Page 68 of New Nebraska Home

“Liz, we may not have a choice,” I said, brushing a lock of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

“Look, getting Leif and the others out is our priority. Ending Zmei’s reign of terror is the second. I will fight for my home, my family, and for what is right, but I will not have the blood of innocent people on my hands. If you need to put them down, restrain them, or knock them out, I don’t care. Do not kill them. Do not make my participation in this mission turn me into a monster, even by association.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, giving her a wicked grin. She was ours. She was just as fierce as any dragon and had more goodness in her than anyone I had ever met.

If she was my reward for the suffering I had been put through in my life, then it was all worth it. I stole one passionate kiss from her. It was meant to be a chaste show of affection, but she grabbed the collar of my shirt and held me to her. Her lips parted for me, and I took the control she was handing me. I took her mouth hot and dirty in a kiss that promised so much more than just affection. I was promising her hot, dirty sex that would make her ache for days, domination, and adoration that would leave her broken and satisfied.

When this was over, I was going to show her how our few stolen moments alone were just a preview of what I was going to do to her. I didn’t need more motivation to get this night over with and get my family back home safely, but the cherry on top was still appreciated.

“If you two are done sucking face, we are almost there,” Brock said from the front seat. Just to spite him. I wrapped the fingers of one hand in Liz’s hair and kissed her harder while flipping off Brock with the other hand.

I could smell the flames before I could see them, the ash and smoke coloring the air. The bonfire in the center of town was massive. People were gathered around, some dancing, some talking, others simply staring into the flames. The scene was wrong. It looked like a painting of some long-forgotten hedonistic ritual, and it felt as if some slick oily magic was in the air feeding the hysteria. It burned my nose and made my eyes water.

Whatever, this was, wasn’t natural. It wasn’t right.

“How do we do this?” Liz asked.

“I’m going to shift and fly over. I’m going to be spitting fire above people’s heads and swooping down, distracting them. You guys go get our kid first. Then free the others,” I said.

“That’s our best plan?” Brock asked.

“You have a better one?”

I waited for a few moments, and when no one said anything, I took off my shirt, getting ready to shift.

“Just be safe,” Liz said, her hands running down my cheek. I pressed my face into her palm for a moment, and then I kissed Liz again with everything I had.

“For luck,” I whispered and shot her a wink before I shifted and took to the sky.

I stayed at cloud level for just a moment, taking in the scene.

There were so many people there that I wondered if there was more than one basilisk. I had no idea how much venom one snake had or how potent it was, but this seemed excessive for a single shifter. The dark magic seemed to come from a single source. As far as I could tell, it was just him. I prayed there was only one.

In the center of the square was a makeshift stage, and in front of that, a pyre with my little buddy tied to it. My dragon raged and I barely controlled him in our shifted state, forcing him to keep flying.

Then I saw the slithery bastard himself walking toward Leif.

Leif was shaking with fear, and a roar ripped from my dragon lips. I saw red. And in the instant my emotions got away from me, my dragon took total control. It swooped down and let out a stream of white-hot fire over the crowd.

The fire was close enough that people had to duck. I’d definitely singed more than a few eyebrows.

But at the moment, I didn’t give a single fuck.So long as Leif and any innocents were safe.

I landed in the middle of the field near the bonfire. Hard enough that several people were thrown to the ground.

They’d be fine.

I let out a low warning growl as I stalked toward the goddamned snake. He would not touch a single hair on that sweet boy.

Zmei’s eyes were on me, wide and panicked, full of fear. Good, his kind deserved to be afraid. This wasn’t his plan. He was probably expecting to kill Leif before we showed up and only have Liz to deal with. I bet he thought he would kill her in ‘self-defense,’ and then without my family, I would be weak and could be forced under his control.

Stupid snake.

I wanted to open my mouth and let my flames consume him, but he was too close to Leif. So, I stalked closer, trying to make him back away from the kid.

He looked at me and back at the child as I moved forward, his clammy skin paling and a bead of sweat starting on his brow and trailing down the side of his face.

Someone ran in between us, and it took me a moment to recognize him as the wolf leader who had threatened Liz at the grocery store. He held a bat in his hands and swung it at my face with everything he had. I reared back, dodging the hit, and as his body sailed through the swing with the follow-through, I lifted my arm and knocked him to the ground.

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