“WAKE UP. It’s time to train,” a deep voice said from beside my bed. I opened one eye, saw the sexy dragon shifter standing over me, and then looked at the alarm clock. 6 AM. I groaned.

“Go away.” I turned over and gave Logan my back. When I turned, my living hat moved with me. Mittens had become my own personal sleeping beanie. She was obsessed with my red hair or something, and literally slept atop my head every night.

“You stole my cat,” Logan growled, making kissy noises, trying to coax Mittens away from me.

“Hah!” I said, half garbled and into the pillow. “She’s stalking me. I didn’t ask for her to become my living hair scrunchie.”

Logan’s foot dug into the soft spot behind my knee. “Up! Come on. Gotta teach you to keep yourself alive.”

I sighed. Damn, I had really started to like this guy and I didn’t really want to be the last dragon alive … but if he didn’t stop poking me at 6 AM I was going to kill him.

Sophie’s voice came from the doorway. “Come on, princess. You said you would help me with the cooking.”

Oh. Hell. No. I wasn’t going to let her lord this shit over me—call me princess or lazy or God knows what else.

I rolled over so quickly Mittens leapt off of my head and flew under the bed. Sophie was gone from the doorway and Logan had a black cellphone in his hands. Now that I was awake, he tossed it on the bed. “This phone is yours now. I programmed the pack and Eva’s numbers into it.”

That was sweet of him … but not sweet enough to make up for waking me so early.

“Thanks,” I mumbled grumpily. Logan just smiled and turned to walk away.

“Logan,” I called after him.

He turned and looked back at me.

“One of these days you’re going to wake me too early and I can’t be liable for what happens to you,” I told him, one hand on my hip. My hair was in a top knot and I was wearing tight sleep pants and a thin thermal shirt with no bra. Not exactly a Victoria Secret model, but when I made that threat, heat flared in Logan’s eyes, and he looked my body up and down.

“I’ll take my chances.” He winked and left the room.

I exhaled loudly, trying to ignore the pulse of passion that started up every time I was in the room with that man. I needed a cold shower.

I made it downstairs in record time. Seven minutes and I was brushed, showered, and shaved. I had never been one of those high-maintenance girls. Just some mascara and lip gloss and I was good to go.

Sophie was making the coffee and I jumped right in to help. Opening the fridge and freezer at the same time, I took stock of the ingredients. Eggs, bacon, hash browns. Boring. I didn’t watch six thousand hours of Chopped and Iron Chef to serve basic breakfast on my first day as the pack’s new chef.

“You got breakfast?” Sophie asked. She was all done up with full make up and a push up bra under her sports bra, making the girls extra perky.

I nodded. “I got this.”

She looked unsure but then shrugged. “Alright, I’ll go for my run, then.”

Logan and Keegan were sitting on barstools drinking coffee and discussing the new hires, while Gear, Cooper and Nadine made their way into the living room.

“You need help?” Nadine offered, looking sleepy.

I smiled. “Sure. You can be my sous-chef.”

“Huh?” She looked confused.

I just chuckled and handled her the bacon. “Start cutting these in half. I want small strips.”

She shrugged. “I can do that. But fair warning, don’t let me near the stove.”

“Got it.” I winked.

I pulled the hash browns out and started them browning while I heated two other pans for my eggs and bacon. Then I went to the spice cabinet and was relieved to see a pretty good stock. I pulled the cayenne pepper and salt, then got a small pan going for my sauce. After separating the yolks and squeezing some lemon juice into the pot, I added the salt and cayenne pepper and I had the makings of some fine hollandaise sauce.

Nadine looked at me. “Okay, they’re small.”

I quickly made a woven hatch pattern with the small bacon strips while the sauce simmered, then put the woven bacon squares into the hot frying pan. The moment it hit the griddle, Logan and Keegan started moaning.

“That smells amazing,” Keegan said, standing.

“Is that hollandaise?” Logan asked in shock, peering over the counter and into my pot.

I nodded. I didn’t like talking much when I was in the kitchen. It messed with my Zen. Cooking was therapy for me. My mom and I would cook everything from scratch sometimes, making an entire two-hour meal without saying more than a few words. We just worked intuitively around each other like old friends.

