An hour later, Delilah stood on the back porch watching Brogan clear a section of ground in her backyard. Brogan’s dragon grinned at her as he turned in a tight circle, sweeping his tail around. She giggled when Moonshine and Rum chased after his tail.

She couldn’t believe how much snow there was! It wasn’t until Brogan was several feet down that she finally realized how much there had actually been – and how much still continued to fall. On a bright note, it would keep any curious eyes away, so they wouldn’t have to worry about being seen.

She was dressed from head to toe in her warmest clothes, and she had a full belly. If she hadn’t been so excited about the idea of turning into a dragon, she would have retreated back upstairs to bed for a nap.

No sleep, other things to do. I show you, her dragon replied.

Did you just roll your eyes at me? How can dragons roll their eyes? Is that even conceivable? And I don’t need you to ‘show’ me anything. I can handle this on my own, Delilah retorted with a roll of her own eyes.

Humph, her dragon snorted.

“Delilah, are you ready?” Barrack asked, stepping up onto the porch.

“Do you think it is safe?” she asked, worried about someone seeing them, despite her earlier thought that she didn’t have to worry about that. She was giving herself a pass on some neuroticism, because how often did someone turn into a dragon for the first time?

“Our symbiots are patrolling the area. They will let us know if anyone approaches,” he reassured her.

She reached out and took the hand he offered. Biting her lip, she was thankful for the path the two men had cleared. As it was, the snow on each side of her came nearly to her hip. She reached out and ran her glove-covered hand along the snow.

“I can see the crystals in it,” she said, pausing to bend and look at the snow through new eyes.

“The eyes of a dragon can see very well,” Barrack explained. “We can see in dim light as well.”

“Well, that explains why you didn’t use the flashlights I gave you,” she said.

Barrack chuckled and nodded. “Yes, we did not need them,” he responded, drawing her into the circle.

Delilah glanced nervously at the dogs before looking at Brogan, then back at Barrack. She rubbed her hands along her pant legs. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. What if she became stuck as a dragon? Or worse! What if she became stuck with a dragon head and a human body or the other way around? While the idea of being a mermaid was really awesome, imagining half her own body as fishy had never excited her.

She winced when she felt her dragon roll in laughter. The damn thing sounded like it was stuck between her ears. A flash of irritation ran through her and she sent her dragon a mental poke in the butt.

“I’m not going to want to eat my dogs, am I?” she asked, tucking a lock of hair that had blown across her face back behind her ear.

Brogan’s dragon snickered and looked at the dogs. She rolled her eyes when the dragon wiggled the area above his eyes and licked his lips with a long tongue. Of course, her dogs thought the look meant ‘let’s play’, not ‘I’m about to eat you’.

“Okay, I get it. I won’t eat the dogs, but you have to admit that it could be a possibility” she pointed out.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head and nodded. I can do this, she thought. I can be a dragon. She pictured her dragon in her mind. The creature really was very beautiful.

The female dragon’s head was much smaller than those of Brogan and Barrack. Her scales were a delicate rose color with accents of dark red and bright, shimmering white. Her body wasn’t as muscular as the twin dragons’, but it was dainty and sleek. She looked like she was built for speed and capable of weaving in and out of tight spaces.

Mesmerized by her dragon’s beauty, she reached out to touch her. The scales felt like how she imagined the finest silk would feel. Brilliant hazel eyes, the same color as her own, looked back at her with a soft glow of love and acceptance.

I wish I knew how to change into you, Delilah murmured, running her hand down along the long, slender neck.

You already have, her dragon replied.

Delilah blinked the world back into focus. Everything looked sharper, crisper, and clearer. She swung her head around when she felt a caress along her shoulder. Lifting her wing, she felt the thrill of being free.

“All those centuries waiting for you, we never saw you in your dragon form,” Barrack quietly said, running his hands along the top of her outstretched wing. “But I knew you would be beautiful.”

She looked at Barrack in silence, unsure of what do next, but less than a minute later, she was questioning why she had worried. Her dragon had her own agenda, and a big portion of it involved turning on the pair of twin dragons.

You slow, her dragon snorted.

Delilah knew her mouth would be hanging open if she were human again. Her dragon swung her tail around and slapped Brogan on his left rear hindquarter, surprising the male dragon. Brogan growled in warning, but her dragon wasn’t done. She slowly moved her tail down along Brogan’s side and circled around him before she turned her back to him and slid her tail between his legs, down his belly, and along a long slit.

What is that? Delilah asked before realization hit her between the eyes like a foul ball. Well, color me red. You are about to bite off a lot of dragon, she warned her own dragon.

Two dragons. They have to catch me first, her dragon retorted, snapping at Brogan when he rose up on his hind legs.

