Free Fury of Seduction (Dragonfury Series #3) by Coreene Callahan Page B

dickhead.”
Tendrils of steam rising from his nostrils, Mac glared at the guy and mind-spoke,
“You’ve got two options. With me or against me...what’s it gonna be?”
    The ruby-eyed SOB glowered at him.
“Pansy-ass fledgling.”
    Ah, the sweet sound of acceptance. Yeah, Venom might like to call him names, but he wasn’t an idiot. Like it or not, Mac knew the male was solid. Call it the warrior code of honor. Call it pack mentality. Whatever. Once called upon, commitment to a teammate couldn’t be ignored.
    With a huff, Venom glanced at Bastian.
“You really on board with this?”
    B nodded.
“All in.”
    Mac relaxed, blowing out a pent-up breath.
    “Hope you got a plan before he pulls another flash-and-fly and goes AWOL.”
    Leather creaked as B put his feet in gear. Skirting the male where he stood in the center of the LZ, he thumped Venom on the shoulder with a closed fist, then glanced at Mac.
“What the fuck are you waiting for? Get airborne.”
    Venom dropped another f-bomb.
    “Use your head, Ven.”
Bypassing his buddy, Wick leaped over the car. A second before his shitkickers touched down, he shifted. Black from head to tail, his gold-tipped scales flashed beneath the light globes. He landed with a thump, tossing stone dust into the air.
“Where do you think he’s headed in such a hurry?”
    Venom’s brows collided. A pause, then...the warrior sucked in a quick breath.
“Goddamn, the loft. His change...he’s got the female—”
    Rikar piped up.
“Bingo.”
    “Glad tae have you join us, Sherlock,”
Forge said, drilling Venom with sarcasm, confusing the hell out of Mac.
    His gaze ping-ponged, meeting each of the warrior’s gazes in turn. Unease shivered down Mac’s spine. They knew something he didn’t...a big something. Something none were ready to tell him judging by the looks on their faces. Mac frowned. Oh so not good. And the joke, it seemed, was on him. ’Cause, yeah, he remembered getting hauled off his boat by Rikar. Recalled the loft and the more painful parts of his change. But a female? What in God’s name were they talking about?
    “Brilliant,”
Wick murmured.
    Bastian’s mouth curved up at the corners.
“Glad you approve.”
    “
Hey, fledgling...”
His gaze locked on him, Venom’s expression went from worried to intense.
“Whatcha got? You locked onto something?”
    Locked onto something?
Shit, he was practically throbbing with it. The beacon Tania threw off was so strong, Mac tasted her on his tongue. Still, suspicion lit him up, the cop in him asking questions even as instinct told him to go. To find her and bring her home.
    He retreated a step. His back paw slid off the LZ’s edge. Pebbles fell, pinging down the cliff face, splashing into the aquifer below. Bastian nudged him, urging him to take flight.
    Alarm bells rang inside Mac’s head.
“Rikar—”
    “Go, Mac.”
White scales flashed, winking in the low light as Rikar transformed, shifting into dragon form. He thumped Mac with the side of his spiked tail.
“Sun’s gone down. You got the signal...track it. You lead, we’ll follow.”
    “Motherfuck.”
Where had he landed...Bizarroland? An hour ago none of the warriors would’ve signed off on his leaving the lair. Now? All of them were on board andhanging back, waiting for him to take flight. Jesus. What the hell had Daimler baked into that roast beef? PC-fucking-P?
“What aren’t you telling me?”
    “Go, man.”
Meeting his gaze head-on, his XO bumped him again, giving him a gentle shove.
“Tania’s waiting.”
    No arguing with that. No liking it, either. He’d solve the mystery later—beat the crap out of Rikar if he needed to—but for now, he spun on his back paws. The blade riding the ridge of his spine gleaming beneath the light globes, Mac launched himself from the ledge.
    “Jeez,”
Venom muttered, claws scraping stone as he followed, his eyes trained on the tip of Mac’s knifelike tail.
“Still getting used to that shit. Why couldn’t we