Heads began to turn toward her as the scent of her dragon spread through the barn until every single person was staring at her.

  “She’s with us,” Axel shouted to the room. Even the fight had stopped and the two exhausted shifters were staring at her. “This is Draven’s sister. She’s cool.”

  One by one they all turned back to the fight, and before long the attention was back on the two shifters who were slamming their fists into one another.

  “So this is what you guys do for fun around here?” she whispered to Gunner, giving him a sly look.

  He just shrugged. “It’s either this or Scrabble, and my spelling is not very good.”

  She laughed as Jax pushed past them, carrying the cooler. Gunner stopped him, opened the cooler and grabbed two beers.

  “Here you go,” he said, handing her a can.

  Aleida grinned as she cracked it open and the foam spilled all over her hand. It had been ages since she’d been to a party like this. Warm beer. Hot guys. Blood flying across the room.

  She was loving it.

  “Oh, crap,” Gunner muttered, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. He turned away with his cheeks burning red, and naturally, Aleida looked in the direction that he was turning away from. There was a pretty little shifter talking to a man with dark hair and a dark goatee.

  “Who’s that?” she asked, staring at the girl. She could sense the dominance of her animal radiating off of her. Aleida watched her curiously. Over the past few hundred years, she’d only come across a handful of shifters with an animal that had that kind of power before. That tiny body was hiding an incredible beast inside. I think it’s a bear. It was hard to tell with dozens of different scents swirling around the room, and dragon shifters didn’t have the best sense of smell. Why would you need it if you could just burn everything in sight?

  Gunner slid a hand through his blonde hair as he took a deep breath. “That’s just, uh… She’s an old…”

  “Ah,” Aleida said as it dawned on her. “Old girlfriend?”

  “Something like that,” Gunner muttered. “I had a thing for her, but she bonded to someone else.”

  “Someone else with a black goatee?”

  Gunner glanced at them over his shoulder and sighed. “Yeah, that someone else. That’s Joan,” he explained. “She was the alpha of the crew I just left. That’s her mate, Rhett. He’s the Sheriff and a skin shifter.”

  “A skin shifter,” she repeated, suddenly taking an interest in the man. Aleida had only met one skin shifter before, but it had been a long time ago. They had the incredible ability to slide into the skin of any animal and control them with their mind. I wonder if he can control my dragon. She shuddered just thinking about it. She knew how much damage her dragon was capable of and didn’t want that kind of power in anyone else’s hands.

  The smile faded from Joan’s face when she spotted Gunner. The way Joan was watching the lion shifter was making Aleida’s jaw start to clench with jealousy.

  “Hey,” she whispered as she slid her hand up his muscular arm and stepped in close, pressing her breasts against his chest. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

  She grinned as he looked down at her with a smile. “To a room full of sweaty, stinky guys?”

  Aleida tossed her head back and let out an exaggerated laugh, trying to make Joan jealous. If Gunner had any feelings for that girl when they walked in, Aleida was going to make damn sure he didn’t have them when they left.

  “You’re so funny,” she said in a flirty tone before stepping on her toes to kiss him.

  His lion purred inside his chest, turning her on. God, I love that sexy sound.

  She turned around when she finally pulled away from the kiss to see if Joan had been watching. Aleida could tell by the way the tiny shifter was staring at the ground with red cheeks that she had been.

  Gunner’s body stiffened when he made eye contact with the girl, but then relaxed again as Aleida ran her hand over his broad shoulder.

  “We should go say hi,” he muttered as he walked toward them.

  Aleida grinned wickedly. “Yes. Let’s.”

  The pair looked as uncomfortable as Gunner as they approached. Rhett, the skin shifter with the dark features, glanced at the exit behind him.

  “How are you, Gunner?” Rhett asked, offering his hand.

  Gunner shook it. “Rhett. Joan. This is my friend, Aleida.”

  “Girlfriend,” Aleida corrected, grinning at the girl as she shook her tiny hand.

