Zoran
’s face ceased into a smile and he said in a relieved tone
. “Soon you will meet my true mate.”
Kelan watched as his younger brother picked on Zoran. When Trelon playfully punched Kelan in the arm wanting him to grab Zoran, Kelan just shook his head with an answering grin. It had been a long time since they had wrestled with each other. All five brothers were very close growing up, often getting into trouble together. Their father and mother tried futilely to separate them on more than one occasion when they had been particularly mischievous. That never stopped them, though. They simply shifted and took off for the dense forests that covered their world. Kelan chuckled when he saw Trelon reaching for Zoran. Zoran suddenly became very still, frowning in concentration.
“Abby will not be returning alone. There are three females with her.” Zoran
grumbled.
“Perhaps she brings our true mate to us.” Trelon teased
.
“I, for one, am not ready but perhaps Kelan, Mandra, and Creon might appreciate having one. I still have much to taste before I settle for one female.”
Kelan
choked out a
laugh
and
grab
bed
Trelon around the neck
, imaging it was his dragon’s when the damn thing roared out excitedly at the idea of meeting its potential mate
.
As Kelan fought to control his dragon, he couldn’t resist ribbing Trelon.
“You believe yourself a bull dragon to satisfy so many females. It takes that many because none could ever put up with you for long.”
Trelon responded to Kelan’s comment just as Kelan knew he would, by trying to take him down. Kelan may have been slightly taller and a year older than Trelon, but Trelon was definitely broader and more muscular. Kelan had just twisted to break the hold Trelon was trying to get around his neck when he heard Zoran’s roar of rage. In a flash, he shifted and called to his symbiosis. Golden armor swiftly covered his arms, legs, and chest. He rose into the air, prepared for battle.
Kelan listened intently to the conversation between his two brothers. At first, he regretted sending the other warriors back to the warship. If necessary, he could call to them to return. Until he knew what the issue was, he did not want to endanger any of his men’s lives. When Zoran explained his true mate had been attacked, he began forming strategies to get her back. It appeared there was only one male involved that they knew of. There was no need to call for additional support. One primitive male would be no match for the three skilled warriors. Kelan notified the
V’ager
via his symbiosis to be prepared for a swift departure and to prepare medical just in case it was needed for Zoran’s mate. He was not concerned about the welfare of the male who had taken her. He was already dead as far as Kelan was concerned.
Trisha gripped the armrest with one hand and put her other hand on the dashboard to try to keep from being tossed around. Cara was doing a great job of driving but it was still scaring the shit out of her. Both she and
Ariel were cussing up a blue-streak.
When Cara made the turn onto the gravel road, Trisha began wondering if it would be a good time to start praying again. She was doing the best she could to keep the tail lights of Carmen’s motorcycle in sight. Since Carmen was running dark, the only time they could see her was when she hit the brakes, which didn’t seem often enough for Trisha’s peace of mind.
She must be traveling like a bat out of hell to be so far ahead of us,
Trisha thought. When the truck slid dangerously close to the trees on Trisha’s side of the truck, she didn’t say a word but the sweat beading on her forehead was enough to show it was closer than she was comfortable with. A flashback to her own accident was enough to make her swallow down the nausea that threatened. She couldn’t lose it now. She had to keep control until this was over and Abby was safe. Focus on Abby, she kept telling herself.
Trisha could see Cara was fighting to maintain control of the pickup truck. When she didn’t see Carmen’s tail lights, she became worried that Carmen m
ay have taken a spill and was l
ying in the middle of the road where they couldn’t see her. If they came upon her suddenly, there would be no way to avoid hitting her.
“Do you see her?” Trish
a
asked anxiously
, voicing her fears
. “I can barely see a thing. I would hate for Carmen to wreck in the middle of the road and not see her until too late.”
“She’s fine. I think I saw some br
ake
lights up ahead through the trees.” Ariel bit out between bumps. “God, Cara. Do you think you could hit any more ruts?”
Ariel no sooner finished her sentence when she was thrown into Trisha. Trisha couldn’t quite contain the groan that escaped her when her head hit the passenger side window hard. She knew she was going to have a nice knot on her head. The bad thing was she couldn’t even let go of her grip long enough to rub it out. Gritting her teeth together, she pushed back the pain. She had gotten pretty good at doing that, she thought with a dry sense of humor.
Trisha bit back a laugh as Cara responded to Ariel. She wasn’t about to say a word. Cara had a long memory and Trisha didn’t want to be on her bad side. She was still waiting for the payback for the blind date. In fact, Trisha wouldn’t have been in the least bit surprised if Cara didn’t pull over and tell Ariel she could drive if she thought she could do it better.
“I’m doing the best I can. It is darker than shit out here and I don’t think this road has ever been graded! You try driving over twenty miles an hour on it and see if you can do any better.” Cara said crossly
.
