Steele struck out, swinging his tail in a wide arc, making contact with half the beasts around them, sending the things careening and crashing. One hit a tree and the other slammed into the nearest building.
Fleur’s building.
Steele sent out a prayer to the First Dragon that the women would continue their party inside and not have a clue how close death had come to their door.
The demon dragons would devour a pretty plump thing like Fleur. She’d be defenseless against them.
He could never let that happen. Every protective instinct flared inside like fire and he lashed at the demon dragons, shredding those nearest to him.
A half dozen black oily stains smeared the street and sidewalk in moments as he cut them down and tore out their throats. With each kill his soul shard grew brighter, as if declaring his victory.
Two new demon dragons appeared from the darkness and screeched at their remaining comrades. They stayed back from the fray while the others turned and focused their attack on Dax.
Cowards.
Dax sliced at two of them, but before he could destroy them, the other two piled on top, taking him to the ground. Steele roared, and used all his might to pounce on the bastards, snapping at them with his teeth and tearing at their skin.
His friend was at the bottom of the pile, but holding his own. Steele could feel the heat from Dax’s fire burning the demons from underneath. He speared one demon through the chest with his claw, tossing it at the cowards standing in the shadow of Fleur’s building.
Three more to go.
He reached into the fracas to grab another beast. Two sets of claws dug into him from behind, ripping at his shoulders, gripping the cord of his shard.
Steele bucked and rolled, but he couldn’t throw them off. The more he fought them, the harder they held on. The cord was strong, but not unbreakable.
“Steele, Dax, look out.” Fleur and six of the she-wolves stood at the entrance to the building watching wide-eyed as they battle on the street raged.
His shard lit up the area with its green light, growing stronger by the second. Steele rolled, trying to crush them beneath his giant body, or at least pin them to the ground.
“No, Fleur. Get back, get inside.” Steele projected his plea into her mind. He should have gone back in to protect her from these bastards.
Three of the women around Fleur shifted into snarling wolves and joined the battle, ripping and clawing at the remaining demons.
The other three guarded Fleur and the entrance to the building. The one called Jordan even had a large rifle at the ready.
He sure hoped she knew how to use it and didn’t shoot him in the process.
One of the demons jumped off his back, shredding the skin and scales at his neck, slicing through the shard’s cord with his razor claws.
Something deep inside Steele’s chest tore when the shard fell from his skin. For a moment, he lost his breath from the pain of it. His fight was gone and he fell out of his dragon form, the shift washing over him and out of his control.
The demon dragon held the glowing shard, a piece of Steele’s own soul, in his fist, mesmerized by its light, drooling and snarling over its new treasure. Steele reached for the light, but he was weak now, and losing more strength by the second.
Dax and the wolves battled the remaining demon dragons until they were destroyed and only the bastard holding Steele’s shard remained.
It was outnumbered and it knew it.
The wolves and Dax could stop it. They had to.
The demon dragon spread its wings, and while it couldn’t fly, it could leap, which is exactly what it did.
Three feet into the air, the trees lining the streets stretched their branches blocking its path. It smashed through one tree, only to be smacked down by another.
The light from the shard intensified so bright, it was matched only by another light coming from the entrance to the building.
The necklace around Fleur’s neck glowed with the same light. She had her eyes closed and her hands raised.
Each movement by the demon dragon was met by an increase in the light from her necklace and his shard, plus a literally beating from the growth of new branches on the trees.
The demon dragon screeched and dove away from the angry orchard and straight at Fleur.
“Fleur, no.” Steele yelled and found his last bit of strength. He ran and jumped, collided with the demon dragon in mid-air, rolling to the ground at Fleur’s feet. Steele lifted his legs and double barrel kicked the demon away from Fleur.
The demon dragon moved back only a little and lashed out at Steele, throwing him into the entrance where the women stood. The beast had torn his human flesh, ripping his chest open.
