79. Harlow
Pain slammed into my chest, hard and fast and visceral enough to steal the air from my lungs. I glanced back toward the treeline, cold terror flooding my veins. No. Something was wrong. I could feel it. Fear closed over my throat, and I wasn’t even sure if it was mine or Sina’s.
“ Sina! ”
Her name tore from my throat in a broken roar.
One second I was standing there watching the raven disappear into the inky night sky, and the next I was tearing through the trees like a man possessed, branches breaking from the force of my vampire speed.
Her fear, pain, and desperation pushed me faster.
No. No. No.
Why the fuck did I leave her?
A fear I had never felt before tore through my chest. Ghost howled inside me, frantic and furious.
We left her too.
‘Find her.’
“I’m trying!” I rasped, shoving through another wall of branches.
I couldn’t lose her. I refused to live in a world without her in it. Branches snapped against my shoulders as I burst into the clearing and skidded to a halt.
Carnage.
“Sina!” I bellowed.
Fire licked at fallen bodies. Smoke rolled thick and choking through the air, carrying the stench of burned flesh and blood. The ground was scorched and soaked red.
And at the center of it—
My mate.
Kiron’s massive dragon form curled around her, wings half-spread, claws sunk deep into the earth as if daring anything still breathing to come closer. His scales were streaked with soot and blood, smoke curling from his nostrils as he hovered over her like a living shield.
My heart stuttered. Sina was on her knees beside one of his claws. Covered in ash. Covered in blood. Too much blood.
I inhaled sharply and realized it was her own.
“ Fuck! ” I dropped to my knees just outside the reach of Kiron’s talons.
“Harlow,” she murmured, offering me a watery, stubborn little smile that nearly broke me.
“Darling, I shouldn’t have left you. I’m so fucking sorry. ”
The dragon’s head lowered slightly, one molten red eye fixing on me. Carefully, slowly, I reached for her. If Kiron’s dragon decided I was a threat, that would be it for me. But there wasn’t a force on this earth that could keep me from her.
“Ki, let me help our mate. She needs healing.”
The dragon’s nostrils flared. Smoke curled. He didn’t strike. I took that as permission. I shifted closer and cupped Sina’s face in my hands. Her skin was cold beneath the soot. Glass had torn long, angry lines across her back. Her ankle was already swelling from a beast bite.
“Hurts.”
Rage detonated inside me.
“I’ll fix it,” I promised softly, brushing dirt from her cheek with my thumb. My fangs slid down without hesitation and I bit into my wrist and pressed it to her lips. “Drink, little vixen. Trust me .”
Her lashes fluttered closed as she sealed her mouth over my wrist.
The bond flared hot as my blood hit her system. I felt it working—knitting torn skin, easing bruising, dulling pain. Her breathing steadied. The tremor in her hands faded. With each swallow, the tightness in my chest loosened .
Kiron shifted slightly, his massive body easing as he felt her pain lessen through their bond.
When she finally pulled back, color had already begun returning to her cheeks.
Her gaze swept the clearing. Rafe and Nik stood just outside the dragon’s reach in their beast forms, both watching, both tense.
Not daring to provoke Kiron’s volatile dragon.
“Where’s Eli?”
“Jackson and Danielle weren’t here. We thought it was best for him to fly and confirm if they’re still up in Clearview.”
She nodded faintly.
“Come on, little vixen. Let’s get you home.”
I rose slowly, helping her to her feet and keeping her tucked against my side. Kiron uncoiled, wings stretching wide as he scanned the darkness beyond the firelight. The rogues were dead, the bluff eerily silent except for the crackle of burning bodies.
“What about Keith?” Her gaze swept the clearing.
My gut twisted. I hadn’t seen that fucker. A part of me hoped we’d scared him into disappearing forever. The darker part of me wished he’d shown himself so we could have ended this tonight. I smoothed a hand over her tangled hair.
“We don’t know, but we will get him, Sina. I swear it. We’ll hunt him until he’s obliterated for good. You’ll be free of him.”
Her green eyes shimmered. “He tried to take you all from me, Low.” Her lower lip trembled.
“I know. But he didn’t . He didn’t win, Sina. ” A tear slid down her ash streaked cheek. “ Fuck , darling. Please don’t cry. You’re killing me.”
Nik’s wolf moved first. He stepped up beside her and pressed his massive head into her side. She buried her fingers in his fur and turned into him.
“Are you okay? I thought something happened and—” A sob cut her off as she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his thick neck.
He whined softly and rested his head against her shoulder.
Rafe approached next, limping slightly but steadily.
Blood matted his brown fur, but his eyes were clear. He would heal.
“Rafe,” she breathed, reaching for him.
He lowered his massive head so she could cup his snout in both hands.
She looked up at Kiron last.
“Thank you, Ki. I don’t think I would have made it through this without you.”
The dragon growled low, purple scales shimmering in the firelight. And for a brief moment—it felt over. A slow, methodical clapping broke the silence. Every muscle in my body went rigid.
Nik’s wolf lifted his head, ears pinning back. Rafe’s fur bristled, a low growl rumbling through his massive chest.
“Awe. How sweet.” a voice drawled from the treeline, smooth and mocking. Kiron’s wings flared wide, smoke pouring from his nostrils as the ground trembled beneath his claws. Beside me, Sina slowly rose to her feet. “If I could, I might have shed a tear.”
The smoke shifted, revealing him at last. Keith leaned casually against a blackened tree trunk, completely untouched by the carnage. Not a speck of ash on him. Not a drop of blood. Amusement shining with glowing orange eyes.
His eyes swept over the clearing. Over Kiron’s dragon form. To Nik and Rafe. Then past me. Then they landed on her. And his smile widened.