After sending Stephen off on his way, I stripped down and hid my clothes behind a tree. As quickly as possible, I shifted, stretching my leathery wings, and shaking out my scaly body. Then I took to the sky, even though I had no idea which direction to turn. My wings pounded the air at a furious pace due to how vast an area I had to cover, and how much I burned for Peri. With any luck, I’d sense her if I could merely get close enough. Of course, I’d need more than luck to get through this fog.

I flew over miles of trees and saw nothing in the dark, despite how brazenly I flew with my abdomen being tickled by the treetops. Even that wasn’t low enough to get under the fog in many areas. Still, no matter how frustrated and desperate I grew, I pushed myself harder because no muscle pain and no fear would ever hurt more than the loss of her.

While I soared through the air, I couldn’t help but think how different I’d become with her and we weren’t yet mated. Peri had given me my first taste of fear in hundreds of years, but also the hope that comes from being connected to someone else’s soul. From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash to the west. Without hesitation, I changed course and moved that direction. I was so focused on the ground I nearly collided with a tree in front of me. There had to be some sign of life somewhere. Why couldn’t someone just send up a flare?

Finally, I saw a thin wisp of smoke and I craned my neck out, my wings beating furiously as I flew toward it. I listened as hard as I could for any screaming, but the wind whistling by my head made hearing anything incredibly difficult. A pop echoed through the night. My blood froze. A gun had been fired. I soared so I could try to hone in on the sound, which echoed through the dark and otherwise silent night. Then another shot rang out. I could swear I saw a hint of the muzzle flash. It had to be Spencer shooting at Peri. I knew I was close, but I still couldn’t find them through the trees, fog, and darkness obstructing my view.

I circled around, fearing I’d flown past. And that’s when I saw a red light, rippling outward. At its center was Peri. Diving, I rushed toward the ground, giving little thought to how I was going to land; my only concern was saving my mate. As I neared, I saw her standing too close to a cliff, half hiding, and half clinging to a tree. She seemed angry and desperate and my heart had never been so happy to see her. I dropped to the ground, landing between her and Spencer.

The moment he saw me--my scaly chest puffed out, ready to roast him with my flaming hot breath--he stood paralyzed with fear. His eyes were wide and I could actually hear his heart slamming against his ribcage. I slowly moved toward him, making sure my feet slammed into the ground with every step. He needed to feel my wrath. He needed to anticipate his doom. Steam escaped my flaring nostrils in angry puffs. My only regret was my inability to speak in this form. I had plenty of other ways to communicate. So, I strode toward him, crushing bushes and small trees under my feet, felling larger ones with a swoosh of my tail or a bump from my hip. The cracking and snapping sound made by the wood as it broke followed by the crash of its landing had Spencer flinching again and again. I watched him closely, wondering what he might do, how he’d respond to my presence. He hadn’t counted on dealing with a dragon. It was a miscalculation for sure.

“I didn’t hurt her,” he blathered.

I released an angry puff of steam that burst in front of his face. Fully prepared to kill him, I began to open my mouth when I felt a hand on my side. There was no need to turn my head; I’d always recognize Peri’s touch. I wanted to curl around her, hold her close, but I dared not take my eyes from this monster.

“Oh, but you did,” she murmured as she moved along my side, stopping only when she reached my shoulder. Turning, she showed the hole through her shirt, opening it enough to show how he’d even drawn blood. “Not to mention the damage you did to my face.”

In response, I growled low in my throat. Then I jerked my head forward, snapped the gun from his hands, and flung it as far as I could, which was far beyond his sight. Huffing at him once more, I moved closer. The dragon wanted me to snap him next, break his body in two, and be done with it. My human side, however, wanted to make him pay, make him suffer, make him truly experience justice.

I shook my head and shifted. As I morphed back into my human form, naked as the day I was born, I reached out and shoved Peri behind me, shielding her not only from his sight, but keeping her close to me, where she belonged. There was no way I was going to let this guy anywhere near my mate.

“Hey,” she grumbled at being taken out of the equation.

“Hey, yourself, cupcake. I know you had this under control, but I can’t let you have all the fun,” I joked even though my blood froze when I considered how close I’d come to losing her. “My turn.” I squeezed her hand and she returned the gesture.

“What are you going to do?” Spencer slowly backed away as he glanced back and forth between me and the cabin.

I wondered if he didn’t have another weapon in there. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “Stop right there, Morse,” I ordered. “You have much to answer for, starting now.”

His eyes narrowed. “I answer to no dragon.” He tried to peek around me as he grumbled, “And no witch either.”

Behind me, I felt Peri stumble and she rested a hand on my back while she regained her footing. Her skin felt warm against my bare skin. “Hang in there, my love,” I whispered as I took another step toward her kidnapper. This time my tactics had changed and instead of advancing toward him, I was working to cut off his access to his lair. I shook my head at Spencer. “I almost feel sorry for you. You’ve spent your whole life trying to end the dragon line and reclaim the fortune your kingdom never had.” I sighed.

“Not true. We were royalty. We were rich,” he spluttered. “And now my line will be rich once more.”

“You have no line,” I reminded him. “You have no one to love, no one to love you in return. That’s where true wealth lies, not in the size of one’s assets. If I was penniless, because of Peri I’d still be worth more than you.” I chuckled.

