Dena spun around. Where had the man...dragon disappeared? He had been right behind her, but when she reached her car in one of New Orleans’ outdoor parking lots, but now he was gone.

As much as she wanted to show him the sights and sounds of the modern world, she had other obligations. An appointment in twenty minutes with a sweet Pitbull named Rocky for his checkup of his diabetes.

“Taurian!” she hissed, then whispered, “I don't have time for this.”

She jogged up the path and stopped short when she spotted Taurian at the other end of the street.

His back was to her and he cocked his head in a weird angle as it appeared like he sniffed the air. What was he doing? An icy finger of dread traced down her spine, but she shook it off as her wild imagination. Maybe back on his planet that was how he determined if a storm was coming?

Before she could call him, he turned. His gaze roving over her form that made her pause instead of being turned-on like she normally would.

Get over it, he's just Taurian, not some crazed maniac.

“Hey, did you get lost and forget where we parked?” she asked.

“Yes.” He smiled so wide she worried his mouth would split.

“It's this way.” She led him to her beetle. “Let's do a quick check of your blood if we have time before my appointment. A second culture might show what your body is doing and how to help you transform back so you can return to you people.” God, the idea of him being inaccessible made her numb inside. How was she going to return to a normal life after finding out about alien dragons?

His steps echoed behind hers, but when she glanced over her shoulder, he was a breath away from her.

“You have a sample of his-my blood? And I can't return home or shift?”

An unease spread through Dena. Her heart pounded against her breastbone. Everything in her screamed run. That a predator stood before her. But her mind said it was Taurian and he'd never given her the heebie-jeebies like he was doing to her now, except when he was naked on her lawn when she first met him. She was just being paranoid, right?

She licked her lips and stepped back, her gaze darting to the left and right for an escape.

His laugh made her jump. “Sorry, still getting used to your new English. Very different from how Earthlings used to talk.”

The tension eased between her shoulder blades and she forced out a chuckle. “Right.” She shook her head. “Guess I'm a bit jumpy from everything that's happened lately.”

“Understandable.” He moved closer, the scent of burning sulfur wafting from him.

She crinkled her nose. Before she asked why he stank, he gripped her arm painfully.

“Ow, you're hurting me.” She jerked to free herself, but he held tight.

“Why hasn't the parasite killed the Renjerian yet? It should've done so the moment you two mated.”

“What are you talki—?”

Taurian pressed a thumb into her palm and her arm went numb. But then so did her mind. She let him open the car door for her and she flopped inside.

“Take us to where you have the Renjerians blood sample.”

Woodenly, like she was in a dream she couldn't control, she started the car. He climbed into the passenger side.

Her body thrummed with pent-up desire. She wanted to please him more than she needed to breathe.

They pulled into her driveway, and she raced inside her house. The injured Coyote snarled and hissed at them both.

“That's odd, she adored you before.” Dena squatted before the cage. Inside, in the back of her mind, she was screaming to wake up. “Maybe her leg is hurting and needs some medicine.” Even loyal animals would bite their owners when in pain.

“Shut that creature up or I will.” Taurian’s fingers shifted to black claws that appeared sharper than a bear's.

She swallowed, backing up against the wall as two sides of her mind fought for dominance: one that did whatever he wanted and the other who said something was very wrong. “Wh-Who are you?”

His face altered to the demon she'd stabbed with the anesthesia shot. Terror strangled her words. Only thing between her and the demon was the coyote’s cage. She had to reach a weapon. The coyote, as if sensing something was amiss, crashed again and again against the cage’s door.

“Stupid animal,” the demon snarled.

In a flash, the cage sprung open at the animal’s thrashing. It lunged at the demon’s throat.

Dena scrambled around the two to her supply cabinet. Had to get something to stop the demon and save the coyote and herself.

Her hands shook as she tugged on the drawer with hypodermic needles. A whimper sounded behind her. Dena knocked over a can of flea repellent and the pungent scent clogged her throat. She gagged, coughing to clear her lungs. Dizziness pressed against her skull, but she grasped the edge of the cabinet to steady herself. The demon hoisted her backward, slamming her into her examining table.

“You think to best me again, human?’” it snarled. “I'll so enjoy watching the replay when you kill that filthy Renjerian for me.”

She choked back a scream. “Not happening. Ever.” Her heart hammering in her chest.

Grasping the surgical tray on the other side of the table, she yanked out a scalpel and jammed it into the creature's chest.

Her legs shook as she took in the coyote who had tried to defend her laying on the ground in a pile of blood and panting.

The demon ripped out the scalpel and black blood oozed from the wound. Then he launched the blade at Dena.

She ducked, the weapon whizzing past her head. The thunk of metal vibrating.

It's wound sealing up. Healing.

When she met its gaze, the demon laughed, the sound worse than nails raking down a chalkboard.

“Come here, little one.” It crooked a finger at her. “Come.”

“Not on your life.” She snatched a pair of scissors from the surgical tray.

In a blur, the demon stood over her. It clasped her wrist, digging its claws into her flesh until she winced in pain and dropped the weapon.

“Looks like you need more persuasion.” The demon bit her injured wrist. Her screams bounced off the walls.

What felt like worms wiggled up her arm from her wound. No! Her resistance ceased. The feeling she had before in the car washed over her.

“How may I please you, Master?”

The demon grinned, revealing rows of sharp teeth. “Give me any Renjerian blood you have and if the Renjerian returns—”

“I have two Renjerian friends, Master.” Why had she said that?

“If either return here, kill them.”