Mated to the Fire Dragon (Elemental Mates 4)

Alyx squinted at the window. It wasn't quite as dark outside anymore. Dawn had arrived. She could make out the shapes of trees now, and there were first bands of purple and pink dyeing the sky as the sun got ready to rise.

“Alyx? I'm almost there. Half an hour away at most.”

Alyx yawned, then thought guiltily of how Sarah'd driven through the night.

“I'll treat you to breakfast at Chameleon Coffee,” she said. “It's such a cute place. You'll love it.”

“Uh-huh,” Sarah said. “Where are you right now?”

“Just getting ready to come and meet you.” Alyx jumped out of bed, clutching the phone between her ear and shoulder as she pulled on her pants. “Just park the car where the road leads onto the peninsula. I'll wait for you there, you can't miss it.”

She'd gotten a good view of the peninsula when Braeden had flown her here. And their little vacation home was close to the southern end of the peninsula—where the road connected Wing Island to the mainland. It wouldn't be more than a leisurely twenty-minute walk.

And it would be good to get some fresh air. Clear her head. Try to make sense of men who kept running away from commi

tment.

When she'd ended the call, she hastily finished dressing. She was still tired and really needed a coffee—but that could wait until she'd collected Sarah.

It was probably too early for Chameleon Coffee to open, but they could drive back to her house together, Sarah could nap for a bit, and then Alyx would take her out for a long brunch during which they could catch up.

The thought put a smile on her face as she stepped outside.

Immediately, her tiredness was gone. It was early enough that the air was pleasantly cold against her face, the breeze that came in from the ocean smelling like salt.

The sun had just made it over the horizon, and as she walked, she watched as the sky began to burn. Clouds turned bright orange and pink, and every now and then, she stopped, watching the glorious spectacle.

She'd never realized just how much she loved the sky and the sun. Weeks underground had left her starved for light—and it felt like nature was trying to make up for her imprisonment by showering her with all its glory.

Alyx was still smiling when she walked out of the forest, before her the narrow road, the ocean calm like a mirror to both sides of it.

She was early; there was no car to be seen.

Humming happily, she walked down the road, past the sign that informed unaware tourists that this was a private island, no trespassing allowed.

There was a rock a little to her left, overseeing the beach that was just a narrow strip of coarse sand here. She sat down on it, and then she waited.

Five minutes later, there was the sound of a car in the distance.

Excited, Alyx jumped up. In just a few moments, she'd get to hug her best friend again, and then she'd get to complain about all the horrible things that had happened to her.

And now that she'd had some time to walk and think, Braeden's rejection didn't feel quite so painful anymore. After all, she'd just lived through several weeks as a prisoner.

That hadn't killed her. She'd make it through this, too.

She turned to look over at Wing Island.

The sun had fully risen now. It hung low in the sky, promising another gorgeous summer's day. She'd take Sarah for a walk along the beach, too. They could visit Liana, who already had experience in how to tell her family that dragons and werewolves were real.

And then she'd go find Braeden and make him talk. Damn it, she could live with the fact that he didn't want to commit to be mated to someone who was just a human.

But she couldn't live with him just running. She deserved an explanation at least.

Taking a deep breath of the salty ocean air, she turned around again, a smile on her face.

That smile died immediately when she saw just who was approaching.

It wasn't Sarah's sleek little Toyota.