Page 47 of Surge of Storms

“Sam?” Evander asks, and all eyes are on me.

I lift my face and release a slow breath. “Show me what to do.”

Hours later,I wake up in a panic. Malikay was tearing up my wings. The bad dragons were all around me, and I couldn’t escape. No matter what I did, I was just too small compared to them.

I wipe tears from my face and try to shift around but find it hard to do. Looking around, I realize that I’m in a giant pile of naked men. Some part of me wants to wake them up and have them comfort me, but another part of me thinks I have to deal with this myself.

It was just a nightmare, after all.

Crawling out of the bed, I slip into the bathroom and turn on the shower. Once under the spray, I start to cry for reasons I don’t understand. The bad dragons haven’t been seen lately. My harem is complete. I should be relatively safe.Shouldn’t I?

And yet, the dragons are still out there. They still want me. I doubt they’ve simply given up.

“Sam?” I whirl around to see Granger in the doorway, looking sleepy. “Are you okay?”

Something in my expression must answer for him, because he climbs into the shower with me and wraps me in his arms. “What happened?”

Through sobs I manage, “I had a dream about Malikay and the other dragons.”

He stiffens but continues to hold me close. “Remember, you’re safe with us.”

“But I can’t always be with you. I can’t live my life as a prisoner.”

“I know,” he tells me softly.

Pulling back from him, I look into his perfect face. It’s a face I’ve trusted for as long as I can remember, a face that is as well known to me as my own. “Do you think they’ve given up on me? Do you think they’ll leave me alone?”

He hesitates, then sadness fills his face. “No. No, I don’t. But I also know we haven’t given up on them. We’re going to catch them, and we’re going to make sure they never bother you again.”

I press my face into his chest once more and just hold on tight.

SIXTEEN

Zane

A loud soundwakes me from my slumber, stealing me from my dream of Sam and her men soaring by my side. I fall out of the bed and stare in shock at the red flashing light on the wall and the terrible wailing that’s coming from it. The others are already on their feet, dressing, so I follow suit, even though I do not understand what is happening.

When we are dressed, Evander’s gaze meets mine, and he says, “It’s an alarm. Something bad is happening.”

Something bad?My already racing heart picks up a few beats.

As we exit the room, we come face-to-face with Dr. Duncan. He is in a strange gown and wearing a soft pointed hat on the top of his head. “Malikay and his dragons attacked the base. All the beta males are trying to help.”

We race for the elevator, but find no peace inside. This “alarm” continues to shriek, even in the small space.

I look to the others. “Should Sam stay inside?”

She stares. “I’m safer with you than away from you.”

I want to argue with her, but she’s right. She is safer with us, and we need to be outside protecting our home. So, it’s our only choice.

The elevator doors open, and we all start running, trying to get far enough from the building to shift. But all around us, there are fires. Malikay and his crew sought to create chaos here, and they have done a fine job.

Many of the betas are flying overhead, but they’re mostly circling in a panic. There is no sight of Malikay and the others. The danger from the dragons has likely passed. And even if they were to still be here, it would be suicide. Us, along with the betas we have found, would tear them to shreds. They would be lucky if anything remained of them save for their bones.

It is why I wished to have the betas here. As much as we can protect them, they can protect us too. The betas we’ve recruited are loyal dragons. They will remember what we have done for them, no matter our lifetime.

Shifting, I launch into the air. Spotting the ice dragons, I order,Stop the fires.

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