Watching the dragons in action was amazing. The entire group had met with their leader, Rian, who by all accounts was a straight shooter with an amazingly strategic mind. He’d agreed wholeheartedly with Hayes’ plan and expressed how happy he was to be working with the lions, despite the situation.

Savannah was shocked when he personally came and found her after the briefing to assure her his Clan would do everything they could to bring her sister home safely. “I have all the faith in the world in my men,” the tall dark-haired Dragon Leader stated. “I’ve seen them at their best and their worst and these guys never cease to amaze me.” He shook her hand. “I am pleased to have you as part of our Clan. Hayes is one of the best. I wish you both all the happiness in the world.”

“Thank you so much,” Savannah smiled. “I think I’ll keep him.” As the two chuckled in unison, she added, “And congratulations on your mating. I can’t wait to meet your Audrey.”

“Thank you. She is just as excited to meet you. I’m sorry she’s not here, she and my younger brother Rory and his mate, Claire have gone to the Phoenix’s mountain on business.”

“Please send them my regards.” Savannah was just saying as Hayes appeared out of nowhere and with a twinkle in his eyes and a barely contained grin warned Rian, “Hey, you may be the boss, but this is my girl. Hands off.”

Chuckling and shaking his head, the Dragon Leader held up his hands in surrender and laughed, “No worries. I know the rules.” He shook Hayes’ outstretched hand and ordered, “Now, go give ‘em hell and get our girl back.”

It was amazing to Savannah how open and welcoming everyone was not only to her but also to her family whom they hadn’t even met. She’d always been told the dragons were unlike any other shifters ever made and had thought it was all a bunch of hype. But now, seeing it with her own eyes and it was such a reassuring experience.

Patting her waist where he held her close, Hayes kissed the top of Savannah’s head while quietly asking, “How you doin’? Need anything?”

“No, I’m good.” Savannah shivered from the sparks of their attraction skating up her arm, making her heart beat faster and her body warm as her dragon moved his arm from her waist and slid his fingers between hers, giving a little tug.

Following the others out of the Great Hall, the Queen looked up at the starry sky and for the millionth time tried calling out to her sister. “Hold on, Mack. I promise, we’re coming for you.”

When no answer came back, Savannah held back her tears and focused on where Hayes was leading her. Glancing at the huge pasture before her, she asked, “What are we doing out here?”

“Oh, just wait and see.” Hayes spun her towards him, giving her a hard, fast kiss before pulling away and winking, “Stay right there and be sure to keep your eyes on me.”

Watching her mate walking away, unable to keep from smiling at his cocky swagger and the thought that he was hers for all of eternity, Savannah suddenly felt magic in the air. The longer she watched, the stronger the magic became, lightly touching her bare arms, hands and face like a plethora of butterfly kisses. 

Then, in the blink of an eye, the men standing in the meadow miraculously turned into beautifully majestic dragons, each with their own unique sparkling scales and gorgeous wings. Shining gold, brilliant brown, along with every hue of blue known to man gave a spectacular vision into the magic of the Universe. However, it was the dragon with navy blue scales overlaid with golden flecks, glittering like stardust in the moonlight who caught her eye. Struggling to take him all in, her eyes bounced from the golden horns atop his head and down his spine, to the glistening gold decorating the underside of his wings, to the huge dark talons jutting from the ends of all four of his paws.

“You are magnificent,” she breathed into Hayes’ mind.

“Thanks, mo chroí. You aren’t so bad yourself. Now, get on over here and climb aboard.”

Jogging towards her mate, Savannah watched closely as he lowered his massive body to the ground, leaning slightly towards her and instructing, “Use my paw, knee and wing like stairs to climb onto my neck.”

Doing as she was told, shocked that the skin between the spines of his wings felt like silk and the underside of his scales were so smooth, Savannah got onto her dragon’s back, holding onto the horn at the base of his neck like she would the saddle on a horse. Once she was settled, she chuckled as Hayes snickered, “Hold on, mo ghrá. Put your seats and trays in their upright position, cause we are ready to take off.”

