Alpha Dragon's Ferret (The Dragonfate Games Book 4), page 1
Alpha Dragon’s Ferret
The Dragonfate Games Book 4
Hawke Oakley
Copyright © 2024 by Hawke Oakley
Cover Illustration by Fox Atreides
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Contents
Prologue
1. Aurum
2. Mylo
3. Aurum
4. Mylo
5. Aurum
6. Mylo
7. Aurum
8. Mylo
9. Aurum
10. Mylo
11. Aurum
12. Mylo
13. Aurum
14. Mylo
15. Aurum
16. Mylo
17. Aurum
18. Mylo
19. Aurum
20. Mylo
21. Aurum
22. Mylo
23. Aurum
24. Mylo
25. Aurum
26. Mylo
27. Epilogue: Aurum
Also by Hawke Oakley
Prologue
On a rainy day, the golden egg suddenly appeared.
Five young, curious dragons gathered in a circle around a makeshift nest. Upon finding the egg, the oldest of them hurried to find sticks and feathers to support it. But they were inexperienced and immature. The nest wasn’t perfect. As usual, they were on their own.
Rain drenched the dragons. The sky over the island had been overcast and storming for the past week. Today was no different.
The youngest, a light purple dragon, blinked the rain from his eyes. “When’s it gonna hatch already?”
The oldest, a large dragon the color of the sea, extended his wing over the younger one. “Be patient, Thystle. You can’t rush it.”
“Hmph. I bet I didn’t take this long,” Thystle grumbled. “Did I, Cobalt?”
At any other time, Cobalt would’ve been amused at the youngest’s sass. But now, he was concerned about the mystery egg. It had been years since the last time an egg appeared on the island. Who laid it? Who brought it here?
“We don’t know if it’s ready to hatch,” the jade-scaled dragon explained to Thystle.
A deeper purple dragon let out a raspy laugh. “Yeah, it might be fresh out of a dragon’s butt.”
“We don’t even know if it is a dragon,” the red dragon pointed out. “It could be a bird egg, or a lizard egg.”
“Yeah, Crimson’s right.” The dark purple dragon leapt up to his paws, grinning. “Let’s eat it.”
Cobalt growled in warning. “No, Violet. I sense a dragon in there.”
“Boo,” Violet complained, sitting on his rump.
“Does that mean I won’t be the youngest anymore?” Thystle asked, his voice torn between eagerness and disappointment.
Crimson smirked. “Not if Violet eats the hatchling.”
“I am getting hungry,” Violet joked.
The eldest dragon had enough of their callous comments. He rose to all fours, snapping his tail and snarling at them.
“Enough,” Cobalt said. “This is a dragon egg. That makes it our sibling.”
He knew the others didn’t remember, but he did. He remembered being utterly alone on the island—until one day, from out of nowhere, a dark purple egg showed up. That was Violet. Then came a jade egg, followed by a crimson one, and finally, an amethyst.
Cobalt was present for each hatching. He felt a responsibility to protect and raise the dragonets. And he certainly did not raise a cannibal.
But Violet wasn’t serious. He nuzzled Cobalt in deference to show his playful nature.
Cobalt’s anger deflated. He licked Violet’s head. Despite being the second oldest, he’d always liked receiving affection the most.
Thystle sniffed the egg. “Where do the eggs come from?” he asked.
Violet flashed a toothy grin. “When two dragons love each other very much—”
“I know that,” Thystle grumbled. Dragons were not shy about the knowledge of biological facts. “I meant, why did it randomly show up today?”
“I don’t know,” Cobalt admitted.
He raised his head to stare at the gray sky. Had it come down from there? Did it wash up from the ocean? Had some creature dug it up from the sand? Even after five eggs, Cobalt was clueless about where they came from. He just knew that they felt like home.
Jade gasped. “Cobalt. Look.”
All dragons snapped to attention.
The golden egg wriggled.
It was hatching.
“It’s coming out!” Thystle cried. It was his first time witnessing an egg hatch, but Cobalt knew the magical feeling never got old.
A chip flew off the shell. An egg tooth stuck out, followed by a big, angry peep.
Cobalt was relieved. Good lungs meant a healthy dragonet. It was also heartening that the baby hatched on its own. Instinctively, he knew it was a bad sign when a dragonet was stuck. He was grateful none of his brothers had needed help.
A scaly arm exploded from the shell. Two horns popped out, then a goldenrod head. The dragonet was slimy and loud, but it was alive.
Yet something bothered Cobalt. The hatchling was tiny—half the size of his brothers when they hatched.
“It’s so cute and small,” Violet said. Noticing Cobalt’s worried expression, he asked, “Is it supposed to be that small?”
Cobalt didn’t answer.
“Yes, it’s small. But it looks healthy,” Jade said, trying to ease everyone’s worries.
Then the golden dragonet shocked everyone.
