I watch Kaylani as her finger runs over the DNA strands. She’s so smart, sometimes I forget that she didn’t go to medical school like I did. She has taken to medicine and helping these kids like she was made for it, which of course she wasn’t. A dragon should be in the sky, not on the ground, in a laboratory, pouring over test tubes. But here she is. “I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking at Everett,” she says, turning her head so those sapphire eyes lock onto mine. I get lost in her jeweled eyes, wondering what it would be like to know that she was mine forever. “Everett?” I shake my head, refocusing on Elio. “Hang on, this might help,” I say, clicking a couple more buttons on the computer and then going to stand beside her. “This is Elio’s human DNA,” I say, pointing to the blue strand. I added color so she could see the problem. “This is Tana’s fire dragon strand,” I say, pointing to the broken red DNA strand that attaches in places to Elio's human DNA. “And this is the Lycan

I knew Elio would be devastated. I felt sick when I saw what I was up against and it's not my body. I just hope that he’ll give me a chance. Kaylani and I explained everything to Yhendorn, helping him to understand why Kenna felt the need to take him away from the school. “I don’t own her. She makes her own decisions, but I won’t say I like seeing her holding the hand of another man. Thank you for explaining it though. At least I understand why she did it. Do you think Kenna’s DNA will work?” “I don’t know. All I can do is try,” I tell him. “If you need mine, you know you have my permission to use it.” “Thank you, I appreciate it.” “Talk to me about Fenian. Has his attitude improved since I spoke to him?” Yhendorn asks. “Yes, actually. He’s a brilliant young man, or elf. He just needs to learn tolerance and understanding. If he can figure that out, he’ll make one hell of a medical professional. He’s got the instinct for it and he’s a quick study,” I tell him. “I’ll talk to him.

I heard Ishir telling my mother this morning about the juvenile females that smelled like they had dragon DNA. The dragons are mine, whether they are hybrids born from a dragon and another shifter, or they were created in a laboratory and hatched from an egg, or their DNA has been altered with dragon DNA. It doesn’t matter. They are mine and I am their Alpha. So instead of joining this morning meeting, I went looking for them. While I don’t go on the bigger hunts that Cedric, Ishir and my father go on, I do search for hybrids when I’m out. Sometimes, I catch their scent and usually they run from me. I’ve also come across the scent of the bad hybrids. Their scent is tainted. Rather than dragons, they smell like lizards. Lizards or lions. One smells like my father, and two smell like Tana, but I can tell from their scent that their shifts haven’t gone well. The lizard smell is the same smell that Eric had when he first arrived, but now that Doc is fixing him, he’s started to smell more

I walk out to find Naida and Amne. They are waiting for me just outside the main house doors along with Tesha. “You’re going to join us, Tesha?” She shrugs. “Naida said you told her that the more she shifts the less it hurts. So, I figured I’d try.” “What are you going to shift into today?” I ask as we begin walking away from the school. I need space for them to shift, but I also want to give Tesha some privacy since I know she’s self-conscious about her mix of animals in her shift. “Is it just the four of us?” she asks. “Yes.” “Then, maybe I’ll try my dragon.” “Perfect, that will be easier since both Amne and Naida will be pulling on their dragon forms too. This way, we can all work on it together.” When we’re far enough away, I turn and have them spread out around me, stripping off their clothes and making a triangle. “Okay, first, I want you all to close your eyes and breathe. Take deep, calming breaths. Clear your mind, listen to the forest around us, the stream over by Ze

As soon as we realized that we’d found the paralytic, I left Everett to his research. If I know my mate, he’ll figure out what the eight strands of venom are before morning. I escort the others out of the room so Everett could work. Ajax had already gotten the cot for Enya and I sent him and Drakon back to their rooms. Then, I help Enya get set up in the room with Brooke and Aspen. After she is settled, I look over the two girls, making sure their vitals are good and checking the bite mark to make sure it is still looking good. “Why are you helping us?” Enya asks. I glance at her before turning back to the blankets that I'm tucking around Brooke. I want to make sure she’s warm but not too warm. “Do you know anything about dragons?” I ask her. “Uh, I thought they were fictional until I sort of became one.” I smile at that. “We’ve done a pretty good job of hiding in the last century. But to answer your question, dragons are protectors. It’s why we’re the strongest of all animals. W