Daniel glanced over at him. His jaw was set, but he drew in a deep breath and shook his head. “Then go, but the necklace stays here.”
Nodding, Alex pulled off his clothing and shifted into his lesser form.
Rolling down the window, Daniel slowed so Alex could get out.
It was a tight squeeze, but Alex shoved himself out of the window and was on wing before he could hit the ground. He glanced back as Daniel stepped on the accelerator and hurtled the pickup down the road.
Tuning his mind to his task, Alex raced up and over the tops of the trees. He might get there faster if he stopped and shifted to his grand form, but that would take time—time his dragon would not allow him. He would just have to push himself as hard as he could and pray that it was enough.
He should have taken the time and switched to his larger form. He had made the trip in his small form, but he had pushed himself harder than he had ever done before. His wings ached, and his breath came in ragged pants that ended in small puffs of smoke, but the end of his journey was in sight. He topped the trees surrounding the clearing and screeched out a roar that echoed across the field. There was a white sedan parked on the grass outside the cabin. Two men were manhandling Terra towards the open trunk. Two targets. A heavyset black guy and a scrawny, white guy. Alex picked the smaller of the two and rocketed straight for the man’s face.
Screaming in terror, the man batted at the ball of hell that had been unleashed in his face.
Alex snapped and bit at anything he could get his teeth near as he raked the man’s front with his claws. They went down in a heap of scales and flailing arms. Alex would have roasted the man if he hadn’t fallen so close to where Terra had collapsed.
“Stop it, or she’s dead!” the second man yelled.
Alex gave his victim one last chomp before turning to glare at the man holding Terra up by the head.
“Get off him, or I will break her neck right now!” he threatened, turning her head sharply to the side.
With a quiver of wings, Alex backed up until he stood on the ground on the other side of the downed man.
“Brett?” the man holding Terra called.
Alex glanced down at the fallen man. He wasn’t about to get up. Ever. A few of those bites had hit the man in the throat, and he was pretty sure at least one had crushed something important. Licking the blood from his muzzle, Alex turned his attention back up to the man holding Terra hostage. Now, if Alex could just get a clean shot at him, he would be the next man down.
“Shit,” the man cursed when he realized his friend wasn’t going to get back up. He turned his attention to Alex. “Where’s the necklace?”
So, they were after the necklace. “I don’t have it!” Alex growled at him. His tail swished back and forth in agitation. Just let the guy loosen his grip on Terra—only one moment would give him the chance he needed to spring.
“Shift!” the man yelled at him.
Alex quivered in anticipation, waiting for the moment to strike.
“Shift, or she dies!”
Growling deep in his chest, Alex shifted back to his human form. He glared up from the ground where he was kneeling. “I don’t have it.” He lifted his hand up and scrubbed the back of it across his mouth, wiping the blood from his face.
The man’s eyes widened in what Alex suspected was fear. “Where is it?” The man squeezed Terra’s throat, making her face go red.
“It’s in my bag,” Alex growled. “I left it at The Dragon’s Wing when I got your message.”
This was obviously not the answer the man had wanted. The look that crossed his face was pained.
They both held their positions, waiting for the other to move. The man’s hand on Terra’s throat was the only thing keeping Alex from killing her attacker. A twitch from Terra’s body drew Alex’s attention down.
The man took advantage of the momentary lack of attention and threw Terra at Alex.
Alex scrambled to catch her as the man turned and ran to the car. All thought of chasing him left Alex’s mind when that twitch turned into a spasm. He held her as she started to convulse. Forcing the side of his hand into her clenched teeth, he held her as a seizure racked her body. Had her attacker cut off the blood long enough to injure her? Or was this a side effect of the pheromones they had pumped into her system?
Clutching her to him, he protected Terra from the grass and dirt the car’s tires slung out as her attacker escaped. Alex looked up and committed the plates to memory. He would hunt that man down and kill him as soon as he was sure Terra was okay. No one hurts Mine! and gets away with it!
The pain from Terra’s clenched teeth eased, pulling his attention back down to the woman in his arms. The seizure was subsiding. He pulled his hand from her mouth and wiped the foam and blood away. With shaky fingers, Alex searched for a pulse in the side of her neck. It was there, but it was faster than it should have been. He pulled her farther into his lap as she started to shiver. Where the hell were Daniel and the SWAT team? He needed a medic here now!
The sound of squealing tires and crunching metal made Alex look down the road. The car was out of sight, but something had definitely happened to it. The sounds of gunfire rang through the woods. Two. Three. Five. Someone was getting serious out there. There were only a few people he could think of who would have a firefight out in the middle of these woods. Alex debated with himself. He should probably go and see who’d won, but that would mean he would have to put Terra down.
Mine! His instincts would not allow him to leave her unprotected again.
The seconds ticked by as he watched the road leading into the clearing. Movement drove a growl from him, and he pulled Terra closer to his body. No one was going to hurt his mate again. Mine! After a few seconds, he recognized Daniel coming towards him. Alex relaxed his grip, but only marginally.
Daniel held his shoulder as he jogged towards them. His shirtsleeve was soaked with blood. “Alex?” he called as he got closer. “Is she okay?”
Alex shook his head as he sat in the grass holding her.
Daniel’s eyes ran over them both. “Is any of that blood hers?”
“No,” Alex answered. His hands moved over her back, spreading more of the drying blood on her clothing.
Daniel glanced at the dead man sprawled on the grass. “Is any of it yours?” he asked.
Alex shook his head again. “No.”
Nodding, Daniel turned and went to the house. He punched a few buttons on the security panel before turning back to Alex. “An ambulance is on the way.”
Alex nodded but didn’t look up. He was worried about how still Terra was in his arms. What if that seizure had caused some type of brain damage? He rolled her so she was facing up. She was completely limp in his arms. Carefully, he lifted her eyelid so he could check her. Her eyes responded to the light, but instead of the pupils being round, they were slitted like a cat's. Or a dragon's. Alex looked up at Daniel. He was staring down at them.
“We will figure this out,” Daniel promised.
Turning away from his friend, Alex let Terra’s eyelid go and held her to him. What had those monsters done to her?