Distantly, Dakota and the professor heard the squealing of cars halting as their passengers stared up into the sky. Wes twisted in Raph’s taloned grasp, but he couldn’t break free. Two of the other dragons touched the ground with human feet at the end of the alley. When the Guardians spilled out of the warehouse, the two unfamiliar dragons were waiting for them. They were blurs of muscle and red hair as the dragons rushed the Guardians. The fight on the ground ended quickly once the Guardians were disarmed. Their weapons skittered across the paved ground.

She didn’t have time to concern herself with the fight on the ground. She was more concerned with Wes. The white dragon had to be Raph, she knew it in her bones. He hated the red dragons and Dakota didn’t realize at first. As she watched the second red dragon enter the fray, she remembered the story of Dinas Emrys that Wes had told her.

The red dragons had chased the white dragon from the Snowdonia territory centuries before. Raph must have thought that their home was his. Starting a war between the red dragons and the Guardians would give the Guardians a reason to exterminate the territory. Then, it would be free for Raph and any other white dragons to move in.

“We have to stop them,” Dakota said to the professor. “The Guardians want the dragons to break the law. They want a reason to attack your family.”

The professor squeezed her arm. “My husband made a few calls. He and his are in the right and no one can argue otherwise. Don’t worry so much, child.”

Even as she told her not to worry, the woman lifted her eyes to the sky, her lips pressed together. That was her family up there, being attacked by the white dragon. Wes let loose a roar that shook the buildings around her. Her heart gave one, hard thump. His head twisted backward and his giant jaw clamped down the white dragon’s wing.

Like a dog with a toy, he shook his head and pulled. The leathery expanse of the white wing gave way beneath his teeth. The second red dragon lashed out to bite into the other white wing. The white dragon narrowly avoided the attack, pulling his wing into his body. The two, fighting beasts crashed into the ground. The two women clung to each other to keep standing. Ahead of them, the second dragon tucked his wings into his body. He dove toward the ground.

Dakota rushed forward, feeling her shoulder burn. Her eyes fell on the weapons that had been forgotten on the ground. She ducked down as she passed, grabbing the horrid stun gun she’d been shot with earlier. Behind her, the professor shouted, but she ignored the calls. She had no idea what she was doing, but she knew that she had to do something.

Gruff hands caught her by the arm. She hissed in pain as the wound on her shoulder pulled. Dakota was spun around and brought eye to eye with a red headed dragon man. His auburn hair was pulled back from his face, tucked behind his ears. His brows pushed his icy-blue eyes into a glare and his jaw was tight as he spoke through his teeth.

“We did not risk everything for you to run out into a fight and get yourself killed.” His grip on her arm wasn’t tight, she noted. “Do you think that little gun can stop a dragon? Do you think you can avoid shooting my cousin?”

“It won’t matter if you let Raph kill him, either.” She jerked her arm out through the weak point in his grip and ducked under the incoming grasp of his other hand.

The dragon man screamed at her as she rushed forward, but the second dragon pulled him back. Dakota didn’t hear what his friend said, but it kept him from running after her.

The fighting dragon shifters were killing one another. Her Wesley was one of those dragons. The thought of it made her stomach roll. She burst into a small intersection. Cars had been stopped in all directions. People gathered on the sidewalk, pointing and shouting at the dragons fighting in the center of the road. Raph’s back had crashed into a number of empty cars, but he still clung onto Wesley’s body, using him as a living shield. The second red dragon pulled up from his dive, avoiding Wesley’s red belly.

The second red dragon arched back into the sky, roaring with anger. There was nothing that he could do without hurting Wes. Dakota slid to a stop at the edge of the street. She held the stun gun up like her father had taught her years ago, only it had been a rifle last time, not a handheld stun gun. She told herself she knew how to fire it, but doubt wedged itself into her mind. A golden dragon eye fell on her. Wes was wrapped in Raph’s grip, the dragon’s jaws still clinging to his neck.

