My arms curl tighter around her, my hand running through her hair. She suddenly seems so small, so fragile.

I listen as her heartbeat and breathing slows. She is asleep in minutes.

"Wow, the dragon doesn't look so vicious now," Angel says, walking out of the castle.

"What do you want Angel?" I ask in annoyance. She raises her hands in surrender.

"Oh so now I need a reason to talk to my brother?" She scoffs.

"You do when I'm with my mate," I growl lowly.

She purses her lips. "Fine. I wanted to know when we are leaving," she says. I sigh, my head falling against the stone wall.

"I don't know, I can't leave Lyza. And this is her home, I can't make her leave that. I don't know what to do," I mutter.

"Your first duty is to your pack, then to yourself, that was in the oath you took! So we are going back to the pack, unless you want to relinquish your Alpha title," she spits.

I growl, my eyes changing color and canines sharpening. "Watch your mouth Angel, you may be my sister, but I am still your Alpha."

"Right, well I'm going to go pack. We are all leaving tomorrow morning, with or without you," she says, turning away and walking back into the castle.

I curse under my breath, feeling very conflicted. I look down at Lyza who stirs slightly in my arms.

"What the hell am I going to do?"

***********

I hear a knock at the door and turn off the shower, securing a towel around my hips. I pull it open and see Lyza. Her eyes widen and she looks me up and down, biting her lip.

"You know it's rude to stare," I say when she remains silent. She shakes her head before returning her gaze to my face.

"Sorry. I just wanted to let you know that Angel talked to me and I want you to go back to your pack," she says. My grip on the towel almost slips in shock.

"You can't be serious?" I mutter, walking into the closet. I pull on a pair of shorts and return to see Lyza leaning against the closed door.

"It's for the best, your pack needs you and the sooner you leave, the sooner I will be able to start doing my duty," she says.

I walk over to her, the growl in her voice worrying me. It sounded more like her dragon. "And what exactly is your duty?"

"Repopulating the fire dragon race," she says and my wolf immediately takes over.

"Absolutely not. If anyone tries to lay a hand on you I'll kill them; you are mine," I snarl, closing the distance between us and pressing her against the door.

My eyes are glowing gold and I can feel my canines bite into my lip as I hold back another growl. Her desire floods my senses, instantly increasing mine.

Her eyes burn a fiery red and in seconds our lips are locked in a passionate kiss. Her fingers get tangled in my hair and I groan as she tugs.

I manage to regain control from my wolf and immediately deepen the kiss. My hands move down her sides, snaking up under her shirt.

She lets out a small moan and I pull her shirt over her head, only breaking the kiss for a few seconds. Her fingers run over my bare chest, tracing over my abs.

My hands make their way to her butt where I squeeze, smirking as she gasps. I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist.

I deepen the kiss as I carry her to the bed, so much that she pulls away gasping as I lay her down. I climb over her, my arms on either side of her.

I lean down and start kissing and sucking on her neck. She grips my shoulders, moaning softly. Her breathing heavy and her chest is flushed.

I feel my canines sharpen and start to pull away, but she immediately pulls me back.

"Lyza we have to stop, if we do anymore I will lose control of my wolf," I tell her.

"I want you to lose control," she murmurs, pressing her lips hard to mine.

My eyes turn gold and I kiss her until she is out of breath before making my way back to her neck. I find the spot where her neck and shoulder meet and my canines sharpen further.

My hands move to hold down her shoulders, and hers grip my arms tightly. I sink my canines into her soft skin, listening as she lets out a harsh cry of pain.

I bite deeper before pulling away to kiss her. Tears are running down her cheeks, and her nails left marks on my arms.

I move back to the mark and kiss it lightly, watching as Lyza shudders. I start to suck on it and she writhes beneath me.

"That's amazing," she mutters breathlessly.

I pull away and just look at her for a few moments. "I don't deserve such a beautiful mate," I say.

"You don't have to deserve me because I want you with me," she says, kissing me. I grin and laugh as she pulls me down onto the bed beside her.

I lay down and hold her close to me, loving the feeling of my mate at my side. My wolf is practically purring right now.

Her head rests on my chest as I play with her hair. We both lay awake for hours before falling asleep.

**********

I jerk awake to someone shaking me. Angel is standing over me, panic written all across her face.

I immediately leap to my feet, looking around for Lyza. I spot her at the door, peering into the dimly lit hallway.

"Daerius we have to go, NOW!" Angel says urgently. I start to worry, the last time she sounded like this was the day we found our father lying dead in the forest.

