The Dragon Guardian (Lochguard Highland Dragons 2)

She raised her brows. “Does this mean I can tell you what to do, like in the old days?”

The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Aye, it might. But hurry. If the battle is over before you reach the bunker, you’ll lose the chance.”

Determination glinted in Faye’s gaze. “Oh, I’ll make it. And someday, you’ll acknowledge that I’m faster than you again.”

Before he could reply, Faye raced out of the room. For once, he wished he could follow her and have that race. But he was head Protector and the clan needed him.

Grant focused back on the security camera feed. The dragons were flying at a gentle pace, which signaled it probably wasn’t an attack. Of course, it could just be the cold January temperatures slowing the beasts down.

He pressed a button that connected him to the security post at the front gate. “Shay, I want you to spare as many of your staff as possible and have them shift in the sheltered landing area. I want them ready on a second’s notice.”

Shay replied, “Aye, consider it done.”

Grant moved his gaze to Brodie, one of the males in the room. “Take the B-squad and do the same. The sooner we start warming up our muscles, the sooner we can fly without injury.”

Brodie nodded and the B-squad members in the room followed him.

Grant studied the screen and wondered who the hell the red dragon was at the front of the formation. Since Grant knew every Scottish dragon by sight, and most of the English ones as well, the mystery dragon-shifter worried him.

His dragon huffed. Why? We can hold our own. We defeated the dragons holding the hospital hostage a few months ago.

Aye, and they were older dragons in their fifties, sixties, and seventies. These ones are young.

Faye would never back down.

Grant mentally growled. I’m not backing down, you bloody dragon. I’ll let you out when I need you.

He created a complex mental maze and tossed his beast inside. As soon as his mind was quiet again, he gave the orders for his special surprise. If he were lucky and the strangers attacked, he might be able to lower the number of Lochguard casualties with his top secret maneuver. No doubt, the old-timers who had abandoned Lochguard would frown upon his surprise, but Grant would do whatever it took to protect his clan.

Moving his gaze back to the security feed, he

waited to see what happened.

~~~

Gina half-ran and half-waddled to the entrance of the warehouse. She was definitely not fit for running at this point in her pregnancy.

Huffing and puffing, she somehow made her way into the entrance with Fergus right behind. They were greeted by Fraser’s neutral expression, which made her stomach drop. She’d never seen Fraser so serious.

Fergus’s twin nodded toward the door. “Come. The dragons are drawing nearer. We need to get you two inside.”

Gina’s heart thumped inside her chest. “Do we know who they are yet?”

Fraser shook his head. “No, but there’s a video feed from the security cameras downstairs. You can take a look and let us know if any of the dragons are with BroadBay or not.”

Fergus placed a hand on her back. “Regardless, you’re safe here, lass. We won’t let anyone try to take your or the bairn.”

Gina looked up at her dragonman. “Even so, I want to see the feed. If it’s BroadBay, I might recognize them. That could give you an edge over them.”

As they moved down the stairs, Fergus frowned. “I thought you never saw them in dragon form.”

“Not many of them. But I would recognize Travis anywhere.” The pupils of both the MacKenzie twins flashed. Before either could speak, Gina did. “I want you two to promise me you won’t try to kill him. No matter what he did, I won’t have his blood on my hands.”

They remained silent and Gina poked Fergus’s chest. “Promise me, Fergus MacKenzie.”

Fergus growled out, “Or, what’s the threat?”

She shook her head. “There’s no threat. I’m asking you to do this for me.”