The Heart of the Dragon
Chapter 24

As soon as he was ready to head to the waterfall, Hayden flew down the ground and allowed his wings to sink into his back, deciding to walk to the waterfall instead of fly. But right before he could enter the jungle, he heard being called out as he turned around to see Angie jogging towards him.

“You heading to the waterfall right now?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded with a small smile “You wanna tag along?”

Her smile answered his question as they entered the jungle.

“So what you gonna tell your parents when you get back home?” he asked as they strolled down the path “Cause you know you can’t tell them about us.”

“I know,” she replied, “And I won’t, don’t worry. I think we’ll just tell them that we crashed onto an island and did everything we could to survive without the knowledge of you and your kind.”

“Sounds simple enough” he commented.

“Well, it’s more realistic than telling them that we met some dragons” she giggled.

“Hey uh, speaking of home,” he added, “I don’t think you told me what you were planning on studying when you go to college.”

“Oh. Well, I’m planning on getting my degree as a Wildlife Biologist.”

“I’m not surprised” he smirked.

“If you were to go to college, what you get your degree in?”

He let out a small sigh, “I’ve never actually thought about that.”

“Oh come on,” she doubted with a smirk “When you were a kid, what did you wanted to be when you grow up?”

“Oh,” he chuckled, “I wanted to be a lot of things. Although, I really did wanted to become a firefighter.”

“Wow,” she snickered, “How ironic.”

“Yeah,” he laughed, “I mean, I wanted to save people’s lives. And unlike other kids, I knew how to handle fire better than them.”

“And now you have the ability to cause fires.”

“Yep,” he muttered, “So much for that dream.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, firefighters are heroes, and you’re already a hero to me.”

He stopped and turned to her with an amused look, “I am?”

“Not only did you save my life twice, but you also saved my friends. You and your kind gave us food and shelter, not to mention your kind was able to fix our radio. If it wasn’t for you guys, my friends and I would still be out on the beach slowing dying with no way of calling for help. And as sad as we have to leave today, we owe you our thanks.”

Hayden gave a small smile, “And I should thank you as well.”

“What for?”

“It has been so long since I’ve had contact with the outside world. You were the first human I ever encountered who didn’t need to be turned. It felt weird at first talking to a human who, well, was just human. But that’s when I realized how much of a blessing it was. When I talk to you, a part of me feels like I’m still human. And even though it has to be cut short, it was fun while it lasted. And I don’t remember the last time I ever felt this connected to anyone.”

At that moment, Angie felt herself blushing with a bashful smile when Hayden suddenly stepped towards her so that they were only inches apart.

“I sure am gonna miss you when you leave,” he stated as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“As will I,” she agreed.

But as they continued to stare at each other with smiles, they suddenly heard a voice speak out which caused them to turn their heads towards Conner who was leaning against a tree.

“Well, isn’t this sweet?” he sneered with his arms crossed “You guys are so cute. Too bad it’s not gonna last.”

Hayden suddenly let out a threatening growl as Conner just gave a mocking chuckle.

“Relax tiger,” he held his hands up “I don’t mean any harm.”

“Then what are you here for?” Hayden scowled, “Just to taunt us?”

“As much fun as that is, I’m actually here to speak with the blonde.”

“Uh-” Angie’s eyes widen, “I think I’m good.”

“It’s okay, Angie,” Hayden continued to glare at Conner “Whatever he wants to say to you he can say in front of me.”

“Alright,” Conner shrugged, “But just to warn you, you’re not gonna like it.”

He then turned his attention to Angie as he stepped towards her.

“So, tell me, Angie” he began, “Just out of curiosity, what made you fall for Hayden in the first place?”

“Uh...” she replied a bit embarrassed for having Hayden hearing this “Why are you asking me this?”

“Relax, I’m not like trying to steal you from him. Just answer the question.”

She took a glance at Hayden who was still near her as he allowed her to continue. She could tell he was trying hard to keep his temper for having his bully talk to her, but at the same time, he had some guts for allowing it.

“Well um,” she began with confidence “Not only did he save my life twice, but I’ve never seen anything like him before. He looked so majestic and mysterious that, well, I guess being a girl you tend to fall for guys like that.”

“Even though he’s basically a monster?”

All of a sudden, Hayden stepped in front of Angie with anger in his eyes.

“What did you just call me?!” he snarled.

