His thoughts peeled away from the battle, running back to Mina. A frantic urgency swelled inside him. He needed to end this quickly so he could get to her. There was no way of knowing what kind of state she was in. Every moment he spent fighting the unfamiliar dragons was a moment closer to the chance of losing her.
He could make a dive straight for her, but he feared leading the dragons to his mate when she was injured. The only way he could get to her was if he cleared the way. That meant grounding the tenacious green dragon.
The dragon on his shoulder sunk its teeth into him. He sucked in a sharp breath right before the green dragon hit him like a cannon ball. The air he’d just drawn in came rushing out. Any other dragon would have gasped for breath in a blind panic. Ryker didn’t have time for that. He closed his arms around the beast before it could scurry away.
Victory was a fleeting feeling when the dragon still clinging to his back pierced the muscle that connected to his wing. The wing went limp as muscle fibers were severed.
At least, Ryker had one wing. He threw it open and made a feeble attempt to spread the other. He caught air, but only barely. At the last moment, he ducked and aimed his shoulder at the ground. There was a pained sound as the beast on his shoulder softened the fall, but they still all tumbled over the ground. Ryker didn’t even try to get to his feet. The beast on his back fell away, and as soon as he was upright again, Ryker closed his claws around the green dragon’s throat.
The dragon tried to break free, but Ryker’s grip was unbreakable. There was no way he was letting the creature escape him now. As much as he wanted to kill the monster hunting his mate, Ryker knew it would only add fuel to the flames of this war. He wanted nothing to do with the fight Jasper started and making it worse would only drag it out.
Ryker hauled the green dragon back to the encampment. Ashton and Wyatt had teamed up and pinned a dragon to the ground. Griffin looked haggard, but as though he’d also won his fight. Ryker descended and slammed the green dragon into the ground. Snow leapt into the air, blown away by a chill wind.
Ryker didn’t stay. When the others called out to him, he ripped a snarl in their direction and took to the skies. They were fine. They didn’t need him. Mina did. She was out there, hurt and alone. Even taking the green dragon back to the encampment had wasted too much time.
He had to go.
He had to find her.
Nothing else mattered.
Not a war.
Not his court.
Not even his king.
Chapter Sixteen
The landing was not as painful as Mina would have imagined. She lay on the ground, groaning. Surprise washed over her when she realized she’d heard her human voice. At some point, most likely after the impact, she’d shifted back. The quick change back to human had sped up some of her healing. Wiggling her toes, she moved on to her knees, testing each set of joints in succession until she was sure she could stand without falling over.
Shakily, she pushed herself to her feet. Her back was not happy, but she knew it would heal in time. As long as she could stand, she was alright. Pushing thoughts of her pain aside, she took in the woods around her. They were unfamiliar. All she could tell was that she was still in Jasper’s mountains. The trees all looked the same, naked and stark against the snow-mottled ground.
She looked up, wishing she could fly out, but wasn’t sure if she could summon her beast so soon. The creature was silent. The fight took almost everything Mina had. Now, she was not only lost in the woods, but lost and naked.
After a shuddering breath, she told herself this was still better than going home to her Uncle. No matter what, Mina would find her way back to her mate. Or, Ryker would come and find her. There was nothing that could keep them apart.
At first, she’d been so stubbornly attached to the system her Uncle had beaten into her that she hadn’t allowed herself to see what was right in front of her. Mina knew now that her life was not what someone else dictated. It was her own. She was in control of everything she did.
The thought gave her confidence. She would find her way out of these woods and back to Ryker. When her eyes drifted shut, she saw his face. The dark look in his eyes was replaced with sparkling humor. She could almost hear the laughter on his lips, the song in his voice. She achingly craved the brightness that his presence brought to her life.
A soft snap echoed through the woods. Mina would have missed it if the woods hadn’t been so silent. She startled, spinning around.
“Oh,” Mina squeaked.
