I extended my claws and ducked under the fire, shooting up toward his gunmetal-gray belly. I hit him hard, slicing into his hide and drawing out a squawk of pain. I cringed, then hardened my heart. He would heal, and he had brought it upon himself.
Ivan jerked away, circling around above me to bring his jaws to bear again. I managed to dodge his next blast, slashing at him with my claws as I rolled away and managing to gouge two long furrows in his flank.
The light from his flame reflected off a glittering rain of his blue-tinted scales from the damage. I'd learned my lesson about dragon fire. Before he could aim it at me again I surged above him and hooked a claw behind his neck, forcing his head down so that his flame couldn't reach me. He arched his strong neck against my hold, straining to break free as he thrashed this way and that, but my grip was too strong. He roared, flaming again anyway, but only the edge of his fire licked against me-not enough for me to lose any of my senses.
"I won't let you touch my family," I hissed into his ear. "Go home, Ivan!"
"Your child will grow up weak if I leave him with you," he answered, turning a burning eye on me as he thrashed against my restraint. "A disgrace to our lineage."
He struggled beneath me. My claws pierced his hide, their grip the only thing keeping him from plummeting toward the water. But he still struggled, flailing about wildly in an attempt to get free of my grasp. Ivan was almost as big as I was, and the strain of holding him up while keeping his head pinned down was almost too much.
"You're not going to get past me, brother," I promised him. I didn't care what it took, I would not let Ivan harm the ones I loved. "You will never get what you want, or touch my mate."
Ivan froze. "Your ‘mate?'" he repeated the word in shock, becoming a sudden dead weight as he stopped even trying to use his own wings. "The child was born, nyet?" he demanded angrily. "Your human can't still live if you took it from his body."
Ivan had seemed so well informed, even though I still didn't understand how he knew so much about my family. Whatever the source, the information had clearly failed him in crucial ways. He knew that Devin had delivered, but still didn't realize that we'd had twins … and he clearly didn't understand how my mate had given birth. It seemed obvious that he didn't know there was any alternative to my sire's brutal approach, and the thought of what he assumed I'd done sickened me.
"He does," I said. "He is mine. I have claimed him and bound him to me, Ivan. His life is tied to mine."
My brother was staring at me in shock, still not moving, and I lost the battle with gravity. Ivan and I plunged into the ocean, still locked together. As soon as the cold, salty water closed over our heads, Ivan twisted away from me, dislodging my hold and swimming deeper to avoid my grasping claws. I managed to hook one into his wing before he got away, and he turned back, spitting flame as he tried to yank free. The fire sputtered in the water, but the force of it still hit me face-on and blinded me for a moment.
My bond with Devin flickered for a split-second, and as it wavered I felt a subtle othersense. It was a bond, but not with my mate. It was something that had been a part of me for as long as I could remember, and it was as familiar to me as breathing-so familiar that I'd never even realized it was there.
It was Ivan.
And then he tore away from me, escaping while I floundered to clear my vision. I couldn't see to follow him, so instead I headed up toward the surface. As soon as I cleared the water, I saw Ivan's dark form burst out of the ocean near the shore of my island.
I roared, exploding out of the water as I shot over the waves after him. Before I could reach him, though, he landed, shifting into his human form and racing inside my home. Going after my family.
28
~ Devin ~
As scared as I had been when Ivan had tried to grab me on the beach, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. Michael and Zach were so small, and even though I clutched them against me, my arms felt like poor protection for such valuable cargo.
"He won't touch them," Ben promised me grimly, seeing my fear.
I was used to easy-going, gentle Ben. Maks had told me that the red dragon had a hot temper, but it only seemed to come out when people he loved were threatened. If I'd had any doubts that we were in that category for him, watching him pace in front of the balcony doors would have banished them. I could see the tension radiating off him, and his body rippled and twisted in subtle, eye-twisting ways as he fought to hold himself in this form.
I swallowed, closing my eyes to better focus my attention on the bond with my mate. Normally I considered him indestructible, but it made sense that if anything were to be able to harm him, it would be another of his kind. I couldn't bear that.
The information I was getting through our bond was disjointed-impressions of Maks's emotions, rather than the events that caused them. I was left wondering about the details of the fight, and while I wondered, I worried. He was full of protective rage, but also sadness and a melancholy guilt. When all of that was suddenly replaced by terror, I sat bolt upright, squeezing the boys too tightly. Michael squirmed against me and Zach stiffened, letting out a fierce squawk. Ben was at my side in an instant.
"What is it?"
"Ivan. He got away from Maks. He's coming. He's-"
"I am here, human."
Ben whirled around to face the intruder, launching himself across the room with a roar. Ivan jerked away, avoiding the attack, but as he took in the sight of all us his eyes widened in shock and his distraction made him slow. Ben was on him in an instant. The two men were about the same size, but when Ben grabbed Ivan by the throat and lifted him up against the wall, the rippling quiver that rolled through Ben's body as his otherself fought to take over made him seem bigger.
"Who are you?" Ivan croaked. "My brother allows another beast in his territory?"
Ben didn't bother to answer, intent on choking off Ivan's air, and I scrambled off the bed, holding the twins close. I moved toward the french doors, hoping to see my mate appear, but the balcony outside was empty and faced the wrong direction. Maks would be coming from the west, and as soon as I had the thought, I turned toward the bedroom door and realized he was already here.
"Ben is a friend," my mate said grimly, answering Ivan's question. He entered the room and moved to stand behind Ben, putting another barrier between Ivan and me. "And he will no more allow you to harm my mate or children than I would."
"Children," Ivan repeated, his hands scrabbling at Ben's wrist as he fought to suck in air. He managed to sound incredulous despite croaking the words out past the other dragon's stranglehold. "There are two."
"Obviously," Ben hissed. "But you can't have either one."
"I … I've never heard of such a thing," Ivan said, not even struggling anymore as he tried to take it in. "Any of this. Your human, how did he survive the birth? And … twins, protected by another … dragon … who is … is … "
"Who is my friend," Maks said when Ivan failed to come up with an explanation for Ben's presence. "Ben, let him down, please."
Ben grumbled, but released Ivan without any other protest and then took a few steps back, crossing his arms and doing a damn good job of looking threatening.
"You are weak," Ivan spat at Maks, shaking off his confusion and replacing it with the cold sneer I remembered from the first time we'd met. "You surround yourself with weakness, with attachments. You will not be able to hold onto them when you can't even stomach holding me, your enemy."
"You're not my enemy, Ivan," Maks said. "You're my brother. You would be welcome here if you had come under different circumstances."
Ivan's sneer slipped for a split-second, but then he caught himself. "There is nothing I would want here, except your hatchlings. With two, I can help our sire expand our territory all the faster."
"It's not going to happen," Maks told him in a steely voice. "Do you really think I'd allow you to touch them? That you could make it past both Ben and me?"
Without answering, Ivan feinted toward my mate, then pivoted toward Ben and blinded him with a spurt of flame. The fire spilled around the room, its dragon-enhanced heat instantly racing across the wooden floor and licking up the bedspread. I clutched the babies against me, backing into the corner as I instinctively retreated from the flames. Maks launched himself at his brother, but Ivan shoved Ben toward Maks and leapt past the two of them toward the far side of the burning bed. His form rippled as he landed in the middle of the flames, and he crossed the king-sized mattress in one stride, stepping down in front of me with a cold stare.