Page 28 of Wild Fire

“The blood boils when another dragon gets too close,” Falkor chuckled.

Warrick looked at him. “You never felt that way…”

“Didn’t I? The instinct to protect one’s eternal flame burns brightly in all of us, none more so than those of us who form the Phantom Fire. I have to remind myself that each of you is my brother and would never betray me. Even more than that, Kessily has never given me cause to be jealous, although it amuses her to tease me. She likes to remind me that if I seriously believed she would be unfaithful to me that she would wallop me upside my head with a frying pan.”

Warrick laughed out loud. “Your mate would be a formidable opponent.”

“As would yours. At least mine doesn’t carry a loaded firearm. Where does it stand between you?”

“Mostly she ignores the subject, and when I press, she manages to deflect my attention.”

Falkor laughed. “Yes. It is difficult to stay on the subject when they have their lips wrapped around your cock.”

“She makes me crazy,” Warrick admitted. “Even when I know what she’s doing and why, I find I am far more interested in taking her mouth than getting the answer I need.”

“You would not be the first member of this order to transition a female without their consent.”

“But it is frowned upon, and wouldn’t it be an affront to our honor to do so?”

Falkor shrugged. “Drakaina, before or after they transition, can be difficult to bend to your will and will often protest just to hear the sound of their own voices. I’m not saying it should be done without due consideration, but if she is simply being difficult, it is not without precedent.” Falkor clapped him on the shoulder. “It is something to think about.” He waited a moment. “What else troubles you?”

“My oath and my duty…”

“Our ways are changing…”

“For us all? Or only for our leader?”

“Alpha has always been a designation only. The Phantom Fire has always looked at one another as a brotherhood of equals. Besides if we were to bend the rules for anyone it would be for the first warrior, not the alpha or beta. While I was flattered to hear my brothers value my council, it was you who was instrumental in the defeat of the Cherufe.”

“I wouldn’t tell that to your sister.”

Falkor laughed again. “Yes, another formidable drakaina. I suspect your Dani would be no different. She has great courage and fears little.”

“Sometimes to her detriment.”

“It is often that way with our most fierce drakaina. But at least your mate has the skill and training to back that up. Kessily often fails to see that bringing an oral argument—no matter how strong—is not the best weapon in a fight amongst dragons. Give Dani some time.”

“I’m not sure we have it. I don’t believe the cult is the only threat behind all of this. Their knowledge of shifters and of dragons in particular only confirms my belief that there are those who are hidden behind the curtain who are pulling their strings.”

“The Shadow League?”

Warrick nodded. “But I think perhaps something even more. The League has always been a group of ruthless thugs—nuances and subtleties are lost on them. They have been somewhat circumspect. I would have expected them to move against those in Alaska who are gathering their forces.”

“Agreed. I have been in contact with the one they call The Finder. He reached out to Cooper, seeking the assistance of the dragons of Denali if it came to a fight.”

“Dragons have rarely, if ever, fought alongside other shifters.”

“True enough, but Cooper, like you, is convinced there’s more at stake than meets the eye. I think it could be a case of stopping them now as opposed to trying to take them on and whatever is gathering strength behind them.”

“I think he could be right. Dani and I talked about and wondered if the League wasn’t planning to breed some kind of super soldier using my DNA.”

“I wondered about that as well. The taking of cuts of your hide and keeping you weak without killing you makes me think someone is playing a long game.”

“Agreed. While I would prefer to keep Dani up here at Dragonwyk, I think we need her investigative skills to run down some of the clues the cultists and their backers may have left behind. We may well need to take a more active role in casting them into the light.”

“You will leave us, then? For now?”

“If the order has made the decision to allow a warrior to stay once he has found his eternal flame, then I will not abandon my brothers.”

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