Miguel Ramirez Lopez

As hot-blooded as I could be, there was never any doubt what I would do. Of course I was going to go and find Audrey. Her scent was already seared into my nose, but that didn't matter so much. It was more important for me to find and utilize the stench of the Fanged Serpents so I could hopefully avoid them during my rescue mission. Otherwise, the rescue might turn into suicide for both me and Audrey.

Francesco, once he calmed down some himself, told me where the battle had taken place. The sight of the blood staining the grass made the field look like a war zone. The stench of the blood and death was so powerful that at first, I couldn't pick up any lingering scents from the parties involved. Gradually, as I used my wings, keeping my body human, I altered the wing and could smell the dragons. It took me some time to isolate the smells from the Fanged Serpents versus my own clan, but I managed.

Clans tended to live together, in tiny communities. Sometimes, they would use common places, a mess hall for everyone to eat meals together or a laundry room for everyone's wash. It was the faint smell of flowery of laundry detergent that linked the Fanged Serpents, that and body odor.

As much as I wanted to fly over to where they were staying, it was far too early and bright out for that. Instead, I had to hop back into my car and drive with the top down, pausing at every corner to sniff and ensure I was headed in the right direction.

I headed north of Philly, past the rich northern section, and came across a massive house, maybe even bigger than our mansion. It wasn't exactly a nice and cozy spot, and the fenced gate made the place seem more like a prison than a house.

What was troubling the most was that I couldn't smell Audrey. Maybe she wasn't being held here.

Or maybe she wasn't among the living.

The fenced gate most likely had a security code of some kind. This high tech of a setup meant that they most likely had a way to track everyone in and out, and that probably included flyovers too.

Hmm… I drove around the perimeter and realized that the fence contained five buildings, not just the one, and directly behind the first was the second. A shed maybe?

Let me see… I strove to figure out the best course of action. A diversion was what I needed, but could I figure out one that did not announce my arrival? Time would tell.

I drove off, away from the enemy. Once I came to a desert area, I parked, climbed out, stretched, and embraced my inner dragon. He refused to come out quietly, roaring in protest, not wanting to slink in the shadows and save Audrey. No, my dragon wanted to fight, wanted to kill.

But I was the master of my temper, not the other way around, and I took to the skies and hid above the clouds. From memory, I flew over to hover above the location of the second, smaller figure.

A blech of fire perfectly lined up, and that shed lit up in flames. Within seconds, the blowing breeze guiding the conflagration caught the back portion of the main building on fire.

Perfect… Only I had no idea where Audrey was. I was so close now, but my smell still could not detect her.

Still, I curled my wings around myself and dove bomb. At the last second, I landed, spreading my wings, and reverted to my human. Yes, this meant I was naked, but so be it.

The sound of yelling and organized chaos poured out of one of the open windows. I did my best to slink past undetected and breathed a sigh of relief. So far, no one seemed to know I was here, and I preferred to keep it that way.

The fire continued to spread, and I carefully but swiftly stalked the perimeter of the sides of the building not yet caught ablaze.

The place had a ton of stories but no towers, nothing overtly obvious as to a place for hiding people until I spied a small barred window abutting the grass.

A basement but the bars meant more dungeon, jails, cells.

Audrey.

I gripped the bars, changed my fingers and arms to my dragon and yanked, pulling, twisting, and the bars submitted to my will.

Inside, I could hear a faint heartbeat. Even breathing. Whoever was inside, Audrey I hoped, but I still couldn't smell her, was asleep.

My dragon couldn't fit through the hole, but I could, and I did, landing lightly on my feet. A huge puddle of something terrible had eroded part of the floor, and a huddled mass in a corner had to be a person.

I brushed back the red hair to see Audrey's familiar face, but her body… I winced just looking at her. Cradling her carefully to me, hoping I wouldn't injure her further, I only allowed part of my wings to be unleashed and fluttered up toward the small window. I had to place her on the grass first before I could climb out. Once more, I carried her. By now, so many of the Fanged Serpents were outside, but the smoke was so heavy that I managed to fly away and reach my car without being detected. Tenderly, I laid Audrey on the backseat and tenderly cupped her face.

Could I blame her for the file? We had barged into her life. Yes, she had been looking for troubling, trying to investigate murders for her job. She had been snooping around and discovered the killers all right. Dragons. Surely the last thing she had expected.

But then, we had stepped in. We saved her, tended to her. Damon even gave her his blood. All we asked in return was for her to keep our secret.

And she almost hadn't. That was Audrey, though. She wasn't a bullshitter. She wanted the public to know the truth, and I couldn't blame her for that. The truth was important, but this truth wasn't hers to share.

Still, she had only wanted to if something happened to her, and something certainly had.

Her body was covered in burns, terrible ones. Her body was naked. As much as the sight should've made me hard, seeing her wounded, so vulnerable… All I wanted to do was weep.

And then, she took a strangled breath. I waited for her to stir, to wake, but she did not breathe again.

No!

She might not want this, I didn't know, but I couldn't ask for consent. Audrey was dying, and I might be too late already. With a claw, I sliced my wrist and brought the blood to her lips.

"Swallow, Audrey," I murmured.

It wasn't often I called her by her name to her face. Normally, I referred to her as chica. Right now, I just wanted her to swallow.

I pressed harder, squeezed my wrist to force more blood out, and then used the fingers of my non-wounded arm to press lightly up and down on her throat.

She swallowed. A sip. Another. More.

Her eyelids fluttered open. "Miguel," she murmured, reaching toward me, her hand not quite touching my face. Was she seeing double?

I claimed her hand and pressed it against my cheek. "Chica."

She gave a ghost of a laugh, the sound hardly audible. "I thought… I told… not to call… me that."

I pressed my lips to her forehead and blinked loose a tear that fell onto her nose.

"Tough guys… cry?"

"Sometimes, when they're afraid they've lost the woman they love."