Catching sudden movement from the corner of her eye, she saw another dragon, light charcoal in color with a gold iridescence to his scales, larger than her but smaller than Ivan. Her brothers didn’t seem concerned, and she realized with a jolt that this was Alex. She watched as he used his fire to burn bodies, swooping down to devour the ashes before he’d find a new grouping of bodies to clean up. He spat fire to Ivan and then scooped the ashes up, letting out a triumphant roar. Lowering herself from the sky, she joined him, burning and devouring ashes, until all the bodies were gone. She landed gracefully, and the ground shook as Alex landed harder in front of her. They both changed back to human, staring at each other, not speaking a word.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, she caught sight of the guys behind him, also back in human form. Pushing past Alex, she rushed for them, hugging them one by one.
“I couldn’t believe it when I looked over and saw you guys. Heroes, come to rescue the damsel in distress.”
“You didn’t need any saving, Cam. You did that all on your own,” Ian replied, ruffling her hair.
“Yeah, you were pretty badass,” Jax said quietly.
“I don’t know how I managed it. I managed to make my way outside, but when Ivan caught me, I couldn’t shift. He said he injected me with some kind of suppressant, and I thought I was done for. Then I saw Alex—I mean, I saw y’all, and my dragon just burst out of me.”
“Nice try, but you didn’t save that statement,” Ian said with a wry smile. “You really did mean you saw Alex and shifted to protect him. Even if we couldn’t hear lies, we would have known. Alex was the only one visible when you shifted. We were still hidden in the trees.”
Shifting her feet uncomfortably, Cammie tried to think of something to say to that, but drew a blank. Seth spoke up then, unwittingly coming to her rescue.
“I really am glad you’re okay, Cammie,” he said, not of a hint of a joke or laugh in sight. “Nothing would be the same without you around. I’m gonna go to the car and grab our clothes so we can get dressed. Jax packed some for you, too.”
Giving her another quick hug, Seth spun around and walked quickly to
the tree line. Silence descended as everyone watched him, and her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, “What’s up with him?”
Ian exhaled heavily, shaking his head. “I don’t know. He’s been a little quiet since we knew you were taken, but it got even worse after the fight.”
“It’s not like him, but we can’t figure out what’s wrong,” Jax said, uncharacteristic worry in his eyes. The eagle shifter didn’t let much truly bother him, though he liked to pretend Seth did.
Putting it from her mind, she resolved to pry info out of Seth later. Turning back to the other two, she asked, “How did y’all know where to find me?”
“Alex,” Ian replied, inclining his head to where Alex was striding after Seth.
She watched him with narrow eyes, suspicion filling her. “He just happened to know where to find me?”
Ian’s heavy exhale had her looking back to him. “It’s not what you think. I was helping him look for you, and we checked your clearing. We found the tranquilizer dart and the syringe. We knew you were taken, and Alex knew who did it and where he was taking you. How he knew isn’t bad, I promise. But I can’t say more. It’s his story to tell. Just promise me you’ll actually give him the chance to tell it.”
Hesitating, she searched his eyes, finding nothing but determination, and faint pleading for her to give Alex a chance to explain. She glanced at Jax, but he just nodded at her, apparently agreeing with Ian. Sighing wearily, she decided to ignore it, but she would seriously give it some thought.
“Let’s just get dressed and go home,” she answered, spotting Seth and Alex coming back, already dressed and holding handfuls of clothes. “I’m exhausted, and I have a scratch on my stomach I need to take care of. It’s fine.” She said hastily at their worried expressions. “Ivan nicked me with his claws. It’s nothing, no venom involved, and I know it doesn’t really need it, but I’ll feel better when it’s cleaned.”
“There’s probably a first aid kit on the plane,” Jax replied.
“Plane? Where the hell are we that a plane was needed?”
“Canada.”
Feeling a little faint, Cammie didn’t reply as she took the clothes Seth held out for her, and dressed without replying. She thought she was holding up well after everything that happened, at least she had been until she learned she was taken to a whole different country. Shit. Feeling a little like Scarlett O’Hara, she decided she’d think about it, all of it, tomorrow.
Chapter Fifteen
Alex clenched his hands into fists as he walked with Ian to the door of the hotel room. Cammie told them on the way home last night that Ivan found her through two tiger shifters. There were only two unknown shifters in the area, so they knew they were looking for Kian and Zane. Cammie was right about the shifters when she thought they were bad news for her, since they led Ivan to her. But it didn’t explain them being in the area to begin with, and the fact that they were tigers had Ian worried. So here they were, at the tigers’ hotel room, hoping to get some answers.
Ian might not get his answers, if the way Alex felt was any indication. He wanted to eat the stupid pricks for giving Cammie up. He reluctantly halted as Ian put a hand on his arm.
“No killing them,” he cautioned. “At least not until we get answers. Keep yourself, and your dragon, in check. That’s an order, Kincaid.”
Blowing out a breath, he nodded. He wanted to jump in and start the meeting off by using his fists, but logically, he knew Ian was right. They needed answers, Ian especially, since he had Shelby to worry about.
Glancing back, he saw Jax in position across the street, and he knew Seth was around back. They wanted all angles covered in case the tigers tried to flee. He walked with Ian to the door, and he lifted his fist, banging on the door.
A few moments later, the door opened, and a behemoth of a man was standing in the doorway, eyes wide with surprise. Exhaling, he said, “So you figured out what we are.”