Page 96 of The Dragon's Mate

She growled at him before turning herattention to Bones. “Come, old friend, it’s time I taught you a lesson inmanners.”

Bones bared his teeth at her in a ferociousgrin. “Are you sure this is what you want, Kaida? Does the human mean thatmuch to you that you are willing to have your ass handed to you in front of theclan? To have the clan watch you beg for mercy?”

Her dragon roared with rage. “We will see whobegs for mercy, Bones.”

Bones’s grin widened and Kaida could feel thedelicious fire of her dragon’s fury in her very bones. Her dragon was itching tofight, and Bones would be a worthy opponent.

“Kaida, no,” Bren said into her ear. “You’renot doing this for me. You’re not being injured or dying because of -”

The door to the cabin burst open and Brandonand Matalis ran into the cabin. At fourteen and fifteen, they were the youngestof the yearlings. Still keeping her arm around Bren’s waist, Kaida watched as Brandonstaggered to his father.

“Brandon? What is it?” Rokan put his arm aroundthe yearling’s shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

Brandon stared up at him, his lipstrembling and his golden eyes huge in his face. “Dad, I… we…”

“What?” Rokan said.

His face a mask of shock, Matalis held upthe tablet he carried in his right hand. “He-he was on TV and online. Heouted us.”

“What are you talking about, Matalis?”Javee moved toward Matalis, taking the tablet from his hand and scanning it.

“The humans,” Matalis whispered, “haveproof that dragons exist.”

Chapter Seventeen

“What did you do, human?” Drago pushedforward and pulled Bren out of Kaida’s grip. He swung Bren around, fisting hishands into his shirt as he exhaled smoke in a thick cloud into Bren’s face. “Whatdid you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Bren snapped.

Coughing, he shoved Drago away as Kaida growledout a warning. “Don’t touch him again, Drago.”

“Your stupid human has betrayed you,” Dragosaid. “He has exposed us to the rest of his kind and -”

“I didn’t,” Bren said. “I haven’t said aword to anyone, you asshole.”

“Asshole?” Drago sucked in a gulp of air.His chest was glowing red beneath his shirt and Bren was certain he was abouttwo seconds away from being roasted alive.

“Drago, enough!” Cadmus’s voice rose abovethe panicked hum of the other dragons.

Snarling under his breath, Drago turnedaway. Bren took Kaida’s hand. She looked sick to her stomach and her pupilswere blown so wide, there was only a thin golden ring surrounding them.

“What does it say, Javee?” Bones asked.

For the first time since he’d met the dragonshifter, Bren could hear unease in Bones’s voice and see worry on his face.

Javee stared grimly at Bones before handingthe tablet back to the teenager named Matalis. She pushed her way through the othershifters and opened a cabinet built into the wall of the cabin. It hid a largescreen TV, and Bren and Kaida joined the others as they crowded around thescreen.

Javee turned the television on and flippedto the local news station channel. They all watched in silence as the localnewscaster said, “Once again, here is the footage captured earlier this eveningby multiple viewers in downtown Los Angeles. A note of caution – this unalteredfootage contains images that are graphic and unsuitable for younger viewers.”

The screen turned to the shaky and unstablevideo from a cell phone. The image was crystal clear, and Bren stared at the nakedman standing at the top of an office building. The camera zoomed in on the man’spale face that seemed to glow in the light of the setting sun.

Gasps of dismay and fear rippled throughthe dragons, and Kaida’s hand grew so warm in his that his palm tingled.

“Well, fuck,” Bones said.

“Is that Norris from Belinda’s clan?” Sikaasked.

“Yes,” Walter said. Like the other elders,he had joined the dragons around the screen. He glanced at Cadmus who wasstanding next to him. “We received word two days ago that he’d been banished fromthe clan.”

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