“That’s enough, Jarin!” Aleida screamed. “He’s our brother! Let him go!”

  Jarin’s grin just widened as the tendons in Draven’s neck tightened under his unmovable grip. His eyes began rolling in the back of his head as Axel and Jax jumped on Jarin’s arm as well. They grunted and pulled with all of their might but he was still able to hold on.

  Draven was fading fast. Jarin was crushing his throat.

  Gunner gritted his teeth and pulled with all of his might, but the arm still wouldn’t budge.

  He’s going to die.

  The unwelcome thought popped into Gunner’s head, but once it was there, he couldn’t get it out. His alpha was about to die.

  “Jarin,” Aleida screamed as she grabbed his hand and yanked it off Draven’s neck. “That’s enough!”

  Searing pain ripped through Gunner’s head as a high-pitched scream exploded out of Aleida’s throat. He immediately let go of Jarin’s arm and fell to the ground, holding his ears as he winced in pain.

  What is happening? He could barely hear his thoughts over the ear-piercing sound. It felt like his head was going to explode.

  Draven’s limp body fell beside Gunner as he forced his head up to see what was going on.

  Aleida was holding Jarin’s body and blasting him with some kind of sonic scream. His face was twisted in agony as powerful sound waves shot out of her mouth and slammed into his head.

  Her power… That’s it.

  The pressure in Gunner’s head was so intense that it felt like it was going to burst. Jax, Axel, and Zane were all in equally bad shape, holding their ears and grimacing in pain as the piercing sound cut through their heads.

  She was hurting Jarin, but she was doing just as much damage to her friends.

  He reached forward with a shaky hand and grabbed Aleida’s arm with a weak grip. Her mouth closed, the screaming stopped, and Jarin collapsed to the pavement.

  “What the hell?” she whispered, staring at her open hands. “What was that?”

  Gunner could barely hear with the intense ringing in his ears.

  “Yeah,” Axel said, grimacing in pain as he rolled onto his back. “What the hell was that?”

  “Your power,” Draven said weakly. “You’re a banshee.”

  “What’s a banshee?” Jax asked, struggling to get to his feet.

  “Someone who should stay away from karaoke night,” Axel said, frowning as he climbed to a knee.

  Gunner wanted to learn all about his mate’s new powers, but he was more focused on securing Jarin, if someone as powerful as him could be secured.

  The dragon shifter was out, but Gunner knew that someone that powerful would be able to heal pretty damn fast.

  He grabbed the limp shifter’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. “Help me secure him before he wakes up.”

  Jax jumped on his legs and Zane pressed his weight down on the dragon shifter’s body. Axel was still cursing under his breath as he added his weight on top.

  “That was a sonic scream,” Draven said, staring at her in awe as he finally climbed to his feet. “That’s your mated power.”

  She was even more incredible than Gunner had realized. One scream from her mouth and she had disabled the toughest shifter that Gunner had ever met.

  And she was all his.

  “Uhm, guys,” Axel said nervously. “We better act fast.”

  Gunner felt the body under him move and he looked down just as two gray wings ripped out of Jarin’s back. The skin he was holding melted away as gray scales took its place.

  Before they could even react, a huge dragon exploded out of Jarin’s body, sending the four shifters flying off.

  “All right,” Draven said as he flexed his arms. “This is how you want to play it. Fine.”

  Gunner’s heart was pounding as his mate and his alpha let their dragons come.

  “We’re in broad fucking daylight,” Zane said, looking around the street in panic. Luckily, it was empty, but it might not be for long, and whoever walked down the sidewalk was going to see three dragons settling a family dispute.

  “We have to neutralize this fast,” Zane said as he started to panic. “Before anyone sees.”

  “Any genius ideas?” Axel asked.

  They all looked at each other with blank faces.

  Axel gulped. “Great.”

  “No!” Jax shouted, pointing at Aleida’s turquoise dragon. “She’s going to sing again.”