My heart pinched at the memory as I dropped my eggs onto the frying pan and began using a glass to cut perfect circles of the hash browns. They were going to have to be in place of my English muffin since we didn’t have any.

I instructed Nadine to line up the plates and then started an assembly line, laying two circles of hash browns on each plate, a sunny-side up egg on each hash brown, a woven bacon square, and then a drizzle of hollandaise over everything. By the time I was done, I looked up to find the entire pack staring at the food, drooling. Even Sophie, who was back from her run, looked impressed.

“Bon appétit,” I told everyone, and then they all pushed forward to grab a plate.

The second the moans started, I couldn’t help but smile. I had cooked for my mom, a few friends from college, and an ex-boyfriend, but never a big group like this.

“You’re so fired,” Keegan told Sophie with a mouthful of food.

Sophie gave him the middle finger, but her half smile made it lighthearted.

Dom had come in from his watch station outside and grabbed a plate, mumbling his thanks to me. I saw at least six guns peeking out of his jeans and boots and strapped behind his shoulders. This man was seriously packing.

Logan was finishing his last bite when he lifted his head to me. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

I swallowed and then shrugged. “My mom was an avid cook and had a full garden. We grew fifty percent of what we ate. After she got sick, I learned most of my tricks from cable TV.”

He nodded. “So … what’s for dinner?”

Everyone laughed, myself included. But the feminist in me rose up then. “I’ll tell you what: I’ll cook every meal for the next two weeks, but only if the boys watch and learn. We can split the cooking. I’m nobody’s maid or chef.”

“Oh snap!” Sophie said from the couch. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Logan grinned at me. “You’re on.”

Sophie raised a hand. “But seriously, trust me, Nadine should be exempt from this little learning experience. Poor thing is kitchen challenged.”

Nadine laughed. “Screw you.”

Sophie just shrugged. “True story, girlfriend.”

I could see now what Logan meant about Sophie being a good friend once she had your back. I didn’t think we were anywhere near “friends,” but it felt good to have normal banter. No druids, no magic weird purple fire, just a friendly game of “teach the boys to cook.”

Logan stood, stretching, giving me a peek of the tan torso underneath his shirt and the muscles he hid there. Once you had seen someone naked you couldn’t really un-see it. The crunch of gravel, and then a car door slamming, brought me back to the present.

“Alright, it’s time to train,” he told me, and I groaned. So much for friendly banter.

There was a knock at the door. Keegan wiped his mouth quickly and smoothed his hair.

I furrowed my brow in confusion, until Keegan answered the door and I saw what the fuss was about.

Danny, Keegan’s ex-boyfriend, the same guy I saw at Eva’s club, stood on the other side. He was holding a to-go coffee cup and wearing a cute cable knit sweater.

“Keegan,” Danny said in a monotone voice.

Keegan nodded. “Thanks for coming.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed as if he wanted to say more, but he looked beyond Keegan to the rest of us and decided against it.

He waved. “Hey, everyone.”

The pack welcomed him from the doorway as Logan sidestepped Keegan and put one hand on Danny’s shoulder. He walked him out onto the porch, and nodded that I should follow.

“Cooper and Gear, you’re on dishes,” Keegan ordered, watching Danny and Logan walk out onto the gravel driveway and towards the barn.

Gear groaned.

I went to pass Keegan and follow them, when curiosity got the best of me.

“What’s he doing here?” I whispered.

Keegan sighed and his cheeks puffed out. “I made a call that was best for the pack. You need to train, and Danny is a strong sorcerer.”

My heart ached for him then, to have a relationship and then break up because you didn’t want to reveal your friend’s secret—only to have it revealed later. My heart also ached for myself. Because the entire pack thought I was half sorcerer and I wasn’t.

“Thanks,” I told him, giving his bicep a squeeze. It spoke big of his character that he would do that for me, for the pack.

He nodded to me and then looked again at the door. “He wore my favorite sweater. Fucker.”

I chuckled. Hell hath no fury like a lover scorned.

I made my way across the gravel lot and into the large dusty barn, where the guys were talking in low voices. “I can’t believe he didn’t trust me enough with this. I mean, I would have taken the oath before. I didn’t need to be paid like an employee just to keep your pack’s secrets.” Danny was giving Logan an earful.

