Page 51 of Red and Her Dragons (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 4)

I quickly launched another ball of light toward the group as I rushed to her side. Her body slammed into mine. I wrapped my arms around her and guided her back into the cabin.

“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “Which room can you barricade into and stay safe?”

She settled her bloodshot eyes on mine. “You’re not leaving me, are you?”

“I’m going to make sure you are safe first, but I have to get back out there,” I said. “Now, which room?”

She nodded and made her way to one of the rooms down the hall, at the very end of the cabin. She walked in and fell onto the bed, curling up in the blanket.

I checked the window to make sure it was locked before dragging the chest of drawers over to it. I held that in place with a recliner that sat in the corner, wedging it between the chest of drawers and the bed frame.

“That should keep anyone from getting in through the window,” I said, settling my attention on Cassie. “Once I leave, lock the door and don’t open it unless its one of us.”

She nodded. “Can’t you stay with me? I would feel much safer.”

I shook my head. “I wish I could, but they need me.”

She sniffed and nodded. “Be careful.”

I smiled gently. “I will. I promise.”

Without another word, I left the room and rushed through the cabin. Once I reached the front door, I launched myself out of the cabin and off the front porch and rejoined the fight. The second my foot touched the ground, Marcus’s pain-filled roar nearly made my heart stop.

20

MARCUS

The moment the collection of wolves and humans surrounding Bret started attacking him, I launched myself into the air, flapping my wings as hard as I lifted above the ground. Though I could have gone and helped him with the fight, I had confidence in Bret’s ability to handle things where he was. My goal was to decrease their numbers as much as possible where I could. First, I had to get a bird’s eye view of everything so I would know where I was needed.

Once I was high enough, I spotted Jax fighting another group of the hunters opposite of Bret. Jasper, Chase, and Kai busied themselves with another section, all in their bear forms. I found a place I could fit and launched myself toward our foes, landing and releasing my fire breath at the same time.

A sharp piercing pain entered my side. I let out a pain-filled roar and tried to twist to look at what had pierced my scales, but the movement was too much. From what I could gather, it was a spear bolt. An enchanted one at that. There were only so many weapons that could take out a dragon, and none of them were basic human weapons. For a bolt to be lodged in my side, it had to be enchanted.

Collin, whoever he was and wherever he had come from, had done his research. He was clever, and I wasn’t going to underestimate him from here forward. But where there was one enchanted weapon designed to take out dragons, I was absolutely positive there was more, and that made me worry for my brothers. I had to trust in their ability to fight off the humans and wolves.

There was no way I was going to be able to fly. At least, not so long as I had a bolt stuck in me. I was going to have to fight from the ground. Though that was difficult enough as it was, being a massive creature confined to tight spaces with not much room to move. I didn’t take into account that every breath was agony and caused the bolt to dig a little deeper. I had to figure out a way to get the thing out of me. Pronto.

Three wolves attacked, trying to rip and tear my wings, which furthered my suspicion that Collin had done his background work. I batted at two of them at first, sending them flying back into the woods. The third I picked up in my mouth and tossed over my head. Another stab of pain entered my side as the bolt dug even deeper.

I growled. Ignoring the pain, I blew out another blast of fire, desperate to get some space and time to pull the bolt out before it punctured something vital. Smoke, burning wood, and flesh filled the air. Yelps and barks echoed around me. Human screams of shock and fear joined in. But my effort was only meant to be a temporary deterrent. So long as it lasted long enough for me to figure out a way to get the spear bolt out of me, I would consider it a success.

Gritting against the pain, I stretched my neck around to my side and gripped the spear bolt in my mouth. With a deep breath in, I pulled. Blinding pain nearly downed me. My vision blurred. All I could focus on was the pain that continued to throb through me even though the bolt was removed. I spat out the piece of ammo, trying hard to stay conscious. It clamored on the ground. I stared at the object, grateful I was able to remove it.

As the seconds ticked by, the pain ebbed, my vision cleared, and my feet were steady on the ground.

I had enough time to take in a deep breath of relief before five more wolves with ten humans carrying spears surrounded me. The numbers weren’t great. What was worse was I was sure the spears were enchanted, just as the bolt was. Collin, thanks to our last reaction, didn’t strike me as a man who skimped on the details or the research.

The humans stared at me with mixed expressions of disgust and fury. One of the wolves growled. The humans stepped closer, stabbing me with their spears all over my body. Each pierce sent tendrils of sharp pain through my nerves, weakening me. The wolves leaped at my neck, gripping my scales in their mouths, pinching, and pulling, trying to get me to the ground.

More weight jumped on my tail and my back. More stabbing. More pain. More everything.

My heart hammered in my chest. Anxiety pulsed through my system with each beat of my heart. The chances of me making it out of this alive were growing slimmer by the second. My only hope was that Jax and Bret were fairing a lot better. Because if I didn’t make it through, I needed them to take care of Emily.

I should have told them that. Before we entered into this fight. I should have mentioned it a long time ago.

No, I thought, I refused to lay down and die.

I shook the thoughts of leaving Emily, Jax, and Bret behind from my mind and took in the faces of the group that had surrounded me. I sucked in a deep breath. Fire filled my throat.

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