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  Chapter 8

  “I’m going wherever she goes.” Ian only spoke when he and Finn were in another room with complete privacy. He couldn’t hear anyone else talking so he didn’t think the others could hear them either.

  “No shit. I just wanted to ask if you would be a team player for this op. You worked well with my pack before and I appreciate it. But I need to know what you’re going to be like in the Hell realm. Because if you put my pack in danger…” There was a slight edge to his tone.

  “I would never do that.” He pushed back his impatience at the need to return to Fiona. He didn’t like letting her out of his sight. Not even when she was in the security of the Stavros mansion.

  Finn eyed him. “Will you be able to follow my orders? Because I can’t have you disrespect me in front of my pack. And I don’t give a shit if it’s in another realm. I don’t want to fight you, but I will.”

  Ian respected what Finn was saying. “As long as your orders don’t put Fiona in danger or you don’t try to separate me from her, we won’t have an issue. I can follow orders.” Sort of. Maybe. Damn it, he could. He’d do it for Fiona because her friend was in danger and Finn’s pack would bring a lot of firepower. Right now it sounded like they needed that kind of backup to infiltrate…wherever they were going.

  Finn sighed. “That’s about what I expected. Also, I don’t want Rory going with us. Is that going to be a problem with you?”

  “No. Because Liberty would want to go with him.” And there was no way that female needed to be back in any sort of Hell realm. She’d come a long way from the abused and frightened woman they’d found and he couldn’t imagine her going back to one of those places.

  Finn snorted in agreement.

  Ian didn’t actually think his brother would go if Liberty tried to insist on going with him. Ian couldn’t see Rory doing that to her, not even on his Alpha’s orders. Thankfully, Finn was a good Alpha and was going to circumvent the issue altogether by keeping Rory out of the op.

  “What do you know about Gray?” Finn asked.

  The question surprised him. He assumed the Alpha knew everything about the male since Gray lived in Finn’s territory.

  Ian shrugged. “I just know what Fiona has told me. She said she’s known him since he was a pup. It sounds as if she saved him and his mom from a bad situation. But I don’t know anything else.” Not even the guy’s last name. Not that he really cared.

  Finn nodded, as if he knew that already. Or at least some of it. Because Ian didn’t think he’d known Fiona had saved the male years ago. “I’m going to talk to Fiona alone. Are you going to lose your shit?”

  Ian gritted his teeth. He understood that the Alpha needed to talk to her. Finn would want to ask her more about Gray in private, and even though Ian didn’t like being separated from Fiona for even a moment, he knew he had to deal with it. Because he was going on this mission to rescue Ava and he didn’t want to do anything to put his own brother at odds with the Alpha.

  Somehow Ian grasped on to his civility. “I don’t have a problem with that.”

  The only thing he would have a problem with was if Finn tried to separate them during the mission. Because nothing in this realm or any other would separate him from Fiona now that she was in his orbit again.

  * * *

  “You’ve been to Hell realms before, correct?” Finn asked.

  “Yes. I’ve done various rescue missions with Ava. I didn’t realize there was a gate along our borders.” Fiona knew gates were everywhere but it bothered her one had been so close.

  Finn nodded as if he believed her.

  At this point she didn’t really care what he believed. All she cared about was getting her friend back. “So when do we leave?”

  “Within the hour. I know Ian will be a team player—sort of. At least I know he won’t endanger my pack. I need to know how you handle yourself in battle situations.”

  It was a fair question since he didn’t know her. “I’m not ancient, but I’m a freaking dragon,” she said wryly. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t actually shift at the moment, she was still incredibly strong. “And you’ll need either me or Ian to open the gate unless you have another way to do it.” Because her dragon essence allowed her to open any Hell gate she wanted. Since she couldn’t breathe fire she’d have to use her blood.

  It was why, for so long, dragons had lived in ultimate secrecy. In the last few years they’d started to come out to other supernaturals a bit more. Predators like them could only stay in hiding for so long. And the strength of a clan was a powerful thing. It deterred others from attacking a dragon for the power of their blood. Taking on a single individual was one thing. Taking on a clan of dragons? Only someone suicidal did that.

  “Okay. I know I don’t have any jurisdiction over you. But I’m going to run this op.” There was no give in the Alpha’s voice. “Our number one objective is to save your friend. And we also plan to find out what the hell is going on. If there are other human captives, we’re saving them too. Will you be able to take orders from me?”

  “As long as they don’t interfere with my saving Ava, or affect Ian negatively. And I won’t be separated from him.” Nope. Not happening. She didn’t want to hurt Ian and she certainly wasn’t a masochist, but she needed to stay with him. He was a dragon and she trusted him implicitly. It didn’t matter how many years had passed. She would trust the male with her life in a way she couldn’t trust anyone else but Ava.

  Finn gave her a wry smile. “Fair enough. We have plenty of weapons and gear if you need. I know dragons don’t favor carrying weapons for the most part, but you’re free to use any of ours. Ian can show you to our weapons room.”

  Even though she wanted to ask how Finn knew that about dragons, she simply nodded. She’d just ask Ian later. “Thank you.” For once she actually was going to stock up on weapons, considering she couldn’t shift right now. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach spread, making her flush hot then cold as she thought about what would happen if she could never shift again.

