course you will.” Drake was practically snarling by now.
Levi didn’t catch anything else as the two men entered the mountain, the hidden door closing automatically behind them, sealing them off. Soundproof from the outside, even for dragon shifters. Hell, even bat shifters would struggle to hear anything coming from inside.
He counted out another two minutes. Just to be sure. Using every second to scout the area around him.
“Kanta? Anything?” He sent the thought to the other man on patrol with him.
“All quiet,” the green dragon came back immediately.
“Now.” He sent the thought to Aidan and Sera only.
From where he was, on the other side of the mountain but high enough to monitor the entire facility, Levi watched for them to leave, waiting for a ripple of blue to appear among the greens of the pine trees. Instead, a flash of maroon caught his eye.
Maroon? Only one dragon among the dragons in that mountain was that color. William. One of Lyndi’s boys. Levi frowned, sharpening his gaze on the color. At the same time, he fluttered closer to the ground like a falling leaf, dropping as low as he dared.
Then grinned. On the inside at least. His dragon was in full protector mode, dead serious. Both of them proud, though.
At least ten or twelve of his lover’s boys left the facility with Aidan and Sera in a large mass. Cover that Aidan’s family could hide among until they got higher and were able to simply disappear in the sky.
“Lyndi.” Levi shot the thought at her. “You are brilliant.”
“Let’s hope so,” came the grim reply. “Keep an eye on them as far out as you can? They’re going to lay several false trails, then circle back in an hour.”
“Remind me to kiss you when I get down there. With lots of tongue.”
“Lovely mental image.”
“I didn’t say where I was going to kiss you, skatt min.”
“Scat? Did you seriously just call me animal droppings?”
Even Levi’s serious dragon rolled through a chuckle at that one. “Far from it—”
“Levi. Get your ass down here.” This from Finn, one of the few of them who could shift small parts of himself, allowing for telepathic communication while predominantly human.
“Heads up, Lyndi. I’ve been summoned. I’ll watch your kids for another five before I come but that’s the longest I can delay.”
No answer. Had she shifted back to human?
He’d have to worry about that later. Instead, he flew farther east, keeping an eye on the departing group until they blended into the sky above where he hovered. Best he could do. Tipping his wings, he swung sharply back, gaining speed as he shot to the mountain. He had to take the time to move around to the west side entrance, even though the tunnel was closer. Tineen had been well aware of where Levi was located on patrol as the black dragon had been stopped by him. Coming in from the tunnel would appear odd.
“Where are you?” he sent out as he landed, waiting to start his shift until he heard back.
“Headed down to the tunnel,” came a grim reply from Finn.
That had been damn fast. Given the size of the facility, the fact that Tineen went straight for the tunnel said a lot.
Levi took the elevator, which was fastest, happy to get out of that death trap the second the doors opened to the lowest floor. The sound of voices hit him long before he made it as far down as they were.
“What’s this about practicing?” Tineen stood in the center of the chamber, arms folded, addressing the question to Lyndi who stood facing him down with a sneer to rival her brother’s.
Levi focused on Tineen. It was either that or bodily put himself between the black dragon and Lyndi, which would be the wrong move on so many levels. He frowned through the protective cauldron of fury, taking in the other man’s expression. Something was off. Tineen was, at most, mildly curious with his eyebrows lifted, and his tone matched, like this was no big deal.
The tension that dripped through the room, slipping and spilling between every other person gathered there, could’ve fed a river of undulating nerves.
Probably because they could still smell Aidan and Sera down here. They’d only just left. Granted, their scents were layered under Lyndi’s boys, but still. Would Tineen pick it up? Levi circled the group to move closer to Lyndi, though he didn’t dare get too close. He made sure Tineen noted his presence, giving an exaggerated nod at the