The chain holding Xilon's wrists together snapped. A link popped across the table toward both officers who jumped up, drawing their guns.

“Whoa! Hold it,” Simpson yelled.

“Hands up!” the other officer screamed.

Xilon frowned. Why were they so aggravated? “Sorry I broke your bracelets, but I asked you to remove them.”

“Okay, okay. Nice and easy, raise your hands over your head.” Simpson swallowed audibly, but kept his weapon raised. “No one is going to hurt you if you do what we say.”

Xilon snorted. As if human weapons could harm a Renjerian. But then he wasn't Renjerian quite anymore. He was human and had no idea how he'd be affected. Arguing might delay his stay here and he needed to ride a storm back. The muscle in his jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth, but raised his hands.

Simpson holstered his weapon, but the other officer kept his drawn and pointed at Xilon's chest.

* * *

Xilon was given black ink on his fingertips and pressed onto paper, his photo taken, and led to a metal jail cell. He paced in the small confinement, the walls closing in on him. Time wasted while he waited for Dena to show up. How far did she live anyway? The travel in these modern times was faster than when he was here last so where was she?

Sweat broke out across his forehead when night fell, a darkened skylight above him. He'd stayed here too long. It was time to leave.

He inhaled, remembered his real body, and called his dragon forth. But silence answered him. He tried again, closing his eyes and concentrating as Taurian told him.

Nothing.

Where the fuck is my true form? He was going to strangle Taurian when he saw his brother. Okay, maybe Taurian had said something about it would take time to shift now that Xilon thought about it. But how long?

All night, Xilon tried to shift to no avail. Panic welled inside his chest. What if he was stuck like this forever? Never to taste the wind inside a cloud. Never to feel the heat of his fire or the strength of his wings.

The metal door opened and three men were led inside his small cage. Considering they were locked inside the cell with Xilon and wore the same orange suit, he decided they must be under arrest too. That was what the officer had told him.

“Whatcha in for?” one with a long beard asked Xilon.

“Nudity.” That was the word, right.

The two men with the bearded man laughed as the officer disappeared down the hallway.

“How about you and your friends?” Xilon asked.

“Well, we robbed a convenience store and had fun with the store clerk.” Bearded man waggled his eyebrows. “She never had three real men before.”

“And she smelled good too.” The second man inhaled his hand, then grabbed his sex. “Loved the way she screamed. Gets my dick hard just thinking about it.”

Rage boiled in Xilon's veins. “And you?” he asked the third man.

The man had tattoos on his arms, neck, and half his face. “What can I say, I like it rough and a challenge.”

“Want to know why I was naked?” Xilon leaned forward, keeping his voice low and calm when he really wanted to roar at these vile men.

“You raped someone too?”

“No, never. I'm a dragon and have come here from another planet.”

Tattoo guy burst into laughter. “What drugs you on, man?” He wiped his eyes. “Cause I want in on that shit.”

“Maybe he's gay and couldn't get it up.” Bearded guy circled Xilon.

“Keep it down in there,” an officer shouted from the hallway.

When bearded guy threw a punch, Xilon caught it with his hand. The man's eyes widened. Then tattoo guy rushed him and Xilon kicked him in the stomach. He shoved bearded guy into the metal bars and the man crumpled to the floor.

The third man swung at Xilon, but he hit the man in the face.

Blood squirted everywhere as the man skidded backward.

“My nose. The freak broke my nose,” the man whined.

“That’s it, mother fucker.” Tattoo guy raised his fists.

Xilon grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him up. The dragon in him roaring to the surface, his eyes shifting to his natural serpentine form.

“Holy shit!” Bearded guy backed up against the cell wall. “What the fuck are you?”

Xilon picked up bearded man from the floor and brought both trembling men closer.

“I’m a dragon, remember? And I've got each of your scents now. If any of you so much as touch a female without her permission, I will fry your dicks off.” He remembered what Ash had asked in the woods about his kind. No doubt she'd have something to say to these men with her sword if she were here. “Then I'll eat you.”

Xilon's fangs extended with his grin.

Bearded guy screamed while tattoo wet himself. With a thud, both men were thrown across the room and Xilon turned his gaze on the one with the broken nose.

“Understood?”

“Yes, yes.” The man held up a bleeding hand.

“What's going on in here?” Simpson asked rushing to the cell.

“Let us out,” Tattoo pleaded as he grasped the metal bar as though trying to shove his body through. “He's crazy. A fucking dragon.”

“Sorry, Manny but we're all booked up. Now you four play nice. We'll have a new cell for you guys tomorrow night at earliest.” Simpson turned to leave.

“No! You can't leave us with him! He said he'd eat us and his eyes glowed and his teeth were fucking fangs.”

Simpson shook his head. “Then I guess you better hope he doesn't do as he promised.”

“No,” the man with the bleeding nose leapt up. “Look what he did to me, you gotta protect us, man.”

“Best I can do is take you to the infirmary.” Simpson frowned. “They're closed until morning except for life and death issues.”

“This is life and death.” He held his bleeding nose. “Please, man, have mercy.”

“Like you did to the clerk?” Simpson narrowed his eyes. “Honestly, Trevor, did you give mercy when that woman screamed for you to stop? When she pleaded?” He smirked. “No, I hope he is whatever the drugs in your system says he is and you sleep real good tonight.”

Simpson left.

The men hovered in a corner until dawn while Xilon watched them as he would Tryn scum.

* * *

The next morning, Simpson came to the cell. “Xilon, you've got two visitors. Follow me.” He slid the metal bars open.

'Is-is he coming back?” Trevor asked with a nasally voice.

“Don't know, don't care.” Simpson shrugged.

He led Xilon to another small room with a table and chairs.

“Wait here.” Simpson left.

Xilon frowned. Now that he could transform his eyes and teeth to Renjerian, he needed the rest of his dragon form to fly out of here.

A knock sounded on the door. Two women entered. One smelled like Taurian. The other like fear and oranges.

“Xilon?” the first woman held out her hand. “I'm Dena. Um... Taurian sent me to help get you out.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Does my older brother think I can't handle myself?”

“No, it's not that.” Dena pushed papers toward him. “Sign these and we'll pay your bail and get you back to Louisiana.”

Xilon stiffened. That's where he thought he was. “Where am I now?”

“Boston.”

“And that's far,” he guessed.

“Yes, well. If you sign the papers, I can witness them, then Kate can try to get the full charges dropped.”

He didn't care about human concerns, but he needed to get back home and Dena meant that he could summon his brother to pick him up. Humiliating, but necessary. And he could make Taurian tell him how to get his full dragon back.

“Whatever I need to do.” He nodded to the women and accepted the pen, scribbling across the lines Dena pointed to.

Once both women signed, Xilon bowed his head. “Thank you for helping, Dena and Kate.”

“I'm a lawyer. It's my job.” Kate stuffed the papers into a folder. “And I'm doing this for my sister, Isabelle. She's hooked up with another one of your brothers, Kohl.”

“Ah. Then thank you anyway.”

Kate shook her head. “If you've got any more brothers back home,” she shrugged, “tell them to stay out of jail because I’ve already got a full load of cases.”