She leveled the gun at Raph’s head. It wasn’t a real weapon, but GOE carried it. She hoped that meant it would affect the dragon more than she thought. The bang filled the intersection. Her arms bounced, vibrating with the power of the small gun.

Raph’s head jerked. His teeth left Wes’s neck and she could see the stun device in the side of Raph’s head. He shook his massive head as though he could shake it loose. Wes took the free moment to twist his head around. His teeth sank into the soft flesh of Raph’s exposed neck. It made Raph loosen his grip on Wes’s body enough so that he could wriggle free. Wes’s wing’s beat at the air, his giant body rising above the white dragon.

All at once, several vans squealed to a halt from all directions. Men and women dressed in black uniforms spilled into the intersection, weapons trained on the chaos in the center of the intersection. The second red dragon, a creature much larger than Wes, landed on the street. The pavement cracked around his entrance. He placed a taloned hand over the white dragon’s neck. Now free, Wes took to the air.

When none of the weapons trained on the dragon fight rose to Wes, she felt relief flood her. A set of hands grabbed her from behind. She spun around to come face to face with the professor again. The woman held her finger to her lips in the universal sign language for be quiet, using her eyes to gesture to the uniformed Guardians all around them. The woman pulled her back down the alley that Dakota had run from. She was confused, but complied because she didn’t want to become the center of GOE’s attention again.

In the alley, Dakota spied a familiar form. It rushed toward her, gathering her up in his arms. Wesley tucked his face in the crook of her neck and breathed her in. Reflexively, she wrapped her arms around him in return. She held him tight, reliving the past few moments over and over again. He was no longer in Raph’s grip, she told herself. This man, a man you barely know, is safe.

Eventually, the painlessness of adrenaline faded and her shoulder started to throb beneath Wes’s grip. She groaned and he jumped back. His eyes were wide with worry as he searched her up and down. They fell on the bandage.

“I only hope that it hurt Raph even more,” she said, putting on a brave face.

He made a strained sound, before his grip tightened and she could see how he fought the urge to pull her close again. Raph had claimed that she was Wesley’s mate. In their conversation in the truck, Wesley had confessed that a dragon’s mate was their only chance for happiness. She wasn’t sure if that went both ways.

“I hate to intrude, but I have to go help my husband,” the professor said. “He’s a good leader, but without a pretty face next to him he can look a bit menacing.”

“We’re going home,” Wesley growled.

Dakota looked to the man that was supposed to be her mate. His body was tense as it wrapped around her, protecting her from anything that might step near them. His hands were tense and his gold colored dragon eyes darted around the alley. He wouldn’t be normal again until he knew that she was safe.

“Take her away from here. No one needs to be a part of this shit show.” The professor turned to Dakota. “You might have to make a statement later, but don’t worry about your classes. You will be re-enrolled next semester as you’re going to have a lot on your plate for the next month or so.”

Dakota pulled away from Wesley for a moment. She could feel his reluctance to let her go, but he didn’t fight her. “I don’t mean to be rude, Ma’am, but I’m going to be sent home. There’s no way I’m going to be able to stay after this.”

The woman’s eyes reflected defiance and a smile turned up the corners of her lips. “I’m the head of Dragon Human relations in Wales. It would be a slight if the school refused to allow a dragon’s mate to finish her schooling. If they see it otherwise, consider yourself my new assistant until I can make them see it my way.”

“We have to go.” Wes’s rumble of a voice was strained. He stepped back and she watched the most amazing thing she’d ever laid eyes on. His human form disappeared while scales snapped into existence. They flowed like water, smaller scales flowing to form a tail and limbs. Finally, the dragon she’d first met in the field outside Snowdonia stood before her. He lowered his head to the ground, steam rising from his nostrils. When he opened his taloned hand, Dakota stepped inside it. The talons closed around her, and for some silly reason all she could think about were amusement park rides.

The wind rushed around her, his wings flapping over her head. Her hair whipped in every direction when they picked up off the ground. Her shoulder ached, but she was safe.