Page 72 of Thrown into the Mob

It was early in the morning because babies, or our baby, didn’t like to sleep in. My son was asleep on my chest in the carrier Grandpa had brought over. He was warm, much warmer than any baby should be. Treyton had no experience with dragon babies, but Tyson was part dragon, and the literature said that not all dragons were born of eggs if they had one non-dragon parent.

My beast was curled around me in a protective posture he'd adopted since the birth. He adored Tyson and nagged me if I did something he didn’t agree with. His new favorite pastime was taking his scales and “babysitting” Tyson. But he couldn’t fly yet. It was too soon after the birth.

Madd was inside making coffee. I could hear him through the open kitchen window, talking to my son even though Tyson was out here with me. That was something he did which was adorable. He narrated his actions to the baby regardless of whether Tyson was in the room. He’d explained how the coffee machine worked, the morning news, and cheese puffs to a six-day-old who was asleep for all of it.

I smelled them before I saw them and suddenly the sky was filled with dragons.

The warm morning and the lack of sleep had made my beast drowsy as I wandered around the garden checking on the flowers and the vegetables. I stiffened, and with my beast’s help, my vision sharpened. The air carried heat which signaled dragons were close by.

I was on my feet with Tyson held against my chest and my hand already reaching for the phone in my pocket.

“Madd.”

He appeared in the doorway and took one look at my face. He sagged against the door before recovering and racing toward me.

“Take him.” I lifted the carrier over my head and placed our son against his father's chest. Tyson stirred and complained before Madd stroked his tummy and he went back to sleep.

“Conrad, no.”

“Take him inside. Lock the doors and call Flint. Go into the basement.” I was already pulling off my shirt because what was coming next required me to take my scales. “Don't come outside.”

“You can't fly, you just gave birth.”

“I don’t have a choice. Please take our son inside.” I wanted to hold them both and say it would be all right. That we’d eat breakfast together later.

We shared a glance. My mate and my son had to survive and live a good life. But there was no time for a speech. Madd took the baby and disappeared into the house.

My dragon had been waiting to shift for the past few months. He’d been so patient while he protected our little one inside me. But that was over. Tyson was born and safe and in his father's arms, and my dragon needed to protect our family.

Shifting this soon after giving birth wasn’t advised, but most new omega dads weren’t faced with their mate and child being kidnapped and their own death. My body ached and my bones cracked as if someone were splitting firewood. My wings unfurled, and they were too big for the garden. The fence went down and the climbing roses scattered, and I was airborne seconds later.

Above me, five dragons were circling in formation, and at the center, the largest of the beasts was flying with a precision that was almost beautiful if he’d been anyone else. It was my brother.

His scales were the same dark blue-green as mine, and his wingspan was identical. To anyone watching from the ground, they wouldn't have known which was which.

But I knew, and I could find Evander in a sky full of dragons the way Madd's wolf could find me on a crowded street.

I climbed up to meet my twin’s dragon. The other beasts broke formation as I approached, and three of them peeled off, heading in the direction of the compound. In the distance I heard the compound alarm. Flint and his brothers along with the rest of the La Luna Noir pack would have to deal with them.

Vasik’s beast circled us, but my twin’s dragon raised his tail and flicked it at the other dragon, and Vasik’s beast followed his flight mates toward the compound.

Evander and I met at eight hundred feet. He didn't roar or circle. Instead, his beast came straight at me, and we collided in midair. His claws raked across my dragon’s shoulder, and blood spattered over my beast’s jaw and horns. The remaining blood spurted into the air before the ruby-red droplets fell to earth.

My beast howled more in fury than pain because he’d endured the agony that I had during childbirth.

This was my twin I was fighting, the person I spent nine months with inside an egg. But whatever tenuous ties had bound us had been severed when Madd followed me from Father’s compound.

My dragon didn't hesitate. Whatever grief he and I carried, he ignored it. Evander was a threat to my family, and only one of us would emerge from this battle alive.

We twisted in the air with our beasts’ claws locked and their wings beating against each other. Fire erupted between us. My dragon’s scales protected us a little from the flames, but the heat was unbearable, and it seared the soft skin on my neck.

When the flames died, my beast’s mouth filled with blood, and skin flaked off his body not covered in scales. His wings ached from months of not flying, but he powered through the pain, driven by something ancient.

Evander’s dragon fought as if he had nothing left to lose, and that made him dangerous in a way my beast couldn’t match. Except me and my dragon had an edge because I had something to go back to. My twin was fighting to take what was mine, and I refused to hand it over.

The dragon who fought to keep his family would tear the sky apart before he let go.

The other beast slashed my dragon’s underbelly from his chest to his tail. Pain ripped through both of us. He was losing blood, and unless he injured my twin’s beast, his wings would be useless and he’d spiral and hit the ground.