Just Like Fire

just like fire

M organa is struggling with the dragon’s flight, and it’s as obvious as a flashing sign over her head. Liam insisted we needed to give the guy space, which Iggy and Slade didn’t argue. I, however, have a bit of experience with emotions being so big you might explode. If it wasn’t for my Nana, I would have a lot more issues than I do now. When my anger and self-destructive bent appeared in middle school, she made certain I got the help I needed.

It’s harder than it looks to have strung-out, fame seeking fuckwads for parents, even if you are rich.

“M, you can’t take his shit on your shoulders,” I murmur as we lounge on the couch. I’m working on make-up work from my missed class, and she’s powering through the shit Channing dropped off. “Kaspar’s problems predate your involvement.”

“I know that,” she replies absently as she marks up papers in a folder labeled ‘Discretionary Flags.’ Once she’s done, she meets my gaze, her eyes tired. “I just don’t enjoy thinking about him off self-harming or getting in trouble because I triggered something.”

I snort. “He triggered you first. I bet he’s not moping about hurting you.”

“He might be,” Liam says and we both turn to give the Prince a smile. He’d gone home to grab things he wanted near while we hunkered down to work. “Kaspar often realizes what an ass he’s being, but can’t quite stop himself.”

“Sounds like a ‘him’ problem,” I mutter as I flip the page of my Econ textbook. “Morgana can’t be responsible for his stupid shit.”

“She’s not.”

Well, hell, the gang’s all here.

Slade and Iggy stroll in with their own bags, settling on the adjacent furniture as the professor makes his statement. The siren shrugs, his smile rueful. “Iggy’s awfully blunt, as you know.”

“When he wants to be,” Morgana snarks, and I arch a brow at her. She just winks and goes back to whatever budget nonsense she’s working on.

“That brief exchange felt very… cozy.” Liam hops over the back of the other couch with his bag and flops onto it in a very un-royal manner. “Are we all getting along better because we’re mad at my friend?”

“Maybe,” I chuckle as I continue reading the chapter I need to finish. “Strife does bring people together.”

Morgana looks up from her paper and my dick twitches as she gives me a stern look over her glasses. “Lucas, focus. You said you have a quiz to make up tomorrow.”

Liam grins broadly, kicking his feet up. “Ooooh, that was a ‘Mommy’ tone if I’ve ever heard one. You’re in trouble, bro.”

I laugh as I duck my head and bury myself in the heavy book again. As if I’m touching that shit and getting on the bad list. The Prince is way too full of himself. “I have nothing to say, buddy. I’m studying.”

Slade pulls out his books and Iggy fans out a pile of tests he’s going over, signaling that all of us need to get to work. The room is muted except for a few stretches and sighs, but I enjoy the feeling of them around me. I spent most of my childhood with nannies and various staff unless Nana was in residence—something that was less common as I got older. My parents were never around, so this little group is making me feel something I haven’t before outside of sports—that I belong.

We all stay like that for a bit—that is, until Morgana’s phone rings. She picks it up, frowning as she listens to the other person on the line. I watch as the telltale sign of her irritation, the single snake, curls around her jaw. The sound of me clearing my throat gets the other guys to pay attention and by the time our woman hangs up, we’re all on edge.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Morgana taps her fingertips against her lips, thinking for a second before she answers. “I… that was Channing. She said we should grab a car and head for the back fields of the equestrian program. The campus security division has received a bunch of calls of a disturbance, but before they responded, they checked in with her.”

I arch a brow. “Since when does she have that power?”

“Since some asshole detectives were let onto campus to drag you away in public,” Morgana says absently. “They can call me if they cannot reach her, but I don’t want those idiots trampling all over student or staff rights because they’re poorly trained monkeys in uniforms.”

“I assume you’re going to fix that,” Iggy says wryly. “I won’t fight you on it, by the way. Even if it hits the budget lines, we need better safety measures here. They almost tasered some elemental students doing homework in the woods last spring.”

What?

“Why would…” I blink. “Did the idiot hire humans to be guards at a supe college?”

“No, but he might as well have,” Slade pipes up. “The moron put wolves in charge. We all know how stupid that is.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, unable to believe this place didn’t fall apart at the seams years ago. “Everyone knows they’re smart and great at tracking, but their rigid pack shit prevents them from deciding without?—”

“Input from the alpha. Yes, I believe that was the purpose,” Iggy says ruefully as he sets aside his work. “And since Magnus likely ignored them, the calls were made by a shifter with the designation who wasn’t concerned what might happen to students of species not valued by wolves.”

“Anyone who’s not a wolf?” Morgana snorts. “Yeah, that sounds like Magnus.”

“Well, if security is being alerted and we still haven’t heard from Kas…” Liam frowns and the rest of us move when we realize what he’s thinking.

The fucking dragon is out there spooking the goddamn horses and Zeus knows what else.

“Looks like we’re headed for the horse paddocks,” I say as I slip my shoes back on. “Make sure you’re wearing colors the fool can see. You know how dragons flame first and ask questions later.”

“Not red,” Liam says as we break to grab jackets and shit. “His dragon is not a fan.”

