Our motley crew begins searching for The Chief. I get the information from the scientist that has been helping Ishir and we begin our search again, this time using a grid approach. We know where we’ve found the old and existing labs, we know where Tana was found, and from there, Ishir begins narrowing our search for us. Over the next couple of months, we continue to find the hunters’ laboratories. I’m amazed that there were so many, but we obviously haven’t found them all if we can’t find The Chief. Zephyr has returned with my son, Ancalagon, although she must remain in the forest because Ancalagon won’t be able to shift to his human form until he’s five years old. Until then, he’ll grow into his dragon form and then, on his first shift, he will shift into an adult man. Technically, he’ll be younger than Kenna, and in dragon years, he will be, but when he shifts for the first time into his adult form, Kenna’s human form will still only be about 13 years old. I’ve been speaking to Ze

I had just about gotten the fat buck that I was planning to snatch for Anacalagon when I heard Zephyr ask about Mere being pregnant. Fury and fear rippled through me and I roared, causing the herd to scatter. It’s not that I don’t trust Zephyr. I do, otherwise I wouldn’t let her raise my son. But Ancalagon, as a pure dragon, will be stronger than my hybrid child with Merethyl. He, at least, will be able to start calling on his element or possibly both elements when he’s six months old. There are still too many hunters, and The Chief is still out there. Until he’s gone, neither of my children are safe. And right now, the less people that know about my daughter, the better. I continue searching for food, listening to the conversation between Zephyr and Merethyl. I’m thankful Zephyr is being open about their future relationship and about our incapability as mates. Merethyl seemed to need to hear it from her as well as me to believe it. When I hear Merethyl say hello to my son, I get a

I have a vested interest in finding this Chief quickly. He’s already had my mate in his clutches once. I won’t allow him to get to her or my child again. Merethyl has started to show, her once flat stomach gaining a slight roundness as our daughter grows inside her. You can’t tell yet because of the flowy clothing she wears, but if she were captured….I can't think about it. I would go insane thinking of them doing to Mere and my daughter what they did to Tana and Liekki. We pick up where we left off, continuing our grid approach to finding the laboratories. The first one was empty, but it looks like it was left in haste. We collect as much intel as we can find and I send Ishir the coordinates to come and get it. When we get to the next laboratory, we find that it is still operational. This one is openly guarded. They aren’t even trying to hide anymore. The hunters, or maybe they are just guards now, are heavily armed and I know that whatever they are using as weapons will be able to

My mate is so sweet, so kind. Seeing something like this takes a lot out of her. It takes a lot out of me as well, watching as dragons, even if they are lab-created dragons, are murdered right in front of you. As I lift up into the sky, I feel Merethyl lay down, letting herself relax against me. I begin to purr, wanting to soothe her more, wanting her to sleep. Her panic had caused a subtle change in our daughter’s heartbeat. It may be something that other parents would never realize because they don’t hear it, but I did, and I needed my mate to calm. Once she did, our daughter’s heartbeat went back to normal. It’s a risk taking her to Cedric’s pack. Zephyr had recognized that Mere was pregnant because of her actions, but now, our daughter’s heartbeat is strong enough that if you are listening for it, you’ll hear it. However, if I can get this human doctor, Everett, to come with us, Kaylani may be joining us as well. If so, she’ll figure it out sooner or later. The flight takes near

Being a shifter, I don’t get squeamish or queasy seeing blood or violence. I know my mate does and that’s why I’m glad she’s not here. Bajaro has a vicious streak to her. I like it, it makes me want to know if she’d be willing to guard our daughter after she’s born and Mere or I have to leave her. Anyone who has no qualms about literally tearing an enemy limb from limb is good enough to watch my child. I’m not exactly sure that Mere will agree, but I’ll ask her. Thankfully, the hunter gave us what we needed before he bled out. We got the coordinates to another facility that has dragons. As we head back to where Merethyl, Kaylani and Everett are, I think about our next steps. Ishir is the brains of this operation. It’s what he does. He’s a hunter by nature, but he’s also really good at searching for and finding missing shifters and other supernaturals. He also supplements that by helping humans find their missing loved ones. They pay a lot to find their missing children, and I happen