”I think we should wait until nightfall,” he said in a low voice. “That way, if we need to, we can fly away without worrying about being spotted by humans.”

  Rosaline made a frustrated sound in her throat, her eyes still fixed on the bar. He could tell she was itching to barge in there, to rescue the women who were still trapped… it was maddening, how close they were. He took a deep breath. “Tell you what. Why don’t I go in and do some recon? Check the place out, see who’s still there, make sure Reed hasn’t moved the prisoners.”

  ”Are you sure that’s safe? What if Reed’s figured out you’re helping me?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t think the wolves would’ve gotten word back to him yet. And I’m not sure they even saw me in the first place.” That had been worrying at him, but he tried to put that worry aside for Rosaline’s sake. She nodded, jaw tight.

  ”I wish I could come with you.”

  ”It’s okay,” he reassured her. “I’ll just be a few minutes. Head in, see what’s going on, check on the prisoners then come back. Hey, if I can get hold of the keys to their doors, maybe I can break them out that way.”

  ”I don’t know why Reed gave you the key to my room but not the others,” Rosaline grumbled. “But I have to admit, I’d kind of prefer to break them out by force. Call it closure.”

  ”I’m glad you’re on my side,” Noah murmured, unable to resist caressing the side of her face. She smiled, reaching up to kiss him. He kissed her back, but before he could get too distracted, he headed for the bar, glancing back to make sure Rosaline was hidden among the trees.

  It felt so strange, heading into the all-too-familiar bar. Nothing had changed in the old place—but so much had changed in him that it was almost like stepping into a new building. He glanced up at the bar out of habit, but old Rory wasn’t there. It made the place feel empty, hollow, and he felt a prickle of unease. Where was the old wolf? Surely Reed hadn’t forced him out to go hunting for Rosaline? Noah couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen the guy anywhere but behind the bar.

  A mystery for another time, he decided, moving through the quiet space. True to his word, Reed had closed up—there had been signs on the door proclaiming that the bar was closed for maintenance. There’d be some disappointed clientele, that was for sure, Noah thought with some amusement. Reed must really want Rosaline back. Well, he’d get her back, alright—all twenty feet of scales and claws and furious green eyes. As much as Noah was worried about her getting hurt in the battle, part of him was secretly looking forward to seeing her in all her glory.

  Reed’s office was empty when he reached it. Despite his determination to destroy the man, he still felt a curious pang of worry before he stepped through the door, the old feeling of being somewhere he wasn’t allowed to be. Reed had always been very strict about who could and couldn’t be in his office. Well, Noah had broken a lot more rules than that one, he told himself, moving quickly across to Reed’s ornate desk. The keys would be in the drawer, he knew, the drawer that locked… but he knew the mechanism wasn’t especially advanced. There was a chance he could jimmy it open with his credit card.

  Sure enough, a few minutes of careful fiddling and the drawer clicked open. There was the keyring, with all five keys to the rooms downstairs. He took a deep breath as he scooped them up. Could it really be this easy? Was he about to free the prisoners without even encountering a single enemy?

  ”Hello, Noah.”

  Noah’s heart sank to his toes as he felt the old fight-or-flight response to that voice. Reed was standing in the doorway, his blue eyes fixed on Noah. Impossible to tell how long he’d been there—but Noah could tell from his expression alone that he wasn’t happy.

  ”I headed to the bar after a very interesting phone call from a couple of my trusted employees,” Reed said levelly, not moving from the doorway. “They were searching for our escaped guest uptown, and they were advised that a woman matching her description had checked into a certain motel. And you wouldn’t believe the crazy thing they saw while they searched for her. A dragon.”

  ”Reed—”

  ”A dragon with green scales, with the woman riding it like a horse. Imagine my surprise. Because I don’t know many dragons. Do you?”

  There was no point trying to hide any more. Noah straightened up to his full height for what felt like the first time in front of Reed. “What you were doing with those women is monstrous, Reed. I won’t apologize for stopping you.”

