Hearing that Riley was human surprising. It wasn't a bad surprise- it was simply unexpected. But it didn't affect me as much as it seemed to have got to Rafe all of a sudden.

Typical- things get tense and my best friend starts barking in anger, living up to his animal side. I knew that he was worried and angry but having a go at Riley was not going to solve anything. She was also a victim in this case and I had to fight the urge of my dragon to take her in my arms and protect her. Callum and Lucien seemed to beat me to it though as they both growled defensively.

"Rafe, I can assure you that I never meant for any harm to come to Natalia. I tried my best to protect her but we were just not expecting these guys." She sounded calm but I could sense how anxious she also was feeling about Natalia. Even as a human she clearly had felt the need to protect the young wolf.

"Your best? You are a fucking human. What good is your best in a world of shifters and magic?" Rafe snarled at her before turning to Lucien. "You should have told us that your sister has lost her animal, Lucien- I would have never allowed Natalia to go with her if I had known."

Oh goddess, if it wasn't enough that Natalia was missing and we had no clue where she was, we also needed to add an inter-pack fight to our plates. Way to go, Rafe.

I wanted to step in to intervene but instead, I saw Riley walk up to Rafe, getting up on her toes to be on the same eye level as him.

At this very moment, despite everything that was happening, I was in awe of the beautiful brunette who showed no fear from the big bad wolf that my best friend supposedly was. She was not intimidated one bit by him. Quite the opposite- his outbursts seemed to bring out that passionate fire in her that we 'd already witnessed before. This woman was like no other woman that Rafe or I had ever come across and even as a human, she was million times more fierce than the women shifters we knew.

"Listen to me, Rafe Macalister, and listen carefully. I may be a human now but I did everything that I could possibly do to protect Natalia. These guys were human but they had something that allowed them to fire energy balls at us, which forced Natalia to shift back to human."

Her words left me shocked. The kind of energy balls that she was talking about could only mean that the human that had abducted Natalia had access to magic and for humans to know about our existence and to try and hunt us down using magic meant they had magic people pulling the strings behind. Demons, witches, warlocks- the possibilities were numerous but shifters and the magic folk usually tried to stay out of each other's way, except when either side was up to no good. And this sounded like that kind of a scenario.

Riley carried on. "My protection bracelet eventually kept us safe from whatever magic they were using but Natalia was injured and by the time we tried to escape with her in her wolf form again, they came at us with a tranq gun. That's the last I remember."

"You should have never left pack grounds! This is all your fault." Rafe angrily pointed his finger at her. My dragon was fuming- why was Rafe being such a prick? Could he really not see that it was not her fault. Things spiralled from then on though.

"My fault? It was your little fuck buddy that sent us there."

"My fuck buddy?"

"Yes. Amy. Amy Spade. The busty blonde that you were fucking at your dad's birthday party. I am sure it's hard for you to keep track of all of your little fuck toys but this one seems dead set to have you. In fact, she was looking for you when she came up to Natalia and insisted that we took that trail. She wouldn't leave until Natalia gave in and promised her."

As Riley went silent, I wondered why Amy would go through such lengths to persuade her and Natalia to go to that particular path.

"That fucking bitch." I heard Riley exclaim "She set us up. She knew she was sending us into a trap. I am going to kill if even a hair falls off Natalia's head."

The realisation, which we had all reached by now judging by the looks on everyone's faces, was now making Riley turn into a ball of anger and I felt the need to calm her down. I calmly stepped between Rafe and her, separating them.

"Okay, you two." I said, "I can see that emotions are running high and we are all worried about Natalia, although I am happy to see that you are okay, Riley. Now, can you think of anything that you heard them say that might give away where they took her?" It was important for us to get any clue that we could get out of Riley. I didn't want to pressure her as I knew that with everything that had happened and her coming out of the sedation that she was under it was not going to be easy for her to remember details.

I could see her gorgeous face getting all scrunched up as she was doing her best to recall some details from the whole ordeal. The moment she remembered something was like one of those light-bulb moments when you see a genius come up with an idea.

"They talked about needing to be back in London tonight. And whatever that energy ball that they used was, there were witches involved."

