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The mist surged again, this time directly at me—a desperate attack meant to overwhelm. But where before I would have fled, now I stood my ground. The energy inside me responded to my will, flowing out through my hands in a wave of silver-blue light that cut through the crimson like a blade.

The mist screamed—a sound no natural thing should make—and retreated farther.

“He awakens,” the elderly man murmured, wonder in his voice. “The dragon rises.”

Dragon. The word should have seemed absurd, but in that moment, with power flowing through me and scales gleaming on my skin, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

“We need to bind it,” Elder Grey called, rushing to my side. “While it’s weakened. All of us, together.”

“A binding requires blood,” Xander pointed out, appearing at my other side with his brothers close behind. “Blood freely given.”

“Then take mine,” I offered, extending my scaled arm. “It’s my fight.”

“Ours,” Marcus corrected, joining us with Derek and Caleb flanking him. “It’s our fight.”

One by one, they stepped forward—the Stone brothers, the Blackwoods, Imo, even the elderly White Tiger leader who really needed to work on his introduction skills. The remaining Cedar Grove Pack Council members joined our little blood donation party too. Elder Grey took her position with surprising agility for someone who’d spent the last week lecturing me—even in wolf form—about proper supernatural etiquette. Elder Redwood had blood running down his temple but still managed to look more dignified than I ever had on my best day. Elders Standing Bear and Black Hawk started chanting in a language that made the air vibrate like a supernatural tuning fork.

“Holy shit, Kai.” Luke’s voice broke through my concentration, his eyes wide as he stared at my scaled arms. “You’re a dragon? A DRAGON? When were you going to mention that little detail?” Despite his shock, he was already positioning himself at my side, loyal as always even when faced with his best friend suddenly sprouting scales and breathing supernatural fire.

Around us, the surviving members of various packs watched with expressions ranging from “holy shit” to “I need new pants.” Some wolves were down for the count, writhing where the evil mist had touched them—not exactly their finest hour in the supernatural fight club. Others huddled in protective formations, probably rethinking their life choices after nearly being consumed by ancient evil fog.

The Knox Pack survivors—significantly fewer than the twenty that had started this little showdown—had formed a circle around us like we were suddenly best friends. Their earlier “let’s eat Kai” attitude had transformed into something closer to religious awe. Great. Just what I needed—a fan club of wolves who’d tried to kill me a month ago.

“Circle the altar,” Elder Grey instructed. “Force it back to its source.”

We moved as one, pushing the crimson mist back toward the stone altar where it had first emerged. With each step, I could feel its resistance weakening, its once-powerful voice now reduced to desperate whispers. For something supposedly ancient and all-powerful, it was folding faster than I did at poker night with Luke.

This isn’t over,it threatened as we closed the circle.We will return. We always return.

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied, channeling the last of my newfound energy into the binding. “And I’ll return library books on time. We all make promises we can’t keep.”

The final surge of power was like nothing I’d ever experienced—a tsunami of energy drawn from wolf and dragon and human, from ancient bloodlines and modern determination. It crashed down upon the black fog with the force of centuries of waiting, driving the mist back into the earth from which it had emerged. If evil fog could look surprised, this one definitely did.

As the last wisps disappeared, the symbols on the standing stones flared once more, then faded to dormancy. The oppressive energy that had filled the clearing dissipated, replaced by the natural sounds of the forest returning to life.

I stood there, human again but forever changed, surrounded by the unlikely alliance that had formed to protect me—wolves who had been enemies moments before, ancient guardians I hadn’t known existed, and at the center, the three men who had claimed me as theirs.

Shadow, Storm, and Scout pushed their way through the crowd to reach me, their massive forms pressing against my legs with relieved whines. I reached down to touch them, realizing with astart that my hands were still covered in silver-white scales that seemed to be slowly fading.

“Well,” I said, looking down at my transformed arms, “that was dramatic. Do I get a manual for all this dragon stuff, or am I supposed to figure it out through more life-threatening situations?”

And then, because apparently transforming from wolf to human to dragon-hybrid and back was exhausting work, my knees buckled. The last thing I felt before darkness claimed me was Marcus’ arms catching me, strong and sure as always.

My last coherent thought was that I was never, ever letting anyone groom me again.

Chapter 23

STONE BROTHERS

Marcus hadn’t left Kai’s side since the binding ritual.

For thirty-six hours, he’d maintained his vigil in the private suite of Stone Manor’s medical wing, watching the steady rise and fall of Kai’s chest as Dr. White monitored his condition. The silver-white scales had receded from Kai’s arms hours ago, leaving behind faint iridescent markings.

“His vitals are stable,” Dr. White said, checking the latest readings. “But his energy patterns are… unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s as if two completely different supernatural signatures are trying to find equilibrium.”

“Dragon blood,” Derek said from his position by the window, where he’d been staring out at the forest for the past hour. “All this time, we thought we were protecting a quarter-wolf with First Pack heritage. We had no idea.”

“Grandmother knew,” Caleb said quietly from the other side of Kai’s bed. “She must have. It’s why she was so insistent about the marking.”