Amagical blanket pressed down over the street, almost sending me to my knees, and I had to fight the oppressive energy as I sprinted. Kellan kept pace on my right, Hunter on my left, and I didn’t even have to look back to know Finley guarded the rear.
Up ahead, Slalon swiveled both heads, blasting fire in two different directions, which took out any witches floating too close. A few stronger ones erected barriers, leaving the rest to turn into blackened corpses falling to the ground with sickening thuds.
The enforcers around us started to shift into their more magically resistant forms. Those with wings took to the air to fight the witches above, and I spotted more than a few of Slade’s squad. They were highly trained fighters who worked well together, and the witches were unprepared for such a direct attack, which gave us time to get to the dragon.
Leaping over shifting wolves, cats, and bears, I reached the tip of the dragon’s tail, which was nearly as round as my whole body. Slalon’s heads were still working as weapons in the sky, and I shouted out to let them know I was there. “I’m climbing on your back now.”
They didn’t flinch as I ran up their spiked tail, surprised by how easily I traversed its length up to the broad back. Their wings lifted higher and wrapped closer to me, as if to offer protection and support. At the junction of their body where the two necks split, I slowed and leaned down. “Okay, alphas,” I said, keeping one hand on each neck, the scales near scalding under my touch. “I think we need to get you separated. I know you’re strong in this form, but you’re also stuck here on the ground while the witches are up there.”
They continued to spew fire in hot arcs, the heat scorching my cheeks. Jewels and Fletcher were the only ones still in our vicinity, her shielding strong enough to keep them safe. She didn’t flinch as members of her coven were destroyed around her, her focus only on us.
“Dragon,” Fletcher called, the sound of his voice sending shivers down my spine as I was thrown back to the night I met him in the old house. “You’re being called to return to your Alpha. You, your brother, and your mate.”
“You never even gave him a fucking name,” I snarled, finding my voice. “I won’t let you take Talon. I don’t care if it costs my life. He’s mine now, and I will fight until my last breath for him!”
Mine. They were all mine, and I was done with this motherfucker trying to split us apart.
Hunter, on the ground, moved in on the left side of Slalon. Finley and Kellan were on the right.
I stood in the center of them all, the heart of our quintet.
Technically, an omega was the weakest of any pack, but I was strong in ways that not even Fletcher understood. Even after all the years of experimenting on us, he’d missed the fundamental truth: we stood outside of his dominance and were not his to control.
“You need to separate your essence,” I said again to Slalon, “so we can take him on as a team.”
This time it was clear they heard, as a shimmer of energy traced over my skin. Needing to jump ship, I leaned forward and called, “Head’s up, Hunter,” and without waiting for his response, threw myself off the dragon.
Hunter’s reflexes were quick enough to catch me before I hit the ground, tucking me in close to his chest. “For fuck’s sake, little mate,” he groaned, his nose tracing along my neck. “Could you stop trying to give me a heart attack…”
I patted his chest. “No one is dying on my watch, Hurricane. Not today.”
Behind us, the dragon’s essence grew stronger, but they hadn’t shifted back yet, so I wiggled out of Hunter’s hold. “We need to help them,” I said, and Hunter joined me as we pressed our hands to the massive chest, their mate and entitled alpha working together.
Through our bond, Talon’s dragon nuzzled against my wolf, and Slade’s beast was there too, his touch colder as he ran it gently along my flank. My wolf dug deeper into their combined essence, right to the place where they were joined, a connection that should have been honed from birth. These two had been cruelly torn apart, left to live without half their essence, always at odds with their beasts. But that was over forever.
I called to my wolf for help, and she knew the exact spot to nudge between them, which was all they needed. With another burst of that blinding light, the dragon heads both roared, and I was tugged away as they split. Instead of the two dragons I expected, I was left staring at two naked males. Two huge, ripped, gorgeous, and furious naked males.
Oh holy goddess.
Kellan, who must have been the one to yank me out of the way, whispered in my ear, “Well, fuck. Even I’m impressed by that. Do you want the one with the hardware or without?”
Both. There was no other appropriate answer to that question.
Tattoos. No tattoos. Piercings. No piercings.
They were twin souls, and I wanted them both.
The tingle in Talon’s bite grew stronger as he stared at me. “You need to make a choice now, mate,” I said, meeting his gaze. “Where do your loyalties lie? With that bastard hovering above us, hiding behind a witch’s skirts? Or with us, your pack who claim and love you…?”
His unwavering stare left me for Slade, and as he looked upon his twin, his expression filled with longing and love. We might not know yet what exactly happened between them when they merged, but it was clear that they were closer, bonded in ways they hadn’t been before.
Slade took a step toward him. “You can’t have it both ways. You’re either on the right side of shifter history, or…” His expression grew harder. “Or you’re dead to us.”
My wolf howled, and I almost stumbled back at what had felt like a blow.
Talon’s expression turned lethal. He stepped away from our pack and headed for Fletcher.
I clenched my hands so hard my nails bit into my palms, as I watched the psycho alpha steal my mate. “I’m the one who’s been there for him since birth,” Fletcher said with a gloating smirk. “I trained, and fed, and cared for him. I’m the one who offers him a future where he rules, as dragons should. He knows where his loyalty lies.”