"Fuck, I know where they are taking her," Rafe spoke up and I knew exactly why he said that. These must be the same people who had abducted him and his mother years ago. Not the humans, of course, but the people behind it all. "Not many people know this but the same group kidnapped my mother and me when I was a teenager. I managed to escape and get back here but my mother did not have the same luck. I had blocked that place out of my mind for years but I should be able to remember some details that can help find the exact spot."

I knew this was going to be hard for Rafe. Losing his mother had made him the man he was today, but deep down inside he was still hurting and blaming himself for not saving her. I was convinced that right now he was probably breaking on the inside, worrying about the safety of his sister in the hands of the very same people who had already hurt his family.

We needed to get more information though in order to know where exactly we could find Natalia and her captors before they harmed her in any way. I would not be able to forgive myself either if anything happened to the sweet, gentle soul that was Natalia.

"We should find Amy and interrogate her- we need all the information we can get on the kidnappers," I spoke up.

"That's a good idea, Aiden," Riley replied, looking at me with gratitude and worry in her eyes. "Get all the info you can get and I can run it past my contacts in London. They will be able to help us out with all the intel we need before we go to get her."

"We?" I heard my best friend snap at her. "There is no we, little human. You have already done enough and you will only make matters worse if we have to look after you as well, which makes you a liability. So no fucking way. Aiden and I are going, that's it."

For fuck sake, Rafe.

Sometimes I wished that he would shut up and think before he spoke. I got that he was hurting but this was only making things worse. It also made Lucien, whose grounds we were on, pretty damn angry. "I suggest that you rectify the way that you speak to my sister, future Alpha. You should know better than to insult a Moreau. And my sister can only be an asset down in London, so if you really are the strategic warrior that you claim to be, you should be able to see that."

This was going to turn into a giant mess if I didn't intervene, as I didn't think that Lucien or Callum were feeling like being civil to Rafe if he continued like this and, to be honest, I would agree with them. I spoke again, trying to reduce the tension in the room.

"I think we should all calm down. Rafe is just worried about his sister and doesn't mean what he said, Riley. You have to forgive him about these outbursts."

"Oh, fuck this politeness, Aiden. I meant everything I said." The reaction from Rafe was immediate and I was worried how this was going to end.

"Listen up, you prick. I don't need others to speak up for me, so let me lay things out of you. I can take better care of myself than anything that you could ever do for me. I have faced some of the toughest, most dangerous people in this country and have come on top. I don't have a wolf, you say? That's fucking right. But whereas you hide behind your wolf, I have learnt how to fight without one. Weapons, hand on hand combat- you name it, I own it. I am sorry that my human school didn't have classes in defence against magic. Sadly, not every school is Hogwarts. But last time I checked, shifters are not protected from magic either. So take your super speed and heightened sense and shove them up your superior arse. Hell, seeing as how much better you are then the rest of us, you might even enjoy it."

It turned out that I was worrying for nothing, as Riley was perfectly fine to handle Rafe on her own. Yet again I had seen him become speechless in the presence of this beauty and all Lucien, Callum and I could do was to chuckle.

She got up on her toes again and poked his chest hard with her finger. "And one more thing, there is no way on Earth that I am not coming on this rescue mission. The only way you can stop me is if you kill me and I dare you to try."

Well, I'd be damned- there was actually someone in this world that could put Rafe in his place. As I laughed about it in my head, a twinge of jealousy pierced me- could it be that Riley was his mate? Sure, she was a human now but she was a wolf when she was born, so it was perfectly possible that the Moon Goddess put them together. The thought of this left a burning hole in my heart, not because I would not be happy for my best friend if this was the case- not at all. Riley was the only woman that I had ever seen being able to handle Rafe. No, the pain I felt was more at the realisation that she wasn't mine- she was a wolf, or used to be one, and I was a dragon. The Sun Goddess would have given me a dragon shifter as a mate but there were none at the party. But that could only mean that it was one of the other shifter kinds that the Sun Goddess looked after, and wolves were not amongst them.

