That night, Zinc was sleeping earlier than usual, a bad sign that he was probably not feeling well.

Leanne hoped it meant that the guard in front of their cells, Barney, would think she’d given Zinc the pills in his food.

She had no intention of dosing Zinc and letting that dragon lady take him. She had a plan of her own, and all she’d needed to know to put it in motion was that Zinc could undo a mating if he needed to.

She didn’t think he hated her. In fact, he actually seemed attracted in the times he was lucid. He was always thoughtful and kind as well.

She couldn’t just let him die, and she couldn’t let that dragon lady mate him.

That left only one option.

She leaned back on her cot, letting moonlight stream over her curvy body. She knew from overhearing the guards that they found human females attractive, and she hoped Barney wasn’t an anomaly.

“Barney,” she called in her best imitation of a sultry voice.

Barney jerked his head up from where he’d been zoning out on his chair and stared at her with narrowed eyes. “What is it, bitch?”

She tamped down on her anger and gave him a winning smile. “It’s getting lonely in here. Why don’t you come in and share a drink with me?”

Barney looked suspicious, so she slowly pulled off the long tunic she wore, leaving her in only a bra and pants. She leaned forward slightly, pressing her breasts together.

“It’s been weeks. I have needs…” She pouted at him and saw him sit up rigidly.

It was working.

She darted a glance at Zinc, glad to see him still sleeping, sad to see the paleness of his countenance. “I still have the glass of wine they brought with dinner. You can share it with me.”

Barney also looked at Zinc, then shrugged, a smile spreading over his face. “Well, the stupid dragon should be out for at least twelve more hours, thanks to you dosing him. You know, I almost thought you wouldn’t do it. You were getting so close to him.” He flashed large canines as his grin grew wider, and he stood and walked over to the cell, jangling his keys as he pulled them out.

She picked up her wine glass and walked to the door, letting him take in the look of her shirtless curves. She sipped from the glass, pretending to drink it.

“There’s another male I would rather get close to,” she said, looking at him over the rim of her cup as she feigned taking another sip. “Now that he’s out of the way, I don’t have to take care of him anymore.”

Barney eagerly came up to her cell and unlocked the door, letting himself in. Her heart started to race almost painfully as she found herself alone in the cell with the huge male she knew was a monster.

But she couldn’t falter now.

She sidled up to him and ran a finger down his chest as she held the glass up to him.

He took it from her and took a long drink from it, and she marveled at his stupidity in so willingly taking a drink from a woman he knew had access to doping drugs that day.

Perhaps horniness was a bigger blinding factor than she thought. Or perhaps it was easier for him to believe that she would sell out Zinc rather than risk her life for someone who was still practically a stranger.

He smiled as he lowered the wine glass, and then his eyes went slightly unfocused.

She wondered how drugs meant for a dragon would work on a wolf.

He wavered on his feet, then fell to the ground with a crashing sound, his keys clattering a few feet away, the cup smashing beneath him.

Perfect.

She crouched and touched his neck, noting a pulse with relief, as she wasn’t trying to kill anyone.

She just needed time to get to Zinc’s cell and do what she had to. She didn’t even know how it would end for her. Perhaps she would die before she could even really explain her motives the next morning. Perhaps she wouldn’t even save him as she hoped.

But she had to try.

She scooped the keys off the ground and walked quickly out of the cell, listening for any activity upstairs that meant someone had noticed the crash.

Nothing.

She got to Zinc’s cell and unlocked it as quietly as possible, using one of the keys on the ring.

Zinc was tossing and turning slightly, though the loud noises in her cell didn’t appear to have awakened him. His forehead was damp with sweat, and he was murmuring something in his sleep.

Something about Drakkaris. And going home.

She touched the small metal necklace around his neck that was supposedly restraining him and wondered if it was hastening the onset of his sickness.

As she stroked the side of his face, trying to wake him, it occurred to her just what a huge mystery this man was. With his dark-silver hair and eyes, he truly looked not of this world.

“It’s going to be okay, Zinc. I’m going to save you.”

At that, his eyes flashed open, and the pupils there were dark, long, misshapen.

The eyes of a dragon. Was his creature always inside him? She hadn’t had the chance to really see anyone shift. The shifters had only needed their strength in human form to capture her and the other dragon hearts.

Not to mention their super-human healing canceled out anything the dragon hearts had done.

His pupils returned to normal as his hand covered hers, and he looked around blearily, finally focusing on her face. Then his gaze dropped to her chest, and his eyes widened as he realized she was shirtless.

He made an attempt to sit up but then slumped back down wearily. He looked over at her cell, where Barney was still lying on the floor.

The collar around his neck sparked as he tried to sit up again. “Did he hurt you?” His voice was raspy. “That bastard.”

