Page 38 of Shifter's Homecoming

“Graeme!” Troy shouted as he ran, so loud that the forest reverberated with the name, and birds took flight from the trees. “Graeme!” he shouted again, and then she heard the name called one more time, but in her head, with enough desperate force that even she could hear it. It was like a massive, rolling echo with no sound.

“He’s got our coordinates,” someone shouted to Troy. “He’s on his way! A few minutes, he says! Stay in one spot, he says!”

That made Troy stop. When Reed caught up to him, he had the motionless black wolf slung across his shoulder, and he was breathing heavy. His tortured expression caught hers and held it.

Hang on,Reed mouthed to him, curling the cat into her chest.Just hang on.

Big men and rucksacks got between them, and the next thing she knew, they were laying Trent out on the ground, getting him ready for something. Dragon blood, of course.Dragen,she corrected herself, praying that it would work.

The forest seemed to shimmer, and Reed heard a noise like a ripping, then a hissing roar that made her shiver from somewhere off to their left. He had arrived.

“This way!” Troy shouted. “We’re over here!” The others scattered to find thedragenand lead him to Trent.

Thedragenwas no bigger than Trent himself, just the size of a big wolf, but Troy had said it could grow or shrink to any size. Reed knew she shouldn’t be scared, but she was a little, anyway. The creature was red and yellow with scales and huge teeth and intelligent eyes.

Troy shouted to him. “Graeme, something is wrong. He doesn’t scent right. He’s got a slice on his head but it’s old and healed over. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”

The dragon ran over to Trent and stood over him. Reed clutched the cat to her chest and stared. The dragon ripped at his own foreleg, until blood flowed freely. He held it over Trent’s muzzle. Troy propped Trent up, then pried his jaws open, dripping the blood down the back of his throat, but also covering them both in it.

Nothing changed.

Troy’s expression was scared and hopeful. He gestured to Reed and blood flew from his fingers. “Bring the cat over, too.”

Reed took him to Troy, and thedragendripped blood into his mouth, too. The cat also did not react in any way.

The dragon transformed smoothly into Graeme, and unlike the others, when he shifted he had clothes on. Reed almost fell over.

“He does scent strangely,” Graeme said.

Troy pressed his ear to Trent’s chest. “His heartbeat is stronger… I think. Will he wake up?”

Graeme cocked his head, almost still looking like a dragon to Reed. “There is more going on here. I dinnae ken if my blood can fix this.”

“Then we have to get him home,” Troy said, his voice tight. “We have to get him to Remington, or to Eventine, or to someone. We cannot let him die in these woods.”

Graeme gave him a speculative look. “That, I agree with. I can get him home in only a few minutes, but he might be burnt. You, too. I can wrap you both in my wings, but there will be damage.” He motioned to Reed. “But I can’t take her, no matter what.”

Troy looked at her, his face a confusing mix of apology and worry. “Reed…” he started, then he looked around behind him helplessly.

One of the team stepped forward and motioned to him to go. “We’ve got her. We’ll get her home.”

Reed nodded. “Go,” she told him. “Take care of your brother.”

Graeme motioned to Smokey. “Hold him between you and Trent, and cover Trent’s body as much as you can. It’s going to be unbearably hot, no matter what we do, but that part will only last a moment.”

Troy nodded, his face set in grim lines. He blew Reed a kiss, then dropped to the ground, pulling Trent’s legs in, trying to gather his brother in his arms.

Graeme shifted to his dragon one more time, bigger now, maybe the size of a horse, with thick leathery wings that first beat the air, then gathered Troy and Trent and Smokey close, wrapping around them again and again.

Graeme stepped to the side—and disappeared from existence.

“Shit,” Reed muttered, a little shaken by how quickly that had all happened.

“Gather round,” one of the males said, motioning to her and the others. He picked up Troy’s abandoned backpack and hoisted it on his own back. Reed grabbed for hers and managed to get to it before one of the others did. They all looked like they wanted to carry it for her.

“I got it,” she muttered, shouldering it on.

They headed out on foot, back the way they had come, moving even quicker than before, fear for Trent driving them.

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