Page 23 of Beyond the Darkness

“I know. And pretty close together. It makes me wonder if we were the only two who were attacked,” Connie said as they stepped outside. “Do you think it was Lennox?”

“I have no idea, but he comes to mind first, of course.” Hudson came to a stop next to Torres, Beckett, and Audrey. “Report.”

Torres cleared his throat. “I think the gargoyles have been attacked too. There was another big explosion closer to them this time.”

Hudson swore loudly.

“Do you have any idea what is going on?” Audrey asked.

“No, except for Kage was attacked tonight too,” Hudson growled. “And—”

The scream of something approaching fast snagged Connie’s attention. Everybody turned toward the sound. “Son of a bitch,” Connie yelled. “Incoming!”

Hudson ran forward, shedding his human form and soaring into the sky.

Damn, he’s fast.Connie’s breath caught in his chest as he watched Hudson power upward. The moon’s light shone briefly on the huge red dragon as it flew toward a streak of light coming at him.

Connie’s heart skipped a beat as he understood what he was seeing. But he quickly shut that down before it passed alongthe bond toward Kit. That was the last thing their mate needed, especially when he was locked up underground.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Beckett and Audrey also take to the sky.

The three of them would handle whatever else might come their way while Connie stayed in his human form. Someone had to be able to give orders until Hudson changed back. He watched his mate fly to intercept the missile coming directly at their home.

There was a bone-chilling roar, then a huge line of fire. Within seconds there was a massive explosion, but it was still far enough away that it didn’t cause problems.

What if they hadn’t spotted that missile in time? What if it had managed to hit its target? While it was doubtful any of their dragons would’ve been killed, they could’ve been hurt. Badly. They could lose body parts as easily as anyone else.

And he didn’t want to think what it could have done to Kit, who wasnota dragon. Baring his teeth, he answered Hudson’s rage-filled roar with one of his own.

Someone would pay for this.

CHAPTER SEVEN – KIT

KIT WAS going to lose his damn mind. Pacing back and forth, he clenched his fists at his sides. His breathing sawed in and out and sweat beaded on his forehead. Why did it feel as if the walls were closing in and the air was becoming thicker?Can’t do this. Can’t panic. They can feel that.

He fought to get control of himself. Him panicking was the last thing his dragons needed. Both of his mates had a stranglehold on the bond, blocking all emotions from him, and while they may think that was helpful, all it did was scare Kit even more.

The intense grip of their connection was suffocating, like being trapped in an underwater current with no way to break free. There was something going on out there, and he had no idea what.

Well, he knew they were under attack, and so was Kage. That was it. If his mates thought his not knowing was a comfort, he was going to loudly inform them of how wrong they were the first opportunity he got.

Did he mention loudly? Because with how he felt right then, there was going to be screaming involved.

Since he was taking both Hudson’s and Connie’s blood, his senses had all improved, meaning he could hear what Kage had been telling Hudson clearly, just as Connie could.

Someone had attacked Kage’s home base, just as they had Hudson’s,

Kit looked at his cell phone. He didn’t have service down here, but at least he could tell what time it was. Since it was stupid o’clock in the morning—three a.m., in fact—the restaurant that was part of the Dominion would’ve been closed, thank God.

From what Austin had told him, the first several floors at the Dominion were mainly shops and entertainment open only to residents. The apartments for Kage’s clan were higher up in the building.

He had no idea how much damage had been done, but he sincerely hoped nobody had been killed. But the likelihood of that was not good. The question was why. If Lennox was behind this, what was he hoping to accomplish?

Kit collapsed on the floor next to a big pile of coins, and that stupidly large ruby he’d seen the last time winked at him. He picked it up, toying with it.

At least where they’d been targeted had been pretty isolated. So far.

Surely, if they took a direct hit he would know, even down here. He figured if one of his mates got hurt, he’d know that immediately too, even if they were suppressing the bond.

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