Page 65 of Dark Dragon’s Wolf

“No,” she said. “You’ll just come in there and kill them anyway, along with everyone else in the castle. I won’t betray them.”

“You’ll wish you had,” Johnson said, “when you see what I’m willing to do to them to change your mind.”

Mayah was glad her brain was too messed up for her to picture that in her imagination. It would make resisting harder—and she had to resist. She had to have faith in the others—that they would somehow avoid this trap.

“You won’t win,” she said. “If anything happens to Emon and Kira, Flynn and Trish will bring the entire shifter community down on you. If Flynn doesn’t kill you himself.”

Johnson laughed. “Flynn is one lion shifter. He’s no match for us.”

Mayah wouldn’t bet on that. At all.

Johnson went on, “And the Council won’t move against us. How do you think we survived all these years?”

They had a traitor in the Council. That penetrated even Mayah’s foggy brain. Well. He or she was going to be pissed as fuck when Mayah made it her personal mission to kill Johnson and eradicate Gen-X from the face of the earth.

Because she was getting out of here. Somehow.

Chapter 30

Tristan had his mind wide open as he rode Emon’s dragon to Gen-X, straining to hear Mayah. But they came closer and closer to their destination, and he still heard nothing.

She’s not dead, he told himself. She can’t be dead. She’s my mate. I’d know.

Because in between everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, one thing had solidified in his mind and his heart. Mayah was his mate—his true mate, his one and only. He might not make it through this raid. His brain might liquefy at any time. But until that happened—until he was stone cold dead and maybe beyond—he was hers.

He didn’t know why he’d ever pretended it could turn out differently.

Suddenly, into his mind, came the voice of Mayah’s dragon. it said, sounding upset.

He felt a huge presence settling over him, like a lead weight on his shoulders—and on his already damaged brain. He almost fell off Emon’s dragon. What the fuck are you doing?

If you don’t kill me first. My brain is already like oatmeal.And it’s buzzing. What the hell is that?

It took a second for that to penetrate Tristan’s fogged-up brain. The white wolves? I’m hearing all the white wolves?

the dragon said forgivingly.

All I hear is a dull roar. Is there any way you can turn up the ones near us? The one’s we’re going after today?

There was silence from the dragon. Then,

And they were.

Here we are, White Wolf. We are waiting. We are ready.

Tristan gripped Emon’s neck ridge so hard his knuckles went white. Mayah really had done more than pick up information from their minds. She’d told them to call out. She’d told them to be ready.

She’d told them he was on his way. Their fucking savior.

He tried to send a message back to the wolves. We’re coming. The dragons are coming. ETA, 5 minutes. Stay quiet. Don’t give anything away. He thought of Flynn’s explosives. And stay as far away from the outside walls as you can.

He didn’t know if they heard him. He didn’t know if they understood.

He felt blood drip from his nose, and his head was pounding.