“You’re here to steal my work. You want human DNA to take back to your home,” he’d said in dismay.
Then, he’d grabbed one of them, ready to choke the life out of him, but it hadn’t been as easy as he’d thought. The alien stood upright and he kept a human form, but he had not struggled to breathe as he should have.
Eli was no fighter, not compared to some of the other shifters. But he had stood with his clan and fought the demons. But he’d had an enchanted blade for that. With these aliens, he didn’t know how to attack. He was not squeamish about fighting them; he would do whatever it took to protect Earth from them.
Then, they’d threatened him. When that hadn’t worked, they’d had the guts to threaten Ava.
“We understand how your kind works. Males of your kind cannot stand for their females to be harmed. We know you will give us your secrets.”
Thank God she was safe with Nora and Niall.
He hated to drag anyone else into this mess, but he did need backup. He would not call Nora or Niall, and it was clear to him now that Ava was his mate, and no part of him was willing to endanger her, not for any reason.
But he couldn’t let these assholes use his work against him, or the human race either.
He’d let go of the alien and pulled out his phone. Before he could overthink it, he texted Owen. He’d just met the guy, but shifters stuck together. Eli wouldn’t hesitate to help another shifter who was outnumbered, and he assumed Owen wouldn’t either.
Could use your help. Dangerous situation. Galway University, biology lab.
Before he had his phone back in his pocket, Owen replied, I’ll be there in ten.
Then, he had been shocked when Niall and Nora burst through the doorway instead of Owen. They looked at him questioningly. “They want DNA.” His fist clenched. “But they aren’t going to get it.”
One of them smiled. “You’re only partially correct. We want DNA. But we don’t just want human DNA, we want yours. The genetic sequencing of the dragon shifter. With your genetic code, we will be unstoppable.”
Eli stopped breathing. “No,” he muttered. That thought had not occurred to him. With shifter DNA, whatever creature the aliens created would be stronger, faster, and more resilient than a human. A dragon shifter was taught from an early age to never harm a human, and they kept that vow throughout their lives.
But if these aliens took their DNA, they could wipe out humans on a large scale.
“We aren’t creating an army,” one of the aliens said. “At least not to defeat you. We plan to clone humans and then genetically alter them to be compatible with our kind. And add in a little of your DNA to keep them from ever getting sick or injured.”
That was just as bad. They were going to harvest people.
“We won’t let you use people that way.”
The alien shrugged. “They won’t feel any pain.”
“We don’t clone ourselves, and we don’t clone humans. It’s not going to happen.” Eli took a step closer to them. “We’re going to be escorting you back to your spaceship, and you’re going to leave this planet and never come back.”
“That’s not possible,” one of them said.
“There’s not going to be a debate about this,” Niall said. “This is my clan’s territory, and you are not welcome here.”
One of the aliens cracked his neck to the side. “Very well. We had hoped not to do battle with you. We would really prefer you intact and unharmed, but you have left us no choice.”
Eli glanced over at Niall, who was getting ready to shift, and at Nora, who was crouched, holding her arms out, a dagger clutched in both hands.
He nodded at them both, and then he let the change flow over his body. He roared in a primal rage as his clothes were shredded to pieces and scales rippled down his arms.
The aliens did not cower. Instead, one of them clapped his hands together. “Excellent! We cannot wait to claim these traits for our future generations.”
Like hell, you will.
Eli roared again and he leaped toward the alien, clamping his jaw around its thin arm.
The alien screamed, a high-pitched whining sound, but it stayed upright. It raised its free hand and pushed back against Eli’s chest, emitting a high-voltage electric shock.
Eli was fire-proof, so electricity wouldn’t kill him, but it sure as hell hurt. The electricity surged through his body, lighting up every nerve until it felt like his teeth would rattle out of his head.
He let go of the alien and tried to come up with another plan. Next to him, Niall had two of the aliens cornered, but they were all at a standstill.
Nora had one of them pinned against the whiteboard at the front of the room. With her arms outstretched, it seemed to be taking all of her strength to hold him in place. “I can bind him,” she shouted, “but I can’t move away from him.” She took a deep breath. “If you two can get the others over here, I can hold them.”
Eli looked at Niall and opened his mouth. They couldn’t speak like this, but they could still think and communicate. He wondered if a little fiery heat might affect the aliens since his sharp dragon teeth weren’t enough.
Niall nodded. He understood. They were both planning to breathe fire at the aliens. In the brief moment they’d taken to communicate, the aliens had changed their forms. They had grown bigger and stronger as well. They’d lost the look of pale, waif-like businessmen, and now looked like professional athletes, but with purple-hued skin and white eyes.
All four of them seemed to be able to emit shocks, but Nora still had hers pinned and her magic had rendered him helpless.
Niall and Eli both breathed fire, aiming it right at the aliens. The aliens screamed in pain, but their skin didn’t burn nor did they