A woman stared at her with wide, crystalline eyes. Her hair was pulled into a pale and messy braid. Dirt smudged her cheek, her clothes, and darkened her fingernails. Mina scented the air, as if she didn’t already know this was the woman Jasper and the other leader were looking for.
Both women stood, time suspended around their frozen forms. Mina didn’t want to move because she thought she might frighten the woman away. Then, she caught a glimpse of steel. The woman held a hunting knife against her leg, almost perfectly hidden from sight.
Finally, Mina sighed. She was too tired to play this game. Her shoulders fell and she let herself drop to the ground in a heap. “Jasper isn’t a bad guy,” Mina told the other dragon woman.
There was a sound of confusion, but Mina’s eyes were on the blue skies above. Part of her watched for a glimpse of Ryker. Mostly, it was a gesture to show the dragon woman that she meant no harm. All Mina wanted was to go home and snuggle. Preferably Ryker, but if he had things to do, she would settle for one of Ryker’s shirts on the ridiculously large stuffed dragon. At least, then it would smell like her mate.
“Did you hear all that fighting?” Mina asked, even though she didn’t think the woman would respond. “They’re fighting over you. I don’t know why you’re hiding, but it’s causing an awful lot of grief.”
The dragon woman growled. The sound was low and soft, but Mina could hear the warning in it. She didn’t get up or even look to the dragon woman, remaining on the ground with her eyes on the sky.
“I don’t know what you’re going through but running is as good as ignoring the issue. Isn’t it?” Mina spent her life ignoring her issues. She’d kept her head down and went through the motions of each day, never once looking for better.
Running and hiding was much the same. The dragon woman wasn’t looking for better.
“I think he’s frustrated without you,” Mina went on. “Jasper, I mean. I don’t like the other guy, whoever he is to you, but Jasper is a good man. He shares recipes with Wyatt’s mate and plays pin-the-tail-on-the-dragon.”
This time, the dragon woman snorted. Mina dared to sneak a peek at the dragon woman and found disbelief on her face.
“I get it. Jasper looks big and strong and scary. My Ryker looks like that, too. He’s the big steel-scaled dragon with all the spikes. He looks terrifying, but he made me coffee and fed me cake when we met.” Mina paused, feeling a weight on her chest for what she was about to say. “The ones we should fear are the ones we’re supposed to trust. They hurt us when our guard is down just because they can, because they have the advantage.”
Mina was working through a lot of things, but she was turning toward a better life. She knew that there was nothing but happiness moving forward. She didn’t have to be afraid to go home or worry that she didn’t prep dinner. If she forgot, Ryker would take her out to eat or they would go bother Wyatt and Kennedy for food. It was just that simple with him.
That was how it was supposed to be.
Mina hoped the dragon woman hiding in these mountains could turn toward a better life, too. Even if she was frightened of Jasper, she had no reason to be afraid of anyone else.
“You could come with me,” Mina offered. “You could stay with me or in a hotel. You wouldn’t even have to see Jasper. We would help you start a new life.”
“I’m not…” Her voice was shaky as she spoke, but it was deep and strong. “I’m not ready. Not yet
.”
Mina could see this woman being their queen. It would just take some time. “That’s alright. I just thought you’d like a shower.”
This time, the woman laughed. “Is that your way of telling me I smell?”
Mina smiled. “Perhaps. Though, I’m sure I don’t smell particularly great right now. I was in the fight. This green dragon kept attacking me. I worked up quite a sweat.”
The woman snorted. “That sounds like Faust. He’s…tenacious.” She looked toward the sky above. Mina couldn’t read the expression on her face. “My name is Cora. Could you….do you mind not telling anyone you saw me?”
“Only if you promise to find me if you need anything.” For the first time in her life, Mina felt strong. She had something she could offer Cora. Aid, in any form she needed.
Seconds ticked past before Cora nodded. Without another word, the dragon woman turned and disappeared into the woods. Mina worried about the woman, but there was no way to stop her from running away. Cora had to make the choice to stop running on her own.
