“Don’t even try, you filthy animal,” the white-haired man hissed. “That net was made for beasts like you.”
“Why don’t we just kill it now?” Someone interjected.
“You know why.” Pale silver eyes full of hate trained on him. “We must wait.”
“Just because he stopped Jones from killing Baker?”
“Shut up, idiot!”
“Sorry, boss.”
“Get your hands off me, asshole!” Sarah shouted as one of the men dragged her forward. “What did you do to him?”
“Him?” The white-haired man mocked. “He’s a filthy animal. Are you one of them too?”
“Fuck you—ow!” Sarah cried as the man holding her jerked her back.
White hot rage coursed through his veins, and the grizzly gathered all its strength and slashed at the net over and over again. Pain didn’t even register in their brain, even as their claws chipped and tore from the attempt to escape. However, when its teeth caught in the net, the mesh gave way.
“Motherfucker! They said that thing would hold!”
“Get the tranqs ready! But put a bullet in his head if you have to.”
“No! Don’t kill him!”
“Take that bitch away!”
Daniel ignored them as the grizzly continued to chew and tear through the mesh. He could only focus on Sarah, her cries and screams as one of them tossed her over his shoulder. No, Daniel and his bear could only focus on one thing: their mate.
“Shoot! Shoot!”
There was a soft pffft sound from behind him and he felt the sting of a needle on his back. It only fueled their rage, and soon they were free of the net. Hopping onto its feet, the grizzly lunged toward Sarah.
“Imbeciles!” The white-haired man shrieked.
The grizzly lumbered forward, but its steps faltered. Not now, Daniel raged. But the tranquilizer was already slowly making it was through their system.
“He’s going down! Abomination! You—”
A loud screech pierced the air, interrupting the white-haired man’s tirade.
“What the fuck is—”
“Jesus Christ Almigh—”
“—get out of here!”
The wind picked up around them, like a hurricane passing through. Daniel felt something big around them, a presence that he couldn’t name. However, as his grizzly was falling over, it bent its head back toward the sky before it hit the ground.
Holy shit.
At first, he thought he’d hit his head too hard. But the air above him was definitely shimmering as something large appeared overhead. Something very large, with wings and a humungous snake-like body. Light rippled across green-gold scales as the creature let out another earth-shattering shriek.
What the fuck.
“What do we do, boss?” someone said. “That’s a—”
“Dragon!”
Daniel blinked. Dragon? Was it Matthew or Jason Lennox? Had they seen the accident and swooped in to investigate? He’d only seen the twin dragons a few times in his life, but he remembered them clearly. And that snake-like dragon with the green and gold scales was neither of the Lennox siblings.
“Goddammit, not again!” The white-haired man hissed. “That meddling—”
The dragon swooped down low, its tail flicking on the ground like a whip as it approached them.
“Duck!” The men ran, scattering away. The creature beat its bat-like wings hard and flew up again.
Daniel could feel the effects of the tranquilizer ebbing away. They must not have used a large enough dose. As his grizzly’s body began to shrink, he closed his eyes, trying to speed up the change. When he was fully human, he shot to his feet.
“Daniel!”
Something hurtled toward him, and slim arms wrapped around his neck. He inhaled a familiar sweet scent, and his grizzly settled within in. Their mate was safe.
“Sarah,” he rasped, pulling her close to him, her curves fitting into the hard planes of his body perfectly like interlocking pieces of a puzzle. “I thought they’d … that I lost …”
“That asshole who picked me up like a sack of potatoes dropped me as soon as he saw that … that thing.” She shivered, and he held her tighter. “God, when I saw your car flip over, I was so scared.”
His chest filled with hope. She had been frightened for him. That meant she cared. “I was scared for you too,” he admitted. “Sarah …” He sighed and then buried his face in her hair. God, this was perfect. So perfect. He only had to turn his head and he could kiss her cheek, and then make his way to her lips.
The sound of an engine roaring to life and tires screeching made her pull away. “Oh my God, those men who tried to capture you!” She pointed behind him. “They’re getting away!”
Turning his head, he saw the taillights of what was probably an SUV in the distance down the road. “It’s all right. We’re safe. You’re safe,” he said. He longed to pull her back into his arms, but the moment had passed.
“I don’t understand.” She shook her head. “What the hell is going on?”
“I—”
The wind picked up again, and every instinct in his head screamed as he felt that same looming presence around him again. “Stay behind me,” he ordered, pulling Sarah to his back.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s back … whatever it is.”
“What—oh!” She sucked in a breath.
The ground shook, and she held onto his shoulder. The air shifted and shimmered again. He gritted his teeth, ready for the dragon to show up, but the green-gold creature didn’t materialize. Instead, a human-like figure began to form in front of them. Behind him, Sarah gasped.
“Are you all right?”
Daniel blinked as the man’s figure solidified. He was tall, nearly seven feet, with short-cropped dark blond hair and a thick beard, his bare arms decorated in rune-like tattoos. His torso and legs were covered in what appeared to be armor that mimicked his scales, and a large sword was strapped to his side. The man was literally and figuratively a knight in shining armor.
“Uh … yeah?” He wasn’t sure what to say. He was on their side, obviously, as he had chased those men away. “Who are you?”
“I know you are surprised, so allow me to introduce myself.” He gave them a small nod. “My name is Thoralf, Former Captain of
