Page 49 of Surge of Storms

What exactly are we looking at? Why would they do this?Granger sounds in disbelief.

I answer easily.They are trying to send a message. A warning of what they intend to do to us.

Feeling the unease in the air, I sweep across the bodies and come to fly in front of all the dragons.Notice that Malikay and his dragons didn’t stay here, so that we could answer their warning. Could it be that they were too afraid?

Some of the betas laugh.

The mood lightens a little, but not a lot. Dragons, Awakened or Sleeping, do not like to see humans harmed. We are partially human ourselves, after all. Only dragons with blackened hearts could do such a thing, and we all know it.

We should head back to base, Aydan says.

Evander sighs.Yes, we should, because there will be a lot of questions that I’ll need to answer to the government, and if I don’t do it well, we’ll be in trouble.

SEVENTEEN

Samantha

Malikayand his gang have got to be some of the most irritating motherfuckers that have ever walked this planet. Although I use the term “walked” lightly. They’ve spent the last week continuing their reign of terror over the region around us, clearly trying to get a rise out of us, or trying to make us make a mistake.

We’ve arranged teams to scout the areas around us, each team equipped with an ice dragon to help put out any fires they come across. But they’re also doing lovely things like tearing down electric poles, ripping up roofs, and killing big farm animals. All of which is not helping the public opinion of dragons.

The frustrating part is that we always seem to be one step behind them. By the time we know about an attack, they’re long gone. It’s irritating that we finally have a pack powerful enough to take them down, but we can’t get anywhere near them.

I have a feeling this scouting mission won’t be any different. The skies are clear in all directions. There’s no word of a dragon attack, and yet, they’re out there. Somewhere. Hurting someone. And we’ll be too late to stop them.

Anyone smell smoke?Granger asks in a wary voice.

I do, Evander says.

I’m about to say I don’t, when the scent hits me. Something is definitely on fire, and maybe the dragons have nothing to do with it, but I seriously doubt it.

It’s the town up ahead, Aydan says, and we fly a little faster.

Sure enough, just up ahead several buildings in a little town off the highway are on fire. Except, this time we spot the assholes responsible for all the trouble.

We got you now.

Hurrying toward them, I make sure to fall back behind the large alpha males. As much as I want to be right in the middle of the battle, I have to be smart. Besides, it’s not like I can’t jump into the fight as soon as they square off with the others. I’m like a secret weapon ready to tear their buttholes into pieces.

Malikay and Balor are bad every lifetime,Zane warns.Than and Kek have a chance of going down a good path each time. We need to talk to them, to see if we can get them to separate from the assholes.

Okay, so the green and orange dragons have no hope of being good, but the other ones have a chance. Good to know. But unless we see a major change in Than and Kek, they’ll receive the same treatment as Malikay and Balor.Shredded wings. A prison of their own making.

We fly closer, and we see the moment they become aware of us, because they make a beeline away from the town. Luckily, they’d been so preoccupied with destruction that we’d gotten fairly close to them, but the smaller betas were faster than my guys. They’re not faster than me, but I’m not about to go after them alone.

A storm brews overhead. The wind picks up. The storm begins to pluck at the asshole dragons, beating them back and slowing them down. The wind hits us too, but the big alphas don’t seem nearly as affected by it.

Damn, Granger, you’re getting good at controlling your powers.

Just takes practice, he says, sounding embarrassed.

Still, the dragons are getting further away. I swear under my breath, start to move faster, then slow down again, feeling frustrated. We finally have them. We can’t let them get away again.

You have to stop what you’re doing,I call to them.You’re just hurting people and causing chaos. There’s a way to be happy in this world without all of this.

Malikay’s voice is deep and rich, like something out of my nightmares.If you want us to stop, it’s simple. You must agree to be ours. Then, all of this goes away. Do you really want more people to be hurt? Do you want that on your conscience?

My thoughts scramble. Malikay is a Sleeping Dragon. He spent this lifetime as a human. Surely, he has to know better than this.I don’t understand. You were human. You have no attachment to me. Why are you fighting so hard for a female you have no connection to?

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