IT WAS FREEZING out and we were both half naked, Logan with his shirt off, me with my ass hanging out of his shirt. We were quite the pair as we walked side by side down Main Street towards my silver RAV-4. When my mom died, there was a small life insurance policy through her job as a school teacher, enough to pay for her cremation and this car. I didn’t have payments on it, and since I bought it with her death money, it was special to me. Almost like she had given it to me. Although I would rather have my mother back than any car in the world.

“When I realized the hunters were following me, I kept my car here and grabbed a rental. I didn’t want them to learn my name or license plate or anything,” I told Logan as we waited for a car to pass.

“Smart,” Logan said as we crossed the street. “We’ll need to talk about that. I’ll need details about who came for you. How many times? Were there different groups? Stuff like that.” I could see goosebumps had broken out on his tattooed, tanned chest.

Pulling my gaze away from the eye candy, I pointed to my car. “That’s me.” Bending low, I pulled the magnetic hide-a-key off my bumper. Every time I shifted, my clothes tore, so I had lost my original set of keys when I fell. I had no belongings left except this car, which luckily still held my wallet and laptop. My cellphone and camping pack were sitting at the bottom of the Grand Canyon along with my hiking clothes.

Unlocking the car, I jumped in and pulled a stack of drawings and colored pencils off of the seat so Logan could sit down. One drawing fell and Logan picked it up. It was a drawing of the sun setting over the Phoenix skyline. In the center was a girl, me. I always painted me whether it looked like me or not. The girl had an eye patch on, was missing a leg, and had blood on her shirt. The title was “Love is War.” I drew it to help cope with my mom’s death. It was dark but one of my favorites.

“You’re an artist?” Logan seemed surprised.

I shrugged. “Kind of. I mean, not a lot of jobs for illustrators, so it’s more of a hobby.” In order to actually make money as an artist I would probably have to get an hourly job at a gallery or take up graphic design. I had a few graphics classes in college, but I couldn’t get past the computer aspect of it. Art should be done by messy hands on grainy paper.

“This is pretty amazing.” Logan was sitting in the front seat, awestruck, staring at the Phoenix skyline drawing.

I suddenly felt naked, like fully naked. Art was personal and it wasn’t a finished piece.

“Thanks,” I said, snatching the piece from his hands and tossing it in the back as I cranked the heat.

I hopped up on my seat, on my knees, and turned around so I could rifle through my clothes. Pulling out a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, I spun back around. Logan was looking at the back seat. My blanket and pillow were still laid out from when I had slept here last.

An awkward silence stretched out as I wiggled into the jeans and then whipped off Logan’s shirt, tossing it to him. After putting on my own shirt, I turned to face him.

“Alright, what do you need to know?” I asked, getting down to business. Anything I could tell him that would keep the hunters away from us was fine by me.

Logan eyed the back seat again. “Are you homeless?” His voice held not one ounce of judgment. It was full of compassion, and it made emotion rise up in my throat.

I didn’t see how this was relevant to the hunters finding me…

“Yes. I graduated in late May, and some savings kept me financially afloat through summer, but I’ve been sleeping in my car for about three months—saving up for an apartment. I had plans to travel, so it’s not a big deal.”

When Jen got back from Europe, we were going to move in together. Until then, I was going to be a car-sleeping hippie and see the country. But Logan couldn’t let it go.

He pressed. “Your mother passed, but do you have anyone else? An aunt? Cousins?”

Way to shine a light on my shitty family-less life, buddy.

“No. I’m all alone in this cruel world,” I said dramatically.

He smiled. “Right. Sorry. Umm, the first set of hunters that came for you. Were they the same ones we killed a few days ago? When we found you in the woods?”

I shook my head. “No. The first set found me a couple hours after I had first transformed. I had stolen clothes from a nearby ranger station at the canyon, and when I came out they were there. They wore olive green army fatigues and had that weird glowing red knife.”

Logan looked distressed; his brow furrowed as he pinned me with a gaze. “You’re sure this was a different set of guys?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m an artist. I do faces for a living. One guy had a big red beard and scar over his eye. The other was bald, and the third was a female with black hair.”

Logan cursed. “Start the car. Let’s get out of here.”

Chills ran up my arms. “Why, what’s wrong?”

Logan stared out into the dark cold night. “Those hunters that you lost up at the Grand Canyon will still be looking for you. How did you get away?”

I sighed, throwing the car into drive. “I flew.”

Logan’s eyes bugged out as he gave me directions to the ranch house. “You flew! I haven’t flown in years.” He sounded envious.

