When they pulled into the drive way Willow came on the porch. She smirked when she saw the glow. Of course there was a glow. They’d completed the bond.
As soon as he was out of the car she smiled. “Now I get why it took you so long. Bev said you dropped her off over an hour ago.
Her smile dropped from her face and Blane felt a change in her emotions.
“What’s going on?”
She glared. “I hate it when you do that, but you’re right something is very wrong, you need to come inside so we can fill you two in.”
Blane waited for her to say more, but she didn’t and then Dallas stepped out of the car.
“You’re okay!”
Dallas allowed Willow’s newfound ability to give affection sweep her up. “Yes, thanks to the witch.”
“That’s wonderful, but it’s terrible since you’ve come into big troubles for us.”
“Part of being one of you right?”
With that Blane took his mate’s hand and led her inside. He didn’t bother going anywhere other than the den. It was where they did anything. It was where they held their family meetings.
As soon as he led Dallas into the room he realized something was off.
Max wasn’t there.
Tension was high and he felt the strain on the tribe. One of their own were missing—again. He was getting pretty damn tired of this shit.
“Where’s Max?”
Aris turned towards him. “Gone, taken, whatever, but he’s probably with Jaz.”
“Who the hell is Jaz?”
Blane led Dallas to the couch and instead of taking his customary spot against the wall he sat next to her and took her hand into his. It was calming. Even feeling her nerves was nothing compared to his normal feelings of needing to be separate from the rest of the tribe. Now he felt even more connected, not only to her, but to them all. It was amazing what one person could do.
“Jaz is one of the three dragons that we missed. He somehow got away.”
“Shit,” Blane replied.
“Yep. And now he wants revenge since Evander killed his brothers.”
“And he has Max?”
“We aren’t sure, but Max doesn’t just leave without telling us what he’s doing. Mostly he leaves to get some time alone. He loves his solitude. The only thing I can think of is he was distracted. With the twins, things are a little less quiet around here,” Aris replied.
Blane could understand. He had a feeling being around the twins was going to be hard on himself. Two small beings that had no control over their emotions…
“How long has he been missing?”
“Since you’ve been gone.”
“Maybe he found a woman.”
Zarin laughed. “He hasn’t done that in ages. He’s all about finding his mate now, since he is the last of us, he knows it’s bound to happen.”
That was new information for Blane. Last he knew, Max was the one who liked spreading his love. He wasn’t one to hide his passion for the opposite gender. He loved women. And women loved him.
“We should easily be able to find him. There aren’t many places in town where this dragon could hide him. We’ve got his scent. Easy. Now let’s search.”
“If it was the simple we would have found him already. Something is blocking his scent, and I’m guessing Jaz got a hold of some demon to preform magic, since the stench is everywhere.”
Another demon—or possibly the same one, hell. That’s just what they needed. “The Golden council has stooped that low apparently. That’s what the witches said. I think they’d be willing to help us when the time comes.”
“Willow caught you up already?”
Blane raised a brow. “No, but the witches said we got a lot of bad coming.”
“That’s what Mom said too.”
“You saw her again?”
“Yeah she came with a warning about Jaz and what the council has planned. There will be a war. The only thing we can do is be prepared and hope the town doesn’t get destroyed.”
“This is just great. I don’t need Dallas getting hurt.”
She squeezed his hand. “No one needs to get hurt, but I’m just as capable as the others. I want to help.”
“Of course you can help. The more we have the better. Zarin can train you just as he does everyone else. Even Cai is working on his magic and combat. We all need to be able to help or else—”
No on needed Aris to finish his thought. They all knew what it meant if they weren’t ready for this.
“So now we wait until he contacts us.”
“We haven’t quit searching; we just haven’t had any luck.
Blane stood up and sighed. I could probably find them. Hell, Ilias could probably contact him.
“I’ve tried, can’t get through. Whatever the magic is, it’s keeps me out. I can’t even connect, and I should be able to,” Ilias said and pulled Andrea into his lap. “I’ll keep trying though. The magic shouldn’t be able to work all the time. There’ll be a hole in it somewhere, I just have to find it.”
“Dallas and I will help. With our gifts, we should be able to find him without Jaz even knowing.”
Aris ran his fingers through his white hair. “You all have the gifts that are silent so hopefully. In the meantime, go get rest, we start our shifts tonight. Each of us will stay up so others can sleep. We can’t let exhaustion take over or we’ll be useless. But the children need protection.”
Dallas frowned. “I’m not tired, so I can help now. I need to do something to help.”
“You’ve just gotten over being sick, you really should rest, “Aris said. “But if you insist. I want you to take the first shift and then you can sleep for as long as you need.”
“Fair enough. Plus, I need to call Tali, she’s supposed to be here tomorrow.”
“Did you tell her about you.”
“She’ll have to see it to believe it. It’s okay though I’ll explain it all to her and get her to leave for now, after I tell her what’s going on.”
