They spent the whole day in bed, never leaving unless absolutely necessary. Jason couldn’t get enough of Christina, but he had this sinking feeling that she was avoiding him. Well, not him, but whenever he wanted to talk, she either changed the subject or did something sexy that made him forget what he was trying to say. He didn’t want to think it was deliberate, but after the third or fourth attempt, he was definitely getting suspicious. It was frustrating, but he was determined to get through to her. That’s why he suggested going out to dinner that night. Surely, she wouldn’t try anything in public.

“Out?” she asked, turning her head to look back at him. “Why would you want to go out?” She was getting out of bed to go to the bathroom, fully naked. He tried to not let her delectable heart-shaped ass distract him from his mission.

“To eat,” he said. “And maybe you can show me around a bit. This is my first time in London, and I’ve only seen the outside of your house and the inside of your bedroom. There must be some good restaurants around.”

She shrugged. “Fine. I know a couple of places.”

They weren’t far from the trendy shopping area with shops, cafes and restaurants. There were about half a dozen quiet, romantic restaurants where they could have had dinner, but she took him to a noisy pub. On the night that two rival football teams were having a game.

“Do you want a beer?” Jason shouted over the din of football fans at the bar, howling in delight as their team scored.

“What?” she yelled back, cupping her palm to her ear. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

“I said, do you want a beer?” He pointed to the bar and she nodded.

As they sat at their table and ate, alternately screaming and making hand gestures at each other, that sinking suspicion grew bigger. But he wasn’t going to give up. At the end of the night after he paid for their dinner, he insisted on walking back to the town house instead of taking a cab.

They walked in silence most of the way, but as soon as they got to the building, Jason knew it was now or never. They were standing in front of the stoop and he grabbed her hand to bring her to a halt.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You’ve been avoiding talking to me. Don’t deny it,” he said before she could protest. “We need to talk.”

“Can’t we go back inside first?” she asked, tracing her fingers on his chest and looking up at him seductively.

“No,” he said firmly. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that you keep trying to distract me with sex. Now, unless you want to put on a show for Mrs. Watson,” he jerked his thumb at the house across the street, “you’re going to listen to what I have to say.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she sulked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Nothing to talk about?” he asked in an incredulous voice. What was the matter with her? “I came all the way here to find you, to be with you, and you don’t want to hear what I have to say?” He gripped her arms. “Christina, you’re my ma—”

Pain ripped through his arm before he could finish his sentence. He blinked and looked down. Blood dripped down his bicep through a hole in his shirt. Alarm bells began to ring in his head. “Inside!” he shouted, dragging her up the steps. More bullets whizzed by and another caught him in the thigh. He ignored the burning pain and kicked the door down, then pushed them both inside.

“Go out the back door,” he ordered. “And get far away.”

“No!” she said, her eyes growing in horror. “I won’t leave you.”

“Christina, you need—”

Before he could tell her to leave again, the door crashed open. Boots stomped on the ground and as he turned around, several red dots appeared on his and Christina’s chest. He lifted his head slowly.

It was dark inside the townhouse, but his eyes adjusted quickly. There were six men in black combat gear and Kevlar armor surrounding them, weapons trained on them both. They were wearing full head and face armor, so he couldn’t see what they looked like.

“Who are you?” he shouted. His dragon was screaming to get out, to turn these men who dared to threaten him and his mate to ashes. But he couldn’t risk it. He’d survive, but Christina wouldn’t. Their automatic weapons would pump her body full of bullets before he finished shifting. “What do you want?” The men remained silent, unmoving.

“We’re not here for you,” a voice said. A light flickered on inside the house, and the six men shuffled aside to let someone forward.

The man wore similar gear to the others, but he wasn’t wearing a helmet or mask. He was tall and built like a brick wall and his confident air told Jason he was their leader. His weathered face might have been handsome once, but the numerous scars across his face marred his features. His white hair was cropped close to his scalp, military-style. Steely eyes stared right at him. “Don’t try anything funny, Blackstone dragon,” he said. “Or she gets it.” He raised a hand and the dots zeroed in on Christina’s forehead.

“So you know who I am,” Jason said. “And what I’m capable of. If you kill her, I’m going to burn every single one of you until there’s nothing left.”

The man’s mouth twisted into a cruel smile. “But then, she will still be dead,” he said. “Care to try and see what happens?”

Jason cursed inwardly, but he remained calm. They wanted something, which is why they hadn’t killed them yet. “So, what do you want?”

“Her,” he said, nodding at Christina.

“No,” he said flatly. “I’ll come with you willingly. Just let her go.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said, dragon?” The man spat. “I don’t want you. I want her.”

“What the fuck for?”

“I’ll come with you,” Christina said. “Just don’t hurt him.”

“Fuck, no!” Jason pulled Christina behind him. “Why the hell do you want her? She’s no one.”

The man let out a sardonic laugh. “You don’t know who she is, do you?”

What the hell was he saying? He looked to Christina, hoping for an explanation, but she remained silent, her expression inscrutable.

“We’re finally going to get you, traitor,” the man said. “Maybe your ‘father’ will trade you for something good. Or we could just keep you and punish you for your sins.”

“What are you talking about?” Jason asked. “She’s no traitor.”

“She’s a traitor to my kind!” The man stepped forward, reaching for Christina, but Jason stepped in front of him. He ignored him, and continued. “She’s a human, but she chose to associate with your filthy kind. Living among wolf shifters as if she was one of them, and now, screwing a dragon. Disgusting,” he sneered. He turned to Jason. “Your family wasn’t supposed to be part of this. And then your brother decided to mate with her whore of a sister. Tell me, did they like our little wedding present?”