I found myself surprised by my disappointment but Riley was a remarkable woman, one that I could easily imagine having by my side as I loved and cherished her. Then the guilt hit me- the guilt that I was feeling this way towards someone who was not my mate, while my real mate was out there, waiting for me.

Callum broke the tension in the room. "Right. Well, it seems that it is settled. I am coming down as well- the more we are, the better chances we have of handling whatever is going on in London. And if needed be, Rafe, I will look out for Riley."

I wanted to offer my protection as well but my guilty conscious prevented me from doing so, even if I knew that I would not let anything happen to her.

Come on, Aiden- what kind of a dragon are you? Dragons protect others, mate or not.

Before I knew it, the words rolled out of my mouth without even meaning to. "So will I."

Rafe was fuming about the whole thing a bit too much even for his usual self, which had me puzzled, but eventually, he gave in before we agreed to leave the following day.

With that sorted, I knew that there was another difficult conversation that I had to have before I left and it was not one that I was looking forward to. I contemplated shifting to fly back to the clan quicker but it was perhaps a bit risky to do so with all of the threats that we had at the moment.

When I finally made it, Cyrus was already waiting for me in his living room, sipping whisky in front of his fireplace.

"I knew you would come, Aiden. I heard that the young Macalister girl is missing and I know how close you are with the family," Cyrus said before I even uttered a word. He didn't look at me though, he continued staring at the fireplace instead.

"So you know that I have to go down with Rafe to help rescue her then," I replied as I moved closer to him, eventually standing next to him.

"That's out of the question, Beta. You are part of my clan, not the Windcrest pack, and as my second-in-command, I cannot let you disappear to save someone who is not even a clan member."

To say that I was surprised by his words would be a lie. I knew that Cyrus would not be inclined to agree to have his Beta take part in any rescue missions but I did hope that he would show some decency by at least letting me go in my own capacity.

"Cyrus, can we stop pretending that our clan exists in a separate universe from everyone else? These attacks are bold and the kidnappers used magic. It is a matter of time before the Clan is under threat as well. We need to work with the other shifters."

"Aiden, Aiden, Aiden. Have you not learnt by now? We protect what's ours, we don't meddle with the problems of others. If someone dares come after us, they will feel the might of a clan of fire dragon warriors but until then, if it even happens, relax and enjoy life. Are your women not keeping you satisfied enough that you need to look for other distractions?" He looked at me with a challenge in his eyes. Usually, I would have said that Cyrus was blind to the reality around us but now I was wondering whether he had another plan that I was not aware of or whether he was just that fucking stupid.

"You can't be serious, Cyrus. You know, I've spent too many years arguing with you on this. If you don't want to involve the clan, fine, but I am going, whether you like it or not." I had already made up my mind so me coming to talk to him was more as a matter of courtesy than anything else.

"You what?" He nearly spilt his whisky as his hand shook with anger. Cyrus stood up briskly and stood in front of me, trying to impose his authority. "Did you miss the part that I told you that you cannot go, Beta? I am not allowing you to. And if you do go, in clear breach of what your Alpha has told you, you better kiss that Beta position goodbye, Aiden."

"At the rate that we are going, there might not be a clan to be Beta of in the near future, Alpha. I became Beta to protect and guide our clan. A clan of warriors, supposedly. Fire dragons. And yet what you want us to do is hide from every fight and problem until it is too late, even for us? That's not me, Cyrus. That's not how our kind is either."

I stopped for a second, giving Cyrus a resigned look. He must have thought that he had won because a wicked grin emerged on his face. It wasn't going to last long though.

"I quit, Cyrus." Three words was all it took to shock the great Cyrus Murray.

"What do you mean you quit? You can't quit, Aiden. Who quits being a Beta? Are you out of your mind?" He was bewildered by my decision, clearly refusing to accept it.

"I'll still be a part of the clan unless you make me choose on that as well, and you know that you can count on me when it is necessary but I will no longer be Beta of the Fire Dragons Clan."

He slumped back on his chair in front of the fireplace and stared into the fire, the flames reflecting in his eyes.

"Goodbye, Cyrus," I said as I walked out of there.