Aiden slept on Winnifred’s fire escape, relieved that the storm had passed the night before. He may be a battle-worn dragon, but no one really liked sleeping in the rain. No…Even if it had rained again, it would have been worth it. Just knowing that she was safe was worth any discomfort life could possibly throw at him.

She thrust open the curtains and smiled out at the day. Seeing her sent a thrill through his heart. He watched her sip her coffee, set the cup on the counter and then leave her apartment. He flew up over the roof and watched her rifling through one of the recycling bins. She pulled several cardboard boxes out of the bin and carried them under her arm back into the building.

When he next saw her inside, she began packing. His heart sank. She was leaving. No matter where she went, no matter how far, he would watch over her and protect her. Someday, when she was no longer angry at him, he would approach her again and try to make things right. It was his only hope.

“We’re almost there,” Kian said through their mental link.

“And I have a surprise for you,” Cato said.

A few moments later, the entire crew along with Aria, Everly, and even baby Ember arrived and landed on the roof of Winnifred’s building. Aiden flew up as they dropped their stealth mode, becoming visible.

“Should I just do it here?” Aria asked.

“This is as good a place as any,” Kian said.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll begin.”

Aria’s song slipped between her lips, rising on the air above the sound of the city. It twined and swirled around him, slipping down his spine and growing in his heart. He felt the power unfurling like a budding flower. Soft and gentle at first but then coming into full bloom, fragrant and ripe. He took a deep breath as the power of her song took hold. Her voice drifted off, growing silent after a trembling final note pierced the air. She smiled and giggled, clapping her hands together.

“Do you feel more powerful now, Aiden?” she asked.

“He’s going to need it,” Dax said.

“Probably,” Aria agreed, snorting.

Aiden rolled his eyes; Dax was rubbing off on his mate. The two of them together were highly irritating. Too bad Aria’s song was the only thing that made him powerful enough to actually injure vampires.

“I need to get back to Winnifred,” Aiden said, throwing up his hand and turning away despondently.

“Wait,” Cato said. “I have news for you.”

“What is it?” Aiden said with a grimace.

He hated being the butt of Dax’s jokes. It was usually Dax who made idiotic mistakes. The role-reversal was not pleasant. Maybe Aiden should consider not giving Dax such a hard time when this was all over. No, that was never going to happen.

“I have the results of your mating analysis,” Cato said.

“Well, spit it out,” Aiden growled.

“It’s positive. She is your mate.”

“I didn’t need any computer analysis to tell me that. I can feel it in my gut, in my loins, and in my heart. That’s all that matters.”

He turned away again but then stopped.

“I hate to ask this,” he started. “But could one of you do me a favor?”

“I’m taking Aria to the arcade,” Dax said.

“And I’m taking Everly and Ember shopping,” Kian said.

“I can help you,” Cato volunteered. “What do you need?”

“I need someone to stay here and look after Winnifred while I go back to the island and retrieve her things.”

“I can do that,” Cato said.

“Thank you, Cato,” Aiden said. “Now I owe you two favors.”

Aiden and Cato went into stealth mode and half-shifted, flying down to the fire escape outside Winnifred’s window.

“That’s her,” Aiden said.

“She’s packing.”

“Yes. She’s an artist, and she wants to go somewhere that is less expensive to live.”

“Why doesn’t she just come live at the mansion with us?” Cato asked.

“Because if you must know, Cato, I completely screwed up with her and she wants nothing to do with me. I need to get her things as a peace offering before she leaves. Maybe she will agree to see me again.”

“Well, don’t waste any time. You should go.”

Aiden flew into the air and transformed into his swift red dragon, pumping his wings as they carried him over the city. He reached the shore and kept flying, pushing on toward the island where he had spent two peaceful days with his mate.

The single kiss they had shared had been the most powerful experience of his life. He had wanted so much more, but he didn’t regret holding back for one second. What if they had made love and then it was revealed he had been keeping the truth from her? It would have been an even greater disaster.

He flew on, as the sun rose high and then began to dip towards the horizon. He landed on the island right in front of the cabin. He strode to the door and tested the knob. It opened, and he moved inside. All of her things were exactly where she’d left them. He breathed a sigh of relief and began to grab her stuff.

He pulled her backpack over his shoulder and held her paintings in his hands as he made his way to the door. He kicked it closed behind him and was about ready to shift when he heard a voice pierce the silence.

“Leaving so soon?”