  Never fly again. Never soar high above the clouds… She swallowed hard. Straightening, she shoved the thought away. She refused to believe that could ever happen. That this wasn’t just temporary.

  It had to be.

  * * *

  Ian was barely a foot from Fiona where they stood with a small team of wolves in front of the oversized whiteboard. Gray had drawn a very realistic diagram of the castle in that Hell realm where they thought Ava was being held. The male had serious talent.

  Ian just hoped that was where she was and that she wasn’t already dead.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I believe this is where the captives are, if there are any left at this point,” Gray said, pointing to an area he’d marked underground. “There were two doors heavily guarded and I scented others past the doors. We weren’t able to infiltrate it, however. But we were able to discover where their labs were.” He pointed to another area of the castle. “And we were able to watch these beings long enough to figure out what they were up to.”

  Everything on the whiteboard had been labeled so they had a general idea of what they were looking for. But the castle grounds were heavily guarded as well. And after what had happened today, Ian figured the dragons and half-demons would increase their security. He just wished he knew who they were up against. He didn’t like unknowns. So far Gray had told him he knew that dragons and half-demons were involved—an unlikely partnership.

  Fiona shifted restlessly next to Ian, the energy humming through her wild. He wanted to ask her if she could sense her dragon yet, but didn’t want to in front of the wolves. Like the other female in the team going on the op, Fiona had on leggings, boots and a heavy tunic since it was cold in this Hell realm. Once they crossed over he wasn’t sure if that would trigger her ability to shift or what.

  But he knew what would happen to him.

  He’d be in his half-demon form. It always happened when he was in a Hell realm, whet
her he wanted it or not. He could turn dragon as well, but he shed his human side completely when he was there. The thought of Fiona seeing him that way had him on edge. She’d never seen him as anything other than a dragon or human. He’d never allowed it, even though she’d wanted to see it. He’d never wanted to disgust her. He forced himself not to think about her finally seeing him as a half-demon.

  He’d just deal with it later.

  As Gray continued going over the schematics of the castle and grounds, Ian watched Fiona out of the corner of his eye. Her long dark hair was pulled into a tight braid against her head and she had multiple blades strapped to her thighs. He was certain she had more where he couldn’t see. Considering the amount of weapons she was bringing, he guessed she couldn’t shift right now. It pained him that such an integral part of her was missing. At least she had training. That was one thing her clan had done right where she was concerned: made sure she could protect herself. They might have wanted their females to be seen and not heard, but they’d made sure they could defend themselves.

  “When you’re spit out into the other realm there’s no telling where you’ll end up,” Gray said. “The time I went through I ended up roughly five miles north of the castle. My friend traveled over four times and ended up in four separate places. Each time it was roughly five miles from the castle, but in various directions, so it’s possible the castle was built there because it’s central to the entrance.”

  “What’s the exit like?” Ian asked. Because exiting a Hell realm was always a bitch. In the last one he’d lived in, if someone wanted to exit, they had to dive down to the bottom of a very deep lagoon first. And the exit could only be used once a day so if someone had used it already, you had to wait another damn day to try again.

  “At the top of a small mountain. About four miles up. The terrain isn’t too rough but it’s always foggy. Pea-soup foggy. And that fog is the only reason I escaped last time, because it camouflaged me.”

  “Any restrictions on exiting?”

  The male shook his head. “Not that I know of. My friend said he’d used it more than once in a twelve-hour period. He’d seen others using it before him and he had no problem exiting directly after.”

  “Where does it lead to?” Finn asked.

  “Same area as the entrance. Only about a hundred yards east of it.”

  That was fairly interesting. Most exits from Hell realms spit you out in a different place from the original entrance.

  “You’ll be staying here as my guarded guest until we return,” Finn said to Gray.

  For a moment the other male stilled, but then he nodded, his expression almost…pleased. Probably because the male wanted to spend more time with Ophelia. “Do you want me to lead you to the entrance?”

  “Yes. My mate and Guardian will escort you back here once we’re gone.”

  As if on cue, Lyra, Finn’s mate, stepped into the huge training room. Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her grayish-violet eyes softening when they landed on Finn. The two of them moved toward each other like magnets.

  Ian glanced away from them, a sharp sense of longing invading his veins. To see the two of them together, it was clear they were in love. He could have had that with Fiona. If things had been different. And they would be different as soon as possible.

  “How long have you been in Biloxi?” Fiona’s soft voice made him turn toward her. She was fiddling with the handle of one of her blades as she watched him, the nervous action out of character.

  “Less than a year.” If he’d known she’d been so close to him, he’d never have been able to keep his distance.

  “Oh.” She bit her bottom lip and it looked as if she wanted to say more, but at Finn’s sharp voice they turned to him.

  “Fiona and Ian will team up together. I’ll be with Solon. And Chloe and Spiro will be a team.” He started barking out commands of where they would infiltrate through and what the final game plan was for when they got there.