  Reed narrowed his eyes. “So you admit it. You admit to breaking my trust—to betraying me. After all I’ve done for you. After I saved your life—took you in when you were nothing but a shell of a person, all but destroyed by that hideous family of yours—“

  ”You didn’t save me at all,” Noah snapped, his chest burning as he took a step across Reed’s office. “You just took advantage of how badly my family messed me up. Used me as a weapon.”

  ”That’s all you were good for,” Reed hissed, and Noah saw something dark and ugly flare to life in his eyes—something he’d only seen glimpses of. “That’s all any dragon is good for. You proved it when you betrayed me. And that bitch of yours proved it when she broke out and left her friends behind.”

  Noah felt rage swim across his vision—the magic surged in him, ready to transform his body, heedless of the close confines of the office. But Reed’s voice cracked like a whip.

  ”Don’t even think about it. I’ve always wanted to know how dragons deal with gunshot wounds.”

  Noah’s eyes widened. There in Reed’s hand was a gun—sleek, silver, and deadly. Reed gestured with it, and Noah raised his hands reluctantly. Reed gestured him out into the main bar, and Noah ground his teeth, trying to think quickly.

  “Don’t think you’ve got me outnumbered, either,” Reed said in a low voice. “I’ve called everyone back in. They’re headed this way. I knew you’d come back to steal away the rest of my collection. Where’s the other dragon? Hiding outside in the forest like a coward?”

  ”No,” Noah said quickly. “She’s long gone. Back home to Colorado.”

  ”Don’t you try to lie to me,” Reed snarled, and Noah saw his hand tighten spasmodically on the gun. He braced himself for the gunshot—but the man steadied himself, taking a few breaths. “I know she’s out there. Come in!”

  The door that led to the rest of the bar opened, and Noah’s heart sank as the staff of the bar began to troop in. So much for their hope that the shifters would still be out looking for Rosaline—it looked like the full complement had come back home. Noah stared around the room, looking at the shifters who had been his friends and coworkers. They stared back, a mixture of expressions on their faces… pity, anger, worry. How many of them would fight him, he wondered dizzily. How many of them would be willing to kill him if Reed told them to? He thought of his own life as one of Reed’s men. If someone had betrayed Reed the way he had… he wouldn’t have hesitated to bring them down.

  Noah gritted his teeth, ready for the worst.

  ”This is a useful learning opportunity you’ve given us, Noah,” Reed was saying, raising his voice to be heard by everyone in the room. “I should be thanking you. Now everyone will know what happens when you betray me.”

  ”This man is holding the women downstairs prisoner,” Noah said, feeling frustration surge in him. “As sex slaves. The collars on their necks aren’t jewelry, they stop them shifting—“

  ”Quiet,” Reed snarled. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to save his own life.”

  ”I’m telling the truth—” Noah started, but Reed cocked the pistol in his hand and he fell silent. He’d be no good to Rosaline if he got shot. Shifters were tougher than a regular human, it was true—but he still didn’t like his chances of surviving a gunshot at close quarters. But Reed was raising the gun, and he felt his heartbeat accelerating, panic surging. Was he going to shoot him, right here and right now, to make a point to the staff? It wouldn’t be out of character for him. Noah looked around at his workmates, desperate—saw a mixture of expressions of regret and grief. But nobody came to his rescue. Nobody stood up to Reed. Could he blame them? He’d spent a decade in the man’s thrall—it had taken Rosaline to break him out of it. God, he hoped that she’d be okay, at least.

  And as his heart filled with love for her, there was a sudden, almighty crunching sound of a door being forcibly ripped off its hinges behind him. He saw Reed’s face contort with fury and spun around, hardly daring to hope—

  There, in what remained of the doorway, was an enormous dragon. Much bigger than him and his family, and covered in metallic scales that shone and glittered as they caught the light. She was sleek, powerful, clearly built to be aerodynamic… and her bright green eyes glittered in her enormous head as her neck snaked into the building. She opened her great jaws and roared—and just like that, the room erupted in chaos. Noah heard Reed’s gun go off, felt something glance past his shoulder, but he couldn’t care. All the shifters were transforming—the room was suddenly full of wolves, panthers, bears—and Reed was retreating, screaming above the noise that anyone who could kill one of the dragons would be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams. Rosaline roared again, and he saw one of her forelegs lash out, the wicked, curved talons tearing a huge chunk out of the wall to give her more space to maneuver.

