Page 52 of Jhon

There will be another adoptive mother. One who won’t sway him from his mission. He won’t lose his son after all.

The thunderous crack of a massive collision rent the air.

But the turbine beneath them didn’t move.

Ella opened her eyes to see that the sound wasn’t the island hitting the turbine.

It was something hitting the island.

21

JHON

Jhon had nearly hit the midway point in the journey back to the launch field, and he felt no better than he had the moment he turned his back on Ella.

Will it get easier?

But he knew the answer. Of course it wouldn’t.

She was his true mate, and he had turned his back on her in the name of duty. He would yearn for her all his days.

Focus on getting to the field and sending the comms, he told himself.

In his chest, the dragon howled in pain.

There was nothing on this godforsaken tundra to distract it. Only the endless crunch of his boots on the frozen lichen, and the flavorless wind whistling through the rocky hills.

He walked on, feeling his heart pull taut with every step he moved away from his mate.

Despite being on foot instead of in the deer-drawn sleigh, he was making better time than they had on the way in. The woman and child had slowed him down.

But the merest thought of Bo had his throat sore and his eyes blinking back tears, so he focused his eyes on the horizon and prayed for strength.

Suddenly, he had a feeling of terror so strong it stopped him in his tracks.

A vision of Ella’s face flashed through his mind, frightened and tear-streaked as she ran, screaming into the wind.

The mate bond. I’m feeling this through the mate bond.

There was a single instant when he remembered his duty and the rule of the Invicta.

A dragon only shifts to protect his homeland.

But in this moment of crisis, one thing became painfully clear to him.

Ella was his homeland. And if the Invicta dismissed him, he would live his life in service to her and Bo.

The Invicta could find another soldier. But he could search the universe and never find another Ella.

Closing his eyes, he called to the dragon, letting down the wall that stood between them.

Instantly, he felt the dragon burst through, his senses expanding even as he was pushed into the background and the dragon took control.

Go, he begged, from the back of his mind. Save our mate.

The dragon stretched its massive body, shaking out its wings until the air was filled with the sound of the leathery flapping.

He inhaled deeply as his man-form screamed impatiently in the background.

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