Loving York (Warwick Dragons #2) - Milly Taiden Page 0,52

his wings a few times, getting off the ground. He considered burning the helicopter to a crisp, but Josie was half inside of it already. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to risk hurting her in the process of stopping Steiner.

None of this mattered without her.

One of the jaguars leapt from the beach’s sandy ground, claws out to lash out at him, but he was too high. The big cat skidded into the hot sand.

Enjoy the big kitty litter, you asshole, York thought.

He opened his mouth wide and spewed out a large and long thread of flame onto the beach. It separated the shifters. He would divide and conquer while the blaze lingered on the beach, but it wouldn’t be for long. York dipped, his head pointing toward the beach, ready to snap one of the jaguar’s neck. The cat’s claws caught his snout, and he spewed ashy smoke as he reared back. The bear, seeing this moment of weakness, went for York’s left wing. The bear bit down hard and ripped at the leathery skin, just near a joint. Claws and teeth tore at him, and he screamed out in pain. The dragon’s painful shout rang through the air as York kicked off the ground. His wing was injured badly, and he had a hard time catching real air.

He opened his mouth again, not to howl in pain, but to blast the bear with a huge puff of fire. The animal’s fur caught fire, and he scampered into the water, yelping in pain. The bear’s singed hair and skin scented the air, but the animal stayed down, letting the waves hit him over and over again.

One down, three to go.

And of course, it would be the three cats. York knew he had made a big mistake, and that he should have gone after the mini-pack first. With one wing injured, and his only backup down for the count, he was limited in what he could do, and his fire needed a bit of time to build in the back of his throat. He hovered over the ground, swiping a taloned foot toward one of the jaguars. The animal went sprawling back as his two brethren launched themselves at York, from the left and right. He forced his hurt wing to move, and he barely managed to get out of the way.

The third cat jumped off its hind legs, trying to catch his hovering body. It was the perfect timing. York swiped at him with his tail, and the cat went flying back. York spewed fire at the animal as it landed in the tall grass. The fire caught on the dry strands of gold and quickly surrounded them.

Fire and water were surrounding them. The helicopter’s blades were rotating with more speed, making the flames dance faster and faster, burning everything in sight.

Josie is in danger.

York turned his body toward the chopper and tried to swipe at it to pin it down on the ground. It was a dangerous move, especially with his mate inside of it, but he couldn’t let it take off. Not even considering the tracker that was wrapped around Josie’s ankle. He didn’t want Josie out of his sight and in Steiner’s clutches.

His shifter opponents saw that he was distracted, and they bounced onto him as one. York’s dragon roar must have been heard for miles around as pain shot through him from the multiple attacks. He could smell Josie’s fear in the air as the helicopter took off from the ground.

No, no, no.

He had lost Annalise, and he wouldn’t lose Josie.

Not now. Not when they were so close to getting everything they wanted together.

With one talon, he tore through one of the jaguars, eviscerating it. It was so quick, the animal barely had time to make a sound of pain as it died. The guts and blood flopped to the ground, tinting the warm gold sand with red. The other two big cats took offense to the death and renewed their attack.

They might have been motivated by money, but York was motivated by something much more powerful.

Love.

He ignored the pain in his wing, even though the limb didn’t quite behave the way it was supposed to. He kicked off the beach, getting up to a few feet in the air. With all of his might, York sent a blast of fire, moving his head back and forth, in hopes of spraying the flames toward each of his opponents.

He didn’t let the smoke