Page 42 of Surge of Heat

“The scientists are actually trying to find a way to communicate with one of the Sleeping Dragons. They think if we could ask one a lot of our questions, it’d be a hell of a lot easier to find a solution to dealing with the green dragon and the other Awakened ones,” Granger explains, then sighs. “They also think as dragons continue to wake up, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Trouble how?” Aydan asks, frowning.

Granger gives him a look. “Just imagine dozens of dragons like the green dragon… just picking up people and eating them, or burning things down. The dragons that are awakening are hundreds of years old, and more animal than human. We don’t have any idea how to communicate with them as humans, how to control them, what they want, other than Sam, what motivates them, how they live. Basically, the entire world is going to change now, and we need to do our best to stay at the top of the food chain. The only way we’ll be able to do that is by finding a way to live in peace with them.”

For a minute, I just imagine the way the world will change with dragons, and the thought is chilling. Aydan, Evander, andI are still more human than dragon. We’re not going to attack people, or burn down things, but the Awakened Dragons might.

“Do they think all the awakened dragons are drawn to Sam?” Aydan asks.

“Based on the map, yes. The male dragons start heading in her direction every time her scent isn’t concealed well enough.”

“Well, she should be fine for a while,” Aydan says, grinning.

Granger groans. “TMI, man, TMI.”

My face gets red. “Can we try not to talk about all the scent covering stuff unless necessary? No matter how scientific we try to get about it, we all know what we’re talking about, and it’s creepy as hell.”

“Agreed,” Granger says, a little too quickly.

I snuggle against him more.

“You know what’s weird?” Aydan asks.

“What?” I wait for his answer.

“I don’t mind Granger’s scent on you. I feel like it should bother me, but it doesn’t. It’s not that I like his scent, it just doesn’t upset me.”

“Probably because you know he’s not a threat,” I say.

“Ouch,” Granger mutters.

I stroke his stomach. “You know what I mean.”

He sighs. “I do.”

There’s a quiet minute before I say what I’m thinking. “Evander and you are going to have issues with each other’s scents. You weren’t a dragon before. You’re going to see how he’s been feeling since having you around me, and you’re going to have to control yourself.”

Aydan scoffs.

“I mean it.”

His blue eyes meet mine. “I’m a dragon now. You needed a dragon. Things should be simpler now.”

“They’re not,” I tell him honestly.

Anger flashes in his gaze, but he says nothing.

“What’s good to know, if you think about it, is that Sam now has two male dragons to protect her. That should make her a lot safer, and that’s all that really matters,” Granger says, and I’m grateful for how he manages to soothe things in even the tensest moments.

I snuggle closer to my best friend, and think of Evander. There’s a familiar pulling in my chest. I feel it connecting me to Aydan, but to Evander too. It feels wrong that he’s not here, that we’re not all together. I want to fix this, to ease this pain inside of me, but I just don’t know how.

SIXTEEN

Evander

I rubmy hand against my bare chest, then pound my fist against it. No matter what I do, my chest aches. There’s this longing inside of me that burns and hurts, and the only thing that makes it better is Sam. Sam, the red-headed woman who stole my heart. The woman I want in my dragon form and human form. The woman that feels made for me.

And the person who wants someone else.

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