Page 47 of Knotted By the Triad

Shit.

I'd been so focused on getting to Zuri that I'd forgotten to activate my Raiment. Too late now. My clothing was destroyed. Fuck those clothes. I needed to get to her. My hands struck the earth as claws, and suddenly every scent in the forest sharpened.

Blood. Dirt. Magic.

And her. Zuri Bane. My mate.

In my dragon form, I crashed through the trees until a slope appeared ahead. Zuri and Allie were at the bottom, dressed entirely in black with only their eyes showing. My gaze landed on Zuri’s cleavage that heaved with every breath she took.

What the hell was she wearing? The thought disappeared the instant I saw the dragon approaching them. Everything inside me went cold. The bastard raised one massive claw. Allie grabbed Zuri and tried to pull her away, but they weren't going to make it.

The claw came down. Zuri shoved Allie aside to get her out of the way. Zuri wouldn’t have time to dodge. I roared and launched myself from the top of the slope, my wings snapping open as I soared toward him.

He looked my way. But he was too late. I slammed into him. We crashed through the trees together, trunks snapping beneath our combined weight before we hit the ground hard enough to shake it.

The bastard twisted beneath me and sank his claws into my shoulder. Pain burned through the muscle, but I didn't release him. My jaws closed around his neck. He roared and thrashed beneath me, raking his hind claws across my stomach.

Pain tore through me. My grip loosened just enough for him to twist his massive body and roll us both. I hit the ground hard. Before I could regain my footing, his tail slammed into my side, sending me crashing into a tree.

The trunk cracked behind me. The bastard charged. I dug my claws into the earth and launched myself at him. We collided, and it sounded like a building collapsing. The bastard staggered backward, but recovered quickly and lunged, jaws snapping toward my throat.

I twisted before his teeth could close around my neck and slammed my shoulder into his chest, knocking him back several steps. He was already injured. Now that I was close, I could see the damage covering his body.

Blood streaked his scales, one side of his face was mangled, and one eye was completely missing. Several of the wounds were too fresh to have come from the battle at the warehouse.

She’d hurt him.

Pride surged within me despite the rage burning beneath it. My little omega had fought back. The bastard lunged again. I dodged his jaws and raked my claws across his ribs as he passed. Blood sprayed the ground.

He spun, his tail whipping toward me. I jumped back before it could strike and lunged the instant it passed. My claws sank into his side between two rows of scales. He roared. I ripped downward.

Scales tore free beneath my claws as he twisted away. He stumbled, his injured leg nearly collapsing beneath his weight as he tried to get away from me. I followed. There would be no dungeon for this bastard. No interrogation. No questions. He'd tried to kill our omega. My dragon wanted his life.

So did I.

CHAPTER TWELVE

DAEMIN

I hit the bastard again before he could regain his footing, driving my entire weight into his side. We crashed into another tree hard enough to split the trunk. He tried to kick me off him, but he was too injured, and I'd had enough.

I planted my claws against his shoulders and pinned him to the ground. His throat was exposed. This bastard had chased Zuri through the forest. He'd tried to tear her apart with his claws. If I'd arrived seconds later, my mate would've been killed. My dragon surged forward.

End him.

I lowered my head, opening my jaws over his throat. The dragon beneath me convulsed. His body began to shrink as scales disappeared and bones shifted beneath my claws. His massive shoulders narrowed until there was suddenly a broken, bloodied man where the dragon had been.

I moved back. In my dragon form, I was too large to pin him the way I had before. The bastard lay on his back, barely moving. Blood covered him, and one of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle. He couldn't even maintain his dragon form anymore.

Pathetic.

Yet, he’d managed to use his Raiment to keep his clothing in place. At least he wouldn’t die naked in the forest. But he would die here, now. I lowered my head toward him. One bite would end this. His hand moved. Something blue flashed between us. A shard!

The bastard drove the shard beneath the scales along my side. Agony exploded through me. I roared and reared back as cold fire ripped through my body. The smuggler rolled away before I could crush him beneath my claws.

“Daemin!”

Zuri's scream tore through the forest. The fear in her voice nearly made me turn toward her, but I didn't. Not yet. The bastard was still alive. I forced myself toward him, but my back leg buckled.