Alex trudged back to the house, shoulders slumped with weariness. He hadn’t been able to find Cammie, and he didn’t want to stop looking, but it was getting dark. Besides, he knew if she didn’t want to be caught, she never would. Soul hurting, his dragon curled up into a miserable ball inside him, he walked into the yard, pausing when Ian pushed off from where he was leaning against the porch and moved toward him. Looked like Cammie had already made her way back here, though he’d been expecting that. Bracing himself, he waited for Ian to either kill him, or ream him out and then kill him.

“What happened?” Ian asked as he reached him. “We haven’t seen you or Cammie since late last night. You two can’t do this shit. She needs to tell someone when she leaves so we don’t think the worst.”

“She hasn’t been back yet?” he asked in surprise.

“She hasn’t been with you?” Ian asked, eyes narrowing as he looked him intently. “You look like shit, man. What the hell is going on?”

“We… argued this morning,” he hedged. “She told me to leave, and then she took off outside. I’ve been looking for her ever since.”

“Told her about your dragon, did you?”

Eyes widening at the calm question, he stared at Ian, taking in his laidback demeaner. “Wait, how… you already knew?”

“Almost from the beginning, but I’m guessing it’s just been in the last few days that you remembered.”

“How did you know? And why didn’t you kill me back then?”

Ian inhaled deeply, staring off into the woods. “It’s part of my gift, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone. Even the fighters don’t know. One part of my gift is that I can tell, on average within a day of meeting someone, if they’re good or bad. Sooner if they’re purer than average, or truly evil. I could tell within less than a day of you waking up that you were a good man, and weren’t here to cause trouble. The other part of my gift, that no one knows about, is that I can sense what animal a shifter has. I knew you were a dragon from the moment you woke up. I was just withholding judgment until I knew if you were one of the bad ones.”

Alex blew out a breath, stunned. “You never let on that you knew.”

“I thought it was best if you remembered on your own. Besides, I thought you and Cammie could be good together, and she wouldn’t have given you a shot if she knew you were a dragon, too.”

“It made no difference in the end. She’d be happy if I went straight to hell. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.”

“Give her time,” Ian advised with a quirk of his lips. “This had to come as a huge shock to her, and she has a very real, and well founded, fear of male dragons. But tell me, now that you clearly have your memories back, why did you come here looking for us? I know you didn’t mean Cammie harm, but you had to have come for her.”

“I was working undercover, so to speak, for a dragon who was looking for her. I’d taken suppressants so Ivan couldn’t tell I was a dragon, which is why I got amnesia to begin with. Apparently they suppress things like accelerated healing, as well. I never had any intention of giving Ivan info on Cammie, but… well, I guess I should mention my shifter gift is seeing the future. I saw Cammie, and I knew from the vision she was my mate, so I came here—” he broke off, paling.

Pacing, he tried to force air into his suddenly frozen lungs. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten his vision from this morning, the one that was the cause of Cammie figuring out what he was.

“What?” Ian asked, concern in his voice. “Something just scared the shit out of you. Did you have another vision?”

Shaking his head, Alex searched for his voice. “No. I just remembered the vision I had this morning. I can’t believe it slipped my mind. But Cammie saw my eyes right after I had the vision, and knew I was a dragon, and with everything that happened after—”

“Slow down and breathe,” Ian told him, grabbing Alex’s arm to halt his frantic pacing. “First of all, it really would have been better for you if you told her before she found out on her own. Second, what was the vision?”

“I was planning on telling her last night—fuck, who cares? My vision was of Ivan, in a car that was passing Eagle Creek’s town limits sign. He’s coming for her, and she’s fucking out there somewhere with no clue about the kind of danger she’s in.”

Ian paled. “And these visions, they’re absolute?”

“Not always,” he replied with a shake of his head. “They can change if the person changes their mind after I have the vision. But Ivan wouldn’t change his mind about this. He’s been trying to capture a female dragon for years. Nothing would stop him from finally achieving his goal.”

“Okay, is there a timeline we’re working with here?”

“No, it varies. Sometimes the visions can come true months later. Sometimes it’s within hours.”

“Fuck. Okay, let’s go look for her,” Ian said, heading back toward the forest.

“Shouldn’t we tell the others, get them in on the search, too? We can’t let Ivan get his hands on her.”

Ian shook his head adamantly. “Not while my daughter’s here. I need both fighters protecting her if evil is headed this way. I’ll call the guys at Red Moon. See if Shelby can stay with them and free up the boys.” Pulling a cell phone out of his pocket, Ian dialed a number and had a brief conversation with whoever was on the other line. Hanging up, he said, “They’re on their way to pick her up, and then all of us can look.”