It attacked its own egg.
“Whoa,” Crimson blurted. “What’s it doing?”
A pit opened in Cobalt’s stomach. The hatchling was free. It should’ve left the egg by now. Normally, the hatchlings tumbled out of the shell and abandoned it. This was abnormal. Combined with the baby’s unusual size, it flooded him with concern.
The golden hatchling snarled as loud as its little lungs could muster. It clawed and bit at the other half of the shell.
“Should we stop it?” Thystle asked.
Everyone turned to Cobalt for the final decision, but he didn’t know what to do. He had never seen anything like this before.
The golden hatchling didn’t care for Cobalt’s opinion, either. It ignored the bigger dragons. All it wanted was to destroy the egg.
Cobalt began slowly. “I think we should—”
A second voice, muffled and weak, was just loud enough to be heard over the rain.
The older dragons froze.
The golden hatchling grew frantic. It raked at the shell desperately, calling out like a parent searching for its missing cub.
Cobalt’s heart reached his throat. He understood now.
There was a second dragonet inside the egg.
He reached out a claw to help free it. Whipping its neck as fast as a snake, the golden dragonet bit him.
“Ow,” Cobalt said, more surprised than hurt.
Normally, hatchlings didn’t have fangs except an egg tooth. Why did this baby already possess teeth, especially when its growth seemed stunted?
“Maybe it thinks you’re trying to hurt the other one,” Jade remarked.
Cobalt’s stomach flipped. Of course, he was only trying to help, but the hatchling didn’t know that. It was just born—it acted on pure instinct.
Finally, the golden dragonet broke through the other half of the shell. It snapped off with a crack.
A second golden head popped out, gasping for air. The first dragonet shoved its head beneath the second’s chin, offering support while it filled its lungs.
Mesmerized, the older dragons watched in stunned silence.
“They’re twins,” Jade murmured. “It saved its twin before it suffocated in the egg.”
“Phew. I’m glad they both got out safe,” Violet said. His voice shook like he was on the verge of tears.
Cobalt glanced at his bitten paw. He understood now. The hatchling had fangs to help its twin.
Once the second dragonet was free, they both tumbled easily out of the shell. Now they acted like normal hatchlings—except there were two of them.
“Aww. They’re so cute... Wait.” Thystle frowned, glancing back and forth between the twins. “They look exactly the same. How are we supposed to tell them apart?”
“Let’s put clothes on one of them,” Crimson suggested. “Ooh, can I make the outfit?”
Violet snorted. “You saw their fangs. They’ll rip apart your precious clothes.”
Crimson looked horrified. “Never mind.”
Cobalt scooped the twins up, extending his wings to protect them from the rain.
Thystle bounced closer. The oth
“What will their names be?” Jade asked. “If I may make a suggestion, how about Austen and Brontë?”
Crimson gasped. “Satin and Silk!”
“Rock and Roll!” Thystle countered.
Violet called out next. “Faith and Destiny!”
Cobalt was glad for the heavy rain. It drowned out half of their suggestions.
He glanced at the two identical dragons. Even in the overcast light, their scales gleamed like gold. An idea sprang to his mind.
“Aurum and Saffron,” he stated. “Those will be their names.”
“Those are okay, I guess,” Thystle grumbled. “But I still can’t tell them apart. Which one is which?”
Cobalt hadn’t thought that far ahead. He didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn’t differentiate them, either.
“We’ll think of something,” he promised. “For now, let’s get these little ones to shelter in the castle.”
The twin dragonets sat side by side, happily squeaking at one another, oblivious to everything else. Now that all the stress was over, Cobalt was hopeful for them.
No matter what, they would always have each other.
One
Aurum
“Dude, stop hiding my shit!” I griped.
Saffron sat back on his knees. He’d been organizing his DVD collection when I stormed in. He stared blankly, shooting me that oblivious look that he’d been giving me way too often lately.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Don’t act dumb. My dye’s missing.”
He furrowed his brows. “Your dice set is literally on your desk, where it always is.”
I wanted to smack my forehead.
“Not my die, as in dice,” I corrected. “My dye. Like, my hair dye?”
Saffron shrugged. He picked up a pink DVD case with the word ‘love’ in big letters. Another one of the million asinine romance movies in his hoard.
“I dunno what to tell you, dude,” he said. “I didn’t touch it.”
“We share a bathroom.”
“So?”
“You’re the only other person who could’ve touched it,” I argued.
Saffron snorted. “You know other people can just walk into it, right? It’s not like, forbidden.”
Frustration choked me up. This recent song-and-dance was already getting old. I hated arguing with Saffron. Why was it happening all the time lately?
“It was you. I know it was,” I accused. “You were probably daydreaming about fated mates or something, knocked it off the counter, and didn’t notice.”