He slid down the door and onto his back leaving a streak of blood behind him. He’d happily give his life, his short 150 years, to have saved Fleur.
But, no, there would be no dying this day. Until the final demon dragon was defeated, he would protect Fleur.
He couldn’t feel any pain. His limbs wouldn’t work, no matter how his mind yelled at them to get up, to defend Fleur. He swallowed and blood bubbled from his lips.
The remaining women shifted and before his next ragged breath, they’d ripped the demon dragon’s throat out. It dissolved into smoke, dropping the shard.
Fleur snagged it from the ground. The night lit up like it had before, turning the dark into a bright green day. He felt its power skim over him, and a new knowledge flowed through him.
His beautiful Fleur.
All he could do was stare up at the beauty that was his true mate.
His true mate.
A gift from the First Dragon.
She knelt beside him, pushing his tattered clothing aside, assessing his wounds. “Dear Gods of Olympus. You’re bleeding everywhere.”
He tried to smile, to soothe her from the coming pain. “I’m sorry, little flower. Please forgive me.”
She ripped his shirt, pressing the bundle of cloth over the bloodiest of his wounds. “For bleeding? I don’t think you can help that.” She wiped her arm across her forehead, pushing the hair out of her eyes, but leaving a streak of his blood. “Don’t worry, help will be here soon. Barbara called her family. The Wolfe men and the enforcers will be here any minute.”
Mine. His dragon clawed from inside, needing to claim his mate, needing to be reassured she hadn’t been harmed or tainted by the demon dragons.
But, even the power of the most feral, animalistic part of his being withered. Some piece of him he hadn’t even known existed until tonight, was missing.
“No, little flower. For leaving you when we’ve only come together.”
He expected tears from her, but he got narrowed eyes glaring down at him instead. “Oh no you don’t.”
He hadn’t even properly claimed, her, hadn’t marked her as his. One final kiss from her would have to be enough, but his lips and tongue weren’t working.
No, damn it. He couldn’t leave her. She was his to love and protect. The very depths of his core screamed out, reaching for her.
His vision faded, tunneling until all he saw was her pretty face.
How could he protect her if he died? First Dragon, hear his plea. Don’t let him leave her alone and in danger.
The tunnel tightened to only her eyes, glowing for him, and finally darkness.
CHAPTER FOUR
Save the Dragon
Fleur smacked Steele’s cheeks, trying to get him to open his eyes. She wasn’t sure how or why, but she could feel the life draining out of him by the second. It felt like it was draining her too.
“Someone call an ambulance,” she yelled, but there was no way even the best first responders would get here in time. Even if they did, would they know how to save a dragon?
Dax, ran over and slid to her side. “Damn, damn. Why doesn’t he shift and heal himself?”
“Can you help him? I don’t know what to do.” The light from the green crystal the black dragon dropped
was fading too.
He shook his head. “I’m a red dragon, not a green, I can’t heal. He was supposed to save my sorry ass if anything happened to us.” He shook Steele’s shoulder. “Come on, man, shift.”
Karla appeared with her FART, furry ass repair tote, handing out clothes to the women who had shifted back to human form and a blanket for Steele. “Here, I’m sorry, I don’t think I have anything else that can help.”
Fleur kept one hand on his wound, keeping the pressure on, and spread the blanket over him with the other. If she could keep him warm until the ambulance came, he would have a better chance.
She swallowed down the acrid taste of fear in the back of her throat. No way a blanket would be enough. She knew basic first aid, and could treat all kinds of illnesses with her medicinal garden, she had to figure out another way to help him. Think, think.
The rest of the women joined them, all in various states of disrepair, clothing torn, scratches and bruises all over their bodies.
“Hey, how come you guys are fully clothed and we’re over her in shreds?” Jordan asked Dax.
“Our shift isn’t like yours. We were gifted the power to move between forms by the White Witch, mate to the First Dragon. The magic allows us to keep our forms, our possessions, and our clothing.”
