She dipped her wings, and her shadow fell over Aaron. It felt like a caress.
Flapping her wings, the dragoness propelled herself forward, away from him.
As the sight of her receded, Aaron turned, walking back into the bar.
Catching up with him, Cain asked, "You let her go?"
"You saw what she is. A dragon shifter. Not like I could have stopped her even if I wanted to."
"A dragon shifter." Cain huffed. "I heard they existed, but it’s the first time I’ve seen one in this city. And that teleporter…"
"A very dangerous one." Aaron ran his fingers through his hair, his mind racing, the buzz of the alcohol gone. "While the mayor actively encourages shifters, humans, and vampires to live together in the city, the reality is that the species still don't get along. Alex's bar is the one place where all hang out together."
"A perfect target to hit and spread discontent among all species in one go." Cain tipped his head in agreement.
Aaron's forehead furrowed. "Let's help the wounded and report this straight to the Council."
A woman ran out of the bar. She gripped his arm. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Aaron tried to pull away, attempting to not seem impolite. "I'm fine, Charm."
She'd had her sights on him since he'd moved to the barracks. He'd managed to evade her attentions so far.
Charm's lower lip trembled as she turned her face up to him. She was a beautiful, sensuous woman, but she'd never had any effect on him.
Unlike Hope, whom he'd just seen shift into a dragon and fly off.
He took another step back and tugged at Charm’s grasp until her hand dropped away.
"Go home. Go to bed. You'll be fine tomorrow."
"Why don't you come with me? I'm so scared, Aaron." She wrung her hands.
"The Council will ramp up security measures and take precautions. We won't let anything happen to the citizens of Bombay." He’d said that with more confidence that he felt. He turned to a passing soldier. "Brian, see Ms. Charmaine back to her home."
Brian's Adam's apple bobbed as he took in Charm's figure. "After you, ma'am."
He followed her, and the two walked away.
Cain chuckled. "You handed a wolf cub to a tigress?"
"Even wolf cubs must grow up." All Aaron could think about was a woman with gorgeous green eyes.
7
Hope
Hope soared over the waves, heading toward her island. She was halfway home before she realized what she'd done.
She'd revealed her dragon.
The realization tore through her. The shock of it almost had her changing back into human form. Pushing back the transformation, she clung to her dragon form and kept going.
The woman inside her knew she'd have to tell her alpha what had happened.
Her dragon didn't care.
All the animal knew was that it had done the right thing. It had saved the one who had spoken to its soul. So what if Aaron wasn't another dragon shifter?
The woman in her worried about the consequences of her actions.
Coming in for a landing on the sand near the waves, she shifted, the air around her shimmering.
Her body shrunk, nails drew in and cells in her body changed shape. The agony of the transformation cut through to the bone.
Fire and heat sizzled through her veins.
The dragon in her was still not fully banked. The last tendrils of fire curled around her female form.
The wind hit her bare skin.
She walked up the sand. Reaching her emergency stash of clothes secured to the low wall at the edge of the beach, she shrugged into them.
Wearing the clothes brought the woman back to the fore. With it came the dull inevitability of what was to come.
There was no other way out. She had to tell Eve what had happened.
This time the responsible human in her won.
Dragon 1. Woman 1.
Shoulders slumped, she walked toward the official residence of the alpha of the dragons to face Eve.
"Hope."
She jerked her head around.
Jason jogged toward her from the beach.
She'd known him since they were dragonlings. Their mothers had been close friends, and Jason had spent most of his school holidays with Hope and her sisters.
Jason was also the most suitable dragon shifter for her to mate with. They were compatible in every way, as Eve had reminded her so often.
He drew up next to her, chest heaving from his run.
He was quite good-looking, Hope had to admit.
His T-shirt was splotched with sweat and outlined the sculpted planes of his chest.
Coming to a stop, he pulled it off and rubbed the material over his skin to soak up the moisture.
A couple of female joggers slowed as they passed him, both checking him out with unabashed interest.
"Ladies." He tilted his head at them.
One of them stumbled and would have fallen if her giggling friend hadn't held her up.
"Showing off the merchandise, Jase?" Hope’s tone was amused.
"You interested?" A smile crinkled the edges of those beautiful gray eyes.
Reaching up, she patted his cheek. "Not a chance."
Before she could withdraw her hand, he captured it and held it there. "So you're not envious?"
"Jase…" She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to choose her words carefully. "I don't think of you in that way."
"In what way?" His tone was easy, but his eyes narrowed.
"Oh, no!" She tugged at her hand, and he let go. "I am not walking into that one." She waggled her eyebrows at him.
"What one?" He waggled his eyebrows back.
A reluctant chuckle had her lips widening in a smile.
"Much better." He nodded, falling into step with her.
She resumed walking.
"You heading to see Eve?"
She lowered her gaze to the ground. "Yes."
"You broke another rule and you have to tell her about it?" His voice was casual.
She slowed her steps until she was barely moving. "Yes."
"You going to bond with me?" He sounded almost bored.
"Yes."
It took her a full second to realize what he'd done there.
"No!" She smacked his arm. "So clever."
He flung an arm around her shoulders. "Not clever at all. If I was, I'd have figured out the best way to woo you by now."
"I know you too well, silly." She elbowed him in his side. "You don't have to woo me."
"Then just say yes." Coming to a halt, he turned to her and yanked her to him with so much force that the breath rushed out of her.
Those gray eyes she'd known for so long burned with an intensity she'd never seen before.
"Say, yes." He leaned in, close enough for his breath to whistle across her cheek.
Her breasts were flattened against his bare chest. Only it didn’t do anything for her.
Her mind was too full of thoughts of the man she'd met earlier, the immortal warrior who'd staked his claim on her with just a glance. The one who'd wanted her, even though she'd sensed him withdraw from her, as if he was not quite sure about what to make of the connection between them.