Logan rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I know. I’m sorry, but I’m glad you’re here now. We need you.”

Danny spun then, as if sensing my presence. He looked me up and down from behind his black hipster-frame glasses. Now that I was close enough, I checked him out. He had a quaff of black shiny hair that made me jealous, and a rockabilly style that made him and Nadine look like twins. He grinned. “Girl, you are fierce. Last female dragon alive. I’m not gonna lie, I totally freaked out when I heard.” All trace of anger was gone, as it seemed he only reserved that for Logan and Keegan.

I laughed.

“You didn’t freak out when you learned I was the last male dragon alive?” Logan asked with his arms crossed.

Danny shot him a glare. “Eh, not so much.”

I smiled, stepping forward and extending my hand. “I’m Sloane.”

Danny took my hand and his eyes flashed copper for the slightest second. “You’re a hybrid,” he stated to himself.

Logan nodded. “That’s why you’re here. She’s half sorcerer, so I need someone who can control her powers if things go awry. Also so that you can cloak us if she sends out some kind of druid beacon.”

Danny still had my hand in his grasp; he looked me up and down under a pinched gaze that gave me anxiety. “Half sorcerer you say?” he asked Logan.

Logan walked to the far wall and opened a cabinet. “Well, yeah—there isn’t much else.”

Danny must have seen the terror on my face, because he dropped my hand and nodded. “Right. Makes sense.” I could tell from his tone of voice, and the way he looked at me with a tinge of fear mixed with curiosity, that he was lying.

Shit. Everything within me wanted to run, but Danny simply turned his back to me and started doing some kind of chanting as he looked at the wall of the barn. Maybe he was going to wait until later and bring this up to Keegan.

Logan walked over to me with two daggers, bringing my attention back to the present. They both glowed green in his hands, but when he dropped one at my feet it ceased glowing.

Danny began to walk around the barn chanting and throwing some kind of white powder at the walls, which now had some transparent shimmer going on. It must have been some type of spelled protection. So cool.

“First of all,” Logan began. “You need to start convincing your dragon she is safe. She will shift less often in dangerous or scary situations. How we convince her is by training to become a badass.”

I smiled. “Sounds easier than it will be, I’m sure.”

Logan indicated the two glowing blades in his hands.

“These are dragon tools,” Logan informed me. “Stick one deep enough and long enough in a druid and they are dead. It will also release any dragon power they have stolen and give it back to us. This is the only weapon you will need to master.”

Sweet! I could do that. One weapon was a good idea.

“Let’s start small. Pick it up,” Logan said.

I reached down to pick up the blade, and as my fingers wrapped around the metallic base it shocked my skin and singed me, sending a bolt of pain from my wrist to my elbow.

“Ow!” I chucked it on the ground, and then brought my hand up to my mouth to blow on it. An intricate red burn swirled on my palm as I tried to cool it off. The carvings on the dagger had been burned into my palm!

Danny looked over his shoulder at me but didn’t say a word. Logan, however, stood there with his mouth open, gaping at me like I was an alien. Then he started talking to himself, mumbling low: “That doesn’t make sense. Well, only a dragon shifter can touch them, and if she’s half sorcerer I guess it does. But … she’s part dragon so…” I cleared my throat and Logan ceased his chattering.

“Alright. That’s okay. I’ll think on that.” He picked up the knife and put it back in the closet. Then he came to stand in front of me, rubbing the scruff along his jaw for what seemed like forever. Not speaking. Not moving. After standing there staring at me for a lifetime, Danny spoke up.

“May I make a suggestion?” Danny asked from his place in the corner of the room.

Logan snapped out of his transfixion. “Yes … please.”

Danny smiled. “Teach her how to disarm someone, take someone to the ground. Basic skills she will need if a druid tries to grab her.”

Logan looked relieved to be given the suggestion. He nodded. “Yes, of course. We can do the magic stuff later.”

“Or never.” I rubbed my palm, which thankfully seemed to be healing. A jolt of surprise ran through me then. It was healing! “I can heal.” I mumbled.

Logan crossed the room and glanced at my pale hand, once seared red with the markings of the knife. “Well, that’s one good thing we have going for us. Your little purple magic display with the neighboring shifters must have ignited your powers more fully.”