I shrugged. “I panicked. I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure that I hadn’t accidentally dropped acid or something.”

Logan chuckled. “I’m sorry about before. It’s hard for me and the others to grasp what it must be like for you. I can understand your wanting to leave.”

Guilt gnawed at me. These guys had saved my life, and twice now I had tried to figure out how to ditch them. “I’m not going anywhere,” I told him, and was rewarded with a sexy grin.

“Is it because I gave you a hundred grand? I was hoping that would make you guilty enough not to leave us,” he said.

Hah! I laughed a genuine laugh that felt rare in these dark days. “Is that real? The money. I mean, I don’t even know how she will get it into my account. I only gave her my first and last name.”

Logan chuckled. “Eva can find out anything. The money will be there.”

What the...? For real? I couldn’t even process a hundred grand. “But … I mean, shouldn’t I share it with you guys?”

I careened my car onto the I-40 and made my way out of Flagstaff and into the direction of New Mexico.

He winked. “You can share the next one.”

“The next one!” My skin hurt just thinking about it.

Logan nodded. “That’s how I keep the pack and myself employed. Scales, talon clippings, and even urine.”

I gasped. “You sell your pee?”

He grinned. “You will too once you see how much it’s worth to the magical community.”

Well, I guess it was better than stripping.

“Blood?” I queried.

Logan paled. “Never give your blood to a sorcerer.”

Oh. Yikes. I still had a lot to learn about this new life.

About thirty minutes later, we pulled up to a private, gated ranch on a sprawling ten acres, complete with a red pole barn and white picket fence. Logan made me drive around the main house while he hung his head out the door and sniffed the air like a dog. Once satisfied, he let me park and we stepped out into the chilly night air. I grabbed my pillowcase full of clothes and my laptop before shutting my car and locking it.

“What is this place?” I asked, hugging my shoulders. I lost my only good jacket in the fall.

Logan riffled through some keys on his keychain and pointed to the mammoth house. “It was a nonprofit for the rehabilitation of children with special needs. They lost their government funding and I scooped it up at auction. I let them live here rent free for a few years, but they couldn’t keep the place together without the funding. The horses and vet bills were too much. Not to mention the children’s therapy. So the owners moved down to Phoenix a few years back and run a smaller operation there.”

He had a cat named Mittens and tried to save failing non-profits. Logan Sharp was like no male I had ever met.

“So now it’s our safe house?” I presumed as he placed the key into the handle.

“Unless we get found again,” he surmised.

Which was a damn good possibility. Logan reached into the belt of his pants and pulled out a sleek black gun. My breath hitched as fear flooded my system. I knew he wasn’t going to use it on me, but guns freaked me out. Probably because I didn’t know how to use one, and all I read in the news was how if you handled one without knowing how to use it, your head got blown off.

He must have smelled my fear or something because he turned to me then. “Sorry, I need to check the house. Stay behind me.”

As we entered the house, the lights flicked on and I was surprised to see the place was completely furnished: a grey worn couch, colorful rug, and white barstools around the kitchen. It looked like a homely farmhouse, not a dragon hideout.

“I bought it furnished,” he explained.

That made sense, because this didn’t seem like Logan’s clean modern style. I set my pillowcase down as he ran upstairs and checked out the house. When he got back, my eyes were searching the room, taking in the layout, when I felt Logan staring at me.

“What?” I asked, wondering if he would ever be able to get that vision of me in a purple velvet bikini out of his head. How embarrassing. I just met this guy. Normally it took a few dates before I stripped down to my unmentionables. Besides, I still wasn’t sure if he was a player or not.

Logan sighed. “Eva warned me that your dragon magic would start appearing now that the containment spell was wearing off.”

I shrugged. “That’s good, right? If I get hurt, I will heal.”

Logan looked pained. “Yes … but there is much more to dragon magic than healing.”

“Oh.” Shit. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Was I going to shoot green fire out of my hands like him? Could I hurt someone? My pulse rose as I began to panic; I could feel my scales tightening under my skin as my dragon tried to free herself.

Logan launched himself forward, eyes wide, thick pink lips forming a small O. “Shhh.” He caressed my left arm and heat flared in my belly, sending a calming wave throughout my body. “You’re safe. There’s nothing your magic can do that I can’t handle.”

I swallowed hard, feeling the heat trail down my arm as Logan essentially stroked my dragon into a deep sleep. When I no longer felt her stirring, he lowered his arm. My eyes met his and we both stood there unmoving, just breathing and staring at each other’s green eyes. It was like looking into a mirror. Those eyes were my eyes in a way.

