He charged the first dragon that came at him. It was easy to tell the Black Talons from any other dragons as they were aptly named for the obsidian claws that were a symbol of their heritage. They were also known for their fighting skill, something they honed over years of intense training. His own clan did the same, but not with the intensity of the Black Talons. They wouldn’t be easy to defeat.
The skies filled with flapping wings as dragon faced dragon, their fierce teeth and claws meeting one another’s scales. Dane narrowly missed having one of his wings nearly detached by one dragon while he was entangled with another. Luckily, one of his clan brothers came to his rescue, sending his attacker flying sideways.
It seemed like it went on forever, but the Black Talons finally gave in and began to retreat. It seemed to easy. Dane wondered how they had known they were coming and why they were willing to back off before the battle had truly ended. It seemed out of character. He signaled for the clan to leave, but he landed on the ground, shifting into human form and walking toward the Black Talons who had done the same.
“Where’ s Adriana?” he barked at one of them.
“You’ve got some balls on you, Jensen,” one of them barked at him.
Dane recognized him as one of the men who had come to visit him. He kept walking toward him, unfettered.
“Where is Adriana?”
“Aw, did you lose your bitch?”
“I swear that I will end you if you don’t tell me where she is.”
“I don’t know. She’s not here.”
“I don’t buy that. You took her. I know you did.”
“Yeah, we took her. She slipped out on us somehow. That’s okay. We’re going to find her, and when we do, we’ll make sure that she doesn’t get away next time. You’re going to give us the construction company if you want us to let either of you live in peace.”
“Fuck you. You better hope she’s okay,” Dane spat at him.
“You want to throw down right here, Jensen? You think we stopped fighting just now because we are frightened by you? We aren’t. You just don’t matter to us. We’ve got better things to do than have a pissing match with you and your weak-ass birds.”
Dane felt a tickle against his foot. He looked down to see a small field mouse leaning drunkenly against him.
“Fuck you. This might be all for today, but I’m not done with you,” he spat at him before shifting and taking flight, quietly scooping up the mouse in his talon as he departed.CHAPTER NINETEENAdriana
Adriana awoke laying on a pillow encased in soft satin. Her head was raging as she tried to lift it enough to see where she was. The last thing she could remember was staggering toward the sound of Dane’s voice and half-collapsing against the side of his foot. She was careful not to move too much, not wanting to draw attention to herself in case she had somehow ended up in the wrong place.
Things were blurry, but she began to focus enough to realize she was back in Dane’s penthouse. She breathed a sigh of relief. He’d realized it was her and taken her with him. She comprehended that she was lying beside him on the bed. He was asleep, and she didn’t want to wake him, so she closed her eyes again, content enough to just remain in mouse form while she slept off the rest of the sedative they’d filled her with.
When she woke up again, he was watching her, a look of concern on his face. She noticed a mirror laying on the bed between them. It seemed odd, at first, but then she realized he’d probably used it to make sure she was still breathing. She opened her eyes and looked at him, and he spoke to her.
“I sure hope that is you and I’ve not brought a random field mouse into my house,” he told her.
Adriana stood and stretched, feeling more alert now. She jumped off the bed, and he stepped down after her, a look of disappointment on his face until he saw her begin to shift back into human form. She was still weak, almost collapsing onto the floor, but he rushed in to support her in his arms, holding on to her tightly.
“Thank God. I was so afraid.”
“I don’t know what happened. I was going into the bathroom and someone grabbed me from behind. I felt a pinch in my neck, and then everything went black. Every time I would start to come to, someone would show up, and everything would go black again.”
“Yeah, they were drugging you so you couldn’t change. They seem to know you are a multi-shifter and could escape them, which you did. How did you manage it?”