The lid is yanked off and he pulls the small, metal box out, pushing the button as every curious person is bound to do. Ezra yips, coming to investigate and getting caught in the fallout as the yellow paint is dumped over both of their heads. It completely coats the bright red hair she shares with us, though she still manages to catch Cai’s arm as he starts to slip with her eyes closed, instincts flaring to life with her anger.
It’s always better when you get multiple targets.
Soren is cursing up a storm before the sound of him vomiting makes Eli and I lose it, cackling and howling with laughter as tears stream down our faces. We pull ourselves up enough to watch Yri check on him, falling into the same trap and going sliding across the back yard. He crashes into Soren, and they both promptly hurl again as the smell is stirred up from all of their splashing.
Ezra and Cai are openly glaring at us as she swipes the bright yellow paint off of her face. “This. Means. War,” she seethes, but there’s a small, feral grin behind her fury.
Eli sticks his tongue out, looking like a kid again, and it just proves Kaiden was right and we need to do better by him, to pull our heads out of our asses. “You’ve gone soft since giving up running in the Gauntlets, Ez,” he hollers. “Got to keep you on your toes somehow.”
She smirks, a dangerous glint in her emerald eyes. “We’ll see about that.”
They head back inside to clean up and regroup, and I’ll know we’ll be safe for at least the rest of today. They won’t make a move when their stench would give them away before they could even get close, and it’s going to take half of the soap in town before they don’t knock someone back a few steps.
I text the video to our brothers, hoping that it might be as cathartic for them as it was me. Well, and they should have a heads up that we instigated a war with the only dragons in town that can actually shift.
Long before the humans made the strike against our females, numbers were dwindling, hence why we form flights. Only mated adults can fully shift, and unmated males never even develop powers, are simply a stronger stock than the humans. And although females have some abilities at birth, even they can’t fully shift unless mated.
We’ve evolved through the centuries to be a stronger class of people, but reaching that highest rank is still the prize most people will only ever dream of, more so now with how it’s clear we’re on the path to dying out. It’s exactly why we’ve kept our sister hidden most of her life, since the men in power are growing desperate. They want to strip our females’ rights away, turn them into nothing more than broodmares to replenish our numbers. And of course, there are also the men that have been hunting down human women, raping and experimenting on them to try and find a way for them to bear dragon blooded children.
“How long do you think it’ll be before they call us to pry Cai’s hand off of something?” Eli chuckles and I smirk.
“Yri and Ren will run through everything in the house before admitting they can’t figure it out. We’ll get the call when we’re in the middle of dinner, I’m guessing.”
We walk back to the house feeling lighter and more relaxed than I’ve been in over a year. The incessant loss weighing down on me seems to lift more with every step, and the tension perpetually living in my muscles finally starts to dissipate, accepting that things could be better if I just put in more of an effort. It gives me a glimmer of hope that we can start piecing our lives back together, to learn how to live with the constant ache.
All of that comes crashing down when I see the broken window, darting a hand out to catch Elias’ chest and pulling him to a halt. He slips the gun from his ankle holster, flipping off the safety and falling into defensive mode without me having to say a word.
We’ve always been paranoid, training him since he could walk right alongside our sister. But after seeing we were right, knowing there were people that would likely retaliate after we destroyed their lab? Hell, Elias nearly fucking died on that mountain. Kid got a newer model as a badge of honor for taking his first bullet to the gut and it was a good lesson to stay armed at all times.
I don’t bother telling him to stay put, but I do make sure he understands that I’m going in first in case it’s an ambush. Good backup only helps if they don’t get taken down with you, knows when it’s better to pull back and strike later. If he had to, he could call Ezra and the newbloods or our brothers, bring reinforcements. That won’t happen if he plays the martyr and gets shot before we can warn anyone.
You don’t need to be the hero, you just need to survive. We have far too many people to lean on to suffer through carrying that burden alone. You don’t get accolades for pulling stupid shit for glory; you get a smack on the back of the head for being a dumbass and putting everyone in danger over bragging rights.
Unless I want to climb through glass shards, it means unlocking the door and making my position clear. Gun drawn, I cautiously step into the house, keeping my back to the door and scanning the room. There’s a shadow in the hall and I react on instinct, years of training etched into my muscles. My fingers curl around a throat that I drop just as quickly.
Too small, too fragile. Female.
I smack the light switch, the woman looking back at me with different eyes than I remember, but ones that are undeniably hers.
“Saige?”
Barely breathing, I tuck my gun away so I don’t frighten her off, not completely convinced my mind hasn’t finally snapped and is making me see things that aren’t here. Her hair and eyes may be different, but I’d know her anywhere, a primal part of me humming in pleasure at having the missing member of my flight home at long last, back where she belongs.
“Kahl,” she exhales in matching relief, and the thought that she feels the same? Absolutely intoxicating.
There’s a click and the rustle of fabric as Elias stows his gun, sounding annoyed. “Oh for fucks’ sake. Your pet’s back; awesome.” He storms off upstairs and slams the door, but I can’t tear my eyes away from her.
“We need to talk,” she starts, and my already tenuous control snaps.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I grab her wrist and jerk her against me, kissing her before she disappears again. Not wanting to make her panic or feel forced, I drop my hold just as quickly, praying she knows I’m just relieved to see her. When she doesn’t pull away, actually stepping closer, my chest rumbles, palming her cheek and deepening the kiss.
It quickly turns from relief to an all-consuming heat; tasting her, reveling in her. Every swipe of my tongue, every soft, needy sound she makes that I swallow down. Each drives my need higher, pushing my blood to a boiling point where I’m convinced I might combust if I back away now.
So I do, because if that intensity is threatening to overrule common sense, to prompt me into pushing for more than she might be willing to give, I need to stop. I refuse to add fuel to her nightmares or make her feel like she has to go along with anything she doesn’t want to just to stay safe.
Still, I pull her against me, resting my cheek on the top of her head. Just like that night so long ago, I cover her in my scent, but this time it isn’t in a bid to keep her safe. It’s to claim her as mine and warn anyone away that thinks differently.
I don’t care if sheishuman. She’s my mate, and I’ll kill anyone that tries to take her from me.