“I need to make friends with this witch. I go through clothes like there’s not tomorrow,” Emma said.
“Unfortunately, she died about seven-hundred years ago. So, I don’t think that is possible.” Dax waved the girls’ questions off and touched Fleur’s shoulder. “Can you help him?”
“Do you want me to run up and get some of your herbs or the salves? The one you made for my sunburn worked like a miracle. Would they help?” Karla asked.
“Yes. No. I don’t know, they’re for minor first aid, like bug bites and PMS, not for sucking chest wounds.”
Did she have anything on hand that could help stop the bleeding? She did have some wild iris root. That would help with bleeding, but not this much.
“What the fuck happened? Nic, Mom, Ellie, are you okay?” Jake pushed his way into the circle of women and grabbed Nic into his arms.
“I’m fine. But, this guy isn’t.” Nic pointed down at Steele.
Nic’s assessment of the Steele tore at Fleur’s gut. Nic was right. He really wasn’t fine. He was dying and she didn’t have any way to stop it. Shit.
She’d only just met him like an hour ago, and she didn’t understand why, but she could not lose him. Something inside her would break if he did.
“Jesus.” Jake shook his head.
Aric shoved in and grabbed Jordan, kissing her hard and then looking her up and down. “Those don’t look like wolves’ claw marks. What attacked you all?”
“Some sort of black lizard men. I guess they were dragons, but nothing like these two.” Jordan snuggled against Aric.
“Black dragons? What the hell? Did you guys bring some sort of feud with you?” Aric’s voice turned dark, the alpha in him coming out.
Fleur wished they’d all shut up and let her think. Yarrow root? No. She didn’t have time to make a poultice and what would she do with it anyway, pour it straight into his gaping wounds. No. What she needed was a god-damned needle and a whole spool of thread.
Dax stood and shook his head. “They should be here. I’ve never heard of demon dragons in this area. That’s what they are, part demon, part dragon, and all evil.”
“Fucking hell. Just what we need the night before the scenting ceremony. We’ve got wolves coming in from all over for this one, hoping to find mates, and instead they’re going to find god-damned demon dragons.”
“You’re lucky we were here. If you’ve got an infestation of demon dragons, you’ll need our—” Dax glanced down at Steele, “—my help to hunt and destroy them. Unless you want a case of the Bubonic plague on your hands.”
Oh, no. Fleur shook her head, not allowing the tears that were bubbling up there to fall. Even Steele’s friend had given up on him. Fleur couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
The biggest of the wounds she had under her hand seemed to be bleeding less. Olympus above, please don’t let it be because his heart wasn’t pumping.
Her fingers trembled as she placed two fingers on his neck. She was shaking too badly to feel anything. Either that or she would have to admit she couldn’t feel his heartbeat.
“We wouldn’t have this problem in the first place, if you two hadn’t decided to do your dicking around in my town.” Aric stepped up, chest to chest with Dax.
Fleur wanted to tell him to back off, couldn’t they see Steele needed help, not a pissing contest? Bastards.
But, a mere human with a little bit of flower nymph heritage didn’t simply tell the Alpha of the local pack to step off. Not the night before the scenting ceremony where she she hoped to find a mate.
Besides, yelling at the men wouldn’t help Steele. If only she’d studied traditional western medicine instead of botany and herbalism.
“You were supposed to protect our women, not put them in jeopardy. I trusted you with their lives.” Jake pushed Nic behind him and got in Dax’s face.
May Zeus strike them down where they stand.
“We did, and my friend sacrificed his life to protect them.”
That was it. She might lose her chance at going to the scenting ceremony, and she might piss off the Alpha, but she didn’t give a flying squirrel if she did. Not if she could get some help for Steele.
“Shut the hell up, the lot of you. I’m trying to figure out how to save this dragon. Go measure your dicks somewhere else or help me.”
Aric turned his glare on her, the rims of his eyes glowed with the wolf inside of him. Fleur glared right back.