  Gunner quickly covered his ears as Aleida’s dragon opened her mouth and shot out a mix of flames and devastating shock waves. The swirling fire missed Jarin who darted up into the sky, easily avoiding the jet of flames.

  But the fire station wasn’t so lucky. The stream of fire slammed into the wall of windows, shattering the glass, and filling the inside with a ball of flames.

  The boys reacted immediately, pulling the thick hose off of the truck and connecting it to the fire hydrant on the sidewalk. Within seconds they were dousing the flames inside with a strong jet of water while the dragons fought over their heads.

  “What about them?” Axel asked, looking up at the sky as Aleida’s dragon opened her mouth. The piercing pain was back as the turquoise dragon released another jet of fire mixed with her sonic scream at her brother.

  It hit nothing but air. He was too fast.

  At least the painful sound was giving the dragons some cover. Any person with ears within a five-mile radius was surely crouched on the ground, holding their ears in pain.

  Including Gunner and his friends. The pain was intense, but he gritted his teeth and fought through it, climbing to his feet as he looked up, trying to figure out a way to help his alpha and mate.

  Draven’s red dragon swooped in but got easily overpowered by his much stronger brother. The gray dragon moved in a blur, attacking Draven’s wings with his claws until his right wing was sliced up and the red dragon was unable to hold himself up any longer.

  He fell like a stone, slamming into the concrete with a thud that Gunner felt in his chest.

  Aleida swooped down and attacked with the devastating sound waves still ripping out of her dragon’s mouth. Gunner cheered her on, wishing he could do something to help.

  Jarin was too fast. He was dodging every jet of flames with the crushing sound waves that Aleida shot at him.

  Zane was struggling to crawl over to his alpha who still wasn’t moving on the ground. The pain of Aleida’s sonic scream was immobilizing all of them, but they were fighting through it.

  Jax climbed to his feet beside Gunner, looking up at the dragons with a pained expression on his face.

  Gunner grabbed the ax that was hanging on the side of the fire truck and leaned into Jax’s ear.

  “Throw me up,” he yelled as loud as he could to be heard over the high-pitched wail.

  Jax grabbed the back of Gunner’s belt and the collar of his shirt, and spun around, lifting him off the ground as he turned. With a savage grunt, the lion shifter threw Gunner into the air at the fighting dragons.

  Gunner flew up like he was shot out of a cannon, heading straight for Jarin’s back. He squeezed the handle of the ax, raising it over his head as he sailed into the air. Jarin was distracted with Aleida and never saw him coming.

  “Mrph,” he grunted as he swung the ax down, sinking the blade into the gray dragon’s back. Gunner’s body jerked to a stop, and he almost flew off, but he managed to hold on with one hand.

  The gray dragon threw his head back and shrieked in pain as Gunner climbed onto his back. He had already experienced firsthand how fast Jarin was so he had to move even faster before the dragon took off and Gunner ended up somewhere in Mexico.

  He grabbed one wing and then the other and pinned them to the dragon’s back as Jarin thrashed around, trying to wrench his wings free.

  Aleida’s life was on the line, and Gunner wasn’t about to let go for anything. His whole body flexed as he gritted his teeth and held the wings down.

  Without the use of his wings, the dragon plummeted back down to the ground. Gunner held on tight as Aleida swooped down and followed them.

  The ground was coming up fast and that concrete looked mighty hard. Gunner squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself as the dragon slammed into the ground, absorbing the worst of the impact.

  “Goddammit,” Gunner muttered as he rolled off Jarin’s body. Aleida had finally closed her dragon’s mouth and the searing pain of her sonic scream had stopped for the time being.

  “Throw me the hose,” Gunner yelled to Axel.

  The polar bear shifter ran over to the fire hose and threw it to him. Gunner caught it as Draven phased back into his human form.

  “Hold him down,” Gunner shouted to the firemen. The gray dragon was writhing on the ground, snapping his jaws at his back, trying to take the ax out that Gunner had lodged in there.

  Jax and Zane jumped onto the dragon’s wings holding him down while Axel struggled to hold his tail. Draven ran over and put the dragon’s head in a headlock as Gunner hurried over.

