Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

Samantha

I groan and throw my hands up. Evander, Grander, and Aydan glance up from the research documents they'd been digging through. It's a little embarrassing. I'm a science major. I should be able to handle spending days going through data, but I'm antsy. I can't help it.

"I think if I see one more piece of data, I'm going to scream," I say.

Granger flashes me an adorable smile. "We wouldn't want that." Then he pulls out his phone and starts typing.

Evander leans back and rubs his eyes. "To be honest, I could use a break too. I'm not understanding half of this nonsense. I understand that Dr. Abigail has started seeing more and more connections between the phoenixes and the dragons, but this is all based on theories. We're not sure if any of it is right."

"My data suggested that one way to identify Awakened Dragons is that, based on the three of us, they're guessing that all dragons are taller and stronger in their human forms than most humans. But since there's only three of us, that seems like too small of a pool to really make an educated guess," Aydan says, talking to me and Granger, like he'd been doing all day, and pretending like Evander doesn't exist.

I sigh. "I just think I need a break. I'm antsy."

"Bingo!" Granger says, pointing at his phone. "Gaming Dungeons for Nerds."

"What?" Evander asks, staring at him like he's lost his mind.

Granger grins. "There's a gaming place in the town near here. I think we should all head there this evening for some fun and frolicking."

Evander lifts a brow. "Fun and frolicking?"

"Exactly. This place has a whole room of computers for some LAN gaming."

Evander looks at me in confusion, and I smile and explain. "We can all get on computers in the same room and play games together. It's something Aydan, Granger, and I have done since we were younger."

"So, we're going to relax by playing video games?" He seems skeptical.

I grin. "Exactly. And it's perfect. The place is close to base, so we can get home in a hurry, if there's a problem. It's indoors. And if my limited experience is correct, the place will smell like sweaty balls, so I should be well concealed."

"Sweaty balls and video games. Sounds like the time of my life," Evander mutters.

"Well, you don't have to come," Aydan says, his tone sweet as sugar.

Evander gives him a look that promises pain. "Oh no, I'll be there, right beside Sam every step of the way."

Granger starts talking, and I hope he's going to make things better, but that idea quickly goes out the window. "Is your scent properly covered? When was the last time you, uh, got jizzed?"

"Got jizzed?" I ask in complete outrage.

"Last night," Aydan says, smirking.

Evander lifts a cocky brow. "Actually, this morning."

They glare at each other.

Granger clasps his hands together. "Okay then, it sounds like there should be plenty of jizz in the tank."

"I hate you," I tell him.

He grins. "Just trying to keep things light."

I lean forward and pinch one of his nipples.

He yelps and reaches for mine.

"Don't even think about it," Evander and Aydan say at the same time.

He drops his hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll call a taxi so we can go."

"No need." Evander pulls out his phone and starts typing. After a minute, he says, "The car will be outside by the time we get there."

I smile. "That's a fancy trick."

He smiles back, but Aydan's the one who answers. "A bell boy can call a fucking car. That's not anything special."

Evander gives him a look. "I own my own planes, jets, choppers. Calling a car is hardly the only thing I can do for Sam."

I roll my eyes. "Can we just go?"

We're out of the elevator and in the sleek black SUV within minutes. The driver takes us to the nearby city and drops us at the door of Gaming Dungeons for Nerds, and my pulse picks up. It's a big establishment. There's a room full of computers and another room full of arcade games. We go to the front, and Evander pays for all of us for the evening.

I glance at my boys. "Computers first?"

"Computers first!" Granger says.

We hurry over to them, with Evander looking uncomfortable and out of his element at my side. The first couple of rows of computers are filled with gamers, but we find an empty back row. Evander and Aydan rush to sit on each side of me, and Granger sits at the end.

It takes us seconds to get into the first-person shooter, but Evander is lost on even loading up the game.

Aydan smirks. "Maybe the Captain should sit this one out?"

"Or maybe he just needs more of my help," I tell Aydan, giving him a pointed look.

Unable to help myself, I slide into Evander's lap and load up the game for him. He's instantly hard, a fact that I can't help but notice. I don't stay long though. I'm not trying to start a fight between them, I'm just trying to remind Aydan that being a dick isn't going to pay off tonight.

We start gaming and time flies by. It's awesome, just like old times, but with Evander in there trying to figure his weapons and his keys. Somehow, having him be a part of this just makes everything even more fun. I mean, I never would've thought he'd take gaming so seriously.

After a while though, Aydan and Evander seem to realize they can just kill each other over and over again. Granger and I roll our eyes as they scream, "Yes," and pump their fists, and mumble things like, "That's six to four." I almost want to stop them, but I actually think fighting like this is getting some of their aggression out.

"How do I throw this grenade?" Evander asks, sounding frustrated.

"Hit Number 1," I tell him.

A minute later, Aydan yells, "Shit, you fucker!"

Evander has the evilest little grin, which I kind of dig.