Rage filled Jason’s veins. “You’re responsible for that bomb.”

“It was perfect. The accidents at the mines were supposed to distract you from our real target. All your security was focused on the mines and we hid the package right under your very noses. We would not only stop the joining together of two powerful shifter groups, but get rid of all of the Blackstone dragons and the Lykos Alpha and his sons.” He let out an angry hiss. “But then you somehow foiled our plans.” He looked back at Christina. “We should have killed you when you were a child. Just like when we killed your traitor whore mother. Too bad her repulsive child survived. But, we’ll get her too.”

“No!” Christina pushed Jason aside and lunged at the man. “You monster!”

Jason tried to stop her, but she moved too quickly. The man grabbed her hands and then twisted her around, slamming her down to her knees. She cried out in pain.

“Bastard!” Jason bellowed. “You’re dead!” His dragon was taking over, and he was only happy to let it.

“Get her to the van!” the man shouted, tossing Christina to one of the men. “And fire at will!”

Jason had never shifted so quickly before, but he knew Christina’s life was on the line. The sounds of the automatic weapons firing was deafening, but the bullets ricocheted off his scales. His body grew to its full height, the roof and walls collapsing around him as his massive head hit the ceiling, crushing several of the men as the townhouse crumbled in a heap around him.

He let out an earth-shaking roar as he shook the debris off his head. Christina. They took her, meaning they wanted her alive, for now at least. But he would make sure they weren’t going to touch a hair on her head.

His dragon wanted to burn everything down, but Jason knew he had to be in control. They weren’t in the mountains and he couldn’t just stomp around and spew fire when there were a dozen houses on this street alone. No matter how much he wanted to get those men, he was not going to harm any innocent people.

He turned his head at the sound of screeching tires and saw two vans speeding away. There wasn’t a lot of space to stretch his wings, so he stomped after the vans, the ground shaking with each step. He caught the first one, carefully ripping the top with his claw to check if Christina was there. However, only the driver and one other man were in it. He tossed it aside with an angry huff, the other van nowhere in sight. He had wasted his time, and now they were going to get away with Christina. With a determined roar, he stomped down the street toward the direction of the other van.

Ah, there it was. They were maybe a mile away, and while it was difficult to run at full speed, he could catch up with his massive stride. He was almost there, a breath away when the van suddenly swerved, turned into an alleyway, then crashed into the wall. The back of the van opened, and he saw a small figure jump out.

Christina! She was alive! He had to get her out of there. But the alleyway was too small, and there was no way he was going to fit unless he tore the surrounding buildings down.

He roared to get her attention. She looked up, her eyes going wide as she saw him, then began running toward him. Faster, he urged her silently. He stepped back, getting ready to fly them off if needed. But, she only got a few feet away before she reared back. Three of the men had chased after her, and one of them grabbed her by the hair.

NO!

His dragon screeched with fury, clawing at the buildings to try and get to her, wings flapping wildly. Jason struggled to get the dragon under control. He looked down, hoping to God those men weren’t hurting her, when he suddenly stopped.

He expected to see a kicking and screaming Christina being dragged away by the three men. Instead, Christina was kicking ass. The man who had grabbed her hair was already on the ground, clutching his stomach. The second man dove toward her, but she caught his hand and flipped him over, his back landing on the ground with a thud. Meanwhile, the third man was approaching her, handgun ready and drawn. She didn’t even panic; instead, she disarmed him with a swipe of her hand, drew her knee up into his groin, and twisted him around. The sickening sound of breaking bones and the screams of pain filled the air.

What. The. Fuck.

Jason took over control of his body, pushing the dragon deep inside him, his body growing smaller and the scales receding into his skin. As soon as he was fully human, he bolted to her then embraced her.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered into her hair. “What the hell was that about?”

“There’s no time to explain,” she said, pulling away from him. She gasped when she saw the wounds on his thigh and arm.

“Shit.” His arm was okay, but the blood was still pouring out of the wound on his thigh. “Bullet’s still in that one.”

“The police are almost here,” she said, as the sounds of sirens rang through the air. “We need to go. Can you walk?”

He nodded. “Where are we going?”

“To a safe house. The nearest one’s a few blocks away. Can you make it?”

The sirens were getting closer. “Yeah, I’ll make it.”

“Good.” She grabbed his hand and took him to the other end of the alley, which led to another street. They got away just in time because the blue and red lights of the police car filled the darkened alleyway as they turned the corner.

He followed her, thankful for the darkness of night to cover their presence, not to mention his nakedness. Finally, they reached a non-descript apartment building four streets over from where they had started. They went around to the back, and Christina pulled a key ring from inside a hollowed-out brick beside the door. It swung open with a loud creak and they entered, going up two flights. When they reached the second floor, she led him to the first door on the left.

“Go in there,” she said, pointing toward the bedroom. He limped inside then sat down on the lone futon in the room. Christina came in shortly with a first aid kit in hand and knelt in front of him. “This is going to hurt.”

“Do it,” he said through gritted teeth. He gripped the edge of the futon, waiting for the pain as she dug into the wound with a pair of tweezers. Finally, he let out his breath when he felt the bullet dislodge from his thigh.

She finished cleaning his wound, then turned back to grab something from the first-aid kit. It was a small bottle of clear liquid.

“I don’t need that,” he said. “My shifter healing will fight off any infection.”

“I know,” she said in a quiet voice. Something glinted in her hand. A long, silver needle. “This isn’t for infection.” Before he could ask her anything, she jabbed the needle into his thigh.

“What the fuck?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking up at him. “I’m so sorry.”

The last thing he remembered before the world went black was her beautiful face and the two tears that streaked down her cheeks.