Noelle let out a heavy sigh, her arms crossed over her chest. Usually, she was all for picking a fight. She challenged authority on all levels, all the time. It was what she was best known for here on the Territory, but she could see in this moment how it wasn’t going to work.

Marc had been standing in front of his father, his face stone cold, for what felt like forever now. It had only been five or ten minutes at this point, but the seconds dragged on in the silence that surrounded them. Dane stood back, letting his close friend have the moment he needed.

“You could have done any number of things,” Marc growled into the silence. “You had a handful of choices and you chose to avoid your own children. You chose to make us think you were dead.”

“I did what I had to do to protect those that were hurt by the Guardians of Existence. Don’t think that I didn’t want to see you every day we were free.”

“You could have!” Marc threw his hands in the air. “You had years to send a message. You had years to show your face. Just once was all we would have needed. That’s it.”

Hector Avila looked as if he might implode on the spot. His face was turning purple and his fists clenched at his sides, looking like the father of teenagers. Too bad he’d missed that stage of his children’s lives.

Kenji and his broad shoulders stepped up beside Hector, casting a look that could only be a warning at Marc. The tall and bulky Japanese water dragon could have been an intimidating force if Marc had cared. From the bronze-skinned man’s stance, Noelle could tell he couldn’t care less. This wasn’t about Kenji.

The Japanese dragon took another step forward, inserting his shoulder between Hector and Marc. The room stilled, as if the entire crowd held its breath in anticipation of the coming fight.

“You would have been welcome here,” Marc said, his voice murderously low.

Kenji looked like he might have agreed with Marc, but he stood where he was out of loyalty. He pressed in on the space between him and Marc, an unspoken warning to back up. Didn’t Kenji realize this was personal? This needed to happen. Marc needed to rid himself of all the anger he’d let build up since this family revealed itself.

“Okay,” Luc announced loudly as he drew out the O in the single word. The other half of the Avila twins lurched forward, his body loose in comparison to his brother, and placed himself between father and son. Luc looked between his father and his brother. He looked lost for a split second, torn on both sides. The brother didn’t know which side he wanted to stand on in this fight.

Noelle, on the other hand, knew this wasn’t what Marc needed. She took in the tall and lean Quetzalcoatl dragon man, his hair cut short against his scalp and his usually calm brown eyes burning with hatred. Hector had come specifically to spend time with his sons. This should have been a tender reunion. This should have been heartwarming. Instead, it was tense and they all knew why.

Marc’s father, Hector Avila, had lied to his sons, the sons who’d been searching the country for him. Hector and Lucia had been free for years, decades even, but never tried to reach out to their children. Now, Lucia was back in the hands of the Guardians of Existence.

Hector opened his mouth to spout some concocted excuse and Noelle stomped forward to grab Marc by the arm. The tension that had turned him to stone melted under her grasp and he allowed her to drag him out. On their way out the door, Noelle caught Luc’s eye. She would have thought the more foolish half of the twins would have been this angry.

In truth, Noelle knew so little about her own mate.

She didn’t turn toward the stack of shipping containers the twins called a home. Noelle didn’t want to intrude on a life she knew nothing about. Instead, she turned toward her own home, a small trailer with just enough space to sleep and eat. Past the door, she pushed Marc toward the narrow mattress in the one room space. He staggered back and let his knees give out beneath him.

The look he turned toward her was full of emotion. There was pain and sorrow and anger and a whirlwind that turned them all inside out and upside down. Noelle wasn’t prepared to deal with another’s emotions. She could barely wrangle her own hot, hot fire.

Marc’s mouth moved, searching for words. Perhaps he couldn’t find any. Perhaps all the worlds got clogged in his throat as they tried to come out at once. Before he could direct any of that emotion in his eyes, Noelle sank into a chair and faced her mate.

“My parents came over to America for a new life. My father was a dragon and my mother was his human mate. Dad worked on the railroads, quietly doing his job so that no one would ever know what he really was. He didn’t want anyone looking in his direction, especially not anyone who might know who he’d been in China. Then, my sister and I were born and he needed to be even quieter.