  Jarin was struggling to break free and was about to, until Aleida’s turquoise dragon leapt onto his back, holding him down.

  Gunner had to move fast. They wouldn’t be able to hold a dragon of his strength down for long.

  Jarin’s eyes narrowed when he saw Gunner approaching. His huge jaws opened and Gunner gulped when he saw the flames rolling out of the back of his throat. The flame was rolling down his long tongue, heading straight for him.

  Time to put that fire out.

  Gunner yanked the handle open on the thick fire hose and pointed it into the dragon’s mouth. A strong surge of water shot out of the hose, dousing the flames that were heading right for him.

  “Hold him!” Draven shouted as the dragon started thrashing around.

  Gunner shoved the hose into its mouth and held it there as his friends struggled to hold him down. The gray dragon was coughing and choking but the relentless water kept shooting out, drowning him.

  He whipped his tail, sending Axel flying into the brick wall of the firehouse, but his movements were getting weaker as the water pumped down his throat. Every thrash was a little slower, every desperate jerk of his body a little weaker.

  After a minute his huge head lowered, his body went limp, and his dark eyes clouded over. He fell to the ground with a thud and his long pink tongue rolled out of his mouth.

  Gunner turned the water off when there was no doubt that the dragon was dead.

  “Get a tarp over him,” Draven shouted to Axel. The polar bear shifter hurried away to get one. “We’ll have to move his body when it gets dark.”

  “Why?” Zane said, looking around nervously. “The whole town probably saw you guys fighting in the air.”

  “No, they didn’t,” Aleida said. Gunner hadn’t even noticed that she had phased back. “As soon as I started screaming, everyone fell to the floor and held their ears. I don’t think anyone saw.”

  Axel came back a few moments later with a large tarp that they spread over the dead dragon’s body, hiding it from view.

  “Are you okay?” Gunner asked as he walked over to check on Aleida.

  “You’re the one who flew through the air,” she said, staring at him in awe. “I should be asking you.”

  “I’m immortal, remember?” he said with a grin. “I’m mated to a dragon.”

  Chapter 12

  Aleida

  “There are three more like this,” Aleida said, gasping for air as everyone finally settled down. Jarin’s dead dragon was still lying on the cement under the tarp, looking like a drowned rat.

  Dravenous was staring at the unmoving body with a serious face.

  “Three more,” she said, catching her breath. “We won’t be able to stop them if they’re together.” And Aleida knew that Jarin was the easy one. The other three were even worse: Valerius the ice dragon, Berinon who could grow as big as a building, and Terrowin, the indestructible dragon.

  Next time they wouldn’t be so lucky.

  “You really think it’s out there?” Dravenous asked with a sigh.

  She didn’t. But what other hope did they have?

  “We have to try,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t know what else we can do.”

  “Magical swords,” Jax said, shaking his head.

  Aleida knew it sounded stupid. It was stupid to lay all of her hope—the whole planet’s hope—on this Caliburnus that Dravenous’ dying mother had predicted. But stupid was all she had.

  “I want a magic sword,” Axel said with a pouting face.

  Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who only had stupid.

  “Okay,” Dravenous whispered. His eyes darted up to hers. “I’ll go. I don’t see any other way.”

  Aleida should have been thrilled, but now that he had agreed to search for Caliburnus, she was realizing how hopeless a task it really was. She had no idea where this prophesied solution would be. It could be anywhere, or nowhere. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack—a haystack that stretched across all of Europe.

  “I’m going too,” Gunner said in a firm voice.

  Aleida didn’t want to put her mate in any more danger than she already had, but she could tell in his unwavering voice that this wasn’t up for discussion. Plus, she really wanted him to be there with her.

  “I’m going too,” Zane said, raising his chin in the air.

  “Me too,” Jax quickly added.

  “I better stay here,” Axel said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just to clean up the fire station, and you know how I hate flying.”

  “You pussy,” Jax said, pushing him on his arm. “You’re coming.”