  They were outnumbered, true—but nobody in that room had ever fought two dragons before. The magic surged through Noah, and this time, he didn’t try to hold it back.

  Chapter 16 – Rosaline

  The minute Rosaline saw Noah close the door to the bar behind him, she felt bad. There was something wrong, she could just feel it in her bones. It was far too easy to assume that they could just sneak in and break the women out. Surely, someone as powerful and successful as Reed wouldn’t let that happen. She waited, hoping Noah would come bursting through the door any minute with the other shifter women behind him... but part of her knew that wasn’t going to happen. Her heart beat faster and faster as the time crept on, her hands tingling, frustration pooling in her stomach.

  Finally, she couldn’t take any more. She knew it was reckless, knew it wasn’t what they’d talked about, knew it was the wrong move… not to mention it was broad daylight. But some combination of adrenalin, of worry about Noah, and some kind of sixth sense that was urging her to do something right now, all welled up in her chest at once… and before she knew it, the magic was surging through her body, running down her arms and legs, replacing her skin and clothing with scintillating metallic scales. Her hand flew towards her throat in memory of the collar that had stopped her doing this for so long—but the collar was long gone, and all that was left was her, her power, her true form coming through. It felt unbelievably good as her wings spread behind her, her body growing long and powerful, her wickedly sharp talons slicing into the grass beneath her.

  Well, no sense in being polite now. She charged the door, resisting the urge to roar just yet—and when she reached it, it was the work of a moment to simply raise one set of talons and tear it from its hinges. The door crumpled satisfyingly, almost like paper, and she dealt it a few more savage blows for good measure, clearing enough space for her to force her considerable bulk into the building. To her horror, she saw several dozen shifters—and Reed at the front of them, pointing a gun at Noah. She roared, and chaos broke loose.

  Within seconds, there were wolves all over her, darting and snarling as they tore at her. But these wolves weren’t a pack—she could tell they weren’t working together by the way they kept attacking her separately, and it was easy to bat them away. Why weren’t they communicating with one another, she wondered in surprise? Noah had told her that Reed didn’t approve of his employees forming strong friendships—was it possible that he’d prevented these wolves from forming bonds close enough to co-operate in fights? Frightened that they might rise up against him, perhaps? That would make sense. New fury rose in her. As the other shifters attacked her, she found herself keeping her talons turned with the sharp side facing in. As angry as she was about her captivity, she couldn’t help but realize that her attackers weren’t who she was angry with. They were Reed’s employees—in a strange way, they were his prisoners too.

  Noah had shifted forms, too—she saw the green dragon tearing through the room. It was amazing how agile he was—he was able to leap from the floor to the walls, digging in with his talons, his whole body blurring as he moved. She realized he was bleeding—there were a handful of panthers digging into him with their talons, and she roared in frustration, unable to reach him from where she was held down by the shifters attacking her. Rosaline faced down an eight-foot-tall bear, baring her sharp teeth at it. A couple of panthers flanked her, their bodies low to the ground—she tried to keep all of her attackers in her peripheral vision, but panic was rising. They were outnumbered—they were so sorely outnumbered—and she couldn’t fight properly, not indoors like this. Her main advantage had always been her ability to lift off into the air, and she couldn’t do that in here.

  She could see that Noah was being held down, too. They’d pulled him off the wall by force—a bear was delivering savage blows to his belly, and two panthers were wrapped around his neck. She knew his scales were tough, but there was blood running freely down his body, and she roared, desperate to go to him, to pull his enemies off him—but she couldn’t move under the pressure of the shifters who were attacking her. She roared again in frustration and fear, flinging a wolf off her back with some difficulty, feeling jaws snapping at her underbelly, bursts of pain registering as the little wounds they were inflicting with each attack began to add up.

  And across the room, Reed was watching them, laughing. She stared at him, so full of loathing she could barely breathe. Was this how it was going to end for her? If she was going to die, at least she’d go out fighting. But that was cold comfort.

