"Eek!" Ainsley squeaked in dismay. "You want me to… fly?"

"Well, my dragon will do the flying. You can be the backseat driver," he said with the charming grin that she adored.

"Uh… Is it safe?" She queried and recalled how he'd dropped their daughter.

His smile faded before Dragan said tonelessly, "I thought you trusted me not to hurt you in any form."

Oh, shoot. Now she'd hurt his feelings, which had not been her intention at all. "I do. I really do," she hastily assured him. "It's just that… I'm afraid of heights, Dragan. I can handle them as long as I hold onto something and don't look down."

The man she loved stared at her for the space of one heartbeat, then two, before his handsome face broke into a huge grin. "Flying is a part of the mating ritual where you bond with my dragon," he admitted. "The purpose is for him to prove that he'll protect you and you demonstrate that you trust him with your life."

"I don't suppose I could just tell him," she suggested hopefully and saw his crestfallen expression. Sighing in resignation, she acquiesced with, "Fine. But if I puke up everything I just ate tell him not to take it personally."

Dragan looked as if she'd just granted his fondest wish as he helped her to stand and then pulled her into his arms to kiss the living daylights out of her. Her head still reeling from the kiss, she didn't even notice that Brendyn had appeared out of thin air until the two men began conversing.

She couldn't miss the huge grin on the majordomo's face before he wrapped Dragan in a bear hug and congratulated him. Then he turned to her and bowed formally before saying, "May I be the first to offer you best wishes, Lady Ainsley."

"Thank you. I think," she said a bit nervously. "Though I may need a wish for luck since I don't do well with heights."

At that, his expression became completely serious, as did his tone. "I have flown with Dray many times, my lady. I assure you that you have no reason to fear."

"It's not the flying as much as the falling that scares me," she admitted with an attempt at gallows humor.

"My liege would die before he allowed anything to happen to you," he assured her. "Have no fear and enjoy the ride, Lady Ainsley."

With a wave of his hand, Ainsley found herself comfortably ensconced in a cushioned saddle astride the back of the dragon, with safety goggles covering her eyes, and soft fur encasing her body. "Eek!" She shrieked a little frantically, both hands white-knuckling the padded velvet rails surrounding her with a death grip.

The massive beast beneath her turned his head and blew another of those heart-shaped puffs of smoke her way. The absolute adoration showing in his reptilian gaze calmed her fear as nothing else could have done. "Dragan, please be gentle," she pleaded. He bobbed his head, shot her a wink and nodded toward the ground.

Ainsley looked down and the breath caught in her throat. They were already in flight, and she hadn't even realized it. The dragon must have been cruising along slowly as the wind was barely ruffling her hair. The long, slow flap of his wings proved that she'd been right and that he was being gentle as she'd asked.

Looking up she saw a million stars twinkling overhead. The lights in the valley were peeking through the clouds far below them. The castle looked like a miniature version of itself from this high up but no less beautiful. And the most amazing thing of all was that she was enjoying herself.

Flying was glorious!

Ainsley laughed for the sheer joy of it and loosened her grip to reach forward and rub her hand over the scales on his neck. "Dragan, this is wonderful. I love flying with you," she enthused and received another of those saucy winks in reply. "Can we go faster?"

Eager to please, the dragon poured on the speed, dropped into a slow descent and then began to climb again. It was like a roller coaster in the sky and more thrilling than she had ever imagined. By the time he took them low enough to circle the castle, she was holding both arms out beside her as if she were the one flying.

She saw their daughter standing on the balcony and waved at her. "Look, baby, I can fly, too," she laughingly called and realized what the child was doing. "Smile, Dragan, I think Ember is filming us."

The dragon's head swung sideways, saw what their daughter was doing and roared his fiery wrath into the night. Before she knew what was happening, he had touched down in the courtyard, and Ainsley had been magically removed from the saddle. She grasped hold of the rock balustrade to steady her legs as all hell broke loose.

 

***

 

Dragan shifted to his human form and clothing materialized on his body courtesy of his mage as he stalked across the courtyard toward his vexing daughter. Unaware of his fury, Ember leaned over the balcony and called out, "That was so cool, Dad. Mom's afraid of heights but she was really having fun."