“There were dragon clans in China who wanted him dead. I can’t remember all of the story, only that he did what he thought was right and not many agreed with him. It wasn’t until my sister and I were nearly adults that he was found. The other dragon clans murdered him and my mother for their revenge. My sister and I were lucky to get away. I remember running through the mine shaft, how dark and eerie it was.”

Marc watched her with wide eyes, the sorrow and pain leeching out of them word by word. Noelle swallowed. This wasn’t a story she’d told anyone and she found it harder to work through than she’d thought. It’d been over a hundred years ago at this point. It shouldn’t still grip her the way it did. She powered through it, unwilling to stop now.

“Mary and I settled down. We made a life for ourselves off the things our mother taught us before she died. We made dresses and tailored men’s suits. It was okay until people saw we didn’t age the same as others. Then, we’d pack up and move somewhere new. We found a new trade, but kept our names. We never wanted to give up our names and lose the memory of our family.

“It was the early sixties when we settled in the Mid-West. The neighborhoods were nice and clean. People still looked at us with apprehension, but that was because of the shape of our eyes and not the beast under our skins. No one knew about the beasts under our skins. At least, I didn’t think anyone did.

“Mary was seeing a young man in the neighborhood at the time. I let it happen, let her go out with the idea that he could very well be her mate. There was a night when she didn’t come home. I wanted to burn the town to the ground, reduce it to cinders until my sister appeared. Yet, I kept my cool. I turned over every little stone in my search for her, but I never found anything.

“Not even the man she’d been seeing could tell me where she’d gone. I could smell her all over the house, but there was no trace of her. He told me they’d spent time together and I could smell that it was more than just spending time together, but that she’d left after. He didn’t know where she’d gone after that.

“Mary just disappeared. I searched the whole country, tearing it apart with the hopes that my sister would magically reappear. I gave up at some point. I hate myself for it, but I think it had to happen for my own sanity. Mary has been gone for decades now. Either, she’s somewhere in that family of dragons or she’s dead. Either way, there was nothing I could do to change that. I wasn’t enough to change that.”

Marc watched her, waited a long moment to make sure her story was over. When she saw his eyes slip toward the window and his mind move back toward the man in Dane’s cabin, Noelle knew this wasn’t over.

She sucked in another breath and reached for a story Marc needed to hear. She reached for the one he’d probably been waiting for.

“Maybe I didn’t fully give up on finding Mary. When I joined this family, I saw it as an opportunity. I thought I was strong enough to be the mate of the dragon leader. If only I inserted myself into his life and challenged him from time to time, the bond would form. Then, with the leader as my mate, I could lead a new search for Mary. I’d have more resources, more support. In my mind, it was the perfect plan.

“When it seemed like the bond would never happen, I started to get angry. I thought I deserved to be the mate of a leader by that point. It made me angry to think I wasn’t good enough. Then, I wondered for a short while if I could seize control of the family. Then, as the new leader, I could use the family to find my sister. I could have the power I always wanted.”

Marc watched her now. He was rapt by her small speech. Her stomach churned as she waited for his response. When she found out about their bond, she’d been repulsed. It wasn’t what she thought she deserved. It didn’t give her what she needed to find her sister. Besides, Marc didn’t seem like the kind of man she could love. He was cool and collected and, to her, that almost read as emotionless.

It turns out, Marc worked very hard at burying his emotions. She could see how they burned inside of him, screaming and raging against the cage that was his body. It gave her renewed hope for their bond, even if she regretted what happened to make her see it. This man was her mate and she should have given the bond a chance. Instead, she’d regarded it with anger and betrayal.

Marc slid off the bed until his knees hit the floor in front of her. There really was so little space inside her home. His hands tentatively touched her knees, as if he was still wary of where he stood with her. She couldn’t let him in, not just yet, but she wished she had the guts to tell him she wanted to try. Instead, she looked down at Marc with a blank expression on her face.

He leaned forward and rested his head on her knee as if just the simple touch of skin on skin settled the torrent inside of him. She reached out, her fingers moving through his short hair. The feeling of it against her skin sent chills through her. Was this the bond, she wondered?

