Chapter 164

*Hayes*
I spin around as Marcos screams, my eyes growing wide as heat barrels down at me. Instinct tells me to dive, but that deep-seated self hatred grips me, keeping me in place.
I slip my eyes closed, ready to take the full brunt of the flames as my left crunches, a heavy force hammering into me with a growl. The air squeezes from my lungs as I am slammed to the ground roughly, my head bouncing off the soft forest ground. My lycan lets go, releasing me back to my human form as I look up into the eyes of an annoyed redhead. She shoves off of me, a glare pinning me to my spot as I try to get up. Kyra shoves her foot into my chest, pushing me back down to the ground. “You are a liability. Stay the hell down.” She hisses before she turns and rushes to help Marcos.
My eyes are glued to her, watching as she uses his body as he falls to his knees, ready to take a hit to the face. Her thin figure leaps up from him, her torso falling back as she approaches legs first, hooking her legs around the asshole’s neck.
Kyra’s claws come out as she crunches up, taking hold of his neck with both hands and then slips her hand over his jugular on her way to his back. He stumbles, gurgling before he tumbles forward with her on his neck, as if she were at a concert with him trying to get a better look at the artist. Just before he hits, her feet touch the ground, and she runs forward again.
I roll to my belly, forcing myself up and ignoring the pain of the first fight I nearly lost saving Marcos. These dragons are tough assholes, with thick hides and thicker skulls. Marcos stumbles forward, his body battered as I make my way to him, watching Kyra. Or at least a double who looks like Kyra.
“Holy shit. She was holding out on us,” Marcos breathes.
“How many were there?” I ask him, counting the bodies on the ground around us, panic rising. “When we showed up, how many were there, Marcos?”
“Five.” He says with certainty.
I scan around, seeing only three bodies on the ground and yet, when I count, looks like there are four people fighting.
Kyra lets out a pained cry, her arm folding over her stomach as she takes measured steps around a man twice her size. I lunge toward her, stepping in front of her as the asshole shifts into his dragon form, tearing bared as he growls, shaking the earth beneath our feet. “Why are you so hell bent on dying?” She grits, yanking at my arm as she drags me in the opposite direction. I scan around, looking for anywhere we can hide from the heat that is about to consume us, but there is nothing but the two men fighting in front of us. “TEIRAN!” she screams out.
One man spins, and in the blink of an eye, he sprints toward us, leaping just feet away before he transforms into an enormous beast, breaking trees with his sheer size. Heat erupts around us, Marcos being shoved at us by a massive black tail as I hug Kyra close to my chest and drop down, protecting her.
Her fingers curl into my chest, her forehead pressed to my bare skin, and I feel a sense of calm wash over me. It’s as if being near her has revitalized me as my lycan awakes again, ready to fight and not a thought of death on his mind. Kyra being this close to danger again because of me is enough to make me want to tear out my heart.
The moment the heat subsides, I turn to watch the dragon take human form and stand between us and our enemy.
“Enough of this,” He demands. “You are not here on the king’s orders, you are exiled. I can smell it on you. Which means you have no reason to attack.”
“As are you.” One of them scoffs.
“We did not attack first.” The other growls. “We didn’t even use our dragon flame to start our fire to ensure we didn’t draw other dragons.”
Guilt seeps into me and I clear my throat, rising to my feet unwilling to let go of Kyra who wiggles in my arms for a half attempted escape. I look down at her, those deep eyes meeting mine as my stomach flutters. It would appear I fucked up, royally. Again. A ghost of a spark trickles through me where her fingers push gently and I yank back from her, shaking my head. “What happened?” Kyra asks, and I rub the back of my neck.
“We thought they had you,” Marcos admits, a look of shame on his face.
“There was a scream, a feminine one.” I swallow. “We felt they may be holding you and torturing you.”
“Who was screaming?” The dragon who came to our aid asks the other two. They look at each other and then at the ground.
“We didn’t hear anything.” They mumble, but I can smell the lie a mile away as I scoff and shake my head. Not that I give a shit. Now that I know Kyra is safe, I couldn’t care less about what they are doing in their spare time.
“Liars.” Kyra says, looking fierce as
she steps up next to this new man she brought along with her. Marcos shoots me a curious look and I glance away, already annoyed that he is after my best friend. Well, old best friend. But what does this guy mean? Is he just one more person to vie for her attention?
“We don’t answer to any of you, especially considering you just killed-”
“Speak true,” the other dragon says. “Now, or we will just end you all and move on with our journey.”
The two look at each other, whispering back and forth before one shoves the other in annoyance.
“Some guy gave us a girl to…spend time with in exchange for laying a trail.” One of them finally says. Kyra’s muscles stiffen and I watch her jawline as it flexes, and she looks away in sorrow. “And you used her until she died?” She grits out.
“No, she is alive, she just…escaped
because of these assholes.” The stubbier one looks at me and Marcos, and suddenly I find I am pleased we found the wrong camp. Some poor girl is likely alive because of our mistake. And that is a mistake I can live with.
“What kind of trail?” I ask, stepping forward. “The kind someone with a dragon egg asked you to make?”
They look a little surprised before nodding.
“Yeah.”
“When was this?” Kyra asks
“I don’t know. The days bleed together out here.” He shrugs. “But after the last heavy rain.”
“Thank you. That was helpful.” The dragon says before he reaches out and snaps one’s neck with such force his head seems to only be held on via the flesh on the outside.
The other dragons sprint away, but I
lunge at him, catching his arm as it swings back. I yank hard, forcing his body forward and into my fist as his nose caves in and crunches under my knuckles. A shiver of delight runs through me as the scent of blood hits my nostrils.
“Wait!” Kyra cries out before I break his neck. I pause, looking up at her. “Where did the girl go?”
“Huh?” the assholes grumbles. I shake him roughly, make him whimper.
“Norff, fa bish wen norff.” He slurs through his bloody lips as he tries to breathe.
She gives me a nod, and I quickly snap his neck, dropping his body to the ground before turning to the last remaining dragon. Whether he saved us or not, a dragon is an enemy, especially one who smiles at my girl like that. “And who the fuck is this guy?” I ask in unison with Marcos.
“Teiran. The exiled dragon prince.” He answers, giving me a nod as I glare at him.
Of course she went and found a fucking prince.