A figure stepped out from the shadows of the forest. Aiden recognized him as the newly awakened elder vampire from the attack on the compound. That was the day they’d discovered Aria’s power. He slowly sat down Winnie’s things and met the vampire’s piercing gaze with his own.

“What do you want?” Aiden asked.

“The blood of a dragon,” the vampire said.

“Well, come and get it,” Aiden growled.

He burst into his half shift form, activating his laser swords from his wrist device. He charged at the elder vampire whose name he still did not know. The vampire whizzed past, but Aiden anticipated his movements. Aiden dodged and spun, slicing his sword across the vampires back. But the vampire rushed away, out of Aiden’s reach. Aiden corrected and charged. As the vampire maneuvered into a defensive position, Aiden ducked low and slid toward the vampire’s legs, slicing his swords like scissors.

The vampire leapt away, but not quickly enough to avoid Aiden’s swords. The creature landed, snarling as blood gushed from the wound. Aiden leapt, twirling around to face him.

“I see you got your power back,” the vampire said, running his hand over the wound. The blood stopped, and the vampire grinned. “It is much harder to injure an elder than a weak youngling.”

“I can destroy all of your minions. And then what will you do?”

“The young ones are a dime a dozen. I can always make more to do my bidding.”

“Too bad none of them can touch me any more than you can.”

“Don’t be so sure,” the vampire said.

The vampire swept his hands and fingers in a frenzy of writhing movements, muttering the words of a spell. He then thrust his palms forward. A gust of icy cold air blew Aiden backward so hard it was as if he had been hit by an avalanche of snow. He didn’t take long to recover, but the power of the vampire’s magic had startled him and taken him off guard. He wouldn’t underestimate him again.

“I’m thinking, all I have to do is stab you in the heart, and that will be the end of you,” Aiden spat out, blood trickling down his lip.

“You can try,” the vampire sneered.

The vampire and dragon battled, testing each other’s strength as they flew and dodged and spun. When Aiden attacked, the vampire defended. When the vampire attacked Aiden dodged. It was an even match for all accounts, but Aiden did not intend to lose.

Aiden charged and then feigned, launching into the air and tumbling head over heels behind the vampire. He sliced his swords around the vampire’s neck, chopping his head from his body. The head tumbled to the ground, eyes staring up at Aiden in disbelief, his mouth agape. But the vampire was not dead. Aiden snarled in disappointment. The man’s body lurched toward him, blood gushing from its decapitated neck.

“It was fun and all,” Aiden said. “But I have things to do.”

He hurried to the porch and grabbed Winnifred’s things, jumping into the air as he activated stealth mode. Winnie’s easel tumbled from his grasp, crashing into the ground below. But he still had the paintings, he knew they were more important. He heard the vampire screech as he pumped his wings and flew away. Things had definitely escalated between the vampires and dragons. All the more reason to watch over Winnifred at all times.

The elder vampire had been lying in wait for him; that meant they still did not know where to find Winnifred. He didn’t know how they’d found him in the first place. Perhaps it was an accident, or a spell they couldn’t quickly replicate. No matter what, he would remain vigilant in protecting his mate. The battle with the vampire had taken far longer than he’d expected. They had fought all day and into the night. And when he arrived in the city, it was already morning.

“You’d better get back here,” Cato said through his mental link.

He arrived at Winnifred’s building, his stealth mode keeping her paintings invisible. As he landed, he noticed the moving van parked in front of the building. Winnifred hopped into the driver’s seat of the van and drove away.

“No,” Aiden groaned.

“I’d hoped you’d be back in time,” Cato said through the mental link. “What took you so long?”

“There was an elder vampire waiting for me,” Aiden said.

“On the island?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Probably because I’m the best fighter among us, and I’ve killed dozens of his minions.”

“That’s probably why,” Cato snorted. “Or a tracking spell they can’t cast again.”

“I took off his head, but I don’t think I killed him.”

“That’s not a good sign,” Cato said.

“No, it’s not. But I don’t have time to stand around and discuss it. I have to follow Winnifred.”

The van was turning a corner at the stoplight up the street. He flew after her and landed on the roof of the van, digging his talons into the metal. He gripped her paintings under his arm and held on for the ride.

The vampires were relentless, and he didn’t want to think about what they would do to his lovely mate if they ever found her. He was sure the elder vampire would not be happy about losing his head. But Aiden wouldn’t let that distract him from his purpose, protecting Winnie at all costs. He hoped that if he brought her these paintings she would forgive him, and they could start over. Until then, all he could do was watch and wait.