Troy continues to be a big problem. Updates daily.
As Kaylani and I alternate our fire and ice around the arena, I first see Ishir fighting up by the harpoon launcher. I heard it launch and then saw Cedric jump and pull it down, away from Kaylani. On my next trip around the arena, I saw Cedric shooting the harpoon launcher into the stadium, causing chaos. The spectators may have thought they were safe from my fire, but they’ve basically put themselves into an oven and I keep turning up the heat. Then, Kaylani comes behind me and freezes them into place until I come around and literally start melting them where they stand. “I hate the smell of burning flesh.” Kaylani says to me. “I love it.” Avani says, slamming into the arena floor and causing the walls to shake. “Nearly there.” I yell as I come back around and see Cedric fighting against someone. The person has him on the floor of the stadium and they are about to punch him. I direct my fire at the person. As much as I wish I hated Cedric, I don't and I can’t stand by and let him
‘I did it for her.’ Who’s 'her'? The entire way home, I thought about what Tana said. Unless she wasn’t talking to me. But she said it after I thanked her. It didn’t make sense. I’ve been mulling it over for a month now. I’m looking over the next petitions for mediation for me to hear. I’ve finally gotten the schedule down to every other week, but it means it takes longer to meet on those weeks. It’s still less than it was in the beginning. As I’m pouring over the petitions, Bastian comes in. “Ced, my financial wizard wants to have a conversation. She says she’s found something but needs your approval to move forward.” I look up as he flops down on the chair in front of my desk. “Can we do it via phone? I don’t really have time to go to the human city for a meeting.” “Funny, she basically said the same thing. She’s about to take some time off so she wanted to meet with us before that. I’ve got a call on the schedule for next week, after your mediations and before her vacation.” I
This weekend, I’m taking Kenna to the mountains to teach her how to use her dragon’s call. She turned three a few weeks ago and Avani agreed to meet us because Kenna wants him there. We leave at night, but I keep a slower pace because Kenna still hasn’t reached maturity and is much smaller than I am. At this pace and only flying at night, it takes us two days to get there. My daughter seems to enjoy being able to stretch her wings and fly so much. It’s nice to share this time with her, and I plan for us to start coming out here more often. When we arrive at our designated spot, I see Avani in his human form on the ground. I belt out my dragon call to him, showing Kenna what it will sound like. He returns the call to me, still in his human form. Kenna lands beside him. He takes his time looking over her dragon form, lifting her wings, checking her feet and noting the onyx-colored stripes down her side. I can hear him telling her how beautiful they are, and she should wear them with p
I ran past the last mountain where I found her scent and continued on to the next mountain range. I sniffed around but didn’t find her scent. I ran up one of the mountains to the top and looked all around. Off in the distance, I see another mountain range, so I head down and begin running to that one. Halfway there, I stop to eat and get some food. I catch the scent of other shifters but none that smell like predators or predators in my immediately vicinity. I lay back, looking up at the night sky, listening to the sounds of the forest around me. I wonder where Tana is. Is she truly with Ishir? Avani? Both of them? I hate the thought of it, the thought of my mate with another. So, instead, I remember our time together, our one night. I fall asleep thinking of how fantastic it felt being inside my mate. I’m awakened by a strange sound far in the distance. I hear it several times before it finally ends. I have no idea what the sound is, but now that I’m awake, I’m get up and begin mo
I wake with Cedric wrapped around me. I’m not sure he could have told me I was his more than he did. He clearly thinks that I’m with Ishir or Avani, eww, and he was staking his claim. What he doesn’t realize is that he hasn’t claimed me. At least not the way a dragon is claimed. He may think I’m his, his mark is on my neck and he can say it as many times as he wants, but I’m not a claimed dragon. Of course, ‘the other person’ I spoke about was my daughter, not another man. I have to put her first, and I won’t risk him trying to take her from me. So, until she is old enough, and strong enough to stand up to him on her own, she will remain a secret from him. I slip out of his arms. He was so close to finding my treasure trove. I hope that he’ll leave when he wakes up alone, but I don’t have time to get him out of here. I’ve been gone too long, and I need to get back to Kenna. I shouldn’t have done it. I shouldn’t have let him back into my heart, into my body. I should hate him. I shou
After waking alone the morning after claiming Tana again, I have an inkling of how she felt when I left her. I wanted her to know that I was claiming her, that I wanted her, that she was mine. But she left me. I’ve come back to this spot as frequently as I can. I’m hoping that she’ll come back, that maybe I’ll be lucky enough to be here when she does and we can finally talk, but she hasn’t returned. After the first couple of times, I started looking over the mountain wall that looked staged. What I found shocked me. It’s a cave of treasures; art, sculptures and gemstones. So many gemstones, some of them are larger than my fists. When I first moved the boulder that was blocking the cave, I smelled it. This must be her family’s cave. Since she’s the last of her kind, it would be hers now, but the scent of the others lingers here. Her scent lingers here. I’ve moved around this space, smelling everything, finding the pieces that smell more like her. She’s partial to the gemstones. A de