He stiffened. “I have billions and billions of dollars,” he argued.

“True, but the line ends with you, while the dragons and the witches go on.” I shrugged. “Funny how our lines converge again and you still haven’t learned from the past. Greed took down your family back then and it’s happening once more now.”

Spencer shook his head and his brow furrowed. “It was the dragon and the sorceress who ruined everything.”

“No, the sorceress offered to marry the king. She loved him, but because she had no wealth, the king had no use for her and threw her in the dungeon,” I explained. “That’s why your family has been cursed ever since.”

“Tell him what he has to look forward to, Mishal,” Peri murmured from behind me.

“You’re going to be arrested, tried and convicted for more than a dozen murders, and probably sentenced to death, or life in prison. You’ll never enjoy a penny of your ill-gotten gain. The money will revert back to the Dracos.” I sighed, almost feeling sorry for him. “Meanwhile, Peri and I are going to marry.”

“Funny, I don’t remember you asking,” she grumbled.

“You’re right, I’m jumping the gun.” I turned to her, caught up in the moment. “Peri, will you be my mate and marry me?”

She’d been smirking at me, but now it turned into a full-blown smile, lighting up her entire face. “I always wanted to marry a dragon,” she joked. “I had no idea it’d be you, but I’ll make do.” Peri laughed. “Think you can love me?”

“Silly cupcake,” I teased. “Can’t you tell that I already do?” I leaned low and pressed my lips to hers. In that moment, all else was forgotten. Unfortunately, Spencer took advantage. A movement from the corner of my eye had me breaking off the kiss much sooner than I would’ve liked. “Dammit,” I growled, “wait here!” I raced through the woods, my bare feet suffering from the pine needles, twigs, and stones lightly covered over by leaves.

“Nice try.” Peri raced beside me, much faster in her sneakers.

Still, Spencer beat us to the cabin and bolted inside, which had me halting and throwing out an arm to stop my beloved. “Wait. You’re tired and he’s dangerous. Let’s let the dragon handle it.”

She clasped her hands under her chin and nodded almost imperceptibly. “Stay safe,” she whispered. “I’m starting to love you too.”

“Starting?” I questioned as I shifted.

Peri laughed. “I never claimed to be easy, dragon.”

I rolled my eyes and cautiously made my way to the cabin roughly fifty feet away. Through the window, I could see him cowering behind an overturned wooden table. I planned to close in, rip the roof off, and yank him back outside. Instead, he pulled out a semi-automatic weapon and a spray of bullets flew through the door. Unable to dodge in time, several penetrated my scales. I hissed in pain and flopped onto my side.

The door burst open and Spencer snarled. “Not this time, dragon. I get the money and the girl.” He stared past me to where Peri stood, horrified and afraid.

She rushed toward us, despite my shrieks, and Spencer grinned, completely confident in his success. “Think again, you miserable twat-waffle.”

My head moved enough to see her raise her arms, then I looked away, fully confident her powers would erupt in a blinding flash. Sure enough, a white light radiated past me, and hit Spencer square in the chest. He landed on his back and slid several feet, but immediately struggled to point his gun at me once more. And then I realized he’d never stop. The man was so blinded by hatred he couldn’t even love himself enough to try to escape.

Fury boiled in me. The rage from his audacity, his determination to destroy the dragons, and his fixation on Peri finally erupted. I rolled onto my feet, inhaled as deeply as possible, and spewed a stream of fire that traveled across the floor of his tiny cabin, igniting everything it touched. The flames spread until everything under the roof was ablaze, even Spencer. He screamed in pain and stumbled around until he finally dropped to what was left of the floor.

I looked away. It had been hundreds of years since I’d been forced to kill anyone. Doing so, even to protect Peri, saddened me. The entire structure had disintegrated in a matter of seconds.

Beside me, Peri dropped to her knees and examined my wounds. I shifted into human form, and reached out to cup her face. “You took a bullet for me again,” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. Then she noted the multiple holes in my torso. “Make that several. Are you sure you can heal from this?” Her lower lip trembled.

I grinned weakly. “Cupcake, I’d die for you, but not today.” I winked. “Make sure these went all the way through, then I’ll shift. I heal faster in dragon form,” I explained as I propped myself on my elbow so she could examine my back.

Nodding, she swiped at her eyes. “Okay.” Her fingers danced over my skin as she examined every inch of me.

While she touched me, I marveled over how I could need to heal so badly, but still suffer from the overwhelming desire to claim her. “How’s it look?” I asked her quietly.

“Back here we have a bullet that didn’t finish going through. What do we do?” Peri tried to sound calm, but I knew she had to be drained from using so much magic and all those heightened emotions.

“Pull?” I joked. “I’m not sure it’s in a place where I can flex it out.”

She swallowed hard. “Okay then. Let’s go. You’re losing a lot of blood.”

Together, we managed to remove the bullet and when we were finished, I reached out and held her ever so briefly. “You can leave,” I whispered. “Stephen is driving around looking for you. Find the road, flag him down, get a meal and come back for me in the morning. I’ll be good as new.”

Peri shook her head. “Oh no. I’ve learned my lesson. Yes, I’m a strong and independent woman, but I’ll never leave you again.” She kissed me tenderly, then stood and took a step back so I could shift. When I was done, she curled up in between my neck and my front leg. I was so happy, I could’ve purred.