Leanne placed a hand on Zinc’s chest, pushing him back down. “No. In fact, you could say I hurt him. Though, he should wake up okay. Jerk.”

Zinc let out a sigh, resting a hand on his chest. “That’s good, then. I’m glad you’re not hurt.” He raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what do you mean you hurt him?”

“I… Look, I’ve got a lot to tell you, and I have to do it fast. I don’t know when they’re coming for you.”

Zinc managed to prop himself up on his pillow a bit. She was sitting on the side of his cot, pressed against him in a position that was a little more intimate than they were used to.

Then again, with what she had planned, she supposed it was good to be a bit intimate.

“Listen, Zinc,” she said. “When they called me up this morning, they gave me pills. They told me to drug you.”

Zinc’s gaze changed to the color of oxidized steel. “Why? Did you do it?”

“Of course not,” she said, giving him a sad smile. “I can’t believe you thought I would.”

He sighed. “I wouldn’t blame you. There isn’t much left of me anyway. Might as well save yourself killing me.”

“They didn’t want me to kill you, Zinc.”

His eyes darted to hers in confusion. “What do you mean they didn’t mean to kill me? What were the drugs for?”

She looked over at Barney. “They just… knock someone out.”

Zinc’s eyebrows lowered as he thought it over. Then his eyes widened, and he let out an angry growl. “That creep. She was going to rape me.”

Leanne pressed her lips together. “Yes.”

Zinc let out a string of curses and then leaned forward, putting his head in his hands, and she stroked lightly over his back, trying to soothe him.

“Zinc, I came up with an idea. I don’t know if you’ll like it, but it seems to be our only choice.”

He put his hand to his head and lay back down, looking dizzy. “Sorry, I only stay lucid for a certain amount of time. Tell me quickly.”

She put both hands on his face and made him face her because it seemed to help him keep his focus. “I knocked out Barney with the drug I was supposed to save for you. I… They’ll be coming for you in the morning. If you’re already mated by then—”

“What?” He stared at her groggily, as if unable to believe what she was saying.

“If you’re mated, she can’t take you. She might kill me, but I won’t let her take you. And besides, once you’re mated, your poison should withdraw, right? You should get better.”

“I should, but—”

“It’s worth it, then,” she said, reaching down and pulling her pants off, leaving only her panties. “Because I’m not going to make it out of here anyway, but this gives you a fighting chance. I don’t know what she wants for you, but she doesn’t want you to die. That’s why she wants to mate you.”

“Now just wait a second,” Zinc said, pushing against her as she lifted her leg to climb onto his cot. She straddled him, placing both hands on his chest, feeling his warmth.

He was oddly warm right now for someone who was supposed to be a dragon.

“I know what I want,” she said. “I want to be dragon hearted just once more.”

His hands caught her wrists, holding them as she kept them planted on his chest. “You deserve better than this. You aren’t some tool to be used to save me.”

She looked over him, his muscular form and handsome face lit by faint streams of moonlight, and sighed. “It won’t be a chore. I’ve been locked in a basement for weeks without any human contact. Without any warm touch. And hey, this might be my last chance before I die.”

“Don’t do this,” he said. “It’s not too late. Drug me like you said you would. Or just make a break for it without me. You’d be able to run, whereas I can’t.”

“No,” she said. “Besides, I’d never make it past all the guards.” She continued to run her hands over his muscles, soothing herself and hoping it soothed him, too. Because this was really their only option. “Would it be so bad with me?”

“Of course not, angel,” he said softly, reaching up to touch her face before dropping his hand weakly. “It’s just that you deserve more than this. Than taking a chance on a dragon in a dungeon.”

“Eh,” she said. “It’s been so much better in this dungeon with a dragon. I guess we’ll just have to see how it works out tomorrow.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

She nodded. “This is what I want. I can’t see you die, and I can’t see her take you. I was already lost before you got here. At least I’ll be able to do something good first.”

He sighed deeply, closing his eyes. When he opened them, there was fire in their molten silver depths. “I could never say no to you, angel.”

“Leanne,” she said, dropping forward to pull his shirt over his head, baring his chest. She placed a kiss at the top of his sternum.

“Leanne.” He ran a hand through her hair then caught it in his fingers and lifted her face slightly. She loved the feel of it, his dominance, holding her.

Then he let go, his hand slipping down her shoulder and over her arm, grazing her skin and making her tingle as it fell back to the cot.

He gave her a regretful smile. “I wish I could do more. I would usually do more. I’d bring you to heaven.”

“I can only imagine,” she said softly. “This time I’ll bring heaven to you, if that’s okay.”

He nodded, smiling slightly, and felt her fingers skim his waist.