Blane worried her sister would somehow get caught in the crossfire. He’d hoped he could talk her into cancelling her trip for now, but she’d warned him, her sister was stubborn. And that was no joke.
“Are you sure you can’t get her not to come?” Aris didn’t want a human around right now. That much was clear.
“She’s already on her way I’m sure.”
“Okay then, when she gets here meet her in town. We think Jaz is watching us.”
“He won’t get my sister,” she replied and growled. “But I really need to learn how to work with this dragon beforehand. I haven’t even shifted yet.”
“I can help with that,” Zarin said. “Unless Blane, you want to teach her.”
“You can help, I’m going to get some sleep. I know she’s safe with you.”
He tugged on Dallas’ hand and she stood with him. He hugged her tight and kissed her cheek not sure how she felt about affection in front of others. “Good night.”
“Night, time for me to learn how to be one of you.”
He could sense her excitement and wished he could stay awake, but if he didn’t sleep now he would crash at a very bad time. Being an empath made him need more sleep. With the emotions so high it was vital he was up to par. Even though the Blue Dragon was no longer with him, the Purple one was just as much in tune with emotions. They worked together.
Chapter 17
Jaz
He’d gotten the lanky one. He didn’t know how he did it, but now he had him tied up with demon rope. Now the beast couldn’t move. He was basically magical tranquilized. The demon promised once he got the rope on the dragon, said dragon would be useless. It was almost too easy. He was hoping to catch him without it. He was disappointed he needed it, but that damned beast was stronger than he looked and not at all sick, like he’d heard them discuss. He was the only one out of them that hadn’t found his mate.
It was p
erfect. It just didn’t go exactly as planned. He was comprisable. He was glad he’d found the demon, but he paid a pretty penny for that damned rope and it better work as well as the it said. Demons liked to lie, or maybe they didn’t know the truth at all.
He slapped the man’s face with the back of his hand waking the dragon. “Wakey, wakey.” He ignored how crazy he sounded. He was beyond gone.
His revenge was his obsession, and now he’d finally gotten to start his plan. Even if it was different than he initially thought it would be.
The man opened his eyes and glared. “Who the hell are you?” He closed his eyes and sniffed. “And what is that horrible smell?”
Jaz laughed. “Demon magic.” He pulled a dagger from his belt and pointed it at him. “You see, the magic ensures you can’t use your powers—not even your special gift. If you even have one.”
He didn’t respond. Jaz didn’t care. He had him right where he wanted him. “Nothing to say?”
“Nope, I’ll get free.”
He sounded confident but the rope was guaranteed to work. That’s what the demon said. No Supe should be able to get out of its hold. It had to be cut off by something pure. Jaz didn’t want the beast to have anything so he kept the old building completely empty of anything pure. “You won’t, but nice of you to think so.”
“So what, you’re just going to keep me here?”
“For now.”
The man raised a brow. “You got lucky, I was distracted.”
“By what?”
Again silence.
“You don’t have to tell me anything. I know everything. Hell, you didn’t even see me when I stood outside your window.” He laughed. “You were too fucking easy. I’m a bit disappointed in you. I thought you’d be tough. I thought I’d have to work a little harder.”
He growled and Jaz laughed again realizing he’d hit a hot button. “Oh, don’t like being called weak?”
He walked away leaving his new toy to sit and stew.
***
Max
He was pissed as hell. He didn’t know how that crazy bastard got the drop on him, but somehow, he managed. Max didn’t like knowing that he wasn’t strong enough to fight off one lousy dragon. It was a burst to his ego he didn’t need. Not only that, he was the only one who hadn’t found his mate until then. He was on his own enjoying some peace and quiet away from the twins when he scented something so delectable he followed the trail.
He didn’t realize he wasn’t paying attention to anything else, and then the trail went cold. Her scent disappeared dead in the middle of nowhere. He’d spent time trying to pick it up again, but to no avail. The area had been covered in some sort of magic, but he couldn’t place it. Regardless she was gone and he had no trail to follow. It irked him, he’d been so close only not.
Just thinking about the scent made his heart race. Oh, she was his mate all right, but she certainly wasn’t human—and she wasn’t dragon. There was something floral about her he couldn’t place. But as soon as he got himself out of his own damn mess, he would track her down.
Of that he was certain. She was his, and he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. No matter where she went he would find her. Max was determined and getting sicker by the day. Not that he’d told any of the others. They had their own lives. Besides the whole tribe had enough shit, like that deranged dragon, to deal with. They didn’t need to worry about him too. He kept to his normal sarcastic self and hoped Cai and Blane kept their gifts to themselves. They would be the only two that would know any different. That his face was a mask to cover the constant pain.
That had to be why he was taken. The distraction of his mate and the aches that flowed through every inch of his body had taken its toll. There no way Aris or even Blane would have been taken. Now if—no when, he made it out of this crap—he’d never live it down.
