Chapter 22
DARIAL
Aura startles us with a cry I have never heard from her before, sharp enough to cut through the night.
I draw her close, tense and alert, reaching to comfort her, but she is already upright, with the furs gathered around her.
Her eyes are wide and unfocused, rimmed with tears.
Her lips move, whispering words I cannot discern.
“Aura.” I brush damp hair from her cheek. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
She doesn’t respond. Instead, she scrambles from the bed, breathing in ragged bursts. Her hands tremble as she searches for her clothes, muttering the same words repeatedly.
Ronyn is already standing, weapon in hand, eyes intense. Kelan blinks, dazed from sleep, his wings emerging behind him in confusion.
“Aura,” I say more firmly this time, stepping in front of her. I catch her by the shoulders. “Talk to me. What happened?”
Her gaze finally meets mine, and for a moment, it is like looking into another world.
“It was her,” she says, monotone. Her voice is hoarse and raw. “My daughter. My child. She—she was crying. She showed me things. Terrible things. Something’s wrong. I felt it.”
“A dream,” Kelan says quietly from behind me. “You’ve been through a lot. The pursuit. The magic—”
“No!” she shouts, her voice breaking the tension between us. The runes on her ribs flicker with energy, and the sharp scent of lightning fills the air.
I hold her closer as she sobs into my shoulder.
“I know what I saw… what I felt, Darial,” she says, her voice cracking. “She was terrified. Her panic was inside my bones. It wasn’t a dream, it was real. I think she sent me a vision of her reality.”
I nod, holding her as her tears soak my skin. Her heartbeat pounds against my chest. I cannot claim to understand that connection. I'm not a parent, or even a human. But she had magic in her veins, and perhaps her child does as well. I believe her.
Ronyn exhales slowly, tension in his jaw. “She was with the wolves. You think something’s happened?”
“I know something’s happened,” Aura chokes out. “We have to go. We have to go now.”
I meet Kelan’s gaze. Without words, we agree on our next steps. We move together, determined to ease our mate’s distress.
Ronyn grabs his knife, securing it loosely to his ankle, leaving space for the shift.
Kelan disappears into the next room to gather the cloth we carry for when we return to human form.
I help Aura pull on warmer clothes, wrapping her in furs even as her fingers shake.
She doesn’t speak again, but the air around her is thick with anxiety.
Within minutes, we are airborne again.
This time, I carry Aura. She trembles in my arms but does holds back her tears. She stares into the darkness, her eyes intense against her pale face.
Wind tears passed us as we cut through the night sky.
The moon hangs high and merciless, spilling silver light across the snow-covered landscape below, turning the world sharp and crystalline.
The flight to Blackwood Forest is quiet, almost deceptively so, yet unease coils low in my chest. My thoughts circle the possibilities we haven’t spoken aloud.
Dragons aren’t creatures prone to fear, but when it comes to Aura, something perilously close to it shadows every beat of my wings.
This may be nothing, perhaps only guilt troubling Aura. Still, I worry about what will happen when she sees her child again. Will she want to reclaim her from the family that has cared for and bonded with her? Will we find ourselves in conflict with the wolves?
There would be no contest, but we don’t make enemies lightly. No predator can easily harm us, but even the strongest can fall to a surprise attack. I don’t welcome the need for constant vigilance, especially now that I must ensure our mate’s safety.
With Aura’s help, we land in the clearing behind the wolves’ cottage before dawn, shifting quickly and securing the cloth around our waists.
What we find around the corner turns Aura’s silence into a cry of terror.
The front door of the wolves’ cabin hangs open on broken hinges.
The wet ground is trampled and marked with both animal and human tracks.
The metallic scent of blood reaches me before we cross the threshold.
The furniture is overturned. The hearth is cold.
Blood stains the floor. A child’s blanket lies crumpled beneath the shattered window.
Aura rushes forward, calling her daughter’s name. I catch her before she collapses.
“They took her,” she whispers. “They took her. Anatol. Bruno. I know it.” She shakes so violently I fear she might break. “They couldn’t reach me, so they took her. Nixon promised they would protect her. How could this happen?”
Before I can respond, a shape bursts from the hallway.
I pivot, flame already rising.
But it’s only a young wolf shifter with frantic, wide eyes.
“Who are you?” he shouts, hands raised.
“We came to find the child,” I say.
“Ahya. My child,” Aura gasps.
