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Chapter Four
“MACY!”
Her name flew from his lips as, for the first time in his very long life, terror shook Jack Thorntree to his very core. The icy fingers of dread slid down his spine, and his body shook with unspent fury.
How had he been so stupid? Missed all the signs? Not known that the Lupine Master had been leading him to Macy? Had something nefarious planned for the only woman Jack had ever loved? The woman made for him by the Universe?
“Because we didn’t know the feckin' dobber was readin’ our minds,”Felim spat. His brogue so thick Jack didn’t have the time or inclination to translate, he only half listened as the Dragon King snarled,“I only just realized he was here a minute ago. Heard his voice in my head the same time you did. Now, shut up your gob and get to work!”
From one thundering beat of Millie's hooves to the next, the mare dropped her head, and Jack launched himself out of the saddle. Letting his consciousness fall to the background as the ancient, pure, white Dragon Magic of his ancestors took over, the Guardsman got ready for the fight of his life as Felim took over.
Embracing the Power, he reveled in the supremacy of being one of the Universe’s own Winged Warriors. The air flew from his lungs and his vision blurred as the warm, burnished copper scales of his Dragon burst through his flesh.
In the blink of an eye, Jack's blood ran cold, flipping to boiling and back to freezing in the blink of an eye. Only his Dragon King's legendary control and the strength of his ancient Dragon Magic kept the icy madness of knowing his Mate was in danger from clouding his mind.
Every muscle and every tendon contracted with an unrelenting belief in the Power of the Universe. It was that higher purpose, along with the mission he’d been given, that kept the Guardsman from screaming bloody murder. Transforming both man and Dragon King into the majestic form of one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors was utter agony and incredible ecstasy all in one and something he wouldn’t give up for the world.
The Enchantment of the Ancients beat against his body to its very core. Every fiber of his being vibrated with glorious supremacy and unsurpassed authority given by the Great Goddess.
The large, elongated muscles used for flying grew from his biceps, chest, and obliques as adrenalin surged and his body expanded. Bolts of lightning filled the air. Mysticism from the very depths of the Earth rose up to meet him, forcing him faster still towards the incredible transformation into Dragon.
Bones shattered, and muscles ripped as his wings stretched towards the Heavens. Sharp, venomous talons – extensions of the long, hollow phalanges – emerged from the tough, webbed flesh tingling with the need to rip the Lupine limb from limb.
An evil grin curled the corner of his lengthening snout. The Beast had escaped before, but now it was on Jack's turf and had dared to touch his Mate. The bastard would pay with every drop of his caustic life's essence.
Scooping the air, he was propelled upward. The gale force created by the downward thrust of his mighty wings fueled the fire racing through his veins.
The ripple of the thin, coarse sails was music to his ears, the whistle a call to battle, every undulation a blast of Power unlike any other. The feel of absolute freedom and supreme dominion over all he surveyed was nothing short of intoxicating. Both man and Dragon King were one with the elements, one with the Universe, and one with the only woman he'd ever loved.
Instantly catching the medicinal stench of the Lupine Master’s trail, Jack knew it wasn’t a coincidence. He was flying right into a trap.
But he didn’t care.
His safety meant nothing.
Not one damned thing was as important as saving Macy.
He could die a happy man knowing he’d done at least one thing right where she was concerned. He’d rescued her from a fate worse than death and…
“Oh, shut your gob,”Felim raged.“Focus on the job at hand, ya’ Eejit. We save our Mate, kill the bastard, and go home and have a bottle or two of good Scotch whiskey with the woman you pine for. Ya’ hear me?”
Not waiting for an answer, the ancient Dragon King barked,"Get ready. We need to be on two legs."
And that was all the warning Jack got before Felim nosedived towards the outcropping known as Devil’s Fist. Back feet slamming into the flat rock, the Dragon King flooded every fiber of Jack’s being with intense and unrelenting Magic.
Reduced to eleven-and-a-half feet of scale-covered brawn, Jack was once again in awe as he watched yet another instantaneous transformation through his mind’s eye. He would never - no matter how long he lived or how many times he Shifted - not be amazed at the Power of the Universe.
The impact of the helmet of the General of the Celtic army upon the head of Felim’s Warrior Dragon was nothing short of amazing. A row of thick, stunted battle horns lined the apex of his skull, pushed through the headdress, split off at the top of his spine, and ran down both his arms.
With the tips curled back into his spine, the Dragon King’s more compact wings became deadly buzzsaw blades, the long, hooked talons forming toxic teeth lining the edge, ready to spin and twirl as they cut down the Lupine Master. Claws jutting from his hands and feet were barbed like the end of a fishhook expressly designed to tear and shred the flesh of his enemies.
Opening and closing his snubbed snout, flashing his fangs, Jack chuckled deviously as Felim let the mythical vapors of Dragonkin flow from his snout. Then the Dragon King filled the air with uncontained plumes of smoke and ash – a miniature depiction of the monstrous rage boiling within both of them – and Jack forced every ounce of his hereditary Mysticism towards the Dragon with whom he shared his soul.
Stepping off the ledge, landing with a single, bone-jarring thud some thirty feet below, the Dragon King seethed,“Take control, Young’un. Let’s get your Mate.”
Once again at the forefront of their shared consciousness, Jack reveled in the raw power, the utter strength, and the unstoppable feeling of supremacy racing through his body and soul. Then, taking off at full speed, he flew over the limestone-covered peak of the highest point of the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains with nothing more than a thought.
Sliding down the opposite side, the long, sharp talons jutting from his toes keeping the Guardsman upright and guiding his course, he could hear Macy railing against the Lupine Master. Her strength, resolve, and the sheer command of her words filled him with hope. Not only was she more beautiful than the sunrise and the most intelligent person he'd ever met, but his Mate was one fierce Warrior in her own right.
