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“It’s not,” I say as I cup his jaw and kiss his temple. “It’s mine.”
“I should have been more vigilant,” he says, looking crushed. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
I pull his face up until he’s looking into my eyes. “Listen to me, Blake. I don’t regret a thing. This has been the best few hours of my life. If I had to choose between this and not meeting you, I choose this.”
He gives me what may be our last kiss on the lips and I’m melting into it when the truck suddenly starts free falling.
I yank my mouth away and resume my panicked screaming when I see the claws gone from the roof. Through the holes, I can see the red dragon getting smaller in the sky as we fall.
The truck hits the treetops and tumbles down the thick branches, snapping and cracking them as the truck begins to slow.
Finally, it stops.
“Are you okay?” Blake asks, only focused on me.
“I’m fine,” I say as I look forward and see the shattered windshield. The hood of the truck is pointing up, showing the clear blue sky between the thick snow-covered branches of the pine tree that we’re currently residing in.
“He tried to kill us,” I say. My voice is breathless and still in shock.
“No,” Blake says as he looks around with his jaw clenched tight. He looks pissed. “He would have dropped us from higher if he wanted to kill us. He’s out there. Waiting.”
I grab my gun and realize that my hand is shaking.
“It’s going to be okay,” he says when he sees me looking at it. “You’re my mate, Lily. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“But… it’s a dragon…”
“Who has got nothing on a polar bear protecting his mate. Come with me.”
He helps me out of the seat and then kicks the windshield out with his boot. The truck jerks down a few inches and I let out a panicked scream.
“I got you, Lily,” he says as he takes me and throws me over his hard round shoulder. “This is what I was made to do.”
I give myself over to him and let him carry me out of the truck. He grabs onto the tree and starts to climb down with shockingly good agility.
My legs are still shaking when he lowers me onto the ground. We’re high up in the mountains in the middle of a forest.
The sound of clapping has me turning and my eyes narrow on Reginald. He’s wearing pants and a shirt while leaning on a tree. The cold and snow don’t seem to bother him at all even though he’s barefoot.
Blake growls when he sees him. He steps in front of me and pulls me back with a protective arm.
“Leave her out of this,” Blake snarls. “Let her go.”
Sperling laughs. “I don’t think so. I’m here for her too.”
His bright green eyes lock onto mine and I suddenly feel vulnerable, even with Blake standing in front of me.
“What does the FBI know about me?” he asks.
Blake steps to the side, blocking my view of him. “Don’t you dare talk to her,” he hisses with a fury that surprises me. “This girl is mine.”
Sperling looks surprised by the intense reaction as well. Then, it dawns on him. “Oh, you’re mates. Lovely.”
My fingers grip the cold handle of my gun as I hide it behind Blake’s flexed back. My heart races as Sperling’s jade green eyes shine a little brighter.
“I’ll kill her first so you know the pain I felt when you took my brothers away.”
Blake lets out a snarl that doesn’t even sound human. His shoulders start growing and I step back as his whole frame swells and convulses violently. Long white hairs sprout from his skin and then with a loud tear, a full-grown polar bear bursts out of him.
Sperling doesn’t look impressed at all. Even when the bear stands up on his two hind legs and snarls at him.
“Come here, girl,” Sperling says to me, “and I’ll go easy on you.”
I draw my gun and point it right at his chest. “Shut the fuck up and put your hands in the air!”
He chuckles, but I’m not laughing.
“A gun?” he asks as he takes two steps forward. “Are you kidding me?”
“Don’t take another step!” I warn as I hold my finger over the trigger.
He brazenly keeps walking forward. “I’m a dragon shifter. I don’t listen to—”
The deafening boom of gunshots echoes through the mountains as I pull the trigger twice. The bullets slam into Sperling’s chest and he falls backward and lands on his ass.
I hold my breath as I wait for him to collapse, but he just gets up, looking even more pissed. The bullets fall to the ground along with my mouth. He’s bulletproof. But that’s impossible…
His eyes lock onto mine as he bares his teeth and cracks his knuckles. “You shot me. You fucking cu—”
Blake’s bear charges forward and slams into Sperling before he can finish. He flies back and the two of them start wrestling in the snow as I try to aim and get another shot to help him out. They’re too close and I can’t shoot again without the possibility of hitting Blake.