I wonder why the hell that is?

When I turn onto the back roads of the university, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My bear senses trouble, and it’s not just a fucking dragon having a temper tantrum. There’s something bad going down nearby and we’re headed right for it. I growl softly and the sound is echoed by my mate next to me.

“Do you feel that?” the Prince asks.

I nod, and before I can plan a response, he and the mage mutter in foreign languages. One is Latin, that I’m sure of, but the other is… Gaelic, maybe? Regardless, a bright light forms on either side of the backseat, then it spread over the car until they meld together. As a shifter, I rarely get this close to magic users, and it makes me a little antsy until Morgana grabs my free hand.

“They’re warding the car, babe. It’s for our protection, not to trap you.”

“How did you know I was?—”

Her lips curve up. “My mother was a witch, remember? My dad had her practice casting on me, so I wouldn’t lose my shit if she had to protect us at some point.”

Slade frowns. “That’s weird. Weren’t they both professors at Swallowtail?”

“Yep,” Morgana says as she shifts to look out the windows. “My entire life was teachers until Magnus fucked up and I had to go on trial. Why?”

“Seems odd that your parents would practice that kind of thing with a child,” Iggy says. “For a major family like mine, or maybe a gang leader’s son like Slade or a prince…”

“I don’t know why they did it. They said it was important, so I did what they asked. It wasn’t much different from all the other shit my dad had me learn. Mom’s magic stuff never took when she tried to teach me, but that’s because I’m not magical.”

The guys in the back are right—I was a huge target as a major shifter heir and no one taught me how to deal with magical protections. Something feels wrong, but no time to investigate. The back fields are approaching quickly and the feeling of bad juju is intensifying as we head toward it.

“Be careful, Lucas. I don’t like this… heavy presence.” Liam catches my eyes in the mirror and I nod, going back to focusing on the road.

We drive for another mile when the sky in front of us lights up like an explosion and I almost slam on the brakes. Morgana’s hand tightens on mine and I look down to see it’s turned to stone. She’s going to shift soon and we definitely have to get the fuck out of this car. Hitting the gas, I speed toward the glowing skyline as if our life depends on it—and maybe someone’s does.

When we get close enough to see the wings of an enormous dragon fighting yet another enormous dragon surrounded by electricity, I skid to a stop. Liam curses under his breath as we all hop out of the car. My bear pushes at my skin and I know I’m going to need him, so I drop to my knees and let the shift come. A loud roar fills the air as my hands turn into enormous paws and the white coat covers me from head to toe.

Colors explode in front of me as the change is completed and I have to stop for a moment to see what the hell is happening. To my right, a fucking enormous gargoyle with bright blue eyes, wings, and onyx skin is digging into the ground as if it’s going to take off. On the left, I watch in awe as the Prince drops all pretense of a glamor, transforming into a seven foot tall light show with vines and flowers trailing all over his limbs up to the crown that seems to emit sunshine that makes his huge wings glitter with golden highlights. Iggy and Slade are behind him, sparkling with their own magic as they look to our girl.

This is utter chaos.

“I will take the air. Prince, take the ground with the shifters. Ignatius, watch my back as I fly.”

Before I can respond, Morgana pushes off and flies toward the battling mythicals like she’s on a mission. I struggle with speaking—even as an Alpha shifter—in full bear form, so I pop into the Prince’s mind as we walk toward the fight.

~What’s the plan? ~

“We find out what the fuck is going on and where the hell a fire drake came from. To my knowledge, there are none registered in the area.”

Of course, he and Kaspar checked the registry for other mythicals when they moved in. Those species have the hardest time not getting into territory battles when they live in proximity. I nod my big ass head, then move faster toward the two reptiles and the shadow of our mate cutting across the sky ahead.

“We will need to subdue it if it’s just a rogue,” the Fae says as he glances at Slade. The siren winks at him and I huff in relief.

I’ll fight anything to protect Morgana, but a dragon is a bit much for me.

Unfortunately, once we’re close enough to see what’s going on, that plan goes out the window. Not only is there a furious firedrake dodging the electrical strikes from the Prince’s pissed off storm dragon, there’s an entire crew of fuckers on the ground trying to bring Kaspar down. Even as a bear, my eyes widen as I note there are various types of Fae, shifters, magic users, and even a goddamn pack of wolves.

“What the fuck is going on?” Iggy yells as the magic users turn their attention to him. A bolt of sizzling dark magic flies past his ear and he snarls, shooting the short witch right in the gut with a ball of energy that knocks her flat.

I can’t answer, but it doesn’t matter because the wolves and a group of fucking misfit cat shifters get my scent. If I could grin, I would. Wolves are bigger than people think; so are tigers and lions. But even more impressive than that are my paws are over an inch and half wide—large enough to span almost two dinner plates—and when I smack a bitch, they go down. The first two wolves that come for me get knocked aside like bowling pins as I move towards a gallop. Those fuckers can run faster than me, but once I get going, it’s like being hit by a fucking tank.

Hopefully, I can distract these dipshits while Morgana and the Prince handle the fucking dragons—if not, this is going to go south very quickly.