Page 67 of Lion Conquers All
“Gavin is at the community center. But Connie and I can take Gretchen into town once we’re back to the cabins.”
“Very good.” Col stood and walked away from the group. At a safe distance he shifted back into his dragon form.
They stood and backed away from the children so Col could pick them up.
Col’s dragon was so gentle and careful with their bodies. Until today, when Col had taken his brother and that hunter, Aarav had never realized how gentle the dragon formcouldbe.
Col’s dragon held out and cupped one front claw, scooping up each child. When they were situated safely, he closed his talons a little more on that foot, creating a cage, and pulled the claw to his chest before spreading his wings and launching himself into the sky.
“Let’s go, shall we?” Knox rolled his neck, cracking a few vertebrae before shifting into his giant white wolf.
Aarav’s lion pushed. It wanted to get back to Connie. There was a kiss she needed. The reminder sent Aarav into his beast without a second thought. He leapt past Knox and took off.
The others weren’t far behind. They weren’t being quiet or stealthy. Not this time. This time they were headed home and they were crashing through the brush and snow banks and down the side of the mountain like they owned it—right now they did.
They had owned this mountain. They’d found the kids. They’d been alive. It was a win.
Except that hard pit had returned to his stomach. And his heart was clawing its way back into his throat. Every second that ticked by sent them closer to having to deal with the town and the secrets the Reyleans had been trying desperately to keep hidden.
Aarav worried that today’s win might lead to a loss tomorrow he wouldn’t be able to survive.
28
CONNIE
“Wait. We are not going to talk about her crush on the deputy. That man is head over heels in love with you. There are betting pools everywhere guessing when you two will actually get together.” Sarah came away from the window and sat on the couch. “Can we please talk about the man thatturnedinto a lion in your living room?”
Naomi cracked her neck, sipped her coffee, and kept rocking in her chair. “What about him?”
“He turned into a lion.”
“Mmmhmmm. That’s kinda the deal with us. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my. That’s how the saying goes.” Naomi gave Sarah a devil-may-care grin and turned back to capture Connie’s gaze.
Connie swallowed.
“And dragons.” Sarah’s voice was quiet, but firm. There was less panic, but still lingering concern.
“Yes.” Naomi looked over at Sarah Roberts again. “You saw Col, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t see him actually change, but we were close enough in the car to see a dragon rise above the trees.”
Naomi nodded, opened her mouth to speak, and then stopped. She tilted her head to the side like she was listening to something. “He’s on his way. He has the children.”
Connie straightened in her seat. “Why didn’t they text?”
“They’re men and they were in a hurry.” She shrugged and put her mug on the side table. “Outside.” She got up and gestured to everyone there to follow.
They did. The storm had all but calmed now. A few flakes still swirled in the air, but the sun was coming through the clouds. It wouldn’t be long now before the sky was pristine and clear and visibility would stretch for miles.
Col’s black dragon swooped down from the remaining cloud cover. Sarah made a muffled gasp into her hands but stood her ground next to Connie. The urge to run and hide was high, Connie would’ve been lying if she’d claimed to feel any differently. She’d known Col was a dragon, but seeing him in this form, this close…
It was a lot. And this wasn’t her first time.
He landed softly. Much more gentle than she’d assumed such a huge animal could. He was bigger than the cabin they were standing in front of. His teeth alone were bigger than her body.
Naomi walked forward. Right up to his face and he buried his snout against her outstretched body.
“You found them, my love.” She rubbed between his flaring nostrils. “The others worked hard to get us packed. If we have to leave, we are ready.”