I watch as Cedric helps get Kenna out of her restraints. I knew she was terrified which is why I screamed in my mind for Cedric to help her. I never dreamed that he’d actually hear me. I watch him tease our daughter, getting her to relax. I know he doesn’t know who she is, but hearing him call her Little Red causes my heart to flutter. Damn him. Why does he have to be good with her. I’m keeping an eye on the fight with the dragons, not that it’s much of a fight with three fully grown dragons. The hunters have weapons but most of them bounce off their scales. Avani has taken an arrow between his scales but he’s still fighting. I turn back just in time to see Cedric rip the last harpoon out of Kenna’s wing. Her cry makes my heart hurt. I would kill these hunters if I could, but I’ll settle for watching my brethren kill them for me. I watch as Cedric wraps his arms around her face as best he can, being careful to not touch the open wounds. He waits until her cries stop. “Are you good,
Five dragons. I’m surrounded by five dragons. Well, four dragons and one asshole. Kaylani and Zephyr are gorgeous women, I guess that’s a dragon trait, but they are nothing compared to my mate. She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. But this little dragon in front of me…I don’t what it is. I’m so drawn to her, feeling a pull to her in a way that I’ve only ever felt with Tana. Maybe it’s because I’m mated to a fire dragon that I’m drawn to them? And Ishir must not have known about this little one. He told me that there were only four. Something inside me clenches. I have no idea how long it takes for a dragon to reach maturity, but suddenly, I’m remembering Avani’s snide comment about it being good to be the last male of your species. And he was more concerned about this little dragon than his own injury, even if his were minor. Could this be his daughter? Could this little dragon be Avani and Tana’s child together? I grit my teeth to keep from snarling at the thought of them
Eight Months Later “Momma, Kenna blew her fire on me!” My young son comes running into the room, his arms raised and big alligator tears streaming down his face. I reach down and pick him up, putting him on my hip around my growing, pregnant belly. “It didn’t hurt you, did it?” I ask. Our son, even though he has the Lycan gene, is immune to our fire. He got enough of the dragon blood to give him immunity from the dragon's heat. It had taken much longer this time to get pregnant. I was worried that it wouldn’t happen, since my uterus ruptured with Liekki’s birth, but Cedric had promised to try as many times as needed to put a pup or dragon in me. And he didn’t fail me. I’m considered a high-risk pregnancy, but so far, three months in, everything is going well. Kenna comes walking in behind Liekki. “I warned him, Momma. I told him if he touched my gemstones that I would blow my fire on him. He didn’t listen. He touched my gems, Momma.” “Sweetheart,” It’s so strange talking to Kenna
Two Months Later I haven’t gotten Tana pregnant yet. We knew that it would be difficult after her uterus ruptured with Liekki, but my mate wants another pup or dragon and I’m doing my best to give her one. I can’t say that the constant trying to get her pregnant isn’t fun. But I know she’s becoming more and more convinced that she’ll never have another baby. We still haven’t found The Chief. We’ve gotten close, found old facilities and learned how he detonates the explosives he puts into the dragons’ brains, but we haven’t found him yet. Ishir did find a doctor that would help us. He’s human, in his mid to late thirties, but he doesn’t seem to care that we're part of the supernatural community. Or, more specifically, he fascinated by us, especially the dragons. At first, I thought I might have to kill him. He kept staring at Tana and Kenna. But when Avani, Zephyr and Kaylani showed up, I realized it has more to do with the beauty of the dragons than my mate and daughter. Ishir expl
A few weeks later, we’re joined by Avani, his elf friend, Merethyl, Kaylani and Ishir. Ishir is the best tracker in the group. With the work he does searching for missing humans and supernaturals, he travels all over and has the potential to find the hidden bunkers where the Chief is creating his hybrids. “We have to consider the fact that there will be more dragons.” Bastian says. His mate, Jena, recently delivered their baby, so he’s been out for awhile. I left him here while we went to bring down the arena. He wasn’t happy about it, but I needed him focused, and protecting his mate and unborn child had him laser focused on protecting the pack while we were gone. “Not only will there be more dragons, but we need to figure out how this Chief is able to kill them from a distance.” I have an idea about that.” Merethyl says. “I asked my brother to do some research for us and he found that, in the past, hunters would insert small mini explosive devices into the brains of supernaturals
