Page 24 of Tempting Her Dragons (Embracing The Bond #10)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maverick

T he humans are writhing on the ground behind us. They tried to attack us with their knives, as if they could compare to our claws. One man tried to shoot me, but the gun melted before he pulled the trigger. We didn’t have to shift to kill them, and those who are still alive won’t last long with our poison coursing through their bodies.

The family walks behind us, with us. When we arrived in the remote area of the forest, we encountered twenty humans. Their reasons for helping the woman take our mate don’t matter. They can take the explanation to the grave. All that matters is Saphira and her return to us, where she belongs.

Since the first second of Sally’s appearance in the basement, my heart has stopped beating. My body is on autopilot. My dragon is clawing at my chest, begging to be let out to rescue our mate. She belongs to us. I wish we didn’t have to rely on the trail Mom left but could rely on the bond instead. When we are fully connected, the bond will guide us to wherever she is. As it is, there is only a faint trace of our connection.

“Holy shit,” River whispers with awe, and I understand his sentiment. Saphira is in her dragon form, flying feet above the ground, holding the dying woman with just a claw.

Fucking stunning.

Her gold scales flicker, sparkling with green accents, and her brown eyes are tinged with gold and are locked on us. She’s not as large as Kingston or me, but her head would reach the top of most of the trees here. The poison from her free claw is dripping onto the grass, causing it to sizzle as it hits.

“She didn’t need my help, but I’m glad you made it,” Mom says as she walks over.

“What happened?” I ask.

“The woman put her in a cage,” she says.

“Fuck no,” Laken says.

“She had a collar on,” she continues, and I growl.

“A collar?” Bishop whispers.

“She talked about the Games.” Mom wraps her hand around my arm. “I didn’t hear everything, but the woman was there.”

“In the Games?” River snarls.

“Yes,” she replies.

“How did Saphira get free?” Sally asks.

“She melted it,” Kingston guesses, and Mom nods.

“The woman is almost dead,” Micah states.

“Good,” I say.

“I don’t recognize her,” Bishop says.

“We didn’t pay attention to all of the others,” River says.

“If Saphira didn’t know who she is, the woman must have kept separate,” King guesses.

“It was chaotic,” River whispers. “Saphira was young, and we were more concerned with surviving.”

“Why would a coyote who was there want to put her back in a cage?” I ask.

“I don’t have the answers,” Mom says. “You’ll have to get her to tell you.”

“She needs to shift back,” I say, and Saphira’s head lowers. “She’s listening to us.”

“Her dragon is running the show,” King says softly.

“I think so,” Bishop says, and King steps forward.

“Firefly, we need you to shift,” he says, and I follow him.

“We need to hold you, baby,” I say, and we stand shoulder to shoulder, feet from our dragon mate. Her gaze tips down to the woman. “Put her down. She’ll be dead shortly.” Saphira snarls.

“You did well, Firefly. We killed the humans; the threat is gone,” King says. Saphira throws the woman toward a tree. If the poison, shock, or burning flesh didn’t kill her, the crack of her head against the wood did it.

“Shift, baby,” I encourage. The motion of her wings stops, and she lands gently on the earth. She takes two steps to eliminate the space between us, and we have to look up. She drops her head, and I hold still while she sniffs my blood-stained shirt. She does the same to King.

“I know you don’t like the smell,” King says.

“We will burn the clothes when we get home,” I offer. I watch her, astonished as she uses her fire, barely breathing toward the fabric. Her fire won’t burn our skin no matter how much she directs toward us, and she knows this, but my surprise is in her skill and control of her gift.

“What the fuck?” River exclaims.

“Amazing,” Sally gasps.

She burns the blood from the fabric, leaving our clothes intact.

“She has been hiding many talents,” Laken says.

“It appears so,” Bishop agrees.

“Good job, Firefly,” Kingston says, brushing his hands down his clean shirt. I stroke her head, and she leans into my palm.

“You are stunning in every way, baby,” I say. “But we need to make sure you are okay.” She steps back, and the change rolls over her. She has mastered the shift; she does it seamlessly.

“It took you guys long enough,” she says when she stands before us and then bursts into tears.

“Shit,” King says, reaching for her. She falls into his arms.

