Cato, Dax, and Aiden met Kian in the sky as he charged toward the scent.

“I know they have her,” he growled.

“We're coming,” he heard Cato say through their mental link.

“She must be at their compound,” Aiden said.

“How did they find out about her? About us?”

“Perhaps they tracked us after we scouted their property,” Cato said.

“I was stupid and blind,” Kian growled.

He couldn't remember ever feeling this angry. The vampires had taken his mate and his child. What did they plan to do with them? Violent images flitted through his mind that only made him angrier.

“If they lay a hand on either of them,” Kian growled.

“This is an act of war,” Aiden said.

“A war I intend to win,” Kian said.

They flew through the air under their invisibility cloak to avoid the eyes of the humans.

They arrived at the vampire’s estate within an hour and landed just outside the compound. They all shifted quickly, still under their invisibility cloak, and stood at the border of the property.

“They have increased their security,” Cato said across their mental link.

“How do we get through this?” Dax asked.

“I'm working on it,” Cato said.

Kian was so angry he was ready to storm into the mansion and find her himself, wards be damned. He could take on as many of these weakened vampires as was necessary, but he knew that the strategic response was wiser. So, he waited for Cato to analyze the wards.

“Their magical wards are weaker around the back. We can probably slip through under our invisibility cloaks. The wards are meant to detect movement. These vampires have never encountered true dragons so their wards are formulated for humans.”

“Got it,” Kian said. “Let's go.”

If they could sneak into the property without alerting the vampires, all the better. But he was not afraid of a fight. In fact, he wanted one. He hoped they would give him an opportunity, but he had to think of the safety of his mate and daughter. Going in undetected would probably keep them safer.

They crept around the back of the estate and found the point where the wards were weakest. They snuck through the wards and made their way to the back entrance of the mansion.

“I can smell them. They're close,” Kian said.

“We should just eat these fools,” Dax said.

“Hold that thought,” Kian said.

They slipped through a back door unnoticed. Kian sniffed the air, searching for her scent.

“She should be here,” Kian said.

“I'm picking up a basement in this building,” Cato said, running an analysis on his wrist device.

“We need to find a way down there,” Kian said.

“Scanning the building now,” Cato said.

They stood at the edge of an empty room full of books as Cato ran the analysis.

“The entrance is on the other side of the house. I'm picking up the signature of a dozen bodies in this building.”

“Have you found her?” Kian asked.

“I see a human body and the signature of an infant in the basement.”

“Then we go,” Kian said.

They slipped through an open door and padded down the hallway toward the entrance of the basement.

“I think we should just eat them,” Dax said.

“Just leave it, Dax,” Kian bit out through their mental link.

“I never get to have any fun,” Dax complained.

“I think this music is going to make me sick,” Aiden said.

“Would you two focus?” Kian growled. “We're here to find my mate. Not to eat vampires or critique their taste in music.”

“We will find her,” Aiden said. “I'm just gauging our enemy to understand them better.”

“Fine,” Kian said stiffly. “Let's go.”

They hurried through a room full of half a dozen vampires sitting around talking. One of them had a human slumped over his lap, his fangs deep in her wrist. The others were watching and laughing.

The dragon crew slipped along the wall and around the corner, down the hallway. At the end of the hall was the door that led to the basement. Kian gripped the handle, but it was locked.

Cato's scanned it with his wrist device and used his multipurpose laser to unlock it.

“Good,” Kian said, pulling the door open.

They all stepped through the door and closed it behind them. The smell of Everly and Ember hit his nose. Kian knew they were down here. The crew silently made their way down the stairs until they came to another hallway lined with closed doors.

“There, it’s the one in the middle,” Cato said.

Kian gripped the door and found this one locked as well. Cato tried to use his laser to open it, but to no avail.

“This lock is warded.”

“We’re getting in there,” Kian said.

“Just bash it open,” Dax said.