Page 101 of Cowboy Dragon's Rose

Children file out, their faces pale, tear streaked. Teachers herd them into tight groups.

“What happened?” Max demands, leaping out as I roll to a stop near a cluster of adults.

“A maniac!” a woman gasps, mascara running down her cheeks. “He came out of the trees and grabbed one of the kids. Then he took the nurse! Dragged her off the field! The whole school’s in lockdown now.”

“He had a gun,” another parent says. “That poor nurse! He just grabbed her and ran! They’re saying it was targeted!”

“I see. Good luck to you,” Max says calmly, the Alpha power in his voice calming the group for a heartbeat.

I don’t speak.

I can’t.

Because the moment I hear nurse, I know.

He has her.

Michael fucking D’Angelo has my mate.

I shove the truck back in gear and drive around the back of the school, where the forest meets the playing field.

It’s quieter here.

No flashing lights.

Just the hush before the storm turns violent.

But I don’t give a fuck about rain and thunder. The real storm is already inside me.

And it just took a turn for the worse.

“He’s got her, Max,” I growl, slamming the heel of my hand against the steering wheel.

My claws rip through the leather.

“The fucker’s driving away with her.”

Lightning crashes above us again, closer this time. The air pressure shifts. A crack of thunder follows hard on its heels, loud enough to shake the windows.

“We’re going to get her back,” Max says, planting a hand on my shoulder. “Now concentrate. Where is he taking her, Zeke? Use the bond.”

I grit my teeth, closing my eyes for half a second and reaching for the tether inside me.

Our matebond.

It thrums like a live wire, pulling eastward. My chest burns where the Dragon’s Rose mark is etched into my skin.

“East,” I say hoarsely. “He’s heading east.”

Max nods. “Then he’s on Route 80. Trying to get out of state before the alert hits the highways.”

Another clap of thunder.

I look up.

The clouds split like wounded flesh overhead. Rain pours down in sheets, cold and stinging. Wind lashes through the trees, tearing leaves loose in a frenzy.

Like nature itself is mirroring the chaos in my chest.

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