A slight grin tugged the corner of my lips. Cool. I felt a little mentally unhinged at the thought of being indestructible, but it was also thrilling. I have healing powers.

Logan stood before me and motioned to his body. “There are many ways to take a man down, but let’s focus on three. The neck.” He did a karate chop to my throat, stopping just before touching me. I swallowed hard and nodded.

“The groin...” He tugged his bottom lip down, making a painful face, and I couldn’t help but grin. “And the armpit.”

My head reeled back as I laughed. “The armpit?” What a joke.

He shot out lightning-quick then, and shoved his thumb up into my armpit. A cry tore from my lips as I moved my body, trying to get out of his grasp. Deep pain radiated from my elbow to my ribcage, and then he let go.

“Hurts like hell,” he stated.

I glared at him, rubbing my underarm. “Yeah it does.” I was totally burning his next meal.

He nodded. “Your turn.”

He opened his arms wide as if asking for me to bring it on. I frowned. “I don’t know about this. I’m not a fighter type of person.”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “The first ten minutes of knowing me, you punched me square in the jaw as I tried to save your life.” His jaw muscle twitched and I stepped back a foot.

“I did?” Oops. I must have been acting on instinct. I certainly didn’t remember doing that.

“Yes, you did, and I was pissed, and also relieved. That’s the kind of attitude you will need to survive this lifestyle. Someone threatens you, you take them down. No questions asked.”

He was right. I needed to not care about hurting him or embarrassing myself. I needed to train, to learn to protect myself so I didn’t have to depend on a pack. I put my arms into fists in front of me and Logan grinned.

“Horrible form, but I like your spirit.” He winked, adjusting my hands.

Over the next hour we went through one repetitious drill—karate chop to the throat, thumb to the armpit, and then knee to the groin. I didn’t do it hard, but Logan pretended to fall over every time, and that’s when I was supposed to run. Throat, arm, groin, run. We did this until my muscles creaked and Danny looked like he was dozing off from boredom. I was about to ask for a break when Danny suddenly sat erect.

“Druids are here,” he said in a flat monotone voice. He flung out his hand and a glowing yellow light slammed into the knife cabinet where Logan kept his glowing green swords. Could these druids sense the dragon magic that adorned the blades? Logan’s eyes bugged out of his head.

“Why are they here?” Logan mouthed as we heard the crunching of tires on gravel.

Danny closed his eyes, breathing deeply, as if in a trance. “They are the same ones from Eva’s bar. They want to meet Sloane.”

Oh shit.

“Shit,” Logan muttered, coursing my internal dialog.

Danny stood. “We chat with them, assure them all is well, and they will leave.”

Logan looked nervous, which I hadn’t thought possible before now. “How many are there?”

The sorcerer closed his eyes and then opened them again. “Three.”

Logan looked absolutely shocked. “THREE! I thought only two were at Eva’s bar? Do they have their truth witch with them?”

I was guessing that druids didn’t hang out together, because Logan seemed downright shocked that this many were clustered together.

Danny looked deep in concentration, his eyes rolling under the lids, emanating a faint yellow glow. Then he grinned. “Their truth witch has fallen ill, thanks to Eva. They must have flown this third druid out to finish their investigation.”

A car door shut and Danny put a finger to his lips. Did he just say investigation? I felt like I was going to be sick. What if they smelled that I was one of them?

Logan crossed the barn quickly and slipped his hand in mine, the warm skin making my dragon coil tightly inside of me as a low buzzing worked its way up my arm and into my chest. Logan leaned in slowly and whispered in my ear. “You’re my wolf shifter girlfriend. We’ve been dating about a month, and I asked you to move from Phoenix to join my pack here in Flagstaff.”

I swallowed hard, trying not to think of the way his hot breath tickled my neck or the way I liked how he called me his girlfriend, even if it was fake.

“Okay,” I replied.

Logan nodded to Danny. “Okay.”

Danny walked over to the barn door and swung it wide as Logan kept my hand tucked firmly in his and pulled me alongside him. We were walking out there, right into the path of these whack-jobs who wanted to kill me and eat my soul, or whatever it was. This was a really bad idea and I was totally going along with it. YOLO.