***
He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, but the sun shined through the small window across the room. There wasn’t a way for him to even squeeze through it. He had to think of a plan, but it seemed the longer he wore the demon rope the foggier he became. His beasts no longer fought—and yes beasts. It seemed in a dire situation, the female dragon woke up, or being triggered by the scent of his mate did it. Who knew. Whatever the case, she was black and silver. Beautiful in all her glory just as he knew his mate would be if he ever got to meet her.
“Suck it up buttercup,” he mumbled and then chuckled. He was a pansy.
“Buttercup, eh?” Jaz walked back into the room carrying a wicked blade. “Maybe that’s why you’re the only one without a mate, Fate doesn’t approve of homos.”
Max laughed. “Really, that’s your theory? I assure you men are not my thing.” He wasn’t going to mention that he had somewhat found his mate—or her scent rather, but soon enough he wouldn’t be without his mate. The tribe would be complete, each having their own mate to love and cherish. Soon he’d be deliriously happy too. It seemed the others were moving on and leaving him behind. He didn’t like it. He’d been abandoned too young for that shit. His face was always a mask. He didn’t like to show his real feelings. So, therefore he didn’t. It was that simple. Smile and nod, throw out a sarcastic remark, and he was golden.
Chapter 18
Dallas rode with Zarin to drop Willow at work. She knew her sister would be in town and she didn’t want to give her any reason to come to the house. Not with a deranged dragon watching them. Her nerves were frayed, and she was exhausted but she wouldn’t admit that to anyone.
Blane knew but he was smart and kept his mouth shut. Even though she was the empath now, he still was connected to emotions. It was his gift naturally as it was magically. It made it difficult to feel anything, but she would learn to put a guard up. He didn’t need to suffer any more than he already did, and especially not because of her and her stubbornness.
She was both excited and nervous about seeing Tali. She didn’t want her sister to freak out, but she didn’t want her to be mad either. The relationship with her and Blane was too new to want to share, but there was no choice.
Once Zarin left them inside the building she sat at a table and her thought drifted. There was so much new to take in, so much to learn. She needed to know how to be the dragon. She wasn’t sure how long she zoned, but it was long enough to get food.
“Might as well eat while you’re waiting,” Willow said putting a hot plate in front of her and pulling her out of her thoughts. “Can’t have you starving. Plus, you could put on a few pounds after being sick so long.”
She wasn’t wrong and it smelled delicious. Her senses were enhanced, but even if she hadn’t been changed into something more the food would have made her mouth water.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, just remember if your sister freaks out we’re all in trouble.”
That’s what they all worried about, and she understood, but she knew her sister. Tali would be jealous before freaking out. In fact, that was probably going to be the outcome. Her sister would want to be a dragon too. She always wanted everything her big sister had. And normally Dallas would make sure she got it, but this time, it wasn’t that easy. She did wonder though if like her, Tali would find a mate. She hadn’t had much luck in the department of men either. Maybe it was just because she hadn’t found her one.
Dallas would love her sister to find happiness just like she now had.
She ate her food and continued her musings. It was nice to be able to eat a decent meal—and the best part—she didn’t have to worry about tasting it a second time.
The beast in her lifted its head and sniffed the air.
‘Our kin.’
Dallas looked at the door just as it opened and her beautiful sister walked in. Tears rushed to her eyes and she smiled when Tali noticed her. She stood up and met her halfway pulling her into a tight hug.
“Ow, too tight,” Tali said in surprise. “Wow, you look good, sis.”
Dallas still hadn’t learned about herself or her strength. “Oh sorry.”
No one in the diner paid any attention to them, but Dallas felt eyes on them, and the beast in her scanned the area. Someone was watching. The hairs on her neck stood and the beast growled, but she didn’t see anything.
Shrugging it off, Dallas went back to the table and her sister followed.
“Why didn’t we meet somewhere less public?”
She sighed. “There’s something important we need to talk about, but not in here. Let’s go for a walk.”
“If that’s what you need.”
“It’s what I need. It’s important you listen to me too.”
Tali got distracted easily and this wasn’t something that could be distracted from. She needed to be honest with her sister and then get her the hell out of town before something bad happened. It was only a matter of time before the Jaz guy attacked. Aris said so. And since he was now her king she couldn’t argue.
Suddenly a wave of anxiety filled her, but she realized it wasn’t her own. It was Tali’s. Blane told her this would happen. Things were different for them. They felt things differently.
She reached across the table and patted her sister’s hand. “Let’s go outside, and I’ll tell you everything.” Not everything but enough to get her packing. As sad as she was she wouldn’t get to spend time with her—not until the threat was gone.
“Okay let’s go, but then I’m coming back to eat.”
Not if she had anything to say about it.
***
It was a clear warm day. For the first time in ages, Dallas didn’t have to wear a sweater when it was warm. She enjoyed the breeze on her skin and the warmth from the sun on her bare skin.
“So, what’s going on?”
She sighed. “Something happened to me in the last few days and I almost died.”
Tali yelled, “What?”
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