Now that her body had a while longer to heal, picking herself up from the ground was not as shaky as the first time. On her own feet, she tried to rouse her beast once more. The creature was annoyingly silent. Exhaustion forced the creature into slumber, leaving Mina bound to the ground.
Frustration welled inside her. She wished she’d thought to ask Cora for a sweater or a blanket or something, but she would have felt bad taking anything from the dragon woman. So, Mina closed her eyes, found the bond that led her to Ryker, and began walking.
It didn’t take long for her feet to begin dragging. Her limbs felt impossibly heavy, too heavy even for a dragon shifter. She dreamed of peanut butter pies and deep-dish pizza, her stomach rumbling uncontrollably. She needed food to fully recover from her wounds.
Without it, she worried that she would never make it out of the mountain wilderness. Mina wondered how Cora had managed the months she’d been hiding here and wished she hadn’t let the dragon woman leave her alone. Desperation was beginning to set it, burning her eyes with unshed tears. Not long later, the tears fell in a searing trail down her cheeks.
All she could do was hope that her mate was searching for her.
***
Ryker felt like he was about to crack in half. It was not only his injuries that chipped away at him, but sheer panic. Mina had disappeared in the fray. He’d asked her to go home if a fight broke out, but he knew her too well. There was no way she ran home.
His mate was here, somewhere. He worried she was hurt, that she was unconscious and could not call out for his help. The mate bond between them was fresh, and Ryker had no idea how to wield it. Ham-fisted as he was at everything, he feared that if he tugged on it, he might draw precious energy from her and further hurt his mate.
It left him only one option, flying overhead with the hopes that he would see her. Jasper had gone off, already. The beast was in control once more. It, too, scanned the mountain side. Now, they all knew it was a woman Jasper searched for. A mate, perhaps. It was the only way to explain the feral way Jasper’s beast took control.
Ryker understood the feeling, the way his beast reared. Rage filled it. He wanted to go back to the encampment and finish stomping it to the ground, but only after he found his mate. The fight was over, for now. It’d been rough, but Jasper and his court had won. The unfamiliar dragons had been chased back. It bought them time, but no one knew how much.
He should have been reporting to his king, but Ryker’s only concern was for Mina. He remembered seeing her crash through the trees. The broken branches appeared ahead, but when he landed, there was no trace of her. A small crater made a circle in the cold ground. Brush and branches were bent away from where Mina hit the earth. Worry stabbed him in the gut.
He scented the air and found what he was looking for. The trees stood too close together. He had to pull his beast back and walk on two feet if he was going to follow Mina’s scent trail. The beast fought him. Pinpricks shot through his shoulders as the beast held onto control. It wasn’t ready to give up this massive form, the sharp teeth, or the fire, as if the other dragons might circle back for more.
Ryker struggled against his beast until he felt a tug in his stomach. His head shot up and certainty washed over him.
Mina.
Suddenly grateful he hadn’t shifted, he launched himself into the air once more and followed the pull of the mate bond between them. It led him about a mile and a half toward town. She’d been walking in the right direction, he realized.
Without sight of her, he pulled his wings in and descended, trusting the bond that tied them together. The beast acquiesced and pulled back just as his feet touched the ground. Ryker was running before his wings fully disappeared. So great was his need to find Mina, he didn’t feel the stinging bite of the cold snow beneath his feet.
An audible sight cut through the silence of the woods. His heart leapt into his throat. Her pale face appeared, a soft smile on her lips. Ryker sped toward her. His relief was instant, but brief, as a new crop of worries popped up.
Mina collapsed in his arms. Ryker’s beast still thrashed inside him. It would not calm until Ryker thoroughly inspected his mate. He ran his hands over her, searching for wounds and other injuries. She didn’t seem to mind, her eyes drifting closed as she leaned into him and began to purr. The sound slowly settled him, and he drew her into his arms.
