Free Reawakening the Dragon: Part One by Jessie Donovan Page B

jumper and exposed his forearms. Unlike most dragon-shifters, Kai had tattoos on both arms. His jagged flame one in black ink helped him to better blend in with the humans and he needed all the blending in he could do given his height and tendency to growl.
    Or, at least, that’s what the human females of his clan had told him—that he growled too much.
    Eyeing the pub across the street, Kai pushed aside thoughts of his growling and focused on his task. Newcastle was a dangerous city for dragon-shifters. While no one remembered the reasons, the Geordies were the most afraid of his kind in the entire United Kingdom and they did everything in their power to keep their cities clean of dragon-shifters. He couldn’t fuck up or he could end up in the hands of the DDA, or worse.
    However, their hatred was why Kai was here.
    Because of it, the city welcomed dragon hunters without a second glance, believing the hunters could help protect them. According to his contacts, the pub across the street should be one of the usual hangouts for the hunters in the area.
    Kai’s dragon grunted. Lure them out and we can eat them.
    No eating humans. That’s one of the rules.
    But rules are meant to be broken.
    Not this time. Remember what they did to Charlie? Eating one or two isn’t enough; we need to bring the bastards down.
    Charlie had been Stonefire’s first female Protector. Seven months ago, she’d been captured and drained of blood.  
    Clenching his fingers, Kai forced his anger to the back of his mind. Strong emotions would cloud his judgement and risk what might be the only chance he had to try to capture and interrogate one or two hunters at his leisure. To protect his clan, he needed to take down Simon Bourne, Carlisle’s leader. But he couldn’t do that without more information.
    His dragon replied, The DDA will punish you if they find out what you’re doing.
    Fuck the DDA. They always let us down.
    Except Evie.
    Evie Marshall was the human female mated to Kai’s clan leader. Of course, not Evie. That female proved herself.
    Just hurry up. I hate being in the crowded streets of cities.
    In this, Kai agreed. Then stay quiet and let me do my job.
    Fine, but you owe me a hunt later.
    With that, his dragon retreated to the back of his mind and Kai crossed the street to the pub.
    Upon entering, he took in his surroundings as he made it to the bar. Most of the patrons were working class males celebrating the end of the work week. A few human females drank with them or watched as some men played billiards on the far side of the room.
    Then he looked toward the left and saw the back of a dark blonde-haired female sitting with a group of males. Her hair was swept up, exposing the delicate skin of her neck.
    His beast growled out, Ours.
    Don’t be daft. No one is ours.
    She is. Get her away from those humans.
    Her biceps are bare, free of material and tattoos. She’s human too.
    That doesn’t matter. Those human males aren’t worthy.
    Kai wanted to sigh. His dragon had always been a little dramatic. You’re not being quiet, so I will make you quiet.
    Wrestling his dragon into a mental prison before he could reply, Kai took the last few steps to the bar. While he waited for the bartender, he looked over his shoulder so he could see the woman’s face.
    The second he saw the blue eyes, long face, and bright smile, he felt as if he’d been punched in the gut.
    The woman might be wearing too much make-up and had blonde hair instead of black, but it was Jane Hartley, the BBC reporter who’d been working with Stonefire over the last few months.
    He wondered why the hell she was in Newcastle. He highly doubted it was a coincidence.
    His dragon banged against his mental cage. Since Kai had lots of experience dealing with his temperamental beast, the cage held. However, if he stayed in the same room as Jane for longer than five minutes, his dragon might find a way out.
    After all, his bloody beast believed the human was their second