My fire coiled through me. It was always there, swirling, simmering, pulling me. The first weekend in May and the cold had finally left Chicago, hopefully for good. Runners crowded the trails along Lake Shore Drive, desperate for the bright sun on their faces after so long indoors. No one knew. No one even guessed what was inside me.

I turned away from the lake and made my way toward Seminary Street. My dragon stirred, pulled first by the sound of laughter. A young couple walked arm in arm, sipping iced coffee from the chic little shop at the corner. I stretched my reach, taking a deep breath as the man straightened his back. He was just a normal man though. I sensed no shifter blood in him. Still, he sensed something in me. He kept his smile in place, but tightened his grip on his girlfriend. I nodded as we passed on the sidewalk.

I pulled out the tiny scrap of paper my brother Gideon had given me. He’d written the address in his scrawling cursive that no one outside the family could read. I crumpled the paper again and crammed it in my suitcoat pocket. I was overdressed for the neighborhood. The Lakeview District was made up of hipsters and young people now. It thrived with new, reborn energy. I’d seen it transform from generation to generation. Thriving. Dying. Coming back to life.

I nearly walked right by the little bookstore as I scanned the other shops and people on the street. There was no reason to think anyone out here would threaten me. I knew my power. It crackled through me, coiled strength and burgeoning heat. My dragon was on edge. I’d controlled him for three hundred years. Today should have been just another day. Another dead end or wild goose chase Avelina sent one of us on.

Dragonstone. I wasn’t even sure I’d know it when I saw it. Part of me questioned whether it ever existed. I wasn’t the only one. My brothers had their doubts as well, but when Avelina wanted something, she usually got it. For the last five years, she’d been determined to chase down every lead and half-baked rumor about where to find the stuff. It was the key she said. Where there was dragonstone, there had to be another dragon.

I crossed the street and stood outside the bookstore, shoving my hands in my pockets. I drew a few more curious stares from pedestrians. No one came in or out of the store.

“Ridiculous,” I muttered as I read the faded sign above the front door. Professor Marvin’s Used Books & Baubles.

I knew how this would go. I’d walk inside and feel nothing but the dark, quiet. There would be no mystery. No ancient pull. No dragonstone. This particular goose chase seemed wilder than most. Over the years, my brothers and I had been to every corner of the earth searching for a trace of Avelina’s magic hunk of rock. What were the odds I’d find some just a few miles from where we lived?

I let out a sigh and peered through the window. I saw no customers. Just rows of books from floor to ceiling. Professor Marvin peddled worthless trinkets too, it appeared. Quite the setup. I had to give the guy credit for understanding his brand. I bet he did solid numbers on the weekends. This kind of place fit in perfectly with the artsy vibe of Lakeview.

My spine straightened as I heard a crash inside. In the far corner of the store, someone moved. I saw a swish of long, red hair and my fire swirled low in my core.

Easy, dragon. Get in. Get out. Get home.

The store didn’t open for a few minutes yet. I was tempted to open the door anyway. No lock in the world could keep me out. Just a quick flash of fire from my fingertips would get me inside. It was dangerous though. My dragon chafed to get free today. I wasn’t entirely sure I could let him out halfway. And that right there was the problem.

Avelina knew it. She wouldn’t say it. But she worried. I could see it in her face, sense it in her voice. Day by day. Little by little. She knew we were all losing control.

Not today though. Today I’d do what she asked. I’d search the store, talk to the owner, see if there was anything to see. There wouldn’t be, of course. There never was. Then, I’d go home and tell Avelina and the fire in her own eyes would dim that much more.

The minutes ticked away as I waited for someone to come and flip the closed sign to open. Five minutes past eleven and still, no one had. That shouldn’t have meant much. My cursory internet search of Professor Marvin told me he was seventy-five years old. He had a record too. Petty stuff mostly, but he sold medicinal weed when it wasn’t legal and twice got caught dealing in stolen goods. Yet one more reason why I figured this little field trip was a waste of time.

Cold air brushed my shoulder blades. My dragon stirred again. I scanned the street. It grew strangely quiet. A shadow moved across the door to Marvin’s shop and my vision went dark.

Trouble.

I couldn’t wrap my senses fully around it. I felt my dragon rise to the surface. The urge to fly made the skin stretch taut over my back. My wings hammered to unfurl. Not now. God. Not now.

As I reached for the doorknob, a scream cut through me, nearly driving me to my knees.

I don’t remember breaking the glass, but it shattered at my feet. My heart thundered inside me and smoke swirled from my fingertips. Not yet. Until I understood the source of the danger, shifting now could spell disaster.

“Hello!” I shouted. My voice sounded far away. I existed outside myself as the two halves of my nature struggled for control. I could almost hear Avelina’s voice. Stay calm. Let your blood settle. Keep your dragon hidden.

“No!” A woman’s voice cut through me. The rows of books formed a maze. I headed toward the deepest part of it, searching for a door or hallway to the back.

Darkness folded around me in inky shadows. I didn’t need Avelina’s ancient power to recognize it for what it was. Dark magic. A cloaking spell maybe. But underneath that, simmering with raw strength, was something else.

Animalistic rage shot out, slamming into my chest. The wolf’s pungent scent made me gag. There was just one door on the back wall with a crooked “private” sign hanging from it. I smashed it down and went inside. My fingers stretched to talons.

Dragonfire clouded my vision for an instant. I saw the old man first. He was backed into a corner, barely on his feet. His white hair whipped wild as the wolf’s breath blew it back.

“Shae, run!” The old man’s ragged voice cut through the chaos.

Shae. The name slammed into me at the same time as her scent. Sweet. Powerful. Intoxicating.

