The wards overhead of us flickered red before shattering once again, and my muscles tensed.
“Dragons,” Blair and Kian gasped out at the same time, and anger ricocheted through my bones.
Everyone in the open huddled behind me as I stood in front of Wren and Damien. The rest of her mates, minus Lachlan, who was trying to communicate with the caught werewolves in the library, surrounded her too, but I didn’t think Wren understood what was happening. There was a vacant look in her eyes that worried me, but I couldn’t focus on it at that moment.
“How long?” I barked as Blair stepped beside me.
“Ten seconds.”
Fuck.
A smaller red dragon flew across campus, flanked by five green dragons, and turned back around before smashing their heavy claws into the bloodied grass of our academy.
They shifted, and Roak stood in front of us with a tight smile.
Rage burned through my veins.
“Damien.” Wren’s voice was weak as she mumbled to him, and he pulled her even tighter into his arms, his shadows covering everything but their eyes. Alister and Rhett stood in front of them as Kian and Thorn stood next to them.
Wren’s eyes widened as she noticed what was happening, but there was little fear in the bond. The agony over her friend’s death still took precedence.
I turned my focus back on Roak. He was an old bastard, truly ancient in dragon years. I wasn’t sure how old he was, but he was old enough to where he needed to stop walking the grounds of Kalista. I wasn’t sure why the Fates hadn’t intervened yet, but I did know karma was going to bite him in the ass.
”Is that our mate in a shadow demon’s arms?” He pointed a trembling finger toward Wren and Damien.
My skin crawled as my scales formed over my arms, and fire blew out of my mouth as I roared. “She ismymate.”
Two dragons stepped up beside him, but he held his hand up. “I’m just here to talk.”
“You don’t just talk, Roak. You manipulate.”
He tore his gaze from my mate as Damien put up his shadows further to shield her, leaving only his head free.
“You’ve made your brothers very happy by mating a pretty thing like that.”
“You’re sick,” Wren’s voice came from the shadow ball around her.
“No one will dare touch you, sweet ruby,” Alister growled.
Roak threw his head back with a deep mirth. “Come on out, son. I’ve never been one for dark magic, but apparently, the breaking of a rejected bond makes for an interesting species.”
I clenched my jaw. “You better not be saying what I think you’re fucking saying.”
A black goo circle appeared next to him, and Grayson rose out of it with a smile on his lips. With every body part that Damien removed back on his body, minus the pinky. The dragons coming here after such a battle wasn’t a coincidence. They always sought to feed on the weak. It was disgusting.
Even after the heads up from Mirella about Grayson working with them, it still managed to surprise me. I’d never heard of the dragons working with anyone but dragons or drakes. It was unheard of. But their agenda had clearly changed.
Wren whimpered, and the bond went silent. She had gotten so overwhelmed that she passed out. Thank the Fates Damien had her.
“Oh, that whimper sounds so delightful.” Roak clapped his hands. “You were right, Grayson. Your mate is perfect for us. See, Rowan, Grayson is a team player. He wouldlikeus to breed her. Why can’t you be more like him?”
Fury lodged in my throat. Thank Fates Wren had passed out when she did and didn’t hear that filth. All of her mates let out territorial, possessive growls.
“I’m taking her away from here.” Damien’s shadows consumed them.
Alister, Kian, Rhett, and Thorn stepped forward beside me.
“Do not threaten our mate,” Kian spoke with conviction.