She was completely naked and smeared with mud from being outside. He hoisted her into his arms, careful of the angry red skin of her feet. She’d been walking through snow to find him. His heart swelled so large, he thought it would deflate and crumple, but it didn’t. His love for her never wavered, and his confidence in such a small and delicate woman tripled.
Chapter Seventeen
The secret sat in Mina’s chest, a small weight she had to bear on her own. Not that it meant much of anything. There was no telling where Cora had gone since their meeting. Even if she told everyone that she’d encountered the woman they were fighting for, Mina was sure they wouldn’t be able to find her. Cora would not be found until she was ready to reveal herself.
Mina just hoped that was sooner rather than later.
Everyone had gathered in Jasper’s living room. Makenna and Kennedy were fretting over their mates while Griffin brooded near the fireplace. The room was thick with tension, almost worse than the failed meeting hours ago.
While they gathered in Jasper’s house, the king of the mountains was nowhere to be seen. Mina worried that he was out hunting Cora once more until he marched into the room. She expected him to look ragged like the rest of them, but there was an imperial set to Jasper’s shoulders again.
She saw no hint of the war he’d been raging with his own beast. It was as if he’d found his path and was walking it with his head high. Perhaps just knowing the woman he’d been searching for was real was enough. Mina could no more crawl into Jasper’s mind and uncover his thoughts than she could drag Cora back to Grove.
If Cora could return and tell her family that she did not want to leave with them, then the war would be over. Cora could live safely among them, but Mina understood her wariness. A mind was muddled after it endured so much pain. The world took on new shapes, each more frightening than the last until someone could pull back the veil of terror. Mina needed Ryker to do it for her.
She suspected Cora, if she was the mate of their king, would have the strength to remove the veil herself. Eventually, she would see that there was nothing to fear among them. Mina hoped it didn’t take Cora forever. All of them had so much more to live for.
Ashton’s house was nearly built. He and Makenna would be moving out of Jasper’s manor soon. They would begin a new chapter of their life, but it would be tainted if this war dragged on and stole him away every moment.
Mina had overheard Wyatt and Kennedy talking about conception. They were considering trying to conceive, but wartime was not for raising childr
en. She could see the worry in Kennedy’s averted eyes that the war would steal Wyatt from her before they could even try.
Nearly everyone had a cloud over their heads.
“You can’t drag this on forever,” she said, breaking the silence.
All eyes turned to her. The formerly quiet and terrified mouse of a woman had spoken against the king. Jasper slowly turned toward her. No one moved, save for Ryker, who pushed himself in front of her. She reached and drew him back. Mina knew she had no reason to fear Jasper, despite the small spike of fear that cut through her stomach. It was a gut reaction. She knew better.
“I don’t say this to be mean,” Mina continued. “I know this is important to you, but your people have lives. Not just your court. The other shifters in Grove need you.”
Jasper regarded her for a long moment. Mina felt trapped, not by his stare, but by her promise to Cora. She’d agreed to wait and let Cora come to them on their own, but Mina was torn between honoring her promise and helping her family.
Then, Jasper took in the rest of the room. He let out a breath, the regal set of his shoulders drooping ever so slightly. It was as if the duties of a king had risen and slapped him in the face. It wasn’t only the power to declare wars as he wished, but the responsibility to care for his mountains, his people.
“Your cousins came back to help you sort through this, and I’m sure they’re going to stand by you without argument the whole way through, but you have to give back. I’m not saying don’t fight. I’m saying make this a short fight.”
Ryker pulled her back, cradling her against his chest. He laid a kiss on her head. Mina could feel the pride radiating off him. There was no tension in his touch, in the way he sat. If anything, she thought he might offer her up as an advisor.
To her surprise, no one else argued with her declaration. Not even Griffin, who was practically Jasper’s shadow. They all listened to her, heard what she had to say. This was unlike anything Mina had experienced before. She realized she was getting used to their dynamics, to the way they teased one another and spoke openly.
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