"Ember, come down here right now," he grated out between clenched teeth, hands fisted at his sides.

"Now my liege," Brendyn began in a placating tone and was silenced with a quelling look.

"Dragan, what's going on?" His mate demanded as she came up beside him and grasped his fist in her hand. His fingers unclenched and interlocked with hers, the touch calming him somewhat, but not enough.

"Ember was filming us," he bit out furiously. "After I specifically told her such things are forbidden. There can be no record of our kind. Ever. It's the only way we survive."

"Oh, no," Ainsley said anxiously and looked as worried as he was furious. "I'm sure she didn't mean any harm."

"She disobeyed me," he growled.

"She's a child, Dragan," his mate protested.

"She is a dragon shifter," he snapped. "As such, she must learn to obey the tenants that all shifters follow or she'll bring destruction down on us."

"You're overreacting," she accused.

"And you're naïve," he shot right back.

Ainsley gasped indignantly and snatched her hand free of his. "I may not know everything there is to know about dragons, but I know an ass when I see one."

"Mom, what's wrong?" Ember asked as she walked into the courtyard. Dragan snatched the phone from her hand and tossed it to the mage so he could destroy the video. "Hey, give that back!"

"Did you hear none of what I told you this morning, Ember?" He demanded of the girl. "What possessed you to video me?"

"I thought mom would like to see herself flying," she admitted and seemed genuinely confused that he was angry with her.

"That was a very thoughtful thing to do, baby," his mate interjected. "But if your dad tells you that you can't do something that could jeopardize the secrecy surrounding shifters then you can't do it for any reason."

"I don't understand why it's such a big deal. Anyone on the ground looking up could see you," she protested.

"Which is why Brendyn casts a hazing spell over us when we fly. People may see a shadow moving across the sky, but it's impossible to discern what it is." When the mage cursed a blue streak in their native tongue, Dragan braced himself for the worst and demanded, "What did she do?"

His expression as grim as he'd ever seen it, Brendyn admitted, "She's been texting someone about you, and she also sent her the video."

Dragan's roar of fury thundered through the courtyard and echoed off the mountains surrounding them. "Who have you been texting?" He snarled and barely suppressed the smoke from billowing out of his nose.

"Ember!" His mate gasped in surprise. "Tell me you didn't."

Their daughter's eyes filled with tears as she admitted, "It was just Pammy. She won't tell anyone."

"Who is this person?" He demanded furiously.

"Her best friend," His mate informed him. "They share everything."

"Not anymore," Dragan decreed as he advanced on his daughter with fire in his eyes. "Pammy is now a threat to our existence which means she'll have to be dealt with, as will anyone she may have told."

"Dealt with?" Ainsley repeated with a frown. "Just how do you plan to deal with her?"

"A complete assessment will be made and either her memory will be erased or she'll be silenced," he decreed and nodded at the mage to see that his instructions were carried out. With a nod of his head, Brendyn disappeared.

"You have got to be kidding me," his mate insisted and looked as outraged as she sounded. "Dragan, she's twelve, and you sound like a power-mad mob boss."

"Do you think I like making decisions like this?" He demanded. "As the dragon king, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of my kind. Regardless of what that entails."

"Dad, no!" Ember wailed. "You can't hurt Pammy. She's my best friend."

"You should have thought about that before you involved her," he accused harshly, determined to impress the importance of the situation on his stubborn offspring. "Her fate is in your hands, Ember."

"Mom!" The girl cried brokenly, and it was obvious that she was terrified. "Don't let him hurt her."

"Stop it, Dragan," her mother insisted and wrapped her arms protectively around their daughter. "The man I know and love could never do something so heinous."

"I will do anything to protect my family, Ainsley. Anything," he bit out forcefully because he would be completely ruthless when it came to a threat to their safety. If the human population found out about shifters it could lead to the complete annihilation of the entire species.

"If you do this you won't have a family to protect," she threatened. "Ember and I will leave and never come back."

Dragan never even blinked though the pain that slashed and clawed at him was worse than any battle wound he'd ever endured. Because nothing would stop him from protecting his mate and child. Not even their defection. "So be it," he said tonelessly and walked away from the only happiness he'd ever known.