Saffron glared at me, his familiar golden eyes burning. He was sensitive about that topic. “Aurum, why are you making shit up? I told you, I didn’t touch it. Why the hell would I move your dye?”
“I don’t know,” I grumbled.
To get back at me for... something, I thought. But I didn’t say that.
He rolled his eyes. “See? You can’t even think of a reason.” He placed the DVD in its slot. “Was that all, or did you come in here to yell at me?”
“I’m not yelling at you,” I grouched.
“Yeah, sure. And I don’t own three copies of Love, Actually.”
My mouth curled into a sneer. “Dude, that movie sucks. Like, why did that guy cheat on his wife? It’s stupid. I wish she was a dragon so she could’ve just eaten him.”
Saffron’s lips curved into a matching smirk, but there was no accompanying laughter. Usually when I lovingly teased him about his hoard, he’d at least chuckle. Right now, he seemed too weary to deal with me, which upset me to the core. We were twins. We always had energy to deal with each other.
“Check the bathroom floor,” Saffron suggested, turning his attention back to the shelf. “Your dye probably rolled under the counter.”
My shoulders slumped. Now he was trying to get rid of me. He didn’t even want to talk anymore?
“Fine, I see how it is,” I muttered.
“Aurum, where are you going?” he called in frustration.
Twisting on my heel, I trudged into the hall. I abandoned the idea of checking the bathroom floor for my dye. Since Saffron and I shared an ensuite, I’d have to marinate in his bad vibes from the next room, which I couldn’t tolerate for a second longer.
“Good morning, Aurum.”
Jade’s voice manifested like a ghost behind me. I jumped, clutching my chest to calm my heart palpitations.
“Dude, you scare people,” I mumbled.
He smiled. “My apologies. I was simply walking down the hall when you stormed out of your room and cut me off.”
I hadn’t even seen him—but then again, I was too pissed off to notice anything. “My bad.”
Jade tilted his head. “Speaking of your room, I heard a commotion inside. It sounded uneasy. Is everything all right?”
I grimaced. Jade was sharper than a cut diamond. Of course he’d heard. He must’ve heard Saffron calling my name, too. That explained why he knew it was me and not my twin.
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” I said under my breath.
He smiled without blinking. “No.”
I glanced back at my bedroom door. To my credit, I didn’t slam it or anything, so it was still ajar. But I didn’t want Saffron to hear us talk. I waved Jade along and strutted down the hall.
“Hiding secrets?” Jade offered, keeping up the pace with his long legs.
I bristled. “No, I just want some damned privacy. Is that so wrong?”
“Not at all. But it is unusual.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jade twisted two fingers together. “You and Saffron are like this. It’s not characteristic of you to argue and keep secrets.”
I bristled harder. The hairs rose on the back of my neck. “Gee, sorry I’m a three-dimensional person with feelings that can change.”
Jade didn’t react to my outburst. “You absolutely are. By the way, where are we going?”
I faltered and stopped walking. “Uh...”
“Away from Saffron?” Jade suggested.
“Pretty much.”
“Would you care to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
I took another step, stopped, then spun around to face Jade.
“Actually, yeah, I do. He’s been off the rails lately. Like, just today, he hid my hair dye and now he’s pretending he didn’t,” I went off.
When I didn’t dye it, the color matched Saffron’s hair exactly. We both had golden yellow hair like sunshine. Keeping mine dyed to a slightly darker shade was the only way anybody could tell us apart. I’d been doing it for so long, I couldn’t remember when it started.
Jade glanced at my hair. “He hid your dye?”
“That’s what I just said.”
“Did you look—”
“Yes, I looked everywhere!”
That wasn’t actually true. I did a brief check over the bathroom, but I was too annoyed to conduct a thorough search. Whatever. If it wasn’t in its usual spot, and I didn’t see it within five seconds, it was officially missing.
Jade shrugged it off. “If he did move your dye, I doubt it was out of malice. Perhaps he was organizing.”
I seethed. The dye wasn’t the point. It was the cherry on top of Saffron’s shitty attitude lately.
“He’s been like this since the Dragonfate Games started,” I blurted angrily.
“Been like what?”
“He’s just... different.”
Jade’s tone turned grave. “So, you’re saying Saffron is a three-dimensional person whose feelings can change?”
Using my own words against me. He was making fun of me. Asshole.
Scowling, I stalked off in the opposite direction, away from all the brothers in my path. But Jade caught my arm. I tried to pull out of it, but his unassuming grip was ironclad. Damn, the book nerd was stronger than he looked.
“What, you have more sassy remarks to get off your chest?” I grumbled.
“Aurum. I know how much Saffron means to you,” Jade said. “This ongoing drama must be affecting you deeply.”
“Wow. Great insight, Dr. Phil.”
“But this behavior has to stop. You’re acting like a child in the throes of a tantrum.”
“Oh, gods, no. Are you gonna send me to the ranch?”