“Logan,” I breathed. “I’m scared.” I wanted to be that badass girl in the movies who didn’t need a guy to comfort her, but I was totally freaking out. A dragon shifter. One of two, and now about to sprout some magic that I didn’t know anything about. Logan moved as if he was going to take me into his arms, but the front door opened, causing him to step back.

I spun quickly to see Keegan and Nadine in the doorway. Keegan had a pistol drawn, held low at his hip. “Have you checked the house?” he asked Logan.

Logan nodded. “But I didn’t get to the garage.”

Keegan returned the nod and headed back through the hallway and towards what I assumed was the garage, as Nadine stepped beside me to face Logan. “Sophie and Gear are checking the perimeter,” she reported. I was suddenly glad they broke up whatever was about to happen between Logan and I. I was a skyborn now. I needed to toughen up and stop whining.

I noticed a bulge in Nadine’s abdomen, and it was moving. What the…? Suddenly a mew came from her hoodie. I smiled and she unzipped it and Mittens’ orange head popped out, looking me in the eyes.

“Was she scared?” Logan fretted over her, taking her from Nadine and rubbing his nose into her fur.

Nadine nodded. “Found her backed into a corner in the basement, hissing like a lioness.”

Logan scratched her head. “She’s a warrior. Tiny but fierce.”

Seriously, this guy clotheslined a huge guy in the bar for calling me a “mutt,” and now he was snuggling this kitten like his life depended on it. I couldn’t figure him out.

“All clear,” Keegan called out from behind me.

“Where’s Coop and Dom?” Logan asked Keegan.

“Eva’s wire came through. I sent them to get us set up.” Something in the way he said “set up” made me think he wasn’t talking about sending Cooper and Dom out to buy groceries.

Logan nodded solemnly. “It’s been a while since we’ve had to run.”

Keegan nodded curtly. “It’s good. Keeps us on our toes.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Sophie’s whiny voice came from the front door, and I tried to suppress my groan.

Keegan took two steps towards her. “Enough. You spoke your piece, now move on.” I couldn’t see the face he was making because his back was to me, but it must have been scary as hell, because Sophie looked cowed. She lowered her head in submission and nodded.

“How did they find us? She didn’t shift. Could they have picked up her scent?” Keegan was looking at Logan now, hand on his chin rubbing the scruff that lined there. The way Keegan stood, the short-cropped hair, he screamed ex-military.

Logan looked pensive. “That’s the only thing I can think of, because if it’s something else we’re screwed.”

I swallowed hard. “Why?” I hadn’t meant to sound scared, but dammit my voice trembled.

Logan pierced me with his gaze. “Because now that we’ve bound your scent, unless you shift or put on some magical light display, we should be safe. Unless…”

I bit the bottom of my lip.

“Unless they’ve found another way to hunt you,” Keegan offered.

Hunt. That word was awful. It made me feel like an animal, which I guess I was.

“Oh,” was all I could say.

Nadine, who I was learning was our optimistic one, bumped me with her hip. “Doesn’t matter. Once we’re done training you, you’ll be able to take down druids blindfolded.”

I didn’t dare look at Sophie’s expression, or anyone else’s for that matter. I wanted to believe the lie. I wanted to believe that I could take down something that threw red balls of magical fire.

“That’s right!” Logan piped in. “Training starts bright and early tomorrow morning. As long as we think this safe house is secure, we stay here. If we get a tip that hunters are nearby, we run.”

It had been hard for me to tell up to this point who was in charge, Logan or Keegan.

“You got it, boss.” Keegan clapped Logan on the back and I realized that Keegan took orders from Logan, and the pack took orders from Keegan. Like they were both alphas in some weird way.

“Sophie and I get the mermaid room!” Nadine yelled, and bolted down the hall.

That brought a smile to Sophie’s face. “You’re so weird.” But Sophie slung her backpack over her shoulder and followed her.

Keegan laughed. “I’ll take the cowboy room. I’ll give instructions for Cooper, Dom, and Gear to take night watch.”

The what and what rooms? Keegan left down the same hallway that Nadine and Sophie had gone down, and Logan looked at me. “That leaves you in the unicorn room, and me in the grandma room.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you all on drugs? Because I’ll have what you’re having.” It was a joke obviously. Drugs were not my thing. But it got him to smile and he motioned for me to follow him upstairs.

I picked up my pillowcase full of belongings and followed his tight butt up the stairs. As I passed the front door, I saw Gear sitting out on the porch staring at the dark trees. Was I going to be able to sleep tonight? Knowing they could be out there … hunting us? I had been staring off to the side, so I didn’t notice when Logan stopped, and I slammed into the back of him.