Two minutes later, Evander is swearing. "He sniped me!"

"And watch this," Aydan says, showing him his screen as his character dances on Evander's dead body.

Granger and I start giggling as they both begin hunting the other one again. These guys really think they're mortal enemies or something. Instead, they fight a bit more like brothers. I hope with time they'll see it, but for now, it's pretty damn amusing.

Suddenly, there's the sound of a massive explosion somewhere outside. The ground seems to rock, and the room is thrown into darkness. A few people start screaming. One person is crying. Outside the window, there's a flash of green scales before it disappears.

Evander's voice comes out of the darkness. "Everyone is going to be fine. We just need to be quiet and not do anything to attract the dragon. Is there a basement in this place?"

I hear the owner's nasally voice. "Yes, down the stairs right behind the computers."

A glow illuminates Evander's face with his phone. "Use your phone light to guide you down the stairs. Don't run, just go nice and easy. We're all perfectly safe."

There are a lot of murmurs about the dragons, about dying, about us all burning to death, but the people obey Evander, moving slowly down the stairs. The three of us go around the back aisle and look out the window. In the distance, we can see the green dragon. He doesn't appear to be aiming for me. He's landing on roofs, blasting his flames, and just being an overall asshole.

"People are going to get hurt if we don't do something," Aydan says.

Evander nods, the hard lines of his face a little scary illuminated by the glow of his phone. "The green dragon is good though. He knows how to be a dragon. Last time, I didn't stand a chance against him."

"You were alone then." Aydan sounds confident. "You have me now. Why don't we chase him off?"

Evander seems to think for a very long moment. "Okay, but we have to work together. This won't turn out well if we don't have each other's backs."

"Agreed. Two on one are good odds. We'll be okay."

"Two on one?" I repeat, shaking my head. "No, I'm helping too."

Both their heads jerk in my direction, and I sense that Granger wants to sigh behind me. But he doesn't get it. I can't just sit back while they get hurt. I did that once with Evander. I'm never doing that again.

"He'll instantly go after you," Evander says, like I'm stupid.

"You'll just make things harder," Aydan tells me, and I desperately want to remind him that he was only human just a few days ago.

"The two of you won't let him hurt me. Besides, three on one is much better odds. He'll figure it out pretty quickly and get out of here."

"No," Evander says.

I lean up onto my tippy toes, so our eyes are almost level. "I'm going to do it no matter what you say, so you should probably decide how much time you want to waste yammering."

His jaw ticks. "You're a brat."

"Maybe," I tell him, trying to sound as cocky as possible.

He pulls me in for a kiss that steals my breath, and then releases me. "Don't do anything stupid out there. He wants you, not us. Just keep yourself safe."

I nod and head for the door. Aydan grabs my wrist, and I look back at him. "Seriously, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

"Okay." I kiss him too, and then we all head outside.

No one's on the road. All the cars have either pulled over, I'm guessing so the people could hide in the shops, or they've been left completely abandoned in the street. We spread apart, then shift. It only takes seconds, and then the three of us are dominating the big road.

In this form, I'm more aware than ever of the two big males that think they own me. The gray dragon and the gold dragon are at both my sides, and they're bigger than me, nearly double my size. Their scent comes over me, powerful and intoxicating, and I have the unbelievable urge to let them mount me.

You smell fucking amazing, Aydan says, his words loud in my head.

So do you. Now focus on the green dragon. I'm telling him, but I'm telling myself too.

Evander starts to move closer, and I step away. Remember, the green dragon.

He groans in my head but keeps his distance.

We take flight into the air and head straight for the green dragon. He seems to notice us just in time as he sits perched on top of a building. The alley beneath him smolders with flames. He shoots into the sky, and we give chase.

He tries circling around, to get on my back, but Evander and Aydan are there in an instant. The green dragon tries to reach me several more times, but there's always Evander and Aydan, snapping at him, covering him in flames, tearing at his wings.

After Evander manages to get on his back and bite his throat, the green dragon spins away and takes off into the sky. We follow him for several miles. I can go faster, I can catch up to him, but we're not trying to have a fight to the death, we're just trying to scare him off.

And we do.

We make it back to the city and shift back before heading into the gaming establishment. There's Granger at the door, and his expression of worry instantly melts away when he sees me and pulls me into a hug.

"You're okay." His words are a rush of air.

"It was much different with the three of us," I admit, feeling proud and happy.

"Hell yeah," Aydan says. "That asshole didn't know what was coming for him."

Sirens fill the air as firefighters and police cars arrive on the road.

"We should go," Evander says.

We slip out, then walk for a few blocks before Evander calls the car again and we get picked up.

Granger chimes in from the backseat. "Dinner?"

Aydan and I look at each other. "Dinner."

"Any good pizza places?" Granger asks, an impossible amount of hope in his voice.

Evander sighs. "I know a place on the other side of town, so hopefully, it'll still be open… not all the businesses can stop for an angry dragon. Right?"