  The girl looked a little flustered at first but did a good job of hiding it. “You must also be Draven’s sister?” she asked. “What brings you to Colwood?”

  The Sheriff crossed his arms over his massive chest as he watched her closely while waiting for her answer.

  “Just visiting my brother,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Watching the fights.”

  “Well, you’ll see enough tonight for one lifetime,” Joan answered, laughing nervously.

  “What do you know about the dragon in the area?” Rhett asked, going into Sheriff mode.

  “Honey,” Joan said, quickly turning to him.

  “She doesn’t know anything,” Gunner said bluntly. Aleida could feel his arm flex under her hand.

  Rhett’s jaw hardened. “Why don’t you let her answer that?” he asked as his arms fell to his sides. His hands were clenched into fists.

  “She’s my guest,” Gunner said, raising his chin in the air.

  “I’m just trying to talk to her.”

  “Why don’t you talk to me?” Gunner said with his nostrils flaring. “Over there. In the ring.”

  “We don’t need to do that,” Joan said, quickly stepping between the two men. She placed her hands on Rhett’s chest and started pushing him backward. “We were just about to go check out that side of the room.”

  “Good,” Aleida said, grinning as Joan gave her a dirty look. Aleida turned and kissed Gunner deep on the mouth as they left.

  “Sorry about that,” Gunner muttered when they were alone again. “That was—”

  “Fun,” Aleida said, grinning mischievously as she wiped her wet lips with the back of her hand.

  “You have a strange idea of fun,” Gunner said, shaking his head.

  She laughed. “You’re the one hanging out in a barn with a bunch of half-naked guys.”

  Gunner grinned as he took her arm and motioned to the fight that was starting. “Jax is up next. Let’s go watch.”

  Aleida smiled as he pulled her through the crowd. Jax was fighting two twin shifters at the same time, but her eyes were locked on Gunner’s ass.

  “Good idea,” she said with a grin. “I love to watch.”

  Chapter 7

  Aleida

  “I think it was a tie,” one of the twins said as he held a cold beer can to his swollen eye.

  Axel laughed. “Jax literally beat you with your twin.”

  He wasn’t kidding. The whole barn watched in awe as Jax grabbed the ankle of one of the twins, swung him off his feet, and beat the other twin with his body.

  “I still say it was a tie,” the twin said, opening his beer as he left.

  “He’s lucky he can say anything after that,” Aleida said with a laugh as she watched him leave.

  The large shifter who was fighting when they walked in was in the middle of the fighting circle, looking for an opponent.

  “Hey, Jax,” Zane said with a sly grin. “If you were a real badass you would fight Alexander.”

  Aleida and the boys all turned to the huge polar bear shifter who was pacing around the circle looking for a fight. He looked so intimidating with his tank of a body and his vicious scowl. Nobody in the barn was daring to make eye contact with him.

  “Who’s up next?” he shouted as he flexed his huge arms. They were the size of Gunner’s thighs, and that was pretty damn big.

  The front door of the barn squeaked open and a familiar scent filled the room. “I’ll take that challenge,” Jarin said as he waltzed into the room with a smile on his face.

  Aleida’s face dropped when she saw her brother. Half-brother. Luckily, she wasn’t fully related to that monster.

  Her chest tightened and her heart started pounding. What is he doing here?

  She couldn’t speak. She could only hold her breath and watch in horror as he walked through the crowd of shifters, the huge bodies parting before him like he was some sort of god.

  Aleida’s first thought was of Gunner. She knew what her brother was capable of and she didn’t want Gunner anywhere near him.

  His bright gray eyes finally fell on her and he stopped, staring at her in shocked amusement. “Well, that’s a familiar face,” he said in his smooth voice.

  Aleida could feel the color draining from her face as he stared her down. Her hands felt clammy. Her shoulders tight.

  Jarin couldn’t look any more out of place with his styled hair and fitted three-piece suit. He looked like he should be walking into a Manhattan nightclub, not an underground shifter fight club in the middle of the wilderness. Jarin was always the best looking of Aleida’s brothers, but right now he looked damn near terrifying.

