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She smashed the grass and no normal fire could have survived, but as she lifted her boot, the flames bounced right back, even if the foliage did not. She danced away from the fire and it followed her like a little puppy. Mac could empathize with those flames. He wanted to follow her around licking at her skin all the time too.

Watching her get all cute and flustered over her own fire, which she clearly had no idea she could control, distracted him enough that he didn't notice the scent of the shifter until it was much closer. Too close for comfort.

His dragon rose up, scales shimmering across his skin. He narrowed his eyes and let out a long, low warning growl at a man approaching them. Not just a man, no, this guy was a wolf shifter. What the fuck did he want with Mac's girl? Yeah, that's right. His. Girl.

His.

The wolf gave him little more than a glance, fixated on Nataly. “What are you doing, Nat? And who is your fella?”

So they knew each other. It took every ounce of effort Mac had not to step between the wolf and Nataly, shift, and throw this dog across the park. The only reason he didn't was because instead of the scent of lust he expected any shifter would have when seeing the luscious beauty of Nataly, he smelled a more familial connection.

Nataly's head snapped up. “Uncle Jonas? What are you doing at headquarters? You're retired and I am so busting you for thinking you're going to work or something. Also, this is not my fella. I'm detaining this man under suspicion of arson. Obviously.”

She indicated toward the tiny flames that looked to be doing a conga line around her feet.

Jonas raised one eyebrow at Mac and said, “Are you going to tell her, or am I?”

NATALY

If there was one thing that pissed Nat off more than just about anything else in the whole wide world, it was when men talked over her head about her. Yeah, yeah, she was all of five-foot nothing, so physically every damn fireman and police officer spoke literally over her head, but that was not what she meant.

Uncle Jonas had known her since she was knee high to grasshopper and knew exactly how much she tried each and every day to hold her own with the rest of the department. Out of anyone, he should know better. So she'd remind him. With her fist.

She slugged him in the arm. Thwack. “Talk to me, you asshats. Don't be talking over me. If you two have something to say to me, say it.”

For good measure she gave her detainee the same treatment. Her fingers met pure steel. Red, hot, fiery steel that sent a spike of pure need shuddering up her arm, down her chest, and right between her legs.

Oops.

A. Shouldn't have done that. He could claim assault by an officer. And B. What the hell was this insane feeling she had for him all of sudden? One did not lust after pyro bad guys no matter how sexy AF they were.

Said sexy guy didn't seem fazed in the slightest that she'd given him her best shot in the arm. In fact, he looked like he enjoyed it if the grin on his face was anything to go by.

“Wipe that smile off your face, mister, and say what you need to get off your chest. Feel free to confess to all the fires right here in the presence of my good buddy, the former chief of detectives for the fine city of Thornminster.”

Uncle Jonas snorted and tried to cover it as if he'd sneezed. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “You're hauling him in as your arson suspect?”

Uh, yeah. Why was that so damn funny? What did Jonas know about this guy that she didn't? “Yes. I caught him red-handed at the last fire.”

She was very purposefully leaving out the bit about hallucinating that he'd turned into a dragon, flown her halfway across town, and you know... that he was a freaking fire-breathing Dra-Gon. Jonas would have her committed in two seconds flat. He was a no-funny-business kind of alpha-male guy.

“I see. You caught him starting a fire?”

Oh, and that little fact. She hadn't actually seen him start a fire. He was just... there. “Not exactly.”

Mac was the one who snorted this time. “In fact, I caught her starting fires right here in this lovely park, didn't I, love?”

Okay, now he did deserve to get punched. “I did no such thing. I prevent fires. I put out fires. I investigate them. I do not start them.”

“What are your intentions toward Nataly, son? I don't know much about your kind, but if you intend on claiming her, you'd best be certain she wants you too. She's under the protection of my pack, and we won't be allowing any dalliances with her heart.” Jonas folded his arms and gave Mac the patented Uncle-Cop-with-a-shotgun stare he'd used on every boyfriend or date she'd ever had.

There was no good reason he should be using the same look on her perp. She had zero romantic interest in this super-sexy hot guy with eyes like jewels and... nope not going there. She was not attracted to him at all. She did not want to have his babies or anything.

Mac laid his hand over his heart, covering the brightly shining pendant. “I swear on the First Dragon that her soul calls to mine and mine to hers. We are fated mates.”

Fated whoosie whatsie's now? “What in the hellfire are you two talking about? Quit it. I don't like what's going on here between you two.”

Mac took her hand, and she was ready to slap it away and chew both of them a new one for continuing to talk about her and not to her when a bright red glow practically blinded her. Jeez, this was brighter than the frickin lights on the firetruck. This one wasn't strobing, but the illumination was coming from her own chest.