  Ian listened, not saying anything when it was clear it was a solid tactical plan. For now, their plan was to save Ava, other captives if possible, and get samples of the drug. They also needed to find out who was behind this. But this was a rescue mission more than anything. With such a small but powerful team they had the element of surprise and strength on their side. Shit could always go sideways but that was to be expected.

  He hated that Fiona was going when she couldn’t shift. Hell, he hated that she was going to be in danger at all. But she was still a dragon, and even if he wanted to keep her protected and safe here, she’d never let him and the others go off to save her friend without her. He had to respect her strength, who she was. Her family hadn’t, and he never wanted to be in the same category as them.

  It didn’t take long to pile into two SUVs. The drive was close to an hour and for the most part, it was silent, as everyone mentally prepared for the crossover and the potential battle they faced.

  After turning off the main highway onto a gravel road, they traveled a couple miles through forest until they reached a dirt road. A decaying, wood sign was posted in front of what had been a gate but now was just two lone posts. The sign had once said KEEP OUT but the K, P, and U were missing.

  “About twenty yards up there’ll be a marked tree to the left of the road,” Gray said from the far backseat where he sat next to one of the warriors. “We can go in on foot from there.”

  It was clear when they reached the tree. An X had been spray painted in red. Subtle, Ian thought.

  “I didn’t see any motion sensors, cameras or traps last time I was here, but things could have changed.” Gray’s voice was quiet as Finn turned off the engine.

  They all filed out, including Lyra and Gabriel, who’d be escorting Gray back to the compound once everyone else had crossed over.

  The trek through the sunlit woods was silent as they walked deeper into the thick trees and everyone scanned their surroundings for potential threats. Ian couldn’t scent anything out of the ordinary, but that didn’t mean threats weren’t there. He hadn’t forgotten how he’d seen a vehicle and a dragon carrying Ava vanish into thin air only hours before.

  “This is it.” Gray motioned to a small circular clearing in the middle of the trees.

  Finn blinked at Ian questioningly. Without voicing anything he knew what the male meant. Ian nodded once. He could sense the invisible gates and all he had to do was breathe fire where Gray motioned to.

  Ian waited as Finn said goodbye to his mate and Gray. Lyra and Gabriel stepped back far enough away from them that they shouldn’t be pulled into the gate once it opened.

  “Join hands,” Finn said quietly.

  “I’ll have your back, Fiona,” Ian said as he slipped his hand into hers, linking his fingers tight. As if there was ever a question of that.

  “I know you will. You always did.” Her expression was solemn, thoughtful, before she looked away from him and took one of the warriors’ hands in her own.

  “And you always had mine, didn’t you? Even if you didn’t want to tell me the truth about why you lied.” He didn’t care that he was saying this in front of others. He wanted her to know before they went through the gate. Because anything could happen, no matter the best-laid plans.

  She turned back to look at him then. Her blue eyes widened slightly but the surprise that rolled off her was potent and raw.

  Maybe she’d always thought that he’d believed her cruel words when she’d kicked him out of her life. At first he had, but it hadn’t taken long for him to figure out that she’d lied about not loving him. That she’d pushed him away and mated with someone else in an attempt to keep him safe. By then it had been too late. He’d gone to her family’s home and saw with his own eyes that she’d mated with someone else. Now he knew that to be a lie as well, but at the time… Damn it. The only reason he’d stayed away from her was because he truly thought she’d been mated. Once that had happened he’d assumed there was no chance for them. Ever. Because drag
ons mated for life in the most literal sense. If a mated dragon died, so did their mate.

  Before she could respond, he turned, breathed fire where Gray had said the opening was. A swirling blue vortex opened up and sucked the six of them in. That protective instinct welled up inside him. He let go of the other wolf’s hand and gripped Fiona to him, wrapping his body tight around hers as they fell into a maelstrom of raging wind and rain.

  Chapter 9

  52 years ago

  “You still haven’t told me why you fight so much. You could do anything you wanted to, Ian.” Fiona ran her long, elegant fingers through his hair as he laid his head on her lap.

  A billion stars were splashed in the sky above them, a backdrop to a quiet Louisiana night. Not even the sound of crickets permeated the air. Probably because he and Fiona had the scent of predators. It didn’t matter that they were in human form, their scent was still all dragon. And in his case, more.

  He needed to tell her about his dual nature. He’d just been holding off because he didn’t want to ruin their fledgling relationship. They’d been seeing each other in secret for two weeks and he looked forward to every time she was able to get away. She was the only reason he was still in New Orleans. Though tonight they’d flown far out of the city, north into quiet countryside.

  “There’s something I need to tell you. I’m not just a dragon.” He blurted the words out. Now to figure out how to tell her the truth of what he was.

  “I know. I mean, I don’t know what you are. But you have the scent of something more to you. Something unique. And I don’t recognize what it is.” She continued to stroke her fingers lazily through his hair. They’d finished flying twenty minutes ago and were now stretched out in the grass—unfortunately fully clothed again—and just enjoying the quiet, cold night.

  Unfortunately he was afraid his words would ruin the peacefulness of the moment. And ruin everything between them. But he had to tell her. She deserved the truth. Deserved to know what kind of male he was before she linked herself to him.