  “You’re all staying here,” Dravenous said. “I’m not going to put you in harm’s way for my family issues.”

  “We want to go, boss,” Zane said.

  “You’re staying,” Dravenous said in a voice that was final. “I need you here.”

  Gunner stepped forward. “With all due respect, Draven,” he said, not knowing when to quit. “Aleida is my mate, and if she’s going into a dangerous place, I belong by her side.”

  Dravenous stared at Gunner long and hard for a moment before nodding. “Fine,” he said. “You can come. But only you. I’m sure we could use a lion shifter like you where we’re going.”

  “And where exactly is that?” Gunner asked, running a hand through his long blonde hair.

  “Back to England,” Dravenous answered. “Back to my home.”

  “All right,” Zane said, looking up at the sky. “It’s dark enough.”

  Aleida watched as Jax and Gunner pulled the tarp off of the dead dragon’s huge body. Her brother Jarin didn’t look so intimidating now. He looked peaceful for the first time in his life.

  “Want to say goodbye?” Gunner whispered to her as Axel backed up the pickup truck.

  She took a deep breath and shook her head. He was always more of a monster than a brother, and you didn’t say bye to monsters. You said good riddance.

  “Just take him away,” she whispered. The boys were going to take him up to the mountain and bury him.

  It was late at night and the street was dark and silent. The boys worked together and lifted the dragon’s dead body onto the truck. It was huge and could barely fit in the cargo bed.

  Axel was struggling to fit the long tail in but it kept falling back out.

  “We’ll just leave it like that,” Axel said as Zane put the tarp back on the body.

  “Like that?” Jax said with a roll of his eyes. “With the fucking tail hanging out.”

  Axel just shrugged. “It could be a rope that’s hanging out. People won’t suspect that it’s a dragon’s tail.”

  “A rope?” Jax said, staring at him in disbelief. “With spikes on it?”

  “Some ropes have spikes,” Axel whispered to himself.

  Jax was still shaking his head as he walked over to the fire truck and grabbed an ax that was hanging on the side. “You might want to turn away for this part, Aleida.”

  “Is that for the tail or for Axel?” she asked. “Because if it’s for Axel I want to see it.”

  “No breakfast for you tomorrow,” Axel said, looking hurt.

  “We won’t be here tomorrow,” Gunner said, looking pained. “We’re leaving tonight.”

  The boys all turned, looking at them in shock.

  “The faster we get this over with, the better,” Aleida said, forcing out a smile at the boys. “For everyone’s sake.”

  “You’re leaving tonight?” Zane asked as Dravenous walked out. “Is it true?”

  Dravenous nodded. “You’re in charge while I’m gone,” he said to Zane. “Do you think you three can handle fixing this place back up?”

  The first floor of the firehouse was trashed thanks to Aleida’s fireball. “Sorry again about that, guys,” she said, feeling her cheeks get hot. There was water and ashes everywhere. Not to mention, their kitchen was burnt to a crisp.

  “It will be looking better than ever when you get home,” Zane promised. “You can count on us.”

  “I know I can,” Dravenous said, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. “I can always count on you guys.”

  There was an awkward silence as the guys held in all of the feelings they wanted to say. Instead, they just shifted from foot to foot and teased each other. Aleida guessed that it was their guy way of showing their love.

  “Watch out for our Gunner,” Jax said to Aleida. “And remember, if he doesn’t get his weekly manicures, he’ll die.”

  “Manicures?” she asked with a laugh. Now that Jax mentioned it, her mate did have some lovely nails.

  “Why are you guys always making fun of me about that?” Gunner asked with a look of confusion on his face. “Nail maintenance is an important part of life.”

  She had a lot to learn about her new lion shifter mate, but she was excited to learn every single thing.

  “Let’s get going,” Draven said, interrupting the guys. “We’ve had enough dragons in the open today.”

  Aleida’s cheeks got warm. She had always been so careful to hide her dragon from the public and today she had fought another dragon in the open sky, over a town. It didn’t get more reckless than that.

 

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