The wolf lowered its head and bared his fangs. His eyes blazed red with bloodlust. Five of his companions burst through the broken window to the alley. None of them felt Alpha to me. But they were fiercely strong and about to go in for the kill.

“No!” The girl burst out of the shadows. Her long, red hair whipped behind her like the flames licking along my spine. Two of the wolves broke formation and trained their blood-red eyes on her.

Instinct took over and I dove for her, shoving her behind me as I let fire shoot from my fingertips. It wasn’t enough to kill the wolves, but it drove them back, squealing. They recovered quickly and went for the old man.

In their fury, they hadn’t sorted out what I was. If I was lucky, they never would. Their Alpha sent them here for one thing. Murder. I knew he could see through their eyes. He wouldn’t know what to make of me unless I shifted. Then they would know. Within a few days, every shifter in the world would know. Dragons were supposed to be extinct.

“Martin!” The girl pushed against me. My blood turned to fire. Ancient instinct fueled me. I saw a flash of blinding white as my dragon eyes flared hot. I had my back to her still, shielding her with my body. She couldn’t see. She didn’t yet know. The wolves advanced.

The biggest one lunged for the old man, swiping a lethal paw across his chest. His knees gave out and he slumped to the floor. Shae’s scream gutted me. She tried to push against me, but I held her back. It was too late for the old man, but not for her.

When the wolves turned toward me, I gathered my fire. I straightened. The biggest wolf pricked his ears. He looked at me, but didn’t know what he was seeing. His own instincts told him all he needed to know. All the air in the room rushed toward me as I drew in the breath I needed to unleash the fire.

But it wasn’t me he was after. As the old man’s lifeblood drained out of him, I sensed the change in the pack. The girl. Shae. They had orders to strike her down too and they wouldn’t stop. They were feral, couldn’t think for themselves. This was dark magic indeed. Only the most evil of shifters controlled this kind of power. As much as I meant to save the girl, I knew this would be a mercy killing.

A heartbeat. Two. The wolf blinked. A keening wail split the air as their Alpha called them back. He sensed the threat I posed. All six wolves turned tail and ran back into the alley.

My head spun as the fire inside me gathered strength. It took everything in me to keep the dragon under control. So close. My whole body shook with the power it took to contain my shift.

The girl...Shae, ran out from behind me and skidded to her knees in front of the old man. A dark pool of blood spread out beneath him. Death clung to him like swirling black smoke. In some detached corner of my brain, I could view him clinically, like Avelina would.

Ah, so you’re really a mage after all. Sadly, the old man’s magic drained out of him along with his blood. That he could hold on to life right now spoke to his power.

Shae sobbed as she slid her knees under the old man’s head. Professor Marvin, I thought. His skin had turned gray, and he looked up at Shae.

“Go with him,” he whispered. “It’s going to be all right now.”

The man’s face changed. Any trace of terror melted away. He looked at peace. He looked at me.

“Call an ambulance!” Shae yelled. For the first time, she looked up at me. “Don’t just stand there.”

Marvin’s eyes met mine. His held no fear, no sadness. Just grim acceptance as he curled his withered fingers around Shae’s wrist. She wore a round medallion on a gold chain around her neck. A locket. It swayed near Marvin’s nose. She quickly tucked it into her shirt.

As Shae softly wept, I stepped around her and checked the alley. The wolves had retreated, but they weren’t gone. There could be more. I sensed there were. Professor Marvin had a point. Shae needed to go.

“Shae,” he coughed.

“Shh, don’t try to talk. Goddammit! Why aren’t you calling 911?” She yelled at me.

I turned to face her.

“It’s too late,” Marvin whispered. “It’ll be all right.”

“Who were they?” I asked. I sank to my knees so the old man could read my face. There was a moment. No more than a second or two. But, his cloudy eyes widened and he gave me a grim nod. He knew. My God, he knew what I was.

He reached for Shae, sliding one hand to the back of her neck. He pulled her down and whispered something in her ear. A tear slid from her cheek and splattered on his shirt. It made a dark circle and spread to join the blood.

I felt something. It pricked along my spine and stoked the flames inside of me again. Magic. The old man was trying to heal himself or at least cling to a few more seconds of life. No sooner had I felt it before it leached back out of him. His breaths became a telltale rattle. In the distance, the wolves began to howl.

I gripped the old man’s free hand. He had a surprising amount of strength in his grasp. So there went the last embers of his own magic.

“They’re coming back,” he said, locking eyes with me.

Swallowing hard, I nodded. We understood each other. With a cold, sick clarity, something else occurred to me. Was it my magic that had drawn them here in the first place?

“Time to run again, honey,” he said, turning his attention back to Shae. “I’m sorry about it all.”

“Marvin, stop. Don’t talk. Let me just get you to a hospital.”

Her grief unspooled, wrapping around me and squeezing my heart. She was beautiful. Her long, red hair framed her face. She made my heart stop and quieted my dragon for just a moment. The rising howl of the wolf pack brought him blazing back to the surface.

They were coming back.

“Go!” Marvin drew his last ounce of strength to pull himself out of Shae’s lap. He pushed her toward me.

The wolves burst through the broken window again. Their numbers had doubled. Even I might not be able to fight off a full pack in human form. I needed my dragon. Now.

Instinct and my own bloodlust fueled me. As Professor Marvin slumped back to the ground. I wrapped my arm around Shae’s waist and pulled her to me. I had magic of my own and it was time to use it. It was just enough to confuse the wolves, blinding them to my presence. It would only last a few seconds, but that was all I’d need.

Drawing in a fire breath, I let my dragon out. I held Shae against my chest and let my wings unfurl. Then, we rocketed into the sky.