“See, this why I didn't want you here,” Conner smirked, “Because you would’ve heard things like that.”

“You think I’m a monster?” Hayden growled.

“Why are you so surprised? I mean, we’re all monsters here.”

“You guys are not monsters!” Angie suddenly snapped.

“Oh really, blondie?” Conner doubted, “I get that you’re not afraid of us, but that’s because Hayden didn’t tell you everything about us. I mean sure some of us can blow out fire and other things, we all have claws and sharp teeth. But there are still some things that you haven’t learned yet, for starters, we all have a taste for blood.”

“That’s is, leave now!” Hayden ordered.

“Oo, such a threat!” Conner mocked with a grin “Watch this, Angie. When his anger takes over, that’s when the real monster emerges.”

At that moment, Angie noticed that Hayden’s growls got louder and more threatening. His claws appeared as his eyes turned a bright yellow. But what made her more shocked was seeing his muscles suddenly developing all over his body and even his face. As she backed away with fright, she saw that because of his muscles, he now appeared a bit bigger. And with his teeth, his claws, and his teeth, he looked absolutely terrifying.

“You’re scared now, aren’t ya?” Conner sneered at her “This is what a monster looks like. By the way, if I were you, I’d run.”

Right at that moment, Hayden pounced on Conner as the two were now caught up in a fight. Angie couldn’t believe what was happening as she stood back and watched with shock as the two hybrids fought against each other. Just like Hayden, Conner’s body had appeared bigger from his muscles developing. And they both looked terrifying with their dragon features as they tackled each other violently that consisted of a lot of clawing, punching, and growling.

Angie felt that she should listen to Conner and run, but she was too paralyzed to move as she kept her wide eyes on the fight while standing back to avoid getting hit. And as she watched them fight, Conner suddenly sank his razor-sharp teeth into Hayden’s shoulder which caused her to shriek.

“Hayden!” she screamed.

But as Hayden shoved Conner off of him, Angie knew this had to stop, she couldn’t risk watching the two fight.

“That’s enough you two!” she shouted, “Stop it!”

But neither of them listened as they kept on battling each other when she suddenly noticed that they were heading towards the home base.

“Guys!” she called out as she ran after them.

But it was too late, the two had made their fight public as everyone, including Angie’s friends stop to watch the fight. At this moment, Angie realized she couldn’t do anything to stop them. But that’s when they all heard a loud thunder that made everyone look up to see Ajax zooming down and landing right in front of the fighting hybrids with a loud thud that sounded like thunder. The moment the thunder was heard, Hayden and Conner had stopped fighting as Ajaz gripped them by their arms and yanked them up.

For a moment, nobody said anything as the two hybrids felt their bodies relax as their muscles sank back to normal and their other dragon features faded as they panted from exhaustion. Angie could see the visible injuries they had received from their fight, but the one that made her gasp was the bloody bite mark of Hayden’s shoulder. Because of his scales, there wasn’t a lot of blood that oozed out, but she could tell how much pain he was in as he clasped the wound on his shoulder when Ajax released their arms.

“What is the meaning of this?!” he demanded.

“He started it!” Conner pointed to Hayden.

“Liar!” Hayden argued, “You started it!”

“Hayden!” Ajax spoke, “What happened?”

“He wanted me to do this” Hayden explained with rage “He wanted me to attack him to show Angie that I was a monster.”

“So you admit that you are a monster” Conner concluded with a smirk as Hayden tried to tackle him again as Ajax broke them apart.

“Enough!” he ordered once they calmed down “I am very disappointed in the both of you. This kind of behavior is unacceptable!”

“Yeah, Hayden” Conner taunted.

“Conner!” Ajax snapped, “I warned you before to leave Hayden alone, and you broke it once again.”

He then turned to Hayden, “You, on the other hand, I know you’re a good guy, Hayden, but you really need to control your temper. And you should get that wound fix.”

Hayden gave a promising nod as Ajax turned to Conner and ordered him to follow. And as the two headed off, Hayden turned to Angie and her friends who were standing there with fear in their eyes, especially Angie who started to back away.

“Angie,” he breathed, “I can explain.”

But she turned around and dashed off into the jungle, leaving Hayden in pain psychically and now mentally as he felt his heart shatter. One of his biggest fears had come true, Angie had seen a side of him he never wanted her to see. And now it was too late, she thinks he’s a monster, and deep down, he knew he really was one.