Col raced toward the trumpeting dragon. It had Naomi with it somewhere. Her scent was all over it. Sefa and Jaha hadn’t been alone?

How had he missed another female? He charged forward, checking his sides.

The cats were still keeping up with the grueling pace he’d set.

When he’d heard the first bugle cry, his dragon had nearly lost it. He’d tried to fly again but still couldn’t.

Frustrated, he’d pushed himself even harder, climbing the foothills to the snow-covered mountainside at a pace that had him panting for air and his heart kicking against his ribs.

The darkness had changed to a light gray.

The unfamiliar dragon was ahead, backing away slowly like it was scared. She was hunched low in the snow and her wings were still firmly entrenched against her back. Why wasn’t she fleeing?

Then again, why had she called out? Surely, she knew he’d come for his mate. That he would kill any who got in his way.

She trumpeted again, a strange call that sounded more like a cry of fear than a challenge.

He stopped abruptly and snarled at the cats, warning them off. They were still out of fire range, but if they kept going, they wouldn’t be. A scared dragon meant unpredictability. He huffed at them and shook his large head. They nodded and backed off a few steps, understanding his request.

Col continued forward. The female wasn’t raising her wings. She wasn’t growling or being aggressive. If anything, her body language said she was cowering.

Where was Naomi? Her scent covered this new female. What had she done with her? She was right to cower because he’d beat her until she shifted and told him where his mate was.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake with this one like he had with Sefa. Wouldn’t kill her quickly. Not until he had answers.

Mate. His dragon roared inside his head.

He bellowed out a challenge cry, but the female didn’t move.

Her sleek head was barely above the snow. Her bright yellow eyes were watching his every move. Was Naomi’s body beneath her? Was that why she was hovering over the snow, moving so slow?

The female made a low whine and shook her head back and forth.

No challenge.

She wasn’t going to fight?

He roared, his frustration building.

The other dragon backed up a few more steps, fear evident in its wide flashing eyes. Gold swirled with brown and it made the strange whining sound again.

Col stalked forward, his gaze stuck to the snow she’d uncovered. No Naomi. No sight of her anywhere, except her scent covered the ground.

She was here. Or had been here.

He shifted to his human form and kept walking toward the female. It was a risk. She could kill him more easily in this from, but his gut said she wasn’t going to attack. “Where is she? Where is Naomi? What did you and Sefa do with her?”

The dragon’s head tilted at his words. She made a pitiful sound, worse than the whining.

“Where is my shuarra? I will kill you for hurting her,” he bellowed.

The female’s head pulled back with a jerk of surprise and she backed up a couple more steps.

“Show me my mate! Are you holding her?” Col maneuvered, trying to see if the dragon had a body in one of its large claws. He couldn’t tell. The snow was so deep. He was struggling to stay on top of the powder as it was.

He breathed deeply, trying to calm the fire and anger bubbling beneath the surface. Naomi had been here. Her scent was so strong. So sweet. It was everywhere.

The female dragon stood quietly as he circled around to her left, slowly scanning the trees. Her tailed whipped back and forth without consequence, like that of a youngling who had not been trained. She was all gold and bronze, her scales smooth and glassy without a single mark. He didn’t recognize her…at all. She was not from his Tribe.

Who was she?

Her head swung over her back and she continued to watch him, quietly now. No whine. No growl. Just an intense stare.

Col’s stomach dropped to his feet, all air rushed from his lungs, and his heart did a somersault inside his chest. How could he have missed it?

“Naomi?” He met the dragon’s gaze.

The female visibly sighed and sank into the snow, releasing all the tension and fear she’d been holding onto. She swung her head low, inching it closer and closer to him, until she was nudging his hands with her snout.

“My shuarra, I didn’t realize.” His bite had changed her. Made her like him?

Naomi was a dragon…Naomi was a dragon!

His heart soared with relief and excitement and guilt all at the same time.

She was alive. She was a dragon. He hadn’t lost his mate.

Col had changed her without her permission. He hadn’t known it would happen. He’d needed to mark her. Needed to bond their souls. He hadn’t known it would change her so completely. “I—” he started. “Forgive me, shuarra. I would’ve asked first, if I had known what my bite would do.”

The dragon nodded her head up and down, butting him softly in the side with her lips.

“Shift for me, my love.” He kept his voice soft. Coaxing.

Naomi shook her big bronze-colored head and made the whining sound again.

Could she not shift?

He studied her carefully and thought. As younglings, they had to learn to control the animal within. Find a balance that could be shared by both halves of the soul.

Naomi wouldn’t have that training.

He put a hand on her snout and rubbed her warm glassy scales.

She stopped whining.

“Listen to me, my shuarra. You must think of your body as you wish it to be. The dragon is part of you. She will listen to your desires. I am here. I will never leave you again. You are beautiful Naomi. Sleek and strong and perfect in this form, but I wish to hold you in my arms.

