But I was different. I was more. I was both.
Taryn quieted in my chest, curling up like a cat in a sunbeam. She pulsed, warm and fierce, her love for the twins, a protective, mad devotion, ringing almost as loud as her obsession with Chance.
I let myself collapse in his arms, the last vestiges of adrenaline draining away.
Chance tucked me under his chin, careful with the bite mark. "You did perfectly."
The bond sang between us, a thread of color andpower. I reached up, stroking his cheek, marveling at the way I could feel the layers, man, dragon, mate, all smashed together in a single, perfect loop.
"I feel strong," I admitted. "Like nothing can stop us."
"Nothing can. Not when you let the dragon out."
"And the girls?"
He smiled broadly. "They'll be better. With both of us at their backs, nobody's ever going to fuck with them again."
I swallowed, tears burning at the backs of my eyes. "Good. That's all I want."
The fire popped beside us. The woods brightened. A new day, new senses, a new goddamn world.
Under my skin, Taryn prowled. I could feel her impatience, her rage at anyone who'd ever threatened our family. I saw the way she catalogued every path, every escape, every resource.
I saw the way she loved.
I smiled. "Want to see what she can do?"
"Anytime," he said. "But right now, you need to rest. Heal up. Let the power settle."
I yawned, suddenly exhausted. "I can't believe how good this feels."
He tucked me in tighter, firelight painting his skin gold. "Sleep, baby. I'll keep watch."
Inside, Taryn hummed a lullaby of her own making. I let it crash over me.
As I faded, the world blurred. Chance, the fire, the endless woods, the twin heartbeats of our new family.
I'd never be alone again.
I was a dragon now.
And Hell help anyone who came for us next.
Chance
By the timesunlight sliced through the trees and started cooking off the last bits of fog, Tash had gone deadweight in my arms. The bond thrummed under my skin, still shiny, still raw, but her breathing was even, the kind of sleep that comes after trauma and total transformation. I wasn’t about to wake her. The woman had just spun her whole DNA sideways. Suffice it to say, she needed a moment.
I scooped her up easily, letting her head loll on my shoulder. She didn’t flinch.
The walk to the truck was nothing. She weighed less than a sack of flour, and the adrenaline running in my blood made me reckless. Every step, Caden purred. Actual, bone deep contentment.
I eased the door open, set her in the passenger seatwith the jacket draped over her, then cranked the heat and peeled out of there before the hunters could even think about a rematch. No more half-measures. No more letting them get within a mile of her again.
The climb up to the high ridge was a blur. Caden itched to fly, but I kept us grounded until we hit the plateau just below the safe house. Nobody but family ever came this high up onto our land.
I killed the engine. The world outside was blinding, brighter than midday already, with the frost melting off rocks and the river down below flashing like a mirror. Tash didn’t even blink in her sleep, but the minute I went to unbuckle her, she stirred.
She blinked up at me, brown eyes wide and wild. For a second she was confused, then the mate bond kicked in, and her whole focus narrowed to me.