“Damn it,” I curse as I put the gun down and look for something to help out with. There’s nothing but a huge boulder beside me that’s way too heavy to lift. It comes up to my shoulders.
Sperling gets the edge and grabs the polar bear by the front leg. He swings him into a thick tree and the trunk snaps in half as my mate goes through it like a knife through hot butter.
I scream as the tree falls with a crack. Sperling spins and then launches Blake’s bear halfway across the forest. He disappears in a wave of breaking and swaying trees.
With Blake’s bear out of the way, he turns back to me and starts walking over. His body starts trembling as he walks.
My hands are shaking as I quickly check how many bullets I have left. One. Fucking great.
I try to click the cylinder back in, but it’s so cold and my fingers are so numb. It fumbles out of my hands and I drop it.
“No,” I gasp when it disappears into the deep snow at my feet.
I look up just in time to see Sperling explode into a huge red dragon.
I suddenly forget all about my gun. All about the cold. All about everything.
All I can focus on is the cold terror flowing through my veins and the horrifying sight of the giant dragon as he raises his head and stares down at me.
My heart is thrashing in my ears as he opens his mouth. His teeth are the length of my forearm and almost as thick.
“Oh, shit,” I whisper when I see the ball of fire building at the back of his throat. It doesn’t register in my broken brain what’s happening until the flames are rolling down his tongue and heading straight for me.
Then, it’s too late.
Chapter Eleven
Blake
My bear reluctantly gives in to my demand and he lets me back out.
Sperling is bigger, stronger, and faster. I’m not going to beat him with just brawn, even if I’m fighting for Lily’s life. I need to use my brains too.
My polar bear just got his ass kicked and took out a dozen trees in the process.
I quickly phase back into my human form and stumble back to the fight. I hear Lily scream and it gives me all the power I need to move on.
Ignoring the burning of my ribs, which are probably broken, I clenched my teeth and sprint through the snow.
I arrive just in time to see Sperling phase into his dragon as he approaches my girl. She’s my whole world and I’ll die if anything happens to her.
She looks terrified and it kills me that I’m not there to protect her. I run forward, leaping through the snow as the dragon opens his massive
jaws and is about to melt the only woman I love.
With everything I have, I rush forward as the fire comes surging out of his mouth. I dive and tackle her out of the way of the flames just in time, rolling us behind a huge boulder. The snow melts all around us and I hold my body on top of hers as the trees beside us go up in flames.
“Stay down,” I grunt as I grab onto the rock and try to lift it.
The thing is huge and would normally take three grizzly bear shifters to pick it up, but my crew is back home. I’m on my own so this polar bear shifter better have the power of three grizzly bear shifters or him and his mate will be toast.
With a savage grunt, I dig my fingers into it and use every muscle in my body to lift it up. The flames are still coming, flying past us in every direction and I’m about to throw away our only protection.
I think of Lily’s gorgeous smile as my back aches. I picture how good it felt to finally hold her hand as the flames wash over my shins and feet, scorching them. I imagine how good our lives will be if we’re together and all of that gives me the power I need.
I launch the rock with everything I have and it flies through the air like a rocket. There’s a crunch as it slams into the dragon’s open mouth and he falls back with a whimper.
The surge of fire stops and everything is eerily quiet except for the pounding in my ears and the crackling of the flames that are still licking up the sides of the trees, although the snow on the branches is putting most of it out.
The dragon’s red wings start flapping and I realize his jaw is broken and he’s trying to make a getaway.
“No, you don’t,” I hiss as I start sprinting toward him. There’s no way he’s escaping. I’m going to kill him here or I won’t ever be able to breathe again. I can’t let a threat to my mate exist. I can’t risk anything happening to Lily. Ever.
This ends now.
I leap onto his back and pin his wings together as he thrashes around under me. The lower half of his jaw is hanging down at a weird angle. I definitely snapped it with the boulder.
