Page 6 of Samuel
My black scales blended seamlessly into the night, rendering me nearly invisible as I soared through the sky.
I didn’t have to worry about being spotted.
No shifter group laid claim to this land, and no humans were reckless enough to venture this deep into the woods after dark.
It was the ideal place for a rogue dragon to make its nest—a predator’s paradise.
I scanned the landscape below me, searching for any trace of the bronze-scaled beast I had been tracking for days.
Rogue shifters were dangerous enough, but a rogue dragon?
That was a whole new level of chaos. A monster like this could lay waste to entire towns if it ever left the forest.
The pack had been clear about the risk of exposure.
Our kind was already hidden from most of the paranormal world, only trusting a select few allies.
A rogue dragon wreaking havoc wasn’t just a threat to human lives—it was a threat to our entire existence.
I made a slow, wide circle over the forest, wings beating steadily. Still nothing.
No movement, no glint of bronze scales through the trees.
I growled low in frustration, debating whether to call it a night and return to the cabin where I was temporarily holed up.
The rogue had been clever, slipping away every time I got close. But I was nothing if not persistent.
Just as I was about to turn back, I felt it—a ripple of movement beneath me.
A faint disturbance in the air, subtle but unmistakable. My instincts sharpened instantly.
There.
I veered hard to the left as something massive shot up from the canopy of trees below, a blur of bronze streaking through the air.
My wings caught the sudden shift, and I angled my body sharply to dodge the attack.
My prey had finally revealed itself, but it was still unclear who was the hunter and who was the hunted.
The rogue dragon came into view, larger than I’d expected, its enormous body half again as big as mine.
Its scales were smeared with dried blood, the stench of rotting meat thick in the air around it.
I could taste the decay on the wind, a putrid reminder of the hikers and campers it had gorged itself on.
According to Zane, our lead alpha, the rogue had been feasting on wildlife, but it had escalated.
Human blood had now tainted its soul. This needed to end—soon.
I roared, my voice reverberating through the sky as I closed the distance between us.
The rogue dragon responded in kind, its roar more guttural, almost feral, as it met me head-on.
There was no strategy in its attack, just raw, unrestrained aggression.
I dodged its first swipe, narrowly avoiding its talons as they slashed through the air.
But I wasn’t fast enough to avoid the tail that swung around and caught me hard in the side.
