Page 97 of The Dragon's Mate

“Why was he banished?” Sika asked.

“Holy shit!” Jarvis said.

Bren turned back to the television as moregasps of dismay reverberated through the clan of dragons. The naked man’s bodywas bulging and changing, and they watched in horrified silence as he shifted.The person holding the cell phone swore in surprise and Bren could hear screamsof fear and disbelief from the people watching on the street.

A dragon, his orange scales gleaming in thesunlight, stood on the building. He was massive in size with a row of darkrust coloured spikes running down the back of his neck, along his spine, anddown to the end of his tail. He unfurled his wings, blotting out the sun abovehim, and more terrified screams could be heard from the crowd on the streetbelow.

With a heavy flap of his wings, the dragonrose into the air. The camera followed him, watching as the dragon flew in alarge circle before diving and dipping through the air. He skimmed across the topof a neighbouring building before landing on the roof of the office buildingagain.

He took a deep breath, his chest turning toa deep rich reddish orange before he blew out a truly terrifying blast offlame. The man holding the camera stumbled backwards, the dragon slipping outof view for a second as the lens was aimed at the people on the street.

They were staring up at the dragon with amixture of fear and confusion. When the dragon roared, the man swung the cameraback up. Bren swallowed down the dizzying sense of vertigo, focusing his gaze onthe dragon as it stomped back and forth on the roof.

The dragon stopped and blasted out another lungfulof flame before shifting back to his human form. He stood on the side of the buildingand grinned at the crowd below him.

“There are many of my kind!” he shouted. “Thoseof us who are born of smoke and flame. We are… everywhere.”

“What is Norris doing?” Sika said as theman stepped closer to the edge of the building. “What is he… oh no!”

Kaida made a low sound of pain as Norris,with a final grin to the crowd, swan dived off the building. He hit the sidewalkheadfirst, the force of his impact smashing his skull apart and his brainssplattering across the sidewalk.

“Oh my fucking God,” Jarvis said as morescreams echoed across the video. “Oh my fucking God.”

The view on the screen switched back to thenewscaster. His face and voice solemn, he said, “Today marks a momentous occasion.Long thought to be nothing more than an insane conspiracy theory by a fewderanged individuals, we now have irrefutable proof that dragons exist.”

“Oh shit, this is so fucking bad,” Jarvissaid.

The newscaster cocked his head, his hand comingup to touch his ear. “Folks, we’ve been given some new information. It seemsthat the dragon posted a list on social media of what he refers to as ‘dragon clans’with their locations.”

The newscaster stared straight ahead atsome unseen prompter and Bren’s stomach dropped when he said, “We have no ideahow many dragons are in each clan and local authorities are cautioning humansand shifters alike to steer clear of the dragons. The following clans have beenidentified, the Belinda clan of the city of Los Angeles, the Makeda clan of thecity of San Francisco, the Avena clan of the city of New York -”

“Please no,” Sika whispered. She was holdingher baby close to her chest and she gave Jarvis a frightened look as he put hisarm around her.

“The Borthala clan of the city of Cheyenne,”the newscaster droned on, “the Havana clan of the city of Portland, the Cadmusclan of the city of -”

The horrified shouts filled the large cabin.The room was growing increasingly warmer and Bren could see the chests of morethan one dragon glowing bright red. Kaida’s hand was squeezing his so tightly,he’d lost all feeling in his fingers.

“Honey, ease up a little,” he said.

She stared blankly at him before staring attheir linked fingers. She relaxed her grip. “I’m sorry.”

“They know where we are!” A wild-eyeddragon, his dark hair sticking straight up in short spikes pushed through the crowdtoward Walter and the other elders. “They know where we are, elders. We mustprepare to defend our clan.”

“They only said the city,” Walter said. “Youmust be calm, Mateo. The humans don’t know where our clan is, only that thereis a clan in the -”

“They know.” Javee approached with Matalis’stablet in her hand. She showed Walter the screen. “Norris posted the exactlocations of over twenty clans online. Ours was one of them.”

“Why would he do that?” Sika whispered.

“Because he went mad,” Kaida said.

Walter was staring at the other elders witha look of blank shock on his face. The hum of excitement and fear grew louder inthe room and a few of the dragon shifters started to drift toward the door ofthe cabin.

“Come, my clan!” Mateo shouted. “We mustprepare ourselves for war with the humans. They will be here soon!”

He pushed his way toward the door and Brenstared at Kaida in alarm when a bunch of the shifters followed him.

“ENOUGH!”

---