Not wanting to miss a minute of the coolest thing she’d ever seen, the Queen held on and looked straight ahead, marveling at the way the dragons took off one at a time with no more than a few steps and a single flap of their mighty wings. When it was their turn, Savannah admitted to herself, if no one else, that her excitement was mixed with a healthy dose of fear. Had her father been there, he would’ve been saying, “Savannah, my girl, lions climb dreams, they do not fly.”

To which she would quickly reply with a huge smile, “Maybe, but I’m riding a dragon, dad, my very own legendary dragon.”

Holding her breath as Hayes’ massive dragon took exactly three steps and flapped his wings, she smiled so much her cheeks hurt. Feeling the air rushing over her skin and blowing through her hair was exhilarating. Within seconds they were just under the clouds, flying amongst the stars as their exaggerated shadows shown across the landscape below.

“This is simply amazing, Hayes,” she beamed. “I know we’re about to be in a fight for our lives, but I just can’t help feeling like I could conquer the world from up here.”

“And conquer we shall,” came her mate’s grumbly reply.

In no time at all, they were landing at the peak of the ridge about five hundred yards from the home of the jaguars. Waiting until Hayes laid his huge underbelly on the ground and tipped to the side, Savannah got down the same way she had climbed aboard.

“Head over to where the others are. I’ll put the big guy away and be right there.” She could feel the smile in Hayes’ voice as she jogged backward, wanting to watch every moment of her mate’s transformation back to a man.

“Fancy moves,” her mate chuckled, running to catch up with her.

Together, they walked up to the crowd of Guardsmen where Hayes asked her, “Can you check with Leopold to make sure the lions are in place?”

“Sure,” Savannah quickly answered.

“Hey, Leo, everything good to go?” She inquired telepathically.

“The lions are in place on both sides,” came his quick reply.

“Great job. Thank you,” she responded before telling Hayes, “Leo and the lions are ready and waiting.”

“Good,” he nodded then turning towards his brethren instructed, “The lions are good to go. Take your positions. Wait to transform until I give the signal.”

“You got it, Chief,” Kayne winked.

“I can’t believe I’m taking orders from a whelp,” Maddox grumbled with a smile.

“We’ll be waiting,” Noah and Wiley nodded in unison as everyone else chimed in while walking to their assigned spot on the ridge.

Waiting was the hardest part. For the better part of an hour, Savannah tried hard not to bite her nails or pull her hair out as the crescent moon slowly made its way to the other side of the Jaguar Pride, casting the shadows they needed to take the bastards by surprise.

When the time finally came, Savannah was ready for the feel of the magic filling the air and as she climbed back onto Hayes’ dragon’s back, both woman and lion were more than ready for battle.

“Give your lions the call. Tell them to move out,” Hayes instructed.

“Leo, time to go,” Savannah called to her Beta.

“Aye, aye, ma’am we’re moving in,” Leo immediately responded.

Watching through Leo’s eyes, using the connection they shared as Queen and Beta, Savannah waited until the lions had breached the wall of the Jaguar Pride before telling Hayes, “They’re in and moving towards Simon’s castle.”

“Did you say, castle?” Came her dragon’s disgusted reply.

“Yes, my love, I said castle. Simon is nothing if not pretentious.”

“Damn, I probably should have asked early. Guess, that’s what I get for assuming all lion Prides were the same.”

Grinning as her mate shook his massive head from side to side, Savannah once again slid her hands around the horn at the base of his neck and held on tight when he called to his brethren while letting her listen in, “Time to fly. The lions wanted the lead and they’ve taken it. Remember, Rian says we’re on a rescue mission. Only use lethal force as a last resort. Herd the ones you can towards the lions and let them take them into custody.”

The lioness couldn’t help but laugh out loud as Kayne asked, “And if my dragon just happens to breathe a little fire?”