  Gunner stepped protectively in front of her as Jarin walked over. She could hear his inner lion growling.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered as she touched his thick forearm. It wasn’t okay. Aleida’s brothers would probably kill her if they knew what she was up to, but this was between her and Jarin. There was no point in putting Gunner in danger. If anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself.

  Gunner just ignored her and stayed right where he was, standing in front of her like a muscular wall.

  And she was happy he did.

  “New friend?” Jarin asked as he stopped in front of Gunner and looked him up and down.

  “New boyfriend,” Gunner corrected.

  Jarin laughed as he looked past Gunner to Aleida. “We’re trying to conquer the world, and here you are getting your freak on with a stray cat.” He shook his head and made a tsk tsk sound.

  If Aleida was safe anywhere on the planet it would be here—in a barn full of scrappy shifters on fight night with a tough brute of a lion shifter standing in front of her like he was ready to die before he let anyone touch her.

  But she wasn’t safe. Jarin could cut through this room like a flamethrower cutting through a field of dried flowers. And she knew it. He was a mated dragon. Powerful beyond belief. His dragon core had ignited when he bonded with his mate, giving him the power to travel at incredible speeds. He was the fastest thing on the planet.

  “I was searching for Dravenous,” she said in a shaky voice. “To bring to you.”

  Gunner’s body tightened as he listened to her.

  “Leave these guys alone,” she said. “I’ll take you to our brother now.”

  Jax stepped toward her with a scowl on his face. “No, you won’t.”

  Gunner let out a low growl as he pushed his friend back. This wasn’t going well. All she wanted to do was get some distance between Jarin and her new friends. What she really didn’t want to do was put Gunner in this kind of situation.

  “Are we going to fight or what?” Alexander asked impatiently. He was pacing around the fight circle with his arms open.

  “Please excuse me,” Jarin said with a grin. “I just have to take care of this first.”

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jax growled at her as Jarin walked to meet his huge opponent. “You think we’re going to let you bring him to Draven?”

  “Jax,” Gunner warned. He placed a hand on Jax’s chest and kept him at arm’s length away. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

  “This is our alpha,” Jax hissed, staring at Gunner in disbelief. “Or are you not part of the crew?”

  “Guys please,” Aleida said, staring at Jarin as he stepped into the fight circle. “We can’t fight with each other if we want to get out of here alive.”

  And that wasn’t an exaggeration. Aleida had seen her brother Jarin take out a full army of Visigoths single-handedly, and that was before he had been mated. A room full of surly shifters was nothing to him. It would be like a rabid wolf slicing through a herd of baby deer.

  “Are you going to take off that pretty suit?” Alexander asked with a laugh. “I don’t want you to get blood all over it.”

  “How thoughtful,” Jarin said as he slipped off his jacket, folded it and handed it to a confused looking shifter in the crowd.

  “This isn’t going to be good,” Aleida said, swallowing nervously. Jarin had a wide handsome smile on his face as he unknotted his tie and pulled it from his neck. He placed it on his jacket and then slowly began to unfasten his cufflinks and roll up his sleeves.

  He looked up at Alexander with an amused grin. “My,” he said with an appreciative nod. “You didn’t forget to eat your Wheaties, did you?”

  Alexander slammed his huge fist into his open palm. “No. I didn’t.”

  It looked so one-sided. Jarin was half the polar bear shifter’s size, but Aleida knew which side really had the advantage.

  “So,” Jarin said with a polite bow. “Shall we get started?”

  Alexander’s thick lip curled up into a grin. “We shall.”

  Without warning, the enormous polar bear shifter lunged forward and swung his huge fist at Jarin. He hit nothing but air and before Alexander could look around in confusion, Jarin was standing behind him as if he had teleported through space.

  “He’s so fast,” Gunner whispered in a gasp. “How can he be so fast?”

  Alexander was at his mercy and the face he gave when he realized it, was priceless. Aleida could imagine that a lot of Alexander’s opponents over the years had shown him that face before he knocked them out, and now the shoe was on the other bear paw.