"What happened?" I demand, heading over to the door. Lyza shushes me, staring into the hallway with fiery eyes.

"Okay let's go," she hisses, darting out the door. Angel shoves me forward, growling a little.

I clench my jaw, holding back my wolf as I follow Lyza down the hall. The only light comes from torches along the wall, casting an eerie glow that reflects on the black obsidian tiles.

I hear the faint click of metal on the tile, and turn the corner to see three guards. Someone grabs my shoulders and yanks me backwards just as they turn around.

Lyza holds her finger to her lips. What is going on? I ask Angel through a mindlink but she doesn't reply.

I feel a pressure on my arm as Lyza tugs me forward. We run through the halls of the castle, stopping every now and then to avoid dragon guards.

It's only a few minutes later when we are outside. It is about an hour until the sun will come up, but the volcanoes provide enough red-orange light to see.

There are nearly a dozen dragons circling in the sky, flying over the volcanoes and around the territory. Lyza directs us to an area surrounded with tall, jagged rocks.

Angel and I follow her lead, ducking down behind the rocks and weaving through the shadows. We suddenly stop behind a large rock formation.

Lyza's eyes are wide and I realize there are two dragon guards not two feet away. One seems to be sniffing the air and I see Angel mutter a silent curse.

The guard's eyes suddenly narrow and he growls, smoke leaving his flaring nostrils.

"The wolves are over here!" He yells and Lyza jumps up. She smashes her fist into his face and he stumbles backwards into the other guard.

"Your wolves are just outside the entrance, go! Don't look back and don't stop until you are deep inside the Mountains!" She growls at me.

Angel takes off running but then stops when she sees I haven't followed her. "Daerius we have to go!" She yells.

"Lyza I can't leave you here, I don't know what happened but you'll be a traitor after this," I say quickly.

"They won't kill me, they need me. But they will kill you and torture you to make me do what they want, so I need you to leave!" She snarls, shoving me away.

She turns and I shift into my wolf mid-leap and head straight for the arching rock that leads out of dragon territory. Angel's small red wolf sprints beside me.

I hear shouting behind me but do as Lyza said and keep running. Balls of flame suddenly start to appear on all sides, bursting into sparks as they hit the ground.

Angel lets out a small yelp as one lands on her flank, knocking her to the ground. I dig my claws into the ground, coming to a skidding halt.

She collapses with a whine when she tries to stand. Come on Angel we have to go! I say but she just whimpers again, her eyes starting to close.

I suddenly remember when Lyza had burned me, how it didn't heal for a long time and how it was excruciatingly painful. I grab Angel's scruff in my teeth and pick her up, her wolf less than half the size of mine.

I see dozens of men suddenly running towards us, and turn tail towards the entrance again. Just before we reach the towering rock though, it is blocked by a wall of flames.

I am thrown in a sudden and fleeting flashback of the day I saw Lyza for the first time. I run hard for a few more feet before coiling up the muscles in my legs and leaping over the fiery wall.

Heat licks my paws and I feel the fur singe slightly, but I make it over. I land hard on the dirt covered stone, only having a second to recover before they are chasing me again.

As I tear up the path towards the mountain my wolves appear from behind boulders and bushes, following just behind me.

Angel suddenly feels heavier and I realize she is unconscious. I growl, pushing myself to run even faster.

By the time we make it to the ridge, I am exhausted. I set Angel down on the ground, then collapse onto the rock.

I pull myself up after I catch my breath and search the fiery landscape for any sign of Lyza. In the light of the volcanoes I can make out a huge mob of people, all in a circle.

They are surrounding a massive black dragon with gleaming dark silver talons. It's eyes are bright, glowing red.

"Talon," Angel says, her eyes barely staying open. I see that she shifted and is wearing a shirt from one of my guard's packs.

I look back to see Talon killing another dragon, blood spraying everywhere as his throat is torn out. Talon uses his tail to knock down the people, and in minutes, at least twenty are laying motionless on the ground along with three dragons.

I suddenly gape as someone shifts into a massive red dragon that is bigger than Talon. He lets out a roar and knocks Talon onto his side.

He slams a giant clawed foot onto Talon's head and I watch as the dragon's eyes roll backwards. The black dragon suddenly starts to get smaller and it's bones seem to be rearranging.

Soon there is only Lyza, laying naked in the dirt, blood and ash covering her body. Her red haired is peppered black and white, and her face is streaked with black.

Guards immediately rush forward to chain her hands and feet. I swear our eyes meet for a moment before she is dragged into the castle.