“Fuck,” she whispers. “Why am I crying?”

“You are in shock,” I say, and she reaches for me. I take her extended hand.

“It doesn’t matter,” King growls. “You can feel however the fuck you want.”

“She put a collar on me,” she says, and her brothers hiss. “She was in love with the man who violated me and blamed me for his death.” Several growls and curses ring out. “The humans were his friends, and she promised to turn them.”

“You punished her well,” I say, sick at the thought.

“Roxanne,” she says, turning her head on King’s chest.

“Yeah, Saphy,” she answers, stepping forward.

“She didn’t hurt you, did she?” she asks, a catch in her voice.

“No, you protected me,” Mom says.

“I couldn’t allow her to touch you,” Saphira says.

“She tried to hurt you?” I ask Mom.

“It was just a threat.” Mom strokes Saphira’s head. “Saphy took care of it.”

“Yes, she did,” Sally says. “Girl, you were beautiful.”

Saphira laughs shortly. “Thanks.”

“I’m really fucking sorry,” Sally says.

“Why?” Saphira frowns.

“We shouldn’t have gone there. I wish my gift would work all the time. My visions don’t come when I really need them.” Sally hugs her arms to her chest.

“Hey,” Saph says, leaving my brother’s arms. She stops close to Sally. “You didn’t know. None of us did.” They embrace tightly.

“I’m good,” Sally says, patting her back and then pulling away. “We should be comforting you.”

“I’m fine,” Saphira says and then sways.

“You used a lot of energy,” I say gruffly, wrapping my arm around her.

“We need to get you home,” King says.

“Let me hug her before you take her,” Bishop says. He gently wraps her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’m sorry you had to go back there,” he whispers.

“I didn’t let it drown me in memories,” she says. “I love you, brother.”

“Love you, too,” he responds and moves away so Laken can embrace her.

“Proud of you,” Laken rumbles.

“Thanks,” she rasps. This process continues as River chucks her on the chin. His mouth is smiling, but his eyes are haunted. Micah hugs her tight and releases her when Daisy steps close. Micah, Ryker, and Bash look at us seriously, communicating with their eyes that we need to watch for the effects of her captivity. Heath was the last to come and is the last to move forward, and I tense. He used his cane once, taking off the head of a human, and distantly watched us kill the rest.

“Brave,” he says, holding out his hand. I don’t want Saphira to touch any male, but at least almost everyone else is mated. I’m grateful he didn’t attempt to hug her.

Saphira accepts the offering. “Thanks for coming, Heath.”

“I didn’t have anything else to do,” he says, letting go and moving away. Everyone else nods or smiles but doesn’t come forward. We would be here for longer than I would like if they all comforted her.

“We will stay and take care of what’s left of the bodies,” Laken offers.

“Thank you,” I say, pulling Saph close. She rests her head on my shoulder as I guide her to the car. I’m thankful someone drove, knowing we may need to transport Saphira if she was hurt.

“Mom,” King says. “Can you and Sally come with us?”

“Of course, hon,” Mom says.

Saphira is quiet as I open the back door of the car and settle her in the middle. I follow her in and buckle her seat belt. King gets in the other side. Mom gets behind the wheel, and Sally takes the passenger seat. Saphira claims my shoulder and swings her legs over Kingston’s lap. She grips our hands, and I kiss her head.

Mom starts driving and I inhale Saphira’s sweet fire scent and my heart starts beating again. We haven’t left her since we met, and having her not at our side was horrible. I knew she was powerful and can take care of herself in most situations, but not knowing what she was going through was torturous.

Saphira slips into sleep, and her grip relaxes.

I still hold tight, never wanting to let go.

Once we settle Saphira into bed, we step outside where Mom and Sally are waiting.

“How is she?” Sally asks, jumping from the chair.

“She barely moved,” King says. “The shift took a lot out of her.”

“She’ll probably sleep the rest of the night,” I say.

“She was fierce,” Mom says. “I wanted to kill the woman.”

“Mom,” I say, cupping her shoulders. “Thank you for going after her.”

“I regret taking her there,” she says, circling my elbows. “It was the least I could do.”

“It would have taken us longer to find her if you didn’t,” King says.

