“You used alpha command on her? I told you not to do that, Caz!” Anna glared at me.
“I had no choice. They stumbled upon us, and I couldn’t risk them making a noise or sounding an alarm. Ella already spotted us making our entry. If someone else had, they would have known immediately what was up.” I touched the collar, hissing in pain again at the heat.
“What do we do now?”
“We get them to the citadel where I can safely take the collars off,” I said, standing. “Florian, you carry Holly. I’ll take Ella. Let’s move.”
“No.”
Twenty-Six
Anna
The challengehung there in the crisp chill of the deep night, a vocalized denial of the words of the most alpha dragon in the entire kingdom.
And my mate.
I tensed as five sets of eyes swiveled to land on me in unison. Each of them glowed, their dragons called to the forefront by my tone.
I had never used before that tone. It was impossible to inject alpha command into one’s words when you weren’t an alpha-level dragon.
So how had I just done it? And thrown the power at my mate in the process. I hadn’t meant to. It just sort of came out. I knew that his decision was wrong, and I needed to tell him.
But now the challenge of my strong words faded, the powerful steel-honed edge dissipating back into nothingness. I was returning to my normal self, only to be faced with the wrath of five dragons who could swat me down without a second thought.
Thanks a lot, lady.
The internal thoughts slid off my dragon likeice off a metal roof. She didn’t care. At all. She had the attention of all the males and was all but preening from her corner in the back of my mind.
“What did you say?” Caz growled, his eyes bright green, threaded with the silver glow of his dragon’s scales.
“I … Caz, I …”
“Did you just challenge me?” His words came from somewhere so deep in his chest the very ground rumbled underneath me.
Crap. Here it comes.His dragon was going to have to reassert itself. Show me who was truly alpha. Not that it would be hard.
More growls echoed behind him as the other dragons of our entourage reacted.
Caz swung on them, wings sprouting from his back with shocking speed and spreading wide to form a barrier between me and the others.
“Mine.” The snarled threat was backed up by a veritable avalanche of alpha power sweeping out from him.
Once more, it washed over me like a cozy blanket. Whatever I had thought he was going to do when I spoke that way, I was wrong. He could never hurt me. Our mate could never harm us. Even his power was a cocoon, a shield to comfort us and protect us. Never hurt.
I couldn’t see the other dragons, but I heard them backing down, submitting to his power asit billowed forth, unseen but harshly felt, I was sure.
Even Ella and the other slave they’d rescued were on the ground, whimpering in pain.
“Caz!” I barked, seeing my friend under such duress. “That’s enough. You’re hurting Ella.”
Once more the velvet and steel power of my voice lashed out, wrapping around him. He snapped pin-straight, turning to stare at me with eyes that were pure dragon.
Pure ice tyrant.
“You’re using alpha power on me,” he rumbled, stepping closer. “How?”
I shrugged helplessly as my dragon settled down once more. “I don’t know. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to but …”
