Since Bram didn’t have any other choice, he allowed his dragon to rush to the front of his mind. As the inner beast took over, his legs grew into giant hind legs with talons, his arms into forelegs, and his face elongated into a snout at the same time ears and horns grew from his head. When the shift was complete, Bram’s dragon folded back their wings partway, crouched down, and jumped into the air.
As their wings beat to lift them into the sky, Bram paid close attention to his inner dragon’s behavior. Despite the tension humming through his mind, which he now recognized as his dragon containing the mate frenzy, the beast didn’t try to force him inside a mental prison as before.
Satisfied, Bram said, Now, fly as fast as we can without being seen. Our clan needs us.
His wings beat in a steady rhythm as they flew over the English countryside. He was careful to pick a path with the least amount of human houses and farms. Nighttime was better for concealing a dragon in the sky, but Bram couldn’t afford to wait.
No matter how many times he’d flown in his dragon form over the course of his life, Bram loved viewing England from such a great height. Everything was small, not much more than a speck. Eventually, he wanted to take Evie out during the daylight hours. She would love the view.
To do that, he needed to ensure his survival. As he made his final approach to Stonefire’s secondary landing area, Bram said to his dragon, Remember, to help me, the clan, and our mate, I need you to channel your frenzy. The dragon hunters nearly killed Tristan the last time our people rescued someone in trouble. We can’t let that happen, or our mate will be alone.
We will succeed.
As they slowed down the beating of wings to land, Bram noticed Finn and Kai off to the side, their faces grim. The instant his feet touched the ground, he nudged at his dragon to fade into the back of their mind. Five seconds ticked by before his beast complied with a grumble and said, Remember our deal. If you don’t honor it, I’ll force my way out. I want Evie.
His dragon receded and Bram took back control of his mind. He then imagined his legs shrinking into arms and legs, his face morphing back into a human skull, and his wings and tail merging into his back. Once he was human again, Bram strode toward Kai and Finn. Kai tossed him a less formal version of the traditional dragon-shifter attire. Stepping into the kilt-like garment, Bram said, “Give me the report.”
Kai nodded. “Finn’s people have been assigned Stonefire partners and two of our Protectors just brought in Olivia. She was sedated, but should wake up any minute. I wasn’t sure who you wanted to question her.”
Implied was another question: Do you trust the Scottish leader to attend the questioning?
Bram said, “I’ll question her alone first.” He looked to Finn. “I’d have you join me, but Olivia doesn’t know you and I can’t risk her keeping secrets because of it.”
Finn let out an overly dramatic sigh. “Well, I’ll just have to find something else to do and miss out on the fun. I need to check in with my clan, at any rate, before we go off to save your clan. Since I want a secure connection to contact Lochguard, I need to talk to Arabella MacLeod.”
Bram eyed the Scot. “We have other techs who could help you.”
Finn shook his head. “No, she knows what she’s doing and I don’t have time to interview someone new. I can’t risk a fuck-up in this, Bram. We have no idea of what Simon Bourne is capable of doing with regards to surveillance.”
The dragonman did have a point. Bram wanted to ask Finn’s true motives with Ara, but it would have to wait. He looked to Kai. “Find someone to show Finn where Tristan lives. Ara should still be there.” Kai grunted in acknowledgment. Bram looked to Finn and pierced him with a stare. “Be careful with her, Stewart. You hurt her and I’ll toss your arse out in a heartbeat.”
The Scottish leader gave a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”
With a sigh, Bram waved the two off and headed in the direction of the building where prisoners were held whenever he had them. He didn’t have time to think about how annoying Finn was. Clearing his mind with a few deep breaths, he prepped for his interrogation. Olivia might be the key to saving Murray, and he would find a way to make her talk.
Chapter Four
Arabella brushed the soft, warm cheek of her little niece, Annabel, with her finger and smiled. While she’d been afraid to even hold the twins when they were first born, she’d become quite the protective auntie. Between her brother, Tristan, Melanie and herself, nothing would happen to the sweet babies. They would make sure of it.
And it wasn’t just because the little girl was partly named after her, either. Annabel and her brother, Jack, had been vital to her healing process. Whenever she held one of them, her dragon would come out to make soothing sounds inside Ara’s head. Because she came to visit her niece and nephew often, Ara was growing more accustomed to her inner dragon’s presence inside her head, to the point the beast’s appearance didn’t incite a panic like it had done for years.
She still might not be able to hold conversations with her inner dragon quite yet, but progress was progress. At least, that was what her brother’s mate, Melanie, always said.
A knock on the door caused little Annabel to scrunch her face and turn her head in the baby way which signaled they were about to wake up. With a little rocking, her niece fell back into a peaceful slumber.
Arabella heard footsteps coming from the direction of the door and she looked up to see who dared to disturb her niece’s sleep. She did a double-take. It was Finlay Stewart.
Pushing aside her surprise, Arabella frowned at the Scottish leader. Without thinking, she asked, “Why are you here?”
All eyes in the room turned toward her, but she never stopped rocking little Annabel in her arms. The Scot was a dragonman, not a god. If there was one thing she’d learned from Bram, it was that even clan leaders needed to be questioned from time to time.
Still, to ease the worry of her friends in the room, Ara added, “I’m sorry, but if he’s offended by one question, then he has issues. A clan leader deals with far worse, am I right?”
One corner of Finn’s mouth ticked up. “Aye, you’re right, lass. As long as you don’t call me a daft, unlikeable sod, you can say whatever you like. I prefer honesty myself.”
Arabella said, “I don’t know you well enough to say whether you are a daft, unlikeable sod or not. I’ll let you know the verdict when I come to it.”
The Scottish leader burst out laughing and she couldn’t resist a small smile.