Still, Marc shared no words. He simply basked in the moment, in the small protection of her home and the confessions she’d shared. It would have been nice to linger in that moment, in that small space, forever, but she knew it wouldn’t last. Someone, probably Luc or Dane, would come knocking on her door and ruin the bubble they lingered in. The world kept turning outside the walls.

She gripped either side of Marc’s face, grasping his cheekbones to make him look at her. In that moment, she wanted to reach down and see what those lips tasted like. She pushed the urge aside and, instead, spoke.

“What is your plan now?”

Those simple words seemed to be exactly what Marc needed to hear. He needed action. Where his father sat on his hands while all of this happened around him, Marc wanted to move and fix things. The other family was scared. That was plain to see. What they didn’t see was what this family had gone through. They needed action. They needed plans. They needed to get things done.

“I’m not sure yet,” Marc whispered.

Noelle nodded. “Let’s make a plan before we head out that door, alright? What do you want?”

Marc’s grip on her tightened.

 

***

 

Marc had a million things he wanted to say in that moment.

What do you want?

There was only one response that came to mind.

You.

He wasn’t sure Noelle was his, yet. He wasn’t even sure such a fiery and independent thing would become his. No, that was the wrong way to think about it. He would never own her. He only worried that she would never open her heart to him. It was a thing she kept away from prying eyes, under close guard so that no one would ever see who she really was again.

So that she’d never go through the pain of losing anyone again.

Marc wanted, more than anything, to reach up and place his hand at the back of her head. He wanted to capture her mouth with his own and memorize the taste of his mate while the doors were still closed. Marc wanted to pick her up and throw her down onto the narrow mattress so that he could cover her body with his own. He could feel his desire growing and lengthening his cock. But, that didn’t seem like an option.

He traced his thumbs over her skin. She wore cut off shorts that revealed pale, white skin. When he looked up, he saw past the black curtain of sharp angled hair. He saw her dark eyes burning and wondered what set the fire.

His mouth opened and a bundle of words caught in his throat all at once. He wanted so many things. He wanted his mother freed from GOE’s clutches and his father to realize how his decisions affected his sons. These were not things Marc thought he could change.

Not alone.

Noelle’s fingers travelled back toward his hair, like she couldn’t help but touch it. He looked up at her and managed to spit out a single question.

“Will you help me?”

A sharp smile slid over her lips, revealing sharp teeth like the predator she was. “With anything,” she replied.

“Even if I wanted to jump head first into hell?”

“Sounds like a fun afternoon. I’d throw you in and jump after you.”

Marc laughed, feeling it reach his heart. What had he done to deserve her? She would be the rock beside him in a windstorm, the thing he clutched to for dear life when the world tried to sweep him away. She would be his lantern in the night.

He was becoming poetic, he realized. It was time to become pragmatic, but there was a knock at the door. A small face peeked through the window and Marc couldn’t help but laugh as he recognized the honey colored eyes and tiny nose.

“Get in here,” Noelle snapped at the person on the other side of the door.

It swung open to reveal Luc. Anya released the window and appeared beside her mate. Luc looked at Noelle like he still didn’t know how to treat her. She was one of the few dragons on the Territory that he hardly ever dared to prank. It hadn’t gone well the first time, when he took the tires off her mobile house.

She’d damn near ripped his head off. That was the day Marc realized she was his mate, as he was holding her back from her attempt to murder his brother. It was a strange day for him, one that left a great sum of confusion. She’d still been adamant about inserting herself at Dane’s side at the time, nearly breaking Marc’s heart. He’d been lucky he already knew how to handle his emotions or else he would have lost it.

Luc and Anya sandwiched themselves inside the tiny home like sardines. Thankfully, they were happy to press themselves into what could have been the space of a single body. Luc’s eyes flickered between Marc and Noelle, still barely containing his surprise. Marc was sure Isaac would have had the same look on his face if he hadn’t been camping out in another city with his own mate.

“What are we all doing in here?” Anya asked from beneath Luc’s arm.

“Hiding,” Marc said into Noelle’s knee. He breathed in deep, taking in the scent of her. She would have clocked him upside the head if he confessed she smelled like flowers. Lilacs, he realized. That’s what his mate smelled like.

