Mated to the Fire Dragon (Elemental Mates 4)

A shadow moved across the ground, so quick that it was difficult to follow it with her eyes.

But a moment later, she realized just what it was.

Terrified, she raised her eyes—but there was no dragon in the sky above her. Nothing was moving or living in this place. Nothing to cast the shadow of a dragon in flight.

Again the shadow raced across the ground. She shuddered instinctively when it moved past her.

Was she just imagining it, or was it coming closer?

She swallowed thickly, thinking of circling vultures.

But this isn't real. It's just a shadow. And I'm not dead. I'm just dreaming.

Only it didn't feel like a dream. She felt an instinctive terror, her throat tight and her heart racing. Everything in her wanted to run.

She knew she was in terrible danger—and there was more.

She couldn't feel the golden light of the mate bond beneath this strange, dark sky. She could no longer feel the steady, reassuring pulse of Braeden’s love and warmth that she'd become used to.

But she could feel that he was in danger as well. She couldn't say how she knew—but right at this moment, while she was trapped in this place of shadows, Braeden was fighting for his life.

More than that, he was fighting for her life. For her, and for every other shifter and human in the world.

She took a deep breath.

I need to get out of here. I need to get back.

But how did you leave a place that felt almost like a dream, constantly shifting and twisting?

A nightmare. That's what this is.

Only she hadn't fallen asleep on the mountain. She'd reached out along the mate bond, trying to reassure herself that Braeden was okay.

And then...

Then I fell into the shadow waiting at the other end. Damn!

She'd suddenly realized just what this place had to be. This was the darkness that had infected Braeden. The shadow inside his chest that even the chimera hadn’t known how to get rid of.

A part of Steele—or rather, a part of the darkness he served.

Alyx clenched her teeth and forced herself to get up and walk. Braeden wouldn't be able to get her out of this predicament. He was busy fighting for his own life.

Which meant that Steele had most probably lured her into this weird nightmare realm to use her as a weapon against him.

Again the shadow of a dragon swerved by her. Startled, Alyx jumped back. It hadn't touched her—but even so, it gave off a coldness that made her bones ache.

“Oh, no, you don't,” she said out loud.

Perhaps Braeden could hear her. Or perhaps all she'd managed was to distract him at a crucial point of his fight.

What happens to me when he dies and I'm still trapped in here...?

No good thinking about this now. She needed to get out. And she needed to get rid of the circling shadow dragon.

Again the shadow dragon came at her. This time, he seemed to gain substance. He was no longer just a shadow on the ground.