“I’m all for doing what you have to do to get the job done,” Hayes quickly answered, adding, “I’m just repeating what I was told.”

“Aye,” Came the unanimous, although blatantly insincere response.

“I get the feeling that your brethren are gonna fire first and ask questions later.”

“Give the Queen a gold star,” Hayes barked with laughter. “You’re catching on quick. I think Rian just says that shit to cover his ass. He knows we’re gonna do whatever it takes to save your sister.”

“Thank you.” Was all Savannah could say as they flew into battle.

Still calling to her Makayla, the Queen tried not to worry when her calls went unanswered. The closer they came to their target, the more restless her lioness became, pacing and roaring, attempting to push through the confines of Savannah’s soul. Even the beast felt the tension in the air and wanted to do anything she could to help recover the Queen’s sister.

No sooner had they flown over the north wall than Savannah could hear the snarls and squeals of fighting cats. Using her preternatural sight, she took in the sight below her, proud of the way her lions were overtaking their enemies. The bodies of jaguars covered the ground, with even more being held at bay by another larger group of roaring, sneering lions.

Landing on the roof of Simon’s castle, the Queen slid off her dragon’s back, jogging out of the way as he changed back to a man. Running up beside her, grabbing her hand, Hayes shouted over the noise, “Which way?”

Pointing to a huge wooden door with enormous brass hinges like she’d seen in movies from the Dark Ages, Savannah explained as they headed in that direction. “Through there. Once we’re in, I’ll be able to follow Mack’s scent.”

Savannah’s mouth dropped open when Hayes didn’t even try the knob on the door, but instead simply let go of her hand, raised his foot and kicked it in then motioned with a wave of his hand while grinning, “After you, my sweet.”

Racing down three stories of the ornate, circular stairway, Savannah opened her enhanced senses wide, searching for her sister. Touching down on the bottom floor, she turned left with Hayes right behind. Following Makayla’s scent, her heartbeat and hope growing stronger with every step, the Queen burst through a set of thin wooden doors, bellowing her sister’s name.

Stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of her sister’s favorite nightshirt draped over the back of a chair in the center of the room. Savannah read the words, ‘PUSH THE BUTTON’ aloud from where they had been scrawled in thick black marker onto the piece of white paper stapled to the neck of the shirt. Her eyes followed the downward arrow to find a recorder on the seat of the chair.

“Son of a bitch! I was sure they would be here,” Hayes roared as Savannah sped forward.

Picking up the tiny device, she pushed the play button. Simon’s nasally whine filled the room. “If you’re hearing this then you’ve made it to my office and realized that you’ve been outsmarted.”

The asshole had the gall to laugh out loud before going on, “When will you realize that I will always be one step ahead? That I have the superior mind? That you are little more than a weak female, who happened to be the first born of a weak king?”

Savannah wanted to wrap her hands around the Jaguar Prince’s neck and squeeze with all her might until the life slowly bled from his body, but she had to wait. Had to restrain herself and listen to more of his useless chatter. Had to put up with his shit in order to save her sister.

On and on he prattled until finally, just when Savannah thought her ears would surely bleed, Simon said, “Here’s your test, your chance to prove you’re not as worthless as I’m sure you are. Go to the place where you, as the heir to the throne of the Leonidas Pride, had to tell your little sisters that your piece of shit parents were dead. You have until one AM. If you make it, you get a chance to save Makayla, but if you’re late, I’ll gut her like a pig.”

Shaking with rage, ready to tear Simon apart limb to limb, Savannah waited, listening to the bastard breathe into the tape. Knowing he wasn’t done. That he had to have the last word.

Then after nearly thirty seconds, the bastard cackled, “Toodeloo, see you soon.”

 Throwing the recorder against the far wall, the Queen roared, “I will see him dead! Burned on the ridge for all to see! Simon LeGrange will die for daring to touch my sister.” Looking to her mate, she growled, “You in?”

“Oh, hell yeah. Time to kick ass and fuck that taking names bullshit.”