Page 79 of So I Dared a Dragon

She stalked toward Magnus, who didn’t even blink at her approach.

“Yes, I told the whole world Bibi was my mate. Which Bibi rightly rejected. She might as well have stomped on my heart at the time and then sold the stiletto print in the show’s store. My life had fallen apart without her. Aarix had been such a bright light. Ironic, since you call me sunshine. He was the only one who believed in me. Who thought I was something special. But I convinced myself if I went back to him, the Night God would punish him because I helped Darcy get away. You’d been stuck in that mountain for so long, I didn’t know you’d ever get out. All my life, everyone had told me that Bibi and I were destined to be together. That she would always protect me. She was the onlyone who ever had, and my life without her…was a giant failure. I needed her.”

“No, it wasn’t. And you didn’t.”Bibi punctuated the statement with a noise that landed somewhere between a bark and a cough. “If you had found me right away, you wouldn’t have met Aarix or had that amazing adventure. I wouldn’t have met Hugo or startedThe Mating Game.We wouldn’t be here.”

“She’s hurt,” Hugo said as Bibi coughed again. “We need to get you checked out.”

“We can fly her home,” I offered.

“She needs help now.” Hugo growled. “There’s got to be somewhere closer than that.”

“Closest city is Vegas,” Calista rushed over to her friend. “Are you hurt?”

“I’ll be fine once I shift.”Bibi barely managed the words before more coughing. This time, blood bubbled on her lips.

“Get her to Vegas. Now,” I demanded. “I’ll deal with those wolves.”

Calista shook her head. “Bibi and I deserve closure with our pack. If we aren’t a united front, they’ll know they’ve broken us. Montana is a weak pack, so they know weakness when they see it, and prey on it. This needs to stop, right here, right now.”

“I agree,”Bibi said.“The dragon energy is making me feel stronger. But we have to act fast.”

“The wolves have to be miles from here at this point,” Hugo said. “Babe, you won’t be able to run.”

Calista looked at me, and I nodded. It was time for my mate to recognize her full strength, and take back everything that had been stolen from her.

“We’ll fly,” she said. “I can take Bibi. Hugo, choose a dragon.”

“I don’t know if I can fly yet,” the unidentified dragon called out. “Hi, I’m Darcy. We’ve met before in the caverns. Thesewings popped out literally fifteen minutes ago and I’m far too freaked out to do anything with them.”

“Like you fuck you are.” Calista took Darcy’s hands in hers. “It’s time we both remember who we were.”

Darcy’s lips parted. “What do I do?”

I expected Calista to look to me once again for guidance, but she didn’t need anyone to tell her what to do. I’d never been so turned on in my entire life.

“Close your eyes and go back to the last time you were a dragon. Not when they took your power away from you—go back to when you were in your full power. Remember what it was like to be a dragon. Picture yourself as the strongest, fiercer version of yourself and do it in a hurry because I’m really worried about Bibi.”

Darcy let out a long sigh. “Let’s do this.”

The ladies held hands. Heat rose quickly, warping the pavement beneath them. Their bodies expanded and skin turned to scales. Calista’s wings blossomed, red like the enemies’ blood that soaked the ground beneath her. Darcy’s scales were golden, fading to blue tips. Their human faces gave way to their dragon forms.

They were powerful, beautiful, and absolutely unstoppable.

“Bibi, climb onto my back. My wings can shelter you.” Calista said. “If you need to bite into them to hold on, don’t worry about hurting me. You can’t.”

“I can’t believe we didn’t catch the most epic moment in the history ofThe Mating Gameon camera,”Bibi lamented as she climbed onto her back.

“Guess you’re feeling better.” Calista laughed, but now, she looked at me. When she was pure dragon, she didn’t need to speak to tell me what she was thinking. Bibi hadn’t coughed up any more blood, but she was definitely compromised.

We needed to get this done fast.

Luca went over to Darcy. “Do you remember how to take off?”

“I think so,” she said. “This is wild.”

“Hold my hand, we can do it together.”

Calista was already in the air. Hugo hopped onto my back. “She’s in worse shape than she’ll admit. I know why we’re doing this, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

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