Theo
Theo wanted to pull his hair out from frustration. He and Ivan had approached Zagon at the wolf compound and demanded Gemma back, and Zagon had refused. Theo didn’t smell Gemma anywhere. She wasn’t there. If the dragons killed the pack in war now, he would never find where they had hidden his mate.
“You have kidnapped the mate of a dragon shifter. You plan to murder her. These actions are a sign of war,” Ivan said. “I demand you return Gemma to her mate.”
Zagon laughed. “Your threats do not scare me, old man. We are many to your few. After the sacred white wolf has been sacrificed to the moon goddess, she will make us all powerful. We will be the rulers of all the shifter world.”
It was clear that Zagon had completely lost his mind.
As the witch had said, he hadn’t found Gemma, and he had to wait until the night of the full moon. On the day of the sacrifice, Theo spied on the wolves from a distance and followed when a large convoy left the pack land. He soared so high, they would never see him or the hell he was about to rain on them.
He was surprised to find the wolves’ destination was so close to dragon territory. His mate had been so near, and he never knew. Now he had to gather the clan for the war to begin. As night fell and the moon rose, he and Ivan hid among the clouds until he saw his mate emerge from underground. Then he roared with all the anger and love that had built in him over his time apart from Gemma.
Theo had only one thought – destroy every wolf shifter if he had to. He was going to get her back.
When the other dragon shifters saw Theo and Ivan flying low over the trees, they took to the skies. Their dragon forms meant only one thing – war.
To Theo, it was about getting his mate back. To the rest of the shifters, it meant the wolves had become so bold that they would take whatever they wanted from the dragon shifters as they did not fear them. That could not be allowed to happen.
Theo saw the wolf shifters bringing Gemma out. She looked up to the sky and reached her arms up as though trying to embrace the moon. As he watched, a silvery white light streamed down into Gemma. At that moment, he knew that Gemma had been blessed by their moon goddess.
He motioned for some of the dragons to buzz the heads of the guards, but not so low that Gemma could be hurt.
The younger dragons thought that would be a lot of fun, so they flew over. As Theo predicted, the wolf shifters guarding their sacrifice ducked and ran, giving them time to change into their wolf forms.
Gemma took the opportunity to run. Theo gave command over to Germaine and flew toward Gemma. He would grab her in his claws and fly her to safety, then come back and kill every one of the bastards who had dared lay a hand on his mate.
He was right over her. Her arms outstretched. She was so focused on him, she hadn’t seen the wolf shifter hovering in the background. Just as he grazed her fingertips, the wolf pounced on her, knocking her out of his reach. He couldn’t attack the wolf without risking Gemma’s life.
She transformed, and in place of his beautiful mate stood a huge white wolf that looked ethereal in the moonlight.
He turned around and landed next to her as she fought off the wolf that had attacked her. Several more were approaching.
Theo and Gemma fought side by side. He had seen her battle at the warehouse and had fought her in her human form, but tonight, she fought with the ferocity he had never seen. It was as though she had the strength of a thousand wolves.
It occurred to Theo that the wolf shifters had it wrong. If theyfollowedthe white wolf that had been blessed by the moon goddess, then they would have gained incredible power.
At one point, though, she was attacked by five wolves at once. Four of them hit her side, causing her to roll. The fifth moved to rip her throat out.
Just as its teeth grazed Gemma’s throat, Theo roared and knocked the wolf over, using the full force of his body. A stream of fire sent that wolf shifter into a burning hell.
The four wolves holding Gemma had been distracted by what they had seen, which gave her the opportunity to get back on her feet.
She flipped around and snarled at them. When one of them leaped up at her, she jumped at the same time, her fangs burying themselves deeply into the wolf’s throat. She twisted her head, and the corpse went flying across the field.
The battle continued to rage on the other side of the field, although it seemed that more and more of the wolves had seen where Gemma was and decided to join their comrades in battle. They were determined the wolf shifter would not survive past midnight, and that witching hour was fast upon them.
Side by side, Theo and Gemma fought the seemingly never-ending onslaught of wolf shifters. Soon, Germaine and other shifters joined them as the battle had moved to target Gemma.
Theo could hear Ivan’s booming voice above them. “Zagon. Call off your troops. Your people are dying in massive numbers. Soon, there will be no one left to even enjoy any of the power you had promised your people.”
“The sacred white wolf will be sacrificed tonight, and I will have all the power,” Zagon answered back.
At that moment, the wolf shifters surrounding their leader realized he had not intended for them to share in any of the gifts the moon goddess might bestow if the sacrifice was made.
They took a step away from him, which allowed one of the dragons to swoop down and pick up the heavy, gray wolf.
Ivan’s voice boomed out again. “Behold, your leader.”
The dragon opened his talons, and Zagon’s body fell to the ground, broken.
The wolf shifters retreated and went back into their camp. The dragon shifters were given the order to let them go.
The battle was over, and Gemma was safe.
Theo turned to look at his mate. He swooped her into his arms, held her close, and kissed her with a passion that spoke of a love that could never be broken.