  Jarin made it quick. There was a blur around the huge polar bear shifter as Jarin attacked, landing devastating punches on every inch of Alexander’s body. When he finished, Alexander was a bloody mess. His eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor in a limp unconscious heap.

  The whole barn was silent as Jarin turned back to Aleida with a smile. “You were saying… about my brother?”

  “Hey!” another big shifter with a long scar down the side of his face shouted as he bravely (or stupidly) stepped up to Jarin. “This is a friendly fight club, and that wasn’t very nice.”

  Jarin had an amused look on his face as he turned to the shifter. “A friendly fight club? How odd of a concept.”

  “It’s not going to be so friendly now,” the shifter said as he grabbed a fistful of Jarin’s shirt.

  In the time it took Aleida’s terrified heart to beat once, her brother grabbed the shifter by the neck and launched him into the air so hard that he broke a hole through the roof and disappeared outside.

  “You’re right,” he said with an evil grin on his dark face as everyone stepped back. “It’s not going to be so friendly now.”

  Rhett, the skin shifter Sheriff of the town stepped forward. “All right, buddy,” he said as he walked up to Jarin. “Time to get the fuck out of here and never come back.”

  Jarin raised his nose and sniffed. “I don’t smell an animal in you,” he said, tilting his head curiously as he watched the brave skin shifter. “What are you?”

  “The Sheriff,” he answered in a firm voice. “And I’m telling you to leave.”

  “All right,” Jarin said with a grin. “I’ll leave. Just give me a second to get my ride.”

  “Everybody out!” Aleida shouted to the crowd of stunned shifters. But none of them moved. They all stood there watching in awe as an enormous gray dragon burst out of her brother.

  “Whoa!” some shifters shouted as they hurried away from the massive beast. He filled a third of the barn and had to keep his huge head low so it didn’t hit the roof.

  “That’s very impressive,” Rhett said in a blank voice. “But I’m still going to need you to leave.”

  The Sheriff looked so tiny standing in front of the dragon all by himself. His head was the size of a nostril. His arm the size of a tooth.

  “All right,” Rhett said, stretching his neck from side to side. “I’ve had enough of this shit.”

  His body went rigid as he stood there in front of the beast.

  “What is he doing?” Aleida asked, staring in shock.

  “He’s channeling him,” Gunner said. “He’s sliding into his skin and is going to take control of his mind.”

  “No,” Aleida gasped, shaking her head in horror. It wouldn’t work. This wasn’t a dumb rabbit that he was trying to take over, this was Jarin. There was no controlling him.

  “It’s going to kill him,” Aleida whispered. “It’s going to kill him.”

  Gunner stepped forward, watching closely as a tremble rippled through Rhett’s body. “His eyes aren’t turning white,” he said, staring at the dragon in horror. “His eyes are supposed to turn white.”

  “Jarin is too powerful for that,” she said. Thin wisps of smoke began curling up from Rhett’s skin as his body began vibrating. It sounded like there were a thousand ravens outside cawing in a panic. “He’s burning him alive from the inside out.”

  Aleida gasped as Gunner flew forward, exploding into his lion as he headed straight for the dragon. Jarin was distracted with the Sheriff and didn’t notice the furious lion lunging at him until it was too late.

  His attack was vicious and unrestrained. The lion went straight for the dragon’s eye, the one weakness on Jarin’s body. The dragon whipped its head from side to side, trying desperately to get the lion off, but Gunner’s jaws were sunk deep in the dragon’s scales as he clawed at his eye.

  “Rhett!” Joan screamed as she rushed forward to her man. The smoke radiating from his skin was starting to disappear as he finally woke back up. He was wincing in pain and couldn’t stand up without Joan helping him. “We have to get you out of here,” she said, pulling him back to the door.

  The other shifters in the barn were rushing forward to help out Gunner. Aleida watched with her heart pounding. They should all be running the other way.

 

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