Delilah silently squealed when her dragon suddenly pushed off the ground and rose in the air. Knowledge, passed down from the first dragons, flooded her dragon, giving her the information she needed to be able to fly. Her wings stretched out, stroking the air for the first time. A wild, primitive urge to roar swept through her, and she didn’t hold back. She released a long, lilting roar, and admired the sound.

Turning, Delilah could see Barrack in his two-legged form and Brogan in his dragon form watching her. Her wings stroked the air, keeping her aloft, and she twisted in the air with a flick of her tail, and swept over the tops of the trees.

The world had turned white for as far as she could see. This was the first time she had ever seen her grandparents’ property from this vantage point above her acreage. The rugged beauty of the land took her breath away. A part of Delilah wished she could attach one of those little cameras to her dragon so she could record everything to look at later.

Gliding along just above the treetops, she could see the ghostly remains of the old smokehouse where she and the dogs had taken refuge just a few days before. A shudder ran through her when she thought of what could have happened to her and the dogs if not for Barrack and Brogan. She had little doubt in her mind that they would have perished.

Turning, she discovered a stream that she hadn’t even known existed less than five hundred yards behind the remains of the shed. It wasn’t very wide, maybe five feet across, and it twisted and turned before disappearing underground. Most of the stream was frozen except for the very center. Curious, her ears flickered back and forth when she heard the sound of trickling water.

She followed the sound to a small section a little farther down the mountain. Her sharp eyes spotted the tiny waterfall created where the water came out of a crevice in the rock to release the stream. She started to land, but decided the snow drifts were too deep. Twisting around, she was startled when a shadow covered her.

The beauty of the male dragon was undeniable. His thick muscular frame blended in with the wintry scene, which surprised her. It was as if the green and white coloring of his scales had captured the natural colors of the landscape surrounding them. Even his wings appeared almost translucent.

A sense of excitement built in her when she sensed Brogan’s determination to capture her. Changing tactics, she surged through the trees under him. Her smaller, sleeker body made cutting through the virgin forest easy.

Look out! Delilah warned when another shadow appeared in front of them.

I see him long time ago. He try to sneak up on us, her dragon sniffed in derision.

Well, I didn’t, Delilah mumbled.

That why you need dragon, her dragon chortled.

I get a dragon who is horny and a smart-aleck. How did I get so lucky? Delilah playfully huffed.

Personally, she couldn’t have picked a better fit. The two guys needed someone who didn’t put up with their attitudes and so did their dragons. Not only that, how could she not love a dragon who had a really cool sense of humor?

She giggled when her dragon rose up and shook a branch as she went over Barrack. A huge glob of snow fell on top of the male’s head, coating him in the white fluffy powder. Brogan didn’t help matters when he almost ran into a tree. Poor Barrack ended up with a double dose of the cold stuff. Barrack’s loud sneeze, followed by the sound of sizzling water, sent Delilah into a fit of laughter.

They played and chased each other for over an hour before the two males decided they had had enough and captured her in a field filled with the Christmas trees her father had planted the year before he died. Her mother hadn’t had the heart to cut any of them down.

Brogan caught her first, wrapping his long tail around hers and gripping her neck in a gentle bite that kept her from moving as he mounted her from behind. Her dragon roared when she felt the male pull her tail to the side and enter her with one long thrust. Locked together, Brogan folded his wings down along her sides and began to rock in an ancient rhythm that gave birth to her Dragon Fire.

Fire licked through her, building with each thrust. Her dragon groaned and arched her hips when Brogan’s teeth pierced the skin of her neck and he breathed out the Dragon’s Fire. Her body responded instantly with a desire so intense, she felt like she was going crazy. Brogan’s larger body held her down as she strained against him, snapping her jaws and trying to free her tail.

They came together, the fire burning hot enough in them that the snow sizzled and steam rose around them. A shudder ran through Brogan’s dragon before he slid out of her and released her neck. Delilah gasped when her dragon swung around and snapped at the larger male. She watched with curiosity as her dragon advanced on Brogan.

What’s wrong? You felt like you enjoyed that to me, Delilah muttered.

Barrack here. I show males I alpha, her dragon stated.

Why? I mean – the three of us – we didn’t have any issues, Delilah awkwardly tried to explain.

Dragons different. Males fight. They kill each other, her dragon warned.

Fear blossomed inside Delilah. She hadn’t thought of the fact that the guys might not be as agreeable to being a threesome in their dragon form. There was a wild look in the eyes of Brogan’s dragon as he lifted his head and snarled. Fury twisted his features when Barrack landed a short distance away.

In horror, she saw Barrack crouch and bare his own teeth at his brother. These were two alpha males, born to rule, born to fight, born to kill. A cry of frustration rose inside her.

