Page 45 of Bite Me

“Use us,” she waved her hand in a triangle between herself and the other women, “as bait.”

Your Love is Better than Donuts

No way, no how was Ky going to let Jada use herself as bait for the Black Dragon and his demon children. The thought of it had his own dragon roaring to get out and protect its mate.

The wise minded warrior part of him knew she had a solid idea and that it could work. He walked right into this, touting her smarts and skills. God, she was a badass.

Dammit.

He wanted to wrap her up in candy floss and hide her away from the world. She’d had enough fighting and strife from his enemies. A mate was for loving, protecting, kissing, and bedding. Not bait.

“Ky, quit shaking your head at me. You know this is the best chance we have of getting Kur-Jara off our backs.” There was less demand and more vulnerability in Jada’s voice. She wanted him to back her up.

That’s what true mates did.

He hadn’t even realized he’d been shaking his head at her. Ky unfolded his arms and quieted the dragon inside. If ever there was a time to show Jada he had every faith in her, this was it.

He did believe in her and her plan. It hurt to his core to think of her in danger, but he would tolerate any pain to ensure she knew she could count on him.

Ky glanced over at Steele and Jakob. Their dragons shimmered near the surface too, the tattoos stretching and writhing up their necks trying to free themselves. The men remained calm, their attention on Ky, waiting for his decision.

His mate, his choice.

He could very clearly see in the thrashing of the dragon tattoos that they hated the idea as much as he did. Maybe with a lot of time, a dozen more dragon warriors, and some super smarts, they could come up with a better plan.

They had none of those.

Ky would call upon the strength of the First Dragon to see him through this. He was afraid he wasn’t strong enough on his own to see Jada and the other mates risk their lives.

Ky stared into Jada’s eyes. There were flashes of uncertainty and hopefulness there. He would not let her down. He would not let her die. “You will not put yourselves in any kind of unnecessary danger.”

Jada stood to protest, but Ky lifted a hand to stop her, just as she had to all of them. “It is a good idea. It scares the balls off me, but it could be our best option. Together, we can all figure out how to make it work, without putting the three of you in too much peril.”

His mate tried to hide a smile by pressing her lips together. Soon, she would learn she never had to hide anything from him.

“Tell us your plan,aroha.”

Jada nodded and took a deep breath. “I’ve got two scenarios in my head. One at night where we’re all prepared for them and the other during the day, if they come to surprise us again.”

“Demon dragons need the darkness and shadows to manifest. They aren’t going to attack in the day.”

“Kur-Jara grows bolder, stronger, I suspect with Ereshkigal's help.” Ninsy dunked her cruller in her coffee.

Where had she gotten another donut?

“What does that mean?” Steele asked.

“Yesterday, we were attacked in daylight.”

“Holy shit.”

“They could find us here at any time. Why haven’t they attacked already?”

Ninsy pulled a sword from the sheath at her back and drew a symbol in the air with it. The air sparked and glowed with a silvery light in the shape of a protection ward. “The Black Dragon won’t be able to find you for a few more hours at least.”

Ciara stared at the glowing sigil and grinned at Ninsy. “Ooh. I’ve been doing research to better understand my powers. That’s a protection ward. It should give us time to make a plan to get this guy.”

Jakob put a possessive hand on Ciara’s shoulder. “We’ll call in all available dragon warriors to ensure our mates are not harmed. I know Match has some reds on the west coast of America. Dax, can you contact them and tell them to get their asses over here?”

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