His gaze grew dark, smoldering. “Ember…”

“Well, look who it is.”

We turned, and my dragon instincts—the ones I should’ve listened to earlier—rose up with a snarl, bristling and ready for a fight. The boys clustered around the pickup had come forward, and Colin’s familiar, leering face was out in front. Behind him, I saw his two pals, Drew and Travis, but also another trio of drunk looking frat boys, all coming toward us with evil smirks. Six of them. All itching for trouble. The dragon growled, and I bit my lip to keep her in check.

“It’s the little slut and her boyfriend,” Colin went on, sneering at me and Garret. “Fancy running into you again. I still owe you one, bitch. But I’ll get to you after we take care of this tool here.” He leered at Garret, who faced the group calmly, his expression now blank.

Colin’s grin grew more taunting. “Where’s your friend now, punk?”

he asked sweetly. “Not here to rescue you this time? Hope he doesn’t mind if we beat your ass into the ground.”

“Coward,” I snarled at him. “Afraid to take him on alone? have to have your buddies back you up for everything?”

He shot me an evil look. “You got a big mouth, little bitch. I hope there’s enough to go around.”

“Touch my sister, and I’ll kill you all,” said a voice behind them.

Colin jerked as Dante stepped out from a different cluster of people, his eyes hard as he came to stand beside me. “Oh, hey, there’s two of them,” Colin sneered. “I thought I was seeing double.”

Smirking, he swaggered forward. Dante stood his ground, as did Garret, moving me behind him even as my dragon snarled in protest, wanting to fight. “Why don’t you step away now, pretty boy?”

the big human told my brother, whose jaw tightened dangerously.

“Or you can stay and get your head stomped in, I don’t really care.

Two on six doesn’t look too good for you, does it?”

“God, do they ever stop talking?” came yet another voice from behind Colin. He whirled to face Riley, who gave him a lazy grin.

“Can’t anyone ever start a fight without all the posturing and cheesy Bond villain threats? It’s not that hard. Here, let me demonstrate.”

And he smashed a fist into Colin’s nose.

Colin flew back with a yell, both hands going to his face, as the rest of the group lunged forward. I leaped away, clenching my fists, as an all-out brawl erupted in the front yard. Riley, Garret, and Dante disappeared in a chaotic whirlwind of fists, feet, elbows, and knees.

Shouts, grunts of pain, and the sounds of fists on flesh rang out, over-shadowed by the cheers and screams of the crowd.

My dragon roared, frustrated that she couldn’t get in there and rip the humans to pieces, but I wasn’t going to stand back and watch this time. When a bulky frat boy swung at Dante, I stepped up behind the human and kicked him in the calf, sweeping his leg out.

He staggered, and Dante slugged him in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

“Ow,” he muttered, shaking his hand as if stung. “Damn, it’s like hitting a cement block.”

I shot a quick glance at Riley and Garret who, though surrounded by thugs and flying fists, seemed to be holding their own. Riley was grinning demonically as he faced his opponents, taking the blows that landed and swinging back viciously, slamming them into hoods and car windows. Beside him, Garret spun and blocked with his near-inhuman grace, slipping inside an opponent’s guard and striking quickly before they knew what happened.

The human Dante had knocked over lurched to his feet and lunged at him again. Dante sidestepped, and the drunk human crashed headfirst into a car door. I grinned, but while we were both distracted Colin appeared out of nowhere, shoving me aside. I stumbled, caught myself, and whirled around to see him lash out with a fist and strike Dante in the temple. My brother crumpled to the ground, and my vision went red.

As Colin raised his foot to kick Dante, I jumped between them with a snarl, baring my teeth. The color drained from the human’s face, and he stumbled back, mouth dropping open. I felt the beginnings of the change ripple through me, the dragon rising to the surface, and tensed to pounce.

Something grabbed my wrist, yanking me back, just as Garret slammed into Colin, tackling him. I spun to face Riley, a breath away from Shifting and pouncing on him, too.

“Stop it!” he ordered, his firm voice slicing through me. It pierced the rage and the heat, the wild snarling of the dragon, and brought everything into focus again. I shivered and drew back, appalled at what I’d almost done. Pulling me away, he maneuvered us to the edge of the driveway, letting me go with a hard look.

“Stay out of this, Firebrand,” he ordered, and I took a breath to snarl at him, to tell him I could handle myself just fine. But Dante’s gaze met mine across the yard as he pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his head. My brother’s gaze was angry and horrified, but not at Riley. At me. As if he, too, knew how close I’d been to exposing us all.

Sirens echoed through the night, and everyone’s attention jerked to the distant wailing. Almost instantly, the crowd scattered toward cars and vehicles, some or even running off into the darkness. I tensed, more annoyed then anything. Stupid cops. Of course, their timing was perfect.

Riley’s dark head lifted, gold eyes narrowing as the sirens drew steadily closer, than looked back at me. “Whoops, looks like that’s my cue,” he said, backing away. “Firebrand, remember what I told you. If you need to talk, you know where to find me.”