Page 33 of Protector Dragon's Shattered Mate

Now, he wouldn’t need a locating spell. He could feel her inside his head. He wanted to send her a message and let her know that he was coming, but he was afraid that would only serve to disrupt her. He would not risk it.

He flew harder and faster than he ever had before. He had been involved in the fight on Venenum Island in South America to lift theVetus Wyvern Curse. That had been his most recent battle. And while he had been concerned for everyone involved, it had not been personal to him, because he had not known them at all.

The first time he went into battle with Kellan’s clan was to protect Roselyn when she had been kidnapped by the demi-God. That had been a little more personal. Not only was she a beloved actress, but Levi had met her mate, and he had seen firsthand her mate’s anguish. It had been difficult to watch him suffer

Mate. Mate. Mate.

His dragon could feel her too.

We’re almost there. There’s the grocery store, Levi said to his dragon

From a distance, he could make out Sofia. She was not in her bear form, but her human form and she was fighting one of the wolves hand-to-hand. She appeared to be holding her own but just as the thought crossed his mind, the wolf delivered a hard blow to the side of her head.

A deep roar rumbled in Levi’s chest, and he wanted to let out a piercing screech. He wanted to breathe fire across the top of the trees, and right over the wolf who touched his mate.

But he would not cause a disruption for her. He intended to swoop down and lift the wolf with his claws. Once he had it in his clutches, he would decide what to do next. Kellan had said to take them to the abandoned warehouse on the other side of town. They’d be using it as a holding cell.

But Levi wasn’t sure what he would do. He’d dedicated his life to helping—animals yes, but it still counted. He busted his ass to make sure every horse, cow, sheep that crossed his path was better off for having met him as a veterinarian. In his early days he’d spent his own money on treatments when a client wanted to give up. He’d put more than one cow in his truck and driven it to his office for treatment that couldn’t be provided on-site at a ranch.

But these wolves would not get that same consideration.

He’d never killed anyone. He’d never tortured anyone either. He had never wanted to. But this could never happen again. His mate could not be their target.

But before Levi could get to Sofia, another wolf snuck up behind her, brandishing a sharp sword.

Levi charged, getting there just in time. He knocked that one out of the way and crushed his windpipe. He would recover, but it would give him a chance for Brennan to grab him and tie him up. Brennan transformed and ran forward, already securing the wolf’s wrists with heavy restraints.

Then he was able to go for the wolf fighting Sofia. She had recovered from the blow to the head and had shoved the wolf, flipping him onto the ground.

He wanted her to have that victory, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Fuck that; the wolf was getting more aggressive. The wolf reached down and was fumbling at his waist—he looked like he was going for a knife.

So, Levi acted. He grabbed the wolf by the back of the neck. He sank his teeth into the wolf’s shoulders, and he flung him backward. The wolf hit the ground with a loud thud.

Already Quinn had transformed and was running to them.

Sofia looked up with him with wide eyes. “Levi!” Before he could change back into a human, she flung her arms around him. At the feel of her tight embrace, his dragon settled immediately.

Mine.

He shifted quickly and pulled on his jeans. “Are you okay?” Levi asked. “I saw him hit the side of your head.”

“I’m fine,” she said. She leaned back and looked up at him, biting her lip. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“We can worry about that later. First, let’s get you out of here.”

19

Sofia

God, she’d been so stupid. She’d thought she knew better than the dragons who were battle tested. Who had rushed headlong into fights, time after time for decades, and had prevailed.

She had never thought the wolves would find her so quickly.

She thought she had it handled. She escaped from them once, and she assumed she could do it again. And she would have been successful, maybe, had she not smelled the smoke.

Those bastards had set fire to the library. Thelibrary! As someone who’d never had enough books to read as a cub, it pissed her off. It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, obviously, but it was pointless, and it sucked. And it didn’t hurt her, but it hurt the people of Cedar Lake.

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