Let me out, Delilah begged, fighting against her dragon’s control when the two males charged each other.

Not yet. They face off, I get in middle, her dragon said, watching and waiting for the right moment to intervene.

The sound of snapping jaws and loud roars had to have been heard for miles. Residents probably thought it was an avalanche, because, really, who would guess that two dragons were the reason for the earthshaking rumble?

Another cry was torn from Delilah when Barrack caught Brogan around the neck with his tail and flipped his brother as if he were as light as a feather. Brogan flew through the air, striking the large Christmas Trees and snapping them like toothpicks. Brogan skidded to a stop and dug his claws into the snow. Bending, he grasped one of the broken trees and threw it at Barrack.

Barrack barely ducked the flying branches that snapped the tops off of a half dozen nearby trees. Fear changed to anger as she watched the two brothers fight. They were destroying something that had great sentimental value to her. This was the last thing she had of her father that would live and grow, and they were ruining it.

Furious, she stomped forward when the two males collided again. They were locked in battle. Their wings fought to wrap around each other even as their teeth and claws raked to draw blood. Picking up one of the broken trees with her tail, she swung it like a baseball bat.

The two males parted as the tree whizzed by their heads. Jabbing the tree at Brogan, she snapped at Barrack. Both males warily watched her as she snapped, growled, and ranted.

You broke trees! her dragon roared, swiping at both of them with the broken tree trunks. You not break trees! These Delilah’s father’s trees. Bad mates. Bad mates!

Mine, Brogan growled, snapping at the tree when the female dragon tried to hit him with it. He stepped forward. I claim my mate.

I claim you, her dragon snapped. I no claim no more if fight.

She mine! Barrack snarled, stepping forward.

In fury, the female dragon slammed the tree into Barrack’s chest and lifted off. She snapped her tail at Brogan, catching him in the ear as she flew by. Delilah wasn’t sure what was going on, but it had the attention of the two males.

What now? Delilah asked.

Now I claim my mates, my way, her dragon informed her.

* * *

Do you see her? Barrack demanded, his eyes scanning the forest below them.

No, Brogan replied in a blunt tone.

She comes first, Brogan, Barrack gently reminded him. We have to control our dragons better. If we kill each other, we all die.

She’s mine, Brogan growled, his eyes flashing with fire.

Control your dragon, brother, Barrack demanded.

I’m trying, Barrack. He… He refuses to share, Brogan replied.

He has to, or we are all doomed, Barrack repeated.

We have to find her. You go left, I’ll go right, Brogan stated.

Barrack bowed his head. They were flying low through the forest, looking for tracks in the snow left by Delilah’s dragon. They had followed her, but she had vanished over a rise. Fear began to build in both of them.

Barrack’s eyes continued to search the ground. When he sensed an impending attack, he quickly glanced at Brogan. Brogan was flying beside him, so it wasn’t him. Twisting, he released a roar and folded his wings toward his attacker and reached out with his claws. He was stunned when delicate, rose-colored claws locked with his.

They fell the short distance to the snow, slowed by her wings and cushioned by the thick layer of white flakes. Her tail wrapped around his and she slid her underbelly up along the long, narrow slit that protected his genitals. The sweet musk of her desire filled his nostrils and his dragon reacted to the chemical seduction.

His aroused dragon swiftly hardened. The female dragon lowered her head and rubbed her neck against his lips. The blatant invitation was obvious – the female wanted to mate and she had chosen him. He bit down on her neck, holding her and breathing in his Dragon Fire at the same time as he penetrated her narrow slit, impaling her and locking her to him with a growing desire that stretched her sensitive core.

As the last breath of the Dragon’s Fire left him, he released the female dragon’s neck. His wings rose to hold her trapped against his body as she rocked. Desire scorched both of them, pulling loud grunts and cries as they came together.

His head turned when he heard the soft crunch of snow. Locking eyes with his brother, he saw that Brogan’s gaze was on where the female dragon had her snout tucked under his wing. She raised her head and called to Brogan. Barrack’s body, still locked with the female, stiffened when Brogan stepped closer. In this position, he was defenseless.

Brogan cautiously stretched his head toward them as the female continued to call. When his brother was close enough, he saw the female dragon rub her cheek against his. It took a moment for him to realize exactly what their mate had done. She had not only brought Brogan close to them, but she had created a situation where they were both vulnerable. His eyes locked on his brother’s exposed neck. With one powerful bite, he could severe the main artery in Brogan’s neck.

Relaxing against the snow, he watched as the female dragon licked and caressed Brogan while remaining wrapped in his wings. She was theirs and they were hers. He reached up and rubbed his nose against Delilah’s neck. They had truly found the one mate who could love a set of twin dragons.