“Oofh.” All the air left my body. Feeling the tight muscles in his back up against my chest was making my dragon and me flush with heat. I stepped back a pace and tried to catch my breath.

“Sorry. This is your room,” he said in a growly voice. We’d reached the top of the stairs and mine was the first room to the right.

I stepped forward and peeked into the open door as Logan flicked on the light and set Mitten’s down.

I smiled. “The unicorn room…”

Logan grinned sexily. “That’s right.”

There was a white daybed against one wall, and above it was painted a giant and beautifully-done unicorn, complete with green trees, a rainbow, and even butterflies. I stepped inside and moved closer to the bed, before spinning around to face my fellow dragon.

“Like I said, it was a home for kids.” Logan had one hand tucked into the front of his jeans as he leaned against my doorframe.

“I have a stupid question,” I blurted out.

He nodded. “Shoot.”

I plopped my pillowcase on the bed and looked up at him, playing with the hem of my shirt. “Are my dragon and I … the same person. I mean, are we one?”

Logan nodded in understanding. “Yes. Although it doesn’t feel that way at first. Especially if you have lived your whole life as a human. She’s just another aspect of your soul. It’s all you, but she will come to the surface to keep you safe, just as your anger or rage would come to the surface in an argument.”

Huh. Interesting.

When I didn’t say anything else, he ran his fingers over the scruff on his chin. “Well, I’m just next door, so … if you need anything or whatever.”

He was positively blushing and I couldn’t help but smile. I don’t think he had meant it to sound like a sexual invite, but it did; now he looked embarrassed.

“Alright. Thanks,” I muttered.

“I mean if you hear something in the night and get scared or whatever…”

I nodded. “I’ll run in screaming, don’t worry.”

He relaxed a little. “I’ll see you bright and early for training.”

Ugh. Training. Sounded awful, but I nodded because I knew he was trying to keep me alive.

As the door closed behind him, I sank into the bed and stared up at the happy unicorn jumping through a rainbow on the wall. What the hell had become of my life? Dragon shifter, on the run with a bunch of wild animals. Selling my scales for major cash.

Cash!

I sat bolt upright and scrambled through my pillowcase to pull out my black laptop. It had a custom skin of a fairy on it that I drew in freshman year of college. All those years of fantasy drawings, I couldn’t believe some of them could be real. Now they were.

After pulling up my banks website, I logged on. My sharp intake of breath hung in the air. “Holy shit!” I screeched. My account read $100,009.64.

I did nothing, thought nothing. I just stared. My mother worked her entire life as a teacher dedicated to nurturing young minds, and when she died the insurance payout was barely a quarter of this. I had just made this in one night. Oh my God! All of a sudden I was giddy and squealed, bopping up and down on the bed.

I heard someone scramble in the hallway. “Sloane? You okay?” Logan’s voice came from the other side of my door.

Crap. “Yes. Sorry.”

The knob turned. “Are you sure? It sounded like you screamed?” He didn’t sound convinced that I wasn’t being held hostage by a druid.

“Come in,” I said. The door burst open as Logan took in every corner of the room with his gaze.

I felt stupid. “I just checked my bank account,” I told him.

His entire posture relaxed and he chuckled, giving me that glimpse of his sexy straight teeth. “What are you gonna buy with it?”

I didn’t know. I wanted to hold on to it for a rainy day. Being poor my whole life made me want to save the entire thing. “Probably pay off my student loans and save the rest.”

He nodded, impressed. “Smart girl. The first time I sold a scale, I paid for the entire town of Glastonbury to drink at the pub. Was a fun night.”

Glastonbury? “You’re from England?” He didn’t have an accent.

He nodded, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Yeah, but I’ve been in the US long enough to lose the accent.”

Something occurred to me then. “Do you need the money? I mean, should I be sharing this with you guys?”

I remembered he had said he paid the pack’s salary on the sale of his scales and other dragonly things. He smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I can take care of you.”

I can take care of you. How long I had wanted someone to say that to me … since my mother got sick and I had become the adult. Normally I was independent and didn’t like the idea of depending on a guy, but hearing Logan say he could take care of me did funny things to my insides.

“I’ll share next time. I like to pay my own way,” I told him.

He smiled and nodded. “As you wish.” He turned to leave and I nearly melted at the fact that he’d probably unknowingly made a Princess Bride reference.

As he closed the door, I collapsed back in bed and kicked off my boots. This crazy day was catching up with me and I felt the pull of sleep weigh down my limbs.

I was a dragon and there was no getting out of it. Might as well embrace reality.