SLADE
Hunt. Kill. Destroy.
I’d lost control of the beast, our mind a blur of rage that had leveled cities to the ground. The humans that were scorched were collateral damage, their media explaining it away as out-of-control forest fires.
If our mate wasn’t back with us soon, a forest fire would be the least of their concern.
Someonehad stolen her out from under me. Nothing would save these shifters from death, and I could be very creative inhowI killed my prey. If she bore even so much as a papercut or had any sort of mental strain from this event, they’d know the sort of pain that would drive a beast crazy in six seconds.
I’d been scouring the state for days, following my senses. I’d found the old shack where she’d originally been, just the faintest hint of chocolate and honey left behind. That had been the firstforest firebut not the last.
They’d moved her to another two locations, and I’d lost the trail when it was tainted with witch magic, designed to confuse and send me in a dozen different directions. I’d probably have more luck on the ground, but I couldn’t get my beast to release me.
As I crossed another city, staying high in the clouds, a twinge ran through my bond. Flames spilled from my lips as I felt the buzz from Hunter and our connection. The last I heard they’d been heading for Silver City to try and track the Rogers pack.
Hunt. Kill. Destroy.
An iota of clarity eased through my beast’s cold, deadly intent and we changed directions to follow the call of our pack. If that twinge through the bond was any indication, Hunter had stumbled on to a location that might lead to our mate.
I moved even higher, well above the clouds, and powered my way across the country. Even as exhausted as I was, the stores of my energy felt endless, as if I could have crossed the world for my mate. Eventually my body would demand rest and sustenance, but we’d make it to Silver City first.
With fury and fire fueling me, time passed in weird increments as I mentally mulled over everything that had happened. Before Emme was taken, I’d only been missing a few pieces of the puzzle, but apparently they were important pieces.
I hadn’t seen the betrayal by Chelsea coming. When that message arrived from Finley, Hunter had shaken his head as if he couldn’t believe it, but we’d scented her outside our house and found the fucking books in Emme’s room, tainted in magic. It was undeniable.
We were betrayed by one of our own.
The Thenguard pack had disappeared by the time we’d stormed their house—okay,thatwas the first forest fire—and then their offices. We had no time to track them now, but they were on the list after we got our mate back. Hopefully, if my instincts were correct, we’d find them all in the same place.
As I closed in on Hunter and Kellan, my beast settled in the connection of pack, which was all that kept us from descending into darkness. Hunter had been keeping my more murderous side at bay for most of his life. My bond with him surged again,and with it came a sense of pain and fatigue. Along with the knowledge that my brothers were under attack.
Hunt. Kill. Destroy.
My dragon slammed to the forefront once more, and I didn’t fight him as his instinct in battle far surpassed mine. We were a few miles from Hunter and Kellan now, their scents stronger on the air, and I started to glide down. I could fly higher than commercial airlines, where it was so cold that ice formed on my wings and scales, and if it weren’t for dragon fire I would freeze. Our energy also helped to hide us from radars and human eyes, blending our scales into our environment.
Dragons could manipulate energy and matter around us, and it was mostly an instinctive skill my beast controlled. He didn’t always share the secrets of our powers, and I had long ago learned to accept that it just was. Especially when it was useful.
Warehouses came into view as I dipped lower, night falling on the horizon, as shadows caressed my bulky form. Roars, shouts and the scent of blood hit me as I landed on the roof, claws digging in and tearing through the metal, until I created a large enough gap to descend into the chaos.
Hunter and Kellan stood in the center of a large warehouse, back-to-back, slashing their way through dozens of shifters. They had the main group fairly under control, but then doors opened near the back of the warehouse and a dozen more alphas appeared—many of them powered by magic.
The fact that they had access to such strong spells was concerning in more ways than one. Ever since the last war, shifters and witches had been at odds, and this was the first time in years we’d had so many attacks that involved magic.
Jewels better be working to sort out that rogue witch and figure out which coven was behind it all.
Diving down, I let the swirls of molten lava rise from my core, spewing through and incinerating the newcomers. None were the Rogers pack, who were the only ones we needed alive.
Ideally Blaine, the entitled alpha, as he’d been at the old shack where Emme was first taken and would have the most information. I hadn’t scented the rest of his pack there, and I wondered if they weren’t ranked much higher than the mid-level muscle we took out tonight.
As my flames raged through the shifters, Hunter threw his head back and bestowed a strained smile on me. “Thought you were hunting in Washington,” he called.
My dragon roared loud enough to rattle windows and burst eardrums, and any of the assholes who’d missed my initial entrance were now very aware that death stalked them.
Hunter shook his head. “Good to see you too, brother. Can you help us round up the Rogers pack and get some fucking answers? Just try not to kill the humans.”
Not a problem, brother.Not that I’d noticed any humans, and I didn’t care about them either way.
He nodded as if he’d heard me, though we’d never been able to truly communicate mentally. Even if it did come close at times.
