Fen spun his dragon around, feeling the fire roaring in his belly, a rage that went deep after what these creatures had done to his brother. He thought he was past it, but seeing them tearing at Byron when the Carpathian hadn’t even tried to defend himself, he found himself furious all over again, but in a cold rage, which didn’t bode well.

He swore when the Lycans surrounded Byron’s downed dragon, hooking their claws into him, preventing shifting. There were so many ripping and tearing at the body of the dragon, the arrows of the defenders seemed to make little difference. As fast as one fell, another took its place.

The Lycans had abandoned attempts at the other dragons and the rest were away safely. The pack concentrated their efforts on mutilating and killing the dragon in their possession. As Zev drew a silver sword in an effort to protect Byron, four large Lycans leapt on the dragon’s back and pulled Zev to the ground.

Cursing, Fen redoubled his speed.

Wound them, Razvan insisted on the common Carpathian telepathic communication path. Clearly he was warning the De La Cruz brothers. It isn’t necessary to kill them.

Drive them back away from Byron and Zev, Zacarias instructed. Rafael, an arrow close to the heart can kill.

Not these bastards, Rafael returned. I didn’t use silver. Although I will the next one.

Fen banked his dragon, coming in hard, fire pouring from his mouth, engulfing the Lycans closest to the dragon on the ground, driving them away from their fallen comrades. Dimitri stood up on the dragon’s back, balancing as Fen swept in low. Just before Fen was forced to pull up to avoid trees, Dimitri leapt from his back, right into the middle of the Lycans who had pulled Zev to the ground.

Dimitri ignored his protesting body, cutting through the crowd with astonishing speed, his silver sword stained and dripping with Lycan blood. He fought his way to Zev, yanking him up with one hand, going back-to-back with him. Zev was covered in blood and wounds, but he didn’t hesitate to stand and fight with Dimitri.

Fen materialized beside them, so they formed a triangle of deadly fighters, moving toward the fallen dragon, cutting down everyone in their path.

Zacarias easily saw their plan. Help clear the way, Razvan and Ivory. Make it too dangerous to stay between them and the dragon, Rafael; and Nicolas, take out the Lycans holding Byron to that form. Manolito and I will begin to clear another path to get out of here.

“Are you all right?” Dimitri asked Zev when he sensed the other man falter for a moment.

“I’m alive, and that’s all that counts.” Zev’s breath came in ragged gasps. He’d been injured, but Dimitri couldn’t take the time to see how bad the wound or wounds were.

We need to see if we can find the divide between the factions, Fen suggested. I can detect a faint difference in smell at times.

Lycans conceal all odors when hunting, Zev reminded. His sword flashed as he whirled around two aggressive wolves wielding swords. He disarmed one and cut the arm off the other, returning to his position back-to-back with Dimitri.

Nevertheless, I can tell the difference, Fen said. I can feel the energy leaking out of their shields as well.

He drove three particularly large and hairy Lycans back from the fallen dragon. One actually had a chunk of dragon belly between his teeth.

Wait for it, Zev, Dimitri said, allowing his senses, growing so acute and sharp, to flare out, trying to find the differences Fen had detected. He’s going to start in any moment with how much more evolved he is than us.

Two Lycans fell at his feet, both sprouting arrows. He nearly slipped in the blood surrounding Byron’s dragon. The warriors in the sky were making the job easier, wounding every Lycan that dared to tear at the dragon.

With the addition of three deadly silver swords, the Lycans fell back, trying to drag their wounded with them.

I’ve got a shield up for you in case they try using guns again, Zacarias said. This time the bullet will bounce off and return to the sender. He sounded as low-key as ever. Nothing seemed to ruffle Zacarias.

We’ve got a few just below us, pulling out their rifles. Rafael’s voice held a hint of satisfaction.

Dimitri, Zev and Fen reached the dragon, moving around it in a circle, making certain no Lycan remained.

You’ve got to shift, Byron, Dimitri insisted. You can’t pass out on us. We can’t lug this form into the sky. It’s dead weight. Shift and we’ll get you out of here.

They didn’t have much time. The Lycans would rally and make another attack. A volley of shots rang out, bullets peppering the shield, head shots every one.

Military training for sure, Fen observed.

Screams and howls rose as the bullets found the shooters. Zacarias hadn’t taken great care to ensure those firing didn’t suffer permanent damage. He didn’t much care, not with Byron nearly torn to pieces and three of his other men in harm’s way.

Byron stirred inside the great dragon’s body, groaning a little as his torn body refused to answer his demands. Give me a minute.

Zacarias was determined to buy him whatever time he needed. Rafael, you and Nicolas take out the shooters, every last one of them. No kills if possible, he tacked on. The Lycan can regenerate limbs, so don’t worry about being nice. And if you happen to get an inkling of the ones who shot Skyler, Paul and Josef, well, whatever happens to them, we won’t shed any tears.

Unleashing his two brothers on the shooters would most likely not have met with Mikhail’s approval, but Zacarias knew them, knew their skill. They would make it so dangerous for any Lycan who dared raise a gun toward the Carpathians that few would try.

Nicolas in particular was adept at reading thoughts of various species. If he managed to find the original shooters, those men were definitely part of the group determined to assassinate the council members and start a war. He hadn’t included those who shot Dimitri, mostly because he was a Carpathian warrior and considered fair game, but no one was going to shoot Paul and get away with it.

Zacarias was well aware he’d chosen the two most skilled and dangerous of his brothers to drive those with guns back. They knew to stay high, away from the Lycans. All of them shared the information Fen and Dimitri had provided the Carpathians with about the wolf packs and how they fought. He gave one more order to his brothers.

The moment you know for certain who the shooters are, I want to know.

It will be done, Rafael agreed. He was lifemate to Colby, Paul’s sister, and she’d looked at him with tear-filled eyes, pleading with him to find Paul and bring him home. No one made his lifemate cry, or attempted to kill his young brother-in-law, without retaliation.