Page 81 of So I Dared a Dragon

“You haven’t let me finish.”I had to hand it to the wolf. He still had the balls to stand his ground.“Your disappearance angered the Night God, and when you arrived in Tennessee, he demanded we bring you back under our control. He would need you for the inevitable fight ahead. Of course, you didn’t simply come when called. Our original plan, to mate you with Bibi, had failed. If we were unable to complete our mission, as he called it, he threatened to send us all to the pits of hell unless we brought you back. So our plan was only to scare you, Calista. Never to hurt you. Now, we ask for your protection, because the Night God will rise soon, and he’ll want revenge against all of us.”

Bibi hacked and stumbled. The wolves that flanked Declan lunged forward.

A wall of fire erupted from me, giving Calista a chance to get Bibi on her back. Those wolves deserved what they got when they faced the Night God. Bibi was part of my thunder now, and I wouldn’t let anyone lay a paw on her.

twenty-nine

. . .

Calista

“What a day.” I stood with my back against the door of our hotel room at the Alta Vista. “I thought our biggest challenge would be finding Darcy. Time will tell if there is still a Montana pack.”

We didn’t have the luxury of sticking around after Aarix’s firestorm to see if anyone survived, because we needed to get Bibi out of there. She’d survived lifetimes of Montana’s nonsense, and we weren’t losing her now.

“They’ll never bother you again.” Aarix put a hand on either side of me, rattling the door as he caged me in. He still looked so dragon, even though he’d shifted. His breath was warm against my skin, and his lips skimmed my jawbone before he found my mouth.

I wrapped my hands around his waist, pulling him into me. So many emotions flowed through me. I had shifted into a freaking dragon. And if that wasn’t enough, I might have saved Bibi’s life by flying her to Vegas.

She had internal injuries. Shifting back to her fabulous human form had helped her heal, but the doctor had urged our glittery goddess to get some rest so she could return to herabsolute best. We decided to stay here for a few days, and the camera crew was en route to film our third and final date.

“You were absolutely magnificent out there,” Aarix said softly. “I’m so proud of you.”

His lips moved down my neck. The sensation felt so different against my newly formed scales, sending rocket fuel through my veins. If my neck was this sensitive after a shift, I couldn’t wait to find out how the rest of my body would react. But he stopped.

“You were wearing the Guardian Stone when you sent me the picture this morning from bed,” he said. “Did you take it off?”

“No.” My hand flew to my bare neck and I gasped. “I must have lost it when I shifted. I’m so sorry, Aarix. It’s my most treasured possession. The nicest thing anyone’s given me.”

Just like that, I went from feeling like a powerful dragon to good old Calista who fucked up everything she touched.

“I won’t let you blame yourself for that. You shifted to help your friends fight a lifelong enemy. We can go back and find the stone.”

“How? It’s a tiny necklace in the middle of a giant desert.”

“The same way it led me to you.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t ready to stop beating myself up over this.

Aarix drew away from me. Cool fire burned in his gaze, and he took my hand and led me into the room. A bellhop already brought our luggage up for us. The Alta Vista was owned by a rock star vampire, and his signature was at every turn. Our room was rich purples, grays, and metallic silvers, and gave us a breathtaking view of the Strip.

“Do I need to remind you of everything you did right today?” he asked.

“It wouldn’t hurt.”

“You looked like the first time I saw you,” he continued, nodding as my mouth dropped. “But even more beautiful.”

“You’ve seen me like this before?” I had yet to process the story that Declan had shared with us. The Night God had tasked my pack with protecting me? Bibi and I had been reincarnated? It was a sharp, almost unbelievable contrast from what my life had been with them. In Montana, I felt anything but special.

“I have.” He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, like he couldn’t stop touching me. “I’d had a feeling I’d seen you in dreams, but I didn’t know for sure until today when we landed in the desert. I remembered seeing you in your little village, surrounded by the Rocky Mountain thunder. I was there to tell them about the Night God’s proposition. To tell them that it would be a smart alliance, and that we could trust him. I didn’t have long, and I told myself the next time I saw you, I would make you mine. You were the dragon who’d caught my eye.”

My heart fluttered in my chest. That didn’t feel any different.

“I wish I could remember anything about that life.” It was hard to turn away from the gorgeous view, but I had an even better one behind me. Aarix’s body was strong and warm and every part of him was hard and ready. “Or any other but this one. Bibi and I grew up together. And he said they’d tried to make me less of a dragon.” I sighed. “Being a wolf isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but a dragon is so much more powerful.”

A rumble went through Aarix’s body. “You are. They didn’t know how to honor you. They were intimidated.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“I’m not.” Emotion stung my eyes, and I swallowed hard to keep it at bay. Someone would make a lot of money off my anger later on, but tonight, we had a lot to celebrate. “They tried to make me weak, but they made me stronger.”

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