He might be able to intimidate everyone else around him with that look and his inherent power, but just now, he could suck it. “Well?”
“Aric, quit trying to frighten Fleur. She’s trying to save the hotty. And the dragons did fight off a dozen of those beasts before we joined in. We only took out a couple.”
“Fine,” he growled.
The ambulance pulled up, lights flashing, and the circle parted to let them in.
“Shifter or human?” The EMT asked.
“Dragon shifter.” Fleur answered.
The EMT raised his eyebrows, but then nodded. “Okay, we got this. Move aside.”
Fleur gripped her pendant, Steele’s crystal in her hand too, and breathed a sigh, not exactly of relief, because Steele wasn’t out of danger, not in the least. But, maybe it wasn’t completely hopeless now.
With her breath, a green wisp flowed out of her mouth and drifted over Steele’s body.
Whoa. She hadn’t even eaten garlic or onions or anything.
The EMTs raised their hands, not willing to touch this new unknown. One of them glanced at her and shined his pen light at her mouth. “What are you?”
She pulled her lips in and closed her mouth tight. Great, even the medically trained guys thought she was a weirdo. But, right now, who cared, if her unknown level of weirdness helped Steele, she’d take it.
The green breath swirled around Steele’s body and seeped into him. It gathered at his chest and the light intensified.
Jordan knelt beside her, glancing back and forth between Fleur, the EMTs, Aric, and the green swirls. “What did you do, Fleur?”
Jordan grabbed her hand and the squeezed.
Fleur welcomed the support her friend gave. “I don’t know.”
“It’s dragon’s breath.” Dax’s voice sounded awed. He stared at Fleur too, studying her.
She covered her mouth, the crystal dangling from her fingers. Okay, this was getting embarrassing. “I swear, I brushed my teeth.”
The light swirls seeped into the wounds, closing them before everyone’s eyes. The color that had been slowly fading from him shot back up his neck and face.
“Steele?” She reached out, touching his chest with her hand, pressing his crystal to his chest.
He sat s
traight up and sucked in a deep ragged breath, gasping. Steele smacked his hand over hers and the crystal, holding both tight to his chest.
Both power and joy streamed through her body. He was alive, and so was she. Her senses were flying high. Little wildflowers popped up through the cracks in the sidewalk around them.
The tattoo of the dragon flickered across his skin, scales rippled up his neck and his eyes changed from dark round pupils to elongated with a deep green glow in his irises.
He looked at Fleur and growled. “Mate?”
Uh, no. His fist only tightened around hers. The heat flowing back and forth between them, where they touched, was scorching, but in a good way.
Dax grabbed Steele’s shoulder. “Dude, I thought you were dead.”
“I think I was.”
“We’d still like to take you to the hospital and check you out.” An EMT pointed to the back of their ambulance.
Steele stood, pulling Fleur up with him. “I’m fine now, but thank you. A shift and some sleep and I’ll be good as new.”
“Steele,” Fleur tried to pull her hand away, “I think you should go with the EMTs. You were almost killed.”
“Yes, my little flower, but you saved me. I’m here because of you.”
Jordan, stood and smiled, looking back and forth between Fleur and Steele. “Well, that’s got to be the first case of resuscitation by bad breath.”
Emma giggled and nodded. “Fleur, girl, you might not be a shifter, but, you’ve got some kickass powers at your disposal. That was some next level Wicked Witch of the West stuff you did with those trees. Maybe we should start calling you Elphaba.”
Barbara touched Fleur’s free arm and gave her a little squeeze, grinning at her like she knew something Fleur didn’t. “There seems to be more to our Fleur than any of us knew.”
Yeah, including Fleur herself.
CHAPTER FIVE
A Cold Bath for a Hot Dragon
Steele was anything but fine. Physically, his body was recovering rapidly, thanks to his dragon and Fleur. He’d defeated death, and now he needed to protect and claim his mate. She was his. He knew that now, and he was shaken by power of what that meant.