“I can’t say I blame you, brother,” Luc said as his eyes moved toward the window and the world past it.

Their world had changed so drastically since Luc first stuck his nose into GOE business. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t Anya’s fault either. GOE had set a trap to weed out those that might betray their ideals and lure in the brothers in search of their family. They managed to expose GOE for their crimes that day, but the organization used a few of their employees to serve as the scape goats for the organization’s crimes.

Now, Isaac’s mate was undercover in a larger facility so she could write a huge expose piece on the organization. Marc wondered if it was like this all over the world, or if GOE simply had it out for the American dragons? It made sense, the more he thought about it. The dragons in the states had been unorganized for a long time. They lived in secrecy and without large families to hide amongst. It made them weak. It made them easy pickings.

A growl vibrated up Marc’s chest and Noelle’s hand tightened in his hair as a warning. It only made his cock grow harder. He wanted to push his brother and Anya out the door and be alone with his mate again.

Instead, Marc readjusted himself so that he could hide his desire and waited for it to fade as he knelt on the floor. He was sure Luc and Anya wouldn’t blame him. They knew what it meant to have a mate. Marc wasn’t sure Noelle needed to know how badly he needed her, yet. He would give her the time and space she needed to open her heart to him on her own.

Marc needed to remember the well of serenity he’d dug within himself. He needed to find that calm center again so he could think straight. It was there, but just out of reach and it was only serving to further infuriate him. All he could do was cling tighter to his mate.

“I was trying to get Marc to come up with a plan,” Noelle informed the other mated pair.

Two pairs of eyes shifted toward Marc. He knew what he wanted, but he couldn’t help but think it was foolish. It was something he thought his brother might do. It was brash and direct, but it was all Marc could think of. What was the worst that could happen? He could tell them and they could tell him all the ways it wouldn’t work. They could help him come up with the right plan, instead.

“I want to infiltrate the facility where our mother is being kept,” Marc blurted out.

Noelle stilled under his hands. He watched his brother absorb the words, but before Luc could speak, his mate chimed in.

“That could work.” Anya’s face was full of hopeful thought. She chewed her lip while her mind moved over the steps they’d need to take.

Marc was thrown. It was… possible?

“I could talk to Dad,” Anya suggested. “He wants GOE’s underground experimentation to stop, as well. I’m sure he’d be willing to help us get you into the facility. I don’t know how you’d get identification to even get the jobs, though. That’s the problem as you’re both dragons.”

It was Noelle who then spoke up. “I may know a guy.”

Luc laughed. “If that isn’t the sketchiest sentence I’ve ever heard, then I don’t know what is.”

Noelle shrugged, not at all fazed by Luc’s humor. “I like to get off the Territory from time to time, grab a drink, play some music. I know someone who can help us both get fake IDs that should pass as the real thing.”

Marc’s world was shifting. He couldn’t believe this was happening. It was hard to think that he could walk into a facility and get his mother.

Marc forced himself to stand. As he rose, the well of calm finally came into reach. He settled back into it as he rolled his shoulders. “First, we get the fake ID, then we talk to Anya’s father.”

“I don’t know about this,” Luc said. “I’m all about recklessness and saving Mom, but what if this doesn’t work. What if I lose you, too?”

Noelle stood beside him. She wasn’t very tall, but her cutting gaze made those around her feel smaller. “You won’t. I’m going with him.”

“Hold up.” Marc spun toward his mate. He never said she had to be involved.

She looked up at him, not sparing him the cutting glare. “You asked for my help, right? That means I’m going with you.”

“I asked for your help, sure, but I meant it more as support.”

She shrugged. “I am supporting you. I’m not letting you get killed in there.”

What Luc and Anya didn’t see was Noelle’s hand, reaching out and grasping Marc’s. She squeezed it tight, revealing her fear and worries. There was a chance GOE had taken her sister, Marc realized. Even if she didn’t love him, Noelle would instinctually want to keep her mate safe. His heart warmed, even if it was only instincts making her react the way she did.

“No,” he reiterated. “You aren’t going inside with me.”

“Like hell you can stop me.”

Marc had a feeling she was right. It would be hell to try to make her do anything against her will, including staying safe.