31:56He wanted to look
31:57at my wrist.
31:58I let him.
31:59I'll do better.
32:00He said.
32:02You won't be alone
32:03like that again.
32:04Kale,
32:06this wasn't your fault.
32:07You were alone
32:08and you got hurt.
32:09I was in a clearing
32:10full of dragons
32:11and I got hurt.
32:12That's not the same thing
32:13as being alone.
32:14He looked up.
32:15I'm not made of glass.
32:16I'm also not leaving.
32:19You understand that?
32:20I'm here.
32:21I chose this.
32:23You chose it
32:24because your family
32:24arranged the alliance.
32:25I chose to stay.
32:28Every single day
32:29for three years,
32:30I chose to stay.
32:31That's not an arrangement.
32:33That's me.
32:34He didn't answer,
32:35but something in his face shifted.
32:37I thought about the hidden chamber
32:39behind the clan tapestry,
32:40his quiet,
32:41years-long devotion
32:42that he'd never once
32:44spoken aloud.
32:45The young,
32:45unblooded dragon
32:46eating alone
32:47at the edge
32:48of the training grounds
32:49every day.
32:49The young,
32:50unblooded dragon
32:51eating alone
32:52at the edge
32:52of the training grounds
32:53every day.
32:54While I stuffed a pouch
32:55of resource tokens
32:56into his pack
32:57and told him
32:58he was my honorary
32:59younger clansman,
33:01he'd loved me
33:01before he knew
33:02what to do with it,
33:03before I even knew his name.
33:05I reached over
33:06and took his uninjured hand.
33:08You want to know
33:09what I was thinking?
33:11Every time things got hard
33:12and someone told me
33:13I'd bonded
33:14with the wrong dragon?
33:15He waited,
33:16that they'd never seen you
33:17bring me whomp stones
33:18when the cold fever took me.
33:20Or stay awake beside me
33:22through three full nights
33:23because I was homesick
33:25and couldn't sleep.
33:26Or look at me
33:27the way you look at me
33:27when you think
33:28I'm not watching.
33:29They were comparing you
33:31to whoever they assumed
33:32you were.
33:33I know who you actually are.
33:35Kale didn't show
33:36weakness easily.
33:37He was showing it now.
33:39I don't need you
33:40to be fearless.
33:41I just need you
33:42to stop assuming
33:43I'll leave.
33:45I'm not going anywhere.
33:47He brought my hand up
33:48and held it against his face.
33:50Didn't speak.
33:51Didn't need to.
33:52They kept me
33:53in the healer's den
33:54two extra days.
33:55The morning they finally
33:56let me return to our den.
33:58I walked back
33:59through the entrance
34:00and stopped in front
34:00of the bonding tapestry.
34:02We were both so young in it.
34:05I lifted the tapestry
34:06and I found the wall
34:08behind it.
34:10Image after image
34:11after image
34:12etched in the old way.
34:14Dragon memory stone.
34:27Evira, I can explain.
34:29I heard the den entrance
34:33behind me.
34:34Kale froze in the corridor.
34:41Evira, I can explain.
34:42You noticed me first.
34:45I gave you resource tokens
34:47at the training grounds
34:48because I thought
34:48you couldn't afford to eat.
34:51I told you that you were
34:53my honorary younger clansman
34:54and I never even asked
34:55your name.
34:58I didn't know it was you
34:59until I found these.
35:00I'm a little upset
35:01it took us this long.
35:06Think about all the time
35:07you wasted.
35:09You're not...
35:09Upset about the stones?
35:11No.
35:12I'm glad.
35:14I'm glad you kept looking.
35:15Kale crossed the den
35:16in four strides
35:17and pulled me in
35:17before I could say
35:18anything else.
35:19I never thought
35:20you'd say that.
35:21I know.
35:22That's the problem.
35:24You've been waiting
35:24for me to leave
35:25since the day I arrived.
35:27I'm not leaving.
35:28I've told you.
35:29I'll keep telling you.
35:31For how long?
35:33I thought about it.
35:35As long as it takes
35:36for you to actually
35:37believe me.
35:38Dre appeared
35:39in the den entrance,
35:40took one look at us
35:41and silently backed away.
35:44Kale held on
35:44a little tighter.
35:46Outside,
35:47the ancient forests
35:48of the abyssal reach
35:49kept moving.
35:50Wind through the canopy.
35:52The distant sound
35:53of wings.
35:53The slow pulse
35:55of a territory
35:56that had stood
35:56for 10,000 years.
35:59And I stayed
36:00exactly where I was.
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