The dragon in front of him disappeared in an instant.

In the center of the space where the large body had been, his mate sat curled in the snow. Tears ran down her tawny cheeks. Her brown eyes were ringed with red. Exhaustion. Fear. So much poured from her.

“Col!” she wailed. She stretched out her arms and he shoved his way through the slushy snow and plucked her naked body from the ground.

He buried his face in her hair, then in her neck, breathing in her scent, assuring himself and his dragon that they had her back. That she was safe and whole and once again where she belonged—at his side.

“God, Col I was so scared. I woke up on a ledge at the top of the mountain. I started to change and fell off. Then all the pain disappeared. And I realized I was a dragon.”

“What pain, my shuarra?”

“My skin was on fire. It was so bad I wanted to rip it off. And then my head hurt. Pounded so hard, like something was bashing it in with a rock. Then I fell and it all disappeared.”

“You didn’t realize you had shifted?”

“Not until I tried to move around a little.”

Col nuzzled her neck again and squeezed her tighter.

“Forgive me. I wouldn’t have—”

She stopped him with a soft finger across his lips. Her eyes held only love for him. No hatred or disgust or anger. “You already have my forgiveness, my mate.” Naomi shook her head. “There is nothing else that must be said. I know you would’ve given me a choice if you had known. And if I’d had that choice, Col, I would’ve chosen you. I will always choose you.”

His heart slowed in his chest. Air came more easily.

She didn’t hate him. She wasn’t angry that he’d turned her into a dragon. She wanted him. Naomi was his mate in every way.

A smile curved his lips and he claimed her mouth. Hers were warm and soft and damp. Wanting. Needing.

She welcomed his tongue and claim. His heart thudded against his ribs like a war club. His. She was intoxicating. A soft whimper came from her throat and he growled against her mouth, taking the kiss deeper. Harder.

Mate. His dragon crowed from within, pleased that Naomi was safe. That she was in his arms. That her familiar taste and scent covered his lips.

“I never thought I was going to see you again.” Emotion poured down her cheeks in rivers of pain and relief and hope. “I thought—”

“You are safe now. Sefa is gone.” Col gestured to the three large cats standing off to the side a short distance away. “They helped me find you.”

“So, the new tribe is a go?” she asked, a twinkle of pleasure in her brown eyes.

“A go?”

“It’s happening. We’re not going to go off and live in a cave all by ourselves? We get to have other people around. Like a family.” The tone of her voice was filled with excitement.

He had been prepared to isolate her. His beautiful mate who’d told him so many things about her own large family. How important they were to her.

She’d practically ordered him to allow Kann and the others inside the cabin to talk. How had he not seen it?

Had he been so blinded by his own problems that he couldn’t see the way she’d been begging to not be alone? Even still, Naomi would’ve chosen him. She would’ve lived in a cave, alone and sad, with him if that’d been what he’d asked of her…guilt bloomed in his chest like a fire out of control.

“Shuarra, yes.” Col looked at the shifters again, still in their animal forms. Still waiting. “We will work together as a tribe. We will not be alone. I will never let you be alone.”

“I love you, Col.” She nuzzled her face against his chest. He’d just given her everything she could ask for. They’d have other Reyleans around them.

A tribe all together.

Naomi didn’t have to be alone and isolated. Especially now that she was one of them. She wasn’t Reylean, but she was a dragon shifter now. Whatever came along with that. It would be good to have other shifters around besides just Col.

“You are my heart, Naomi. I love you more than I have loved anyone or anything in my entire life.” He hugged her closer.

Kann shifted and came forward. He removed his coat and held it out to Col. “For your mate.”

“Thank you, brother,” Col said.

Kann’s eyes widened and a smile curved his lips. “Brother,” he returned, and gave Col a quick nod before returning to where Tor and Saul stood, still in animal form.

“We really shouldn’t be animals during the day. This is a national park. There are campers and hikers all over this park. If they see a lion or tiger on the slopes we would be in all kinds of trouble. Dragons are definitely a no-go until dark.” Naomi took the coat from Col and slipped into it.

She was short enough that all the important bits were covered. All the way down to her knees. No shoes and no pants would still be suspicious to any passing humans. Plus, the fact that she was traveling with four dudes who were dressed like Dothraki warriors from Game of Thrones.

“My wings are still healing, but I should be able to fly by the time night falls again. The sun is not right here. The days seem shorter.”

“Yeah, we are really far north on the planet. The daylight is really skewed here. Changes with the seasons. Sometimes there is no night. And other parts of the year, no day.”

Col’s eyebrows scrunched together, but he didn’t say anything just nodded and helped her tie the last of the fasteners on the coat.

The other three men had come closer, and Kann spoke again.

“If it is not safe to travel during the day, should we look for shelter and then head for the cabin once the sun sets again?” The lion shifter rubbed his arms and gave the surroundings a cursory glance.