Nodding, Alex looked around, frowning as he realized where they were going. “I looked at her special spot a couple hours ago. She wasn’t there.”

“Not when you looked but she could be now. It’s worth a shot.”

They fell silent as they made their way to the clearing by the creek, Alex hoping against hope she would be there. A hope that was swiftly dashed when they arrived and she wasn’t in sight. He walked to the middle of the clearing, hooking his hands on his hips as he hung his head in defeat.

Frowning as something caught his eye, he leaned down, blood icing in his veins as he caught sight of a dart in the grass. Even before he raised it to his nose and inhaled, catching a hint of her blood on the tip, he knew it was used on Cammie.

“Alex.”

More dread filled his system at the urgency in Ian’s voice. Turning, he looked at Ian, cursing when he saw the syringe he was holding up. Swiftly moving to where Ian stood, he reached for the syringe, handing Ian the dart in return. Seeing a small amount of liquid still inside, he pulled the plunger out carefully and sniffed. The pungent aroma of the contents hit his nose, and he cursed.

Turning to Ian, he said, “This had the same fucking suppressant I used to take in it. I’d recognize that smell anywhere. I just don’t understand how they got close enough to inject her with it. She’s too fast.”

“I can answer that,” Ian replied grimly, holding up the dart. “I tasted the tip. It was coated in a special tranquilizer developed for shifters.” Alex’s eyebrows twitched as he shot a look at him. Ian noticed, and shrugged. “I’m not getting into it right now, but trust me, it exists. And this dart was coated in it.”

“Fuck, Ian! What are we going to do?”

“Right now, we’re going to head back to the house,” he replied calmly, though Alex could see the poorly hidden worry and panic in his blue eyes. “How long ago were you here?”

“I came through here a few times, but the last time was about two hours ago,” he answered as they started walking swiftly back to the house.

“And you didn’t notice the dart or syringe then?”

Shaking his head, Alex exhaled. “Of course not. I would have found you immediately. I’m positive I would have seen them then, too. I paced all over the clearing each time I looked there.”

“Shit. Two hours isn’t the best timeline for figuring out where he took her, because they could be anywhere by now, but it could be worse. We’ll figure it out, hopefully sooner rather than later.”

“There’s no need. I know where he took her. I worked at his compound for almost a year.” Coming to a halt in the yard, he turned to Ian. “But I can’t do this alone. I might be a dragon, but I’m a computer geek. I’m trained in stealth, but I never trained to fight until I came here. I know I can take Ivan down in dragon form if I can get to him. But I need help fighting my way past his goons.”

Ian nodded. “You got it. Where are we going?”

“Canada. Ivan has a bunch of land in a deserted area with enough room to shift into his dragon without being seen. Tell me you have a way to get us in and out without passports. I can forge them, but it’ll take time we don’t have.”

“I’ve got that covered,” Ian assured him. “I know someone who can do it, and they owe me a favor. Let’s go tell the guys, and then we’ll all go pack a bag. I need to make sure the MacKeltars will watch Shelby while we’re gone, too.”

Alex stared at the passing scenery as Ian drove them to the small private airport a friend of his owned in Cheyenne. It paid to have friends in the right places, Alex supposed. He never had friends before, other than Daria, but as he glanced at the three other men in the truck, he felt like he did now.

“You’re really a dragon?” Seth asked as he turned toward him in the backseat, voice still tinged in disbelief.

“I really am.”

“And we’re not kicking his ass, why?” Seth asked the other two men in the truck.

“Because he loves Cammie, and he’s done nothing wrong,” Ian replied calmly. “And he’s a good man. I know that kind of shit, remember?”

“A good man wouldn’t have lied to us,” Seth said testily. Jax didn’t speak, but Alex saw him nod his head once shortly.

Suppressing a sigh, Alex quickly explained everything, starting with Daria’s death. By the time he finished, they were pulling up to the deserted airfield. Ignoring Seth’s surprise at his story, Alex hopped out of the truck, staring at the small private jet already on the runway. Worry swamped him as he wondered if they were already too late, but he squashed the thought, trying to suppress the worry he felt, as well.

“We’ll find her in time, man. I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t let the worry overwhelm you. You need a clear head for what’s coming.”

Jax clapped him hard on the shoulder and headed toward the plane, duffel bag in hand. Alex stared after him in surprise before he grabbed his own bag and followed. That had maybe been the most he ever heard Jax speak to him.

Walking into the plane, he took a moment to send out good thoughts to Cammie. Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re coming to rescue you, and we’ll be there soon. Everything is gonna be fine. Feeling a little silly, but still hoping she somehow heard him, he turned to the other men and began strategizing.