We’re halfway home from the battle at the arena when we hear Kaylani’s lament. “Something’s wrong Cedric. I need to go to her.” “Then, let’s go, Tana. I’m with you.” “I am too, Momma.” Kenna says. Ishir decided to run home before meeting us back at the pack, so Kenna isn’t carrying anyone. We turn and follow the sound of Kaylani’s cry. I’ve never been on this end of a dragon’s lament, and it’s heartbreaking. When we find her, we land, and I immediately see why she’s crying. She is standing over the young dragon. I shift quickly, rushing over to look at the young dragon who is lying broken on the ground. “Kaylani, what happened?” “I don’t know. We were talking and flying when she screamed. Then she just fell from the sky. I tried to catch her, Tana. I swear I did. But she just dropped so fast.” I lean over the young dragon. There’s blood coming from her mouth, nose and eyes. I lift her eye lids and see that her eyes are blood red. Not the pupil, what is supposed to be the lighter
I was nervous about helping Kaylani heal, but she’s a great instructor. She’s patient even when she’s in pain. She helps guide me through healing her and how much energy to push into her, especially since she’s not a fire dragon. Because we were together, I knew something was wrong when we heard the other dragon. “Kaylani what’s going on?” I ask her. My hands are still healing the hole in her wing, but I turn to see another dragon flying in our direction. “I don’t know, but she’s not a dragon we know.” As soon as the hole is healed, she’s up and flying over to where I can see Tana is trying to not fight the young dragon. A dragon that looks very much like her and Kenna. Kaylani turns back to me. “Help Avani, he’s still trapped.” I look around and see the tides are turning. My pack is taking out the hunters and those that are left are starting to run off. My pack is chasing them down. I race back over to the arena, rushing into one of the entryways. I see Kenna struggling to get t
I only watch Cedric fighting Troy for a moment. Kaylani and Avani both still need help and Cedric looks like he’s holding his own against Troy. I turn back to Kaylani. “I’m going to shift and try to pull the harpoon out.” As I shift, I see hunters fighting past the pack. They are trying to get to me and Kaylani. I begin throwing fire balls at them, setting them on fire. They begin shooting at us and while silver doesn’t impact me, I know the paralytic will. I’m sending more fire balls at them, but there are too many. I’m standing in front of Kaylani who is using her water where she can, but she doesn’t want to douse my fire. Suddenly, I see the hunters start going down on my left. I turn, focusing my attention to the hunters getting through on the right. Cedric emerges on the left from the smoke and fires still burning the flesh of the hunters. He runs over to me, dropping his sword and grabbing my arms, looking me over. “Are you alright, Tana? Are you hurt?” “No, I’m okay.” “Wh
When Tana dropped me off, I had one goal in mind. Kill Troy. However, as soon as I got out of the fire and could see, I realized that the hunters were going after the pups. I immediately jumped in, protecting them, killing the hunters so my pack members could get them away. The rest of the pack that isn’t still underground begins fighting along side me. The pack will always fight to protect its own, but when it comes to our pups, we’re fierce. I make sure the group with the pups gets away safely before focusing on the group of hunters that is following my pack out of the underground. I can see the she-wolves that were captured are exhausted and starving, but they are fighting. It makes me so proud of my pack, proud to be their Alpha. As I’m fighting, I hear a dragon scream and I look up to see Kaylani has taken a harpoon to the wing. It looks like she flew in front of Kenna and took the harpoon to protect my daughter. That’s twice Kaylani has saved my family. I don’t know if I can e
The next morning, we’re all up early. The pack is split in half, half coming to attack the arena and the other half staying to protect the pack and pack lands. Kenna and I shift, and Cedric and Ishir grab their bags of grenades. Cedric has his sword thrown across his back as he puts the harness on me. He grabs his bag then walks up my wing, getting himself settled on my back. The pack members coming with us shift, grabbing their bags and begin running to the arena. Once Cedric makes sure everyone is shifted and on their way, he gives Kenna the signal and she lifts into the air. Once they are far enough away, I lift up and we begin making our way to the arena. About halfway there, we meet up with Avani and Kaylani. I notice the Avani has a female on his back. I’m surprised, but I don’t have time to wonder about it. We lift up higher into the air so that we can see the arena from high above the clouds. We watch for Cedric’s pack and when we see them getting closer, he gives the signal.
When Tana and Kenna arrive back at the pack, it doesn’t take long for news to spread that we have two additional dragons on our pack lands. The warriors with missing mates all came rushing to ask about it. We are meeting in my office when they find us. “Alpha, did you find them?” “Have a seat.” I tell them as they come in. “Just tell us.” Another demands, causing me to growl a warning at him. Tana steps up to him. “All of you, have a seat. We have much to discuss and not much time to do it. Any time wasted arguing is time that we should be planning how to rescue your mates and pups.” They all walk in and sit, but they are restless. “So, you did find them?” “Yes, your mates and your pups are all alive.” Ishir tells them. Almost as one, I see their noses go up as they sniff the air. “This is Ishir. He’s a tiger and was in the arena with me and Tana. You can trust him. This,” I point to Avani, “is Avani, the earth dragon. And this,” I point to Kaylani, “is Kaylani, the water dra