  Why are you fighting for a man who hates you?

  That was Noah’s voice, she realized with a shock—using the telepathy that dragons were all capable of in their true bodies, he was addressing the shifters in the room, leaving Reed out of the conversation.

  He doesn’t see us as equals. His fascination with us isn’t admiration—he sees us as animals he can domesticate and use for his own purposes. Attack dogs to set on his enemies. Is that all you want to be?

  The bear Rosaline was fighting hesitated—she used the advantage to throw off a wolf that was on her back, trying to sink its jaws into her wing joints. It felt like she was under less pressure, suddenly—as though a few of her attackers had disengaged. Could what Noah had said be affecting them? Could they turn Reed’s forces back? No, she realized grimly as another panther sprang onto her neck. Even if a few of the shifters had disengaged, Reed still had plenty on his side. The bear she was facing roared and swiped at her, though she could still see the hesitation in its eyes. Despair rose up in her like a flood. How were they going to do this?

  There was sunlight pouring into the room from the hole she’d torn in the wall—something drew her attention to it. A shadow, passing over it. Clouds? It had been such a clear day outside. But then, a sound reached her ears that she barely believed. The brassy trumpet of a dragon. A familiar sound. Too familiar. She must have lost more blood than she’d thought—was she really hallucinating, hearing her sister’s roar?

  The bear she was facing roared again—but this time it was a sound of fear. The creature stumbled away, beating a hasty retreat, and she heard Reed screaming in rage. Hardly daring to believe her eyes, she turned to the hole in the wall. There, gleaming in the light—a pair of huge green eyes.

  Olivia?

  What sort of a mess have you gotten yourself into now?

  With her sister at her side, suddenly the other shifters weren’t so keen on attacking them. Facing two dragons was one thing—but three? And a fourth on the way—Rosaline roared in triumph as she saw another green-eyed dragon outside the bar. Her brother. She’d known they’d come for her… but how had they figured out where she was?

  There’d be time for that later. For now, they still had Reed to deal with. Roaring and snapping at the last few shifters who dared to keep challenging her and her sisters, Rosaline realized that Reed and Noah were facing off. The man was staring into the dragon’s eyes, the gun in his hand shaking a little as he pointed it right at Noah’s head. Rosaline’s heart sank. Dragon scales were tough, but were they bulletproof?

  ”You’re no better than your father,” Rosaline heard Reel snarl, his voice deliberately goading. She knew that was a targeted remark—knew how sensitive Noah was about his family, his background. “I’d be doing the world a favor to put you out of your misery.”

  Noah was frozen to the spot—Rosaline could see him. And as she watched, to her shock, he shifted forms with that shocking speed he had. Within seconds, a man stood where the dragon had been, breathing hard, blood running from the copious wounds on his body. Rosaline wanted to charge across the room to him, but she knew Reed would shoot him dead before she could even get halfway. She watched, powerless, her heart pounding as the man she loved faced down the barrel of a gun.

  ”Just let the women go,” Noah said, his voice low. “That’s all you have to do, Reed. We’ll leave you in peace.”

  ”If you think I’m letting you leave here alive after the damage you’ve done, you’re even more stupid than the average shifter,” Reed snarled, cocking the gun.

  There was a sudden blur of motion from the bar. Something flew past Reed—the man uttered a shout as the gun was yanked from his hand. Rosaline’s eyes widened. An old wolf, its black fur laced through with gray, was making a break for it across the bar, the gun clenched in its jaws. It hesitated as it came closer to Rosaline—she stepped out of its way. It lowered its head to her, silver eyes bright—then turned and ran from the bar.

  ”It’s over, Reed,” Noah said in a low voice. But Reed wasn’t having any of that. Shaking with rage, he hurled himself at Noah, fists clenched. Noah fell back, grunting with surprise—and pain. Reed was a dirty fighter, targeting the wounds in Noah’s body. Noah covered his face with his hands, crouching a little in an automatic defensive posture that made it harder for Reed to strike him—but then Rosaline saw him straighten, his eyes blazing with new strength.

 

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