He saw Owen land in a tree a few yards ahead. Garridan assumed he’d seen something. Garridan made a gesture to Bennett, indicating he wanted to move in closer, which meant shifting and landing, so he didn’t plummet to the ground in his human form. It was a good thing Garridan was a skilled dragon or he wouldn’t have been able to do that. It was a hard move to make. One that he wasn’t sure Bennett knew how to do. After all, Bennett hadn’t had other dragons around to teach him things like that.
Garridan flew through a gap in the treetops and began shifting. He was in his human form by the time his feet hit the ground. The cold snow stung the soles of his bare feet just enough to make him uncomfortable. There was only enough snow to cover the forest floor, as the winter had been mild so far. He was grateful the snow didn’t cover more of his feet or worse, make its way up his leg.
Bennett landed beside him with a grace Garridan hadn’t expected, but was proud of nonetheless.
Owen’s eagle body was much smaller than Garridan and Bennett’s dragons were, so he was able to land beside them with no concerns or fancy moves. He shifted. “I saw at least one of them headed east of here. He had on a blue shirt, which is the only reason I saw him. If he had others with him, they’re more camouflaged.”
“How far out are they?” Garridan asked and moved his feet around so the cold didn’t seep in and make a home in his body. Hypothermia happened to everyone. Shifters included. He noticed both Bennett and Owen doing the same thing.
“About a mile. They aren’t running. The forest is too dense for that. We’ll catch up with them.”
“We’ll shift. Kill all but one. We take that one back for interrogation.” Garridan shifted, maneuvering between trees as he ascended. It was hard to do because the trees were so close together and there were so many of them. His wings brushed some of the branches. One of them made a crunching sound. He was above the trees with Bennett and Owen flanking him in no time.
It took them less than a minute to spot the vampires. There were four in total. One of them searched the sky, probably seeing their shadows on the white snow or maybe hearing their wings.
Garridan gestured to Bennett again, telling him they would be going in for the kill. Bennett made a gesture back and then dived down. Garridan followed, waiting for Bennett to take out whoever he chose. When fire came out of Bennett’s mouth, Garridan was so surprised he almost missed the knife the vampire had in his hand. Garridan moved around, his back against a tree and picked the vampire up by the skin of his back, his claws digging into the flesh as if it were butter. Garridan picked him up and then slammed him down again, as hard as he could. The vampire’s body thudded as he hit the ground. Garridan shifted back to his human form and punched the third guy in the face, making him stumble a little. Owen had shifted and held the guy’s arms around his back.
“We’ll take that one back,” Garridan said. That vampire held an intelligence in his eyes, and he stopped struggling so suddenly that Garridan was sure he had meant to get caught.
Garridan grabbed the fourth vampire when he came running toward him. He pinched a place on his shoulder, and he went down like a stone.
Bennett stayed in his dragon form and blew fire out his mouth at the intelligent vampire’s feet.
“Really, Bennett? Can you fucking remember that I’m right behind this asshole? That was hot, man,” Owen said, incredulously.
“That was a very risky move, Vampire. You could have been the one we killed,” Garridan said.
Baby, tell Forrest or Vaughan to come out with a vehicle. We have two prisoners.Garridan walked over to the still dazed vampire that he had dealt with before and lifted him onto his shoulder, carrying him fireman-style.
Oh my God, Are you okay? Please tell me you’re not hurt.
I’m just fine. Tell them we’re east of town.
Garridan looked at Bennett. “Fire dragons are rare. Samuel didn’t have fire.”
“You do, right?”
“Yes.” He didn’t use it often, though.
Bennett smiled. “Are you sure you’re not my biological father?”
Garridan grabbed the nape of Bennett’s neck and pressed their foreheads together. “Not biological, no. Still your father, though.”
“The vampire’s ass is in my face,” Bennett said a few minutes later.
Garridan laughed and let him go.
Chapter Fourteen
Garridan flew overhead, keeping Forrest’s truck in sight. No way was he letting one of those vampire fuckers hurt his clansmen. He needed to know how many more were out there as soon as possible. He would hunt every one of them down tonight if he had to.
He seriously doubted they knew Stavros’ plan. Stavros wasn’t stupid and wouldn’t tell them much of anything.
The truck stopped on the road, parking in front of the house. Bennett had the first vampire out of the vehicle. That vampire was the one who had passed out. He looked pissed off. Owen and Garridan shifted at the exact same time. Owen grabbed the smart vampire, pulling him out of the truck. Owen walked him across the front yard.
The front door opened, and Mother Estelle said, “Only family and clan on the property, boys. I’m not lifting the spell for them.”
“What spell are you talking about, Mom?” Owen stopped.