“You found my trail,” she says.

“Yes,” he says.

“We knew you would protect her,” I say, pulling her against my chest. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Shit,” she mutters. “Saphy is my new daughter. You can’t lose her now.” I loosen my arms, letting her hug King. “I want grandbabies.”

“We know,” King chuckles.

“Get on that,” she demands, pulling back to glare.

“Yes, Mom,” he says.

“I’m glad you were there, Sally,” I say, and she startles.

“I didn’t do anything,” she denies.

“Yes, you did,” King says. “Saphira is lucky to have you in her life.” Her cheeks turn red.

“Enough of this,” Sally says. “I can’t lust after Saphira’s mates.”

Mom grins. “I’m going back to Sally’s. Why don’t we bring breakfast tomorrow?”

“Alright, if Saphira’s up to it,” I say.

“We’ll call in the morning if she is,” King says.

“Okay, love you both,” Mom says, twining her arm through Sally’s.

“Me, too,” Sally chirps as they move toward Mom’s truck. I’ll have to thank the bear for bringing it back from the coffee shop.

We move in unison after we make sure they get safely in the vehicle and drive away. We secure the doors, double-check every lock, and turn off the lights. Shutting the bedroom door after us, I shed my shirt and pants, and King does the same.

After we settle beside Saphira, the silence is broken by her light snore, and I grin. I haven’t smiled since the last time I saw her.

“We can’t lose her,” I whisper.

“We won’t,” King whispers back.

I stare at the ceiling. “Sometimes, I feel like I am still in the closet,” I admit.

“I feel the same,” he says.

“We escaped, but the nightmare of that little boy still haunts me,” I say, shifting. We haven’t talked openly about our time there for a long time. “I have moments of feeling trapped. We have had a great life since, and I’m grateful to Mom for giving us that life. I felt like it could be taken away at any moment, as if I didn’t belong.”

“I understand,” he says gruffly. “I have had the same thoughts.”

“Meeting Saphira has been a revelation.” I drop my hand to rest over hers. “Not knowing what she was going through was torture. I was getting used to the idea of having her forever, and the thought that we wouldn’t would have broken me. The bond gave us a gift.”

“I never thought it could be as powerful as it is,” he says. “I want to be tied to her forever.”

“Thank you,” I say.

“For what?”

“For being the brother of my soul,” I say softly.

“Shit,” he mumbles. “You know I feel the same.”

“I know. I don’t think I would have gotten through our captivity if I didn’t have you.” I take a deep breath. “I was grateful to be tied to you. You gave me strength and love in our darkest times. I relied on you, perhaps too much, to get me through the days.”

“Fuck that,” he rumbles, and I look at him. “We were a team. You gave me just as much. I wanted to give up so many fucking times, but then I would look at you. I wanted to be there for you, just as you were for me. We needed each other. We are family, and nothing can change that. They may have taken our freedom, but they couldn’t break our love and loyalty.” He meets my gaze. “I love you, brother. We lived through all the shit to be here now. We were meant for her.”

“I know we are,” I agree. “We will be a family.”

“She says she is fine, but that bitch brought back all the hell she went through,” he says.

“We have to be sensitive to her needs,” I say. “She’s tough, and I know she’ll get past it.”

“The memories sneak up on you,” he says.

“Yes, they do.”

“I want to build our lives here with her,” he says.

“She is worried about Mom.”

“Why?”

“She doesn’t want her to be sad when we move.”

“Mom is thrilled we found her. She wants us to be happy,” he says. “Are you alright with living here?”

“Weirdly, yes.” The farm will always be special to me, but our place is here now.

“I want to live in this place, the only real home she’s known.”

“Then we do,” I agree. “Now we work on convincing Mom to follow.”

“I don’t think it will take much.” He clears his throat. “I love her,” he whispers.

“I know. You have softened.” I grin.

“Hey, I wasn’t that bad.” He smirks.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” I tease.

“Are you giving up your lighter?” he asks.

“Are you giving up your rope?” I counter.

“I think we should trust in the bond and her,” he says.

“Yeah,” I say.

“We always wanted a big family. Seems like we have one now,” he sighs.

“I like them. We’re wild enough to fit right in,” I say.