The male stares at her, confusion on his face.
“They came quickly,” he says, voice shaking.
“Bruno and Anatol, and at least half a dozen more. I can smell them everywhere. I was patrolling the forest. Nixon, Reed, and Finn must have been overwhelmed. Scarlet—” His voice breaks.
“By the time I returned, the twins were screaming.”
“Twins?”
“Scarlet’s babies. There was a blanket over their crib. She must have hidden them before they could be discovered. They’re safe.”
Aura’s fingers dig into my arms. “Ahya?”
He lowers his gaze.
“They took her with the rest.”
The words fall like a death sentence.
Aura’s breath catches. For a moment, I fear she will break, so I hold her tighter.
Before we can respond, the sound of crunching leaves draws our attention.
Three large men step into view from the woods, tall and heavily built, with the quiet presence of predators. My dragon senses identify their scent almost immediately.
Bear shifters.
Their leader steps forward, dark-bearded, eyes weary but sharp. His hand rests near his thigh, ready.
“I’m Hunter,” he says. “This is Robert. And Evan. We’re friends of the pack that lives here. We got an SOS, but we were out of town. Came as fast as we could. Caleb, are you unharmed?”
The young wolf shifter twists his hands restlessly. “I wasn’t here. I should have been here.”
“Then you would have been taken too,” Hunter says kindly.
His gaze shifts to Aura, lingering on the runes across her skin. His nostrils flare as he notes Kelan’s silver stare and Ronyn’s restrained scowl. Suspicion fills the air.
I step forward and raise my hands in peace. Someone must prevent this from becoming another battlefield.
“We’re here for the same reason,” I say. “Someone’s taken a child. A girl. Aura’s daughter. We intend to get her back.”
Hunter’s eyes narrow toward Aura. “She’s Scarlet’s daughter. Daughter of Nixon, Reed, and Finn.”
“She is of my blood,” Aura says softly. She lowers her gaze, shame in her voice. My teeth clench. She has nothing to regret. Aura’s life has seldom allowed her a choice. Every decision she’s made has come from survival and love. If the bears judge her, they will answer to us.
“Do you know where they’ve taken the child and the rest of them?” I ask.
“Bruno and Anatol have taken over Gregory’s territory,” Robert says.
“Gregory is dead,” Aura spits, fury sparking through her grief.
Hunter nods grimly. “They have fortified it. Recruiting. Stockpiling. It’s a large compound.”
“Numbers?” Kelan asks.
“Unknown,” Evan says. “Two dozen at least. Maybe more.”
“Numbers aren’t a problem for us,” Kelan replies.
Hunter’s attention moves to the runes on Kelan’s chest, then to Aura’s. “You’re marked,” he says slowly. “Mating runes.”
“She’s ours,” Kelan answers, the possessive current in his voice undeniable.
Hunter’s hand twitches. “What are you?”
“You want to know?” Kelan asks softly, menace in every word.
“We want our friends back,” Hunter says evenly. “Trust requires clarity.”
Kelan steps back five paces and transforms in a flash of silver fire. His cloth drops as he becomes a dragon, towering and radiant, wings spread wide enough to block the fading light. The bears stumble back, wide-eyed. Caleb swears quietly.
Kelan rises onto his hind legs and releases a stream of dragon fire into the sky. The roar shakes the trees, and the forest echoes in response.
When he shifts back, reclaiming his human form with deliberate calm, even Hunter’s expression changes.
“We don’t need allies,” Kelan says. “But we will work with you to free this family.”
“We can take you to their territory,” Robert says.
“You can show us where it is,” Ronyn replies. “We will take you.”
I glance at the Caleb. “Stay. Guard the twins.”
He nods once, resolve hardening in his young face. “Bring them home.”
I turn to Aura. “Ready to fly?”
She nods, clutching her fur around her, though she is still trembling.
I shift, my golden wing curling around my mate.
Evan steps forward reluctantly. I hold Aura to my chest and grasp Evan to my other side before launching skyward, cloaked in ancient magic.
Flying with a naked man in my arms isn’t the most comfortable experience, but it’s necessary under the circumstances.
Kelan and Ronyn follow, bearing Hunter and Robert.
Below, Caleb stands in the ruined doorway, a lone wolf guarding what remains of his pack.
War waits.
We have a child to find.
We have enemies to destroy.
And if they dare harm what our mate loves, they will learn what it means to be hunted by dragons.