Yup, Cara was pissed,
Trisha thought. When she heard the sound of metal scraping, she cringed.
“I can fix that.” Cara said loudly over the screeching.
Trisha bit back a chuckle and just shook her head. Knowing Cara, she would too and it would be even better than before. That thought had no sooner left her brain when she saw a flash of bright blue light. She turned around to see what it was just as Cara called out.
“Son-of-a-bitch! What was that?” Cara
gasped.
Ariel twisted around
too
trying to see out the back window. “I don’t know. You didn’t hit the gas tank or anything did you?”
“Of
course, she didn’t.” Trisha bit out tensely, gripping the dashboard harder so she wouldn’t be thrown into the side window again
. “That would have been us, otherwise. Just don’t give her any ideas!”
Trisha turned around in time to gasp as another flash lit up the night. Her eyes widened as s
he saw Carmen’s motorcycle l
ying on its side behind the pickup truck of the man who had kidnapped Abby. They were about twenty-five yards ahead of them.
“Holy shit! Did you see that?” Cara asked
looking up through the windshield.
Trisha’s eyes were focused on the struggle going on in the truck in front of them. She could see inside the cab as the light came on when the driver’s side door opened. She watched as the man leaned over Abby. After a moment, he began pulling her out of the truck by her hair.
“Oh, my Go
d. Abby!” Trisha cried out.
Trisha struggled to open the door to the truck just as it rolled to a stop behind the pickup in fr
ont of them. She ignored everything else but the need to get to Abby. She
almost f
ell
as her feet connected with the uneven surface
of the gravel road. Trisha bit back a curse. She was still stiff from the flight and was having difficulty getting her muscles to work right. Biting back a cry of pain, she forced herself to move out of the way so Ariel could climb out after her.
“Where’s Carmen?” Ariel called out frantically as she
slid
out of the truck.
Trish
a
gave a cry of alarm as she watched three huge creatures surround the man who had pulled Abby out of the truck. Within seconds, more of the bright blue fire appeared and surrounded the man. Trisha watched in horror as the man was engulfed in flames, his silent screams were frozen on his face for just a moment before his body dissolved into a pile of ash.
Kelan
kept Zoran in his sight
s
as
he followed him to Abby
.
He flew fast and silent, his huge body moving in a graceful rhythm while his keen eyesight looked down through the dark forest below for any sign of Zoran’s mate. Kelan
watched as Zoran
suddenly
dropped down out
of the sky,
shift
ing at the last possible moment so he could
land
in the back of the pickup truck holding Abby.
Kelan swerved u
p and over some trees
before he fell back behind the other strange transports that were following Zoran’s mate. He
spewed dragon fire
behind the last transport
causing several large trees to
explode and effectively block
the road.
He would have just destroyed the transport but he wanted to find out what they wanted with Zoran’s mate first. Did they know about Zoran? Were they helping the man who had taken Abby?
He circled around and was coming in for a landing when he saw the man who
was
holding Abby raise a weapon and fire point blank into Zoran’s chest.
Cold r
age
gripped
him
for a moment
as he watched his brother collapse
. H
e let out a roar.
To attack one Valdier warrior was to attack them all. The man and any of the others who were helping him were dead. They just didn’t know it yet.
Kelan moved in to land just as
a dark shape appeared
out from the side of the road
and tackled the man with the gun.
Kelan’s head jerked around when he heard Trelon’s voice.
“Kelan, do you have a fix on the others?”
“Yes.”
Kelan replied
focusing again on the other transport. He could already see Zoran was moving again. He should have known better than to worry about his older brother. The corner of his mouth twitched into amusement as he saw the exact moment Zoran’s symbiosis finished healing him.
“The other transport is coming up fast and there is the one that is fighting the man who harmed Zoran. Perhaps we should let that one live if he wins.”
Kelan responded.
Kelan
landed next to Trelon just as Zoran s
tood up.
He watched silently as the face of Abby’s abductor changed from triumph to horror as Zoran sentenced him to death before he shifted. Blue flames poured out of Zoran, engulfing the human male in dragon fire. Within moments, nothing remained of the human but ash.
Kelan carefully cataloged the scene around him as he prepared to finish off the other humans. The one who tackled the man lay prone on the ground. Kelan could smell the blood and could tell from the heartbeat the man would not survive for long. His head turned as the other transport drew to a sliding stop and he watched as three figures slid out of it. The one closest to them was tiny. Kelan’s keen eyesight noticed right away that the figure was of a female, not a male, and she was armed with some type of metal bar. He ignored the weapon. He could disarm her in seconds. His gaze swung to the other two figures as they came around the side of the transport. In that moment, his life changed forever.