Page 36 of Dallas

Callie and I looked at each other, unspoken questions flying between us. I raised my brows. She shrugged.

It was as good an idea as any, though that didn’t mean I liked it very much.

“Well?” he called out from the other side of the tree line. “Am I going alone, or are you coming with me?”

I snorted. “How could we say no to an invitation like that?”

15

The two of them stood in front of me with nearly identical expressions of doubt on their faces. I’d never noticed until then just how similar they looked. The fact that Callie could stand at all granted a great sense of relief, but we were not out of danger yet.

“I’m going to shift now,” I warned them. “When was the last time you saw a dragon shift?”

They looked at each other. “I don’t remember ever seeing it,” Callie admitted.

Hecate nodded in agreement.

“Wonderful,” I muttered. “Don’t be alarmed. When I shift, I’ll lower my head until you can both climb on. You’ll be able to hold the horns on my neck. Here.” I held out a clean pair of pants and a shirt. “This is for when I shift back. If one of you could hold onto them…”

Hecate took them, clutching them close to her chest.

“All right, then. I turned my back when you were dressing—you can do me the same favor now.” I waited until they were both turned around before peeling off my jeans, the only clothing I wore. Then, I allowed the dragon to take over as he’d been waiting to do all along.

When I opened my eyes, I saw everything differently. More clearly. And there she was, my mate. The one I’d waited for. So close. Close enough to touch. Only the human side of my consciousness held back my baser urges.

There would be time for such things once we reached the caves.

I grunted to signal my readiness, and the witches turned slowly. Cautiously. They knew they were in the presence of something much more powerful than themselves, especially now that their powers were useless. I was in control, not them.

Callie’s mouth fell open, but not my mate’s.

I studied her reaction. I could hear her heartbeat, as swift as that of a bird. Her eyes widened. The tip of her tongue darted across her lips, moistening them. She was at a loss.

I lowered my head, allowing them to climb onto my neck. It was already growing late in the morning, the clouds thinning more and more with every passing moment, leaving me exposed if we did not make haste.

When they hesitated, I grunted louder than before.Hurry.

Hecate stepped forward first. “Come on. It won’t be bad.” She lied to protect her sister. She was terrified. There was nothing to be afraid of, and I wished there was a way to tell her so.

I reached out to her through the mental connection we’d forged.All is well.

She looked at me, aghast, but it was enough to get her to swing one leg over my neck and settle in. “Come on, then,” she urged. “We need to go.”

Callie hesitated a moment longer but did as she was told. Soon they were both straddling my neck, holding onto the thick horns which ran from the base of my skull to the tip of my tail.

I wasted no time moving, then, carrying them on my back as I climbed the road I had so recently cleared. It was still treacherous, with loose earth making a difficulty of finding a proper foothold, but I didn’t wish to chance taking flight. It could all be over so quickly if I could only use my wings.

They held on for dear life, gasping and squealing as I ran. It was the troublemaker in me that made me bounce them a bit harder than I needed to, but only a few times. No sense risking one of them falling off.

We had not made it far up the mountain at all, not in comparison to the amount of road left before us. Even so, I was glad for the chance to stretch my legs this way. To feel my heart beating and the burning of air in my lungs as I exerted myself. I wanted to fly. I needed to fly. All I could do was push myself further, harder, faster, and promise myself that I would take flight when the time was right.

Soon it was. We reached the end of the road, where the ground flattened. Several cars were parked further ahead, near the cave entrance, including the matching SUV from the night before. We had finally arrived.

And not a moment too soon, as the clouds broke and sunlight flooded the valley and mountainside almost as soon as we reached safety.

“We made it!” Callie gasped as she slid from my neck—then, to my surprise, she hugged me. A rather awkward hug, seeing as how I was many times her size, but she did her best. “Thank you! We owe you our lives!”

I wondered how her sister felt about that sentiment.

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