Naomi felt really guilty about taking his coat. She didn’t need the warmth, but she also couldn’t walk around buck naked around other dudes.

Col wouldn’t let her, even if she was willing.

“They aren’t going to last long dressed like that. The temps when I arrived were falling to negative thirty at night. Day isn’t going to be much better.” She glanced at Kann and the others again. “We need to dig a shelter. And get a fire started.”

“How do you know to do this?” Col asked her as they walked over to Saul and Tor.

“I read a lot before I came. I was scared if I got stuck outside I’d freeze to death, so I read a bunch of survival guides.” Naomi scanned their surroundings.

They weren’t off the mountain yet, but they were low enough that some of the foothills had created a rise. Which is why she’d stopped rolling, at least, that was what she assumed.

She pointed to a flat area. “We need to pile snow there. Into a big mound. Pat it down and then hollow it out like an animal would for a burrow. It needs to be big enough for all of us to fit inside and to light a fire in the center.”

The three men looked around then shifted into their cat forms.

Naomi gulped. They were big. Not like Jurassic Park big, but certainly bigger than the average lion or tiger she’d seen in the zoo.

The lions and tiger bounded down the hillside a few dozen yards and began digging. They used their large paws to move the snow into a central mound between them.

“I should help.” Col pulled her along toward the growing mound, and then sat her on a fallen tree before shifting into his dragon.

With his enormous claws, he shoveled snow onto the mound until it was taller than Saul. All four men shifted back to human form and started patting down the snow until it was firm enough to walk on. The resulting mound was easily ten feet tall.

“The entrance should be as narrow as possible. Less wind. Then dig it out once you’re in the center. We need a branch to poke down through the top, so you know where the middle is when you get there.”

The men nodded and continued to work on firming up the mound.

Naomi wandered over to the area where she’d crawled up out of the snow. There were lots of broken tree trunks strewn about. She yanked at one and was surprised to find that it moved several inches.

Look at me all super-strong-dragon-lady.

She pulled again, and the trunk moved again.

“Naomi.” Col was at her side a few moments later. “Why are you over here? By yourself?” he asked, his tone a mixture of worry and annoyance.

“I said we needed a branch. I just wanted to help,” she answered. “It’s not like I was out of sight or even earshot.”

He batted the tree trunk away and pulled her into his arms. “I just got you back. Don’t wander. Not yet. When I turned and didn’t see you, it felt as though someone had stabbed me in the heart.”

She started to argue then she saw the pain and worry reflected in her mate’s eyes. He wasn’t trying to be controlling, like her brothers. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her help or think she was incapable of helping, like her dad who thought women only belonged in the kitchen.

Col was worried about her safety. She couldn’t fault him for that.

“I can help,” she said slowly. “I’m strong now.”

He kissed the top of her head and then rumpled her curls. “Of course, you are my shuarra. You are Dragon Tribe. But I need more than an hour to settle my dragon and assure him that you aren’t going to disappear or be stolen away again.”

Naomi smiled up at her dragon man. “My big barbarian. I love you. You know that.”

“Yes.” He gave her a smug smile, stole a quick kiss, and then grabbed the end of the tree trunk she’d been excavating with one hand and her with the other. “What is the next step for the snow tent?”

She laughed and hurried ahead of him a few steps to the edge of the enormous mound of snow. “You have to drive it down in the middle. Then dig toward it from the very edge.”

The men considered her for a moment, and then hurried to follow the instruction.

Kann and Col drove the trunk down the center from the top.

Saul started to dig an entrance and Naomi helped by moving the snow from behind him each time he pushed an armful out.

“We need short sticks, about two feet long.” She gestured the size with her hands. “They go into the roof, so you don’t clear out too much snow and have it fall in.”

“You stay.” Col growled a warning before she could leave the entrance to go look. “Kann and Tor will get them.”

The two other men nodded and hurried over to the closest grove of birch trees. She returned to pushing off the snow Saul was clearing out as he tunneled toward the center trunk.

“Got it!” Saul backed his way out and turned to face Naomi.

“We need the sticks next.” She pointed to Tor and Kann who were walking back to the snow mound each with an armful of sticks. “They need to be this long.” She motioned the size again, showing Saul and Col.

Kann and Tor dropped the sticks at the base of the mound.

All five of them broke them into the desired length and Naomi showed them how to stick them into the mound all over.

A smile broke out on Saul’s face. “The ends will poke through if we dig too far,” he exclaimed, moving even faster.

They quickly had the snow tent staked and ready.

Saul crawled back in first and went to town clearing out more of the mound.

Naomi and the others moved pile after pile of snow from the narrow entrance.

“Two can fit now,” Saul called out from inside.

Kann dropped to his knees and crawled inside.

She and Col and Tor continued at a brisker pace to clear away the loose snow shoved out to them.

It would take a while to clear out enough space for all five of them to fit comfortably inside.