Taming London (Warwick Dragons #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,56

if they got enough cash.

London vowed to make them pay for their complacent role in Lilly Russo’s death and their role in his mate’s kidnapping.

He flew up high, surveying the four men who rushed out after him. Each man shifted, and London saw that he was up against one lion, two tigers, and one bear. He was pleased that his shifter nose had correctly guessed which kind of beasts he would be up against.

There was no time to waste. He inhaled deeply, feeding the flames that rested in his belly, a deadly weapon at the ready. He opened his large mouth, letting out his molten breath. The fire raced downward and hit one of the tigers and the lion. The bear jumped away just in time. The stench of burned hair reached his nostrils, even at height.

The bear growled up at him. London could all but hear the animal calling him a coward for remaining at a distance. He flapped his wings and dove down at neck-breaking speed. His mouth was slightly opened but at the ready. As he got closer to the ground, he opened his jowls and captured the second tiger in his grasp. He bit down, hard. The foul taste of blood filled his mouth, and he spat the creature out with a huff.

With one tiger dead and the other one dealing with serious third-degree burns, London only had to contend with two opponents: the bear and the lion.

The bear, a huge grizzly that must have weighed close to a ton, barreled toward him with impressive speed. London beat his enormous wings rapidly, flapping them quickly to create a gust of wind. It worked at slowing the grizzly down while his tail swiped the lion off of its legs. Both of the animals roared their displeasure at being so easily thwarted. London leaped into the air, just hovering over the ground. With one large taloned hand, he clawed at the bear. The animal’s own sharp claws dug into London’s scales. He huffed, annoyed that the bear had managed to land a blow. In revenge, London sniffed out of his nose in annoyance. The air was terribly hot. Not enough to burn too seriously, but enough to make the bear rear back. The lion, with its big cat agility, pounced into the air. The beast landed on his neck and bit down hard at the juncture of his left wing.

London’s terrifying dragon snarl echoed against the bright, sunlit sky.

With his long tail, he tore the lion to the ground, and the animal somehow managed to land on its legs. Damn cats, the dragon thought, annoyed. The landing should have caused some harm, incapacitating at least one more of his opponents. London took in air, he needed more oxygen to fan the flames in his stomach. It was then that he saw it on the horizon.

He had been right.

Humphreys had every intention of using a helicopter to avoid facing the authorities for the crimes he had committed. London was caught as to what to do. Did he finish off his two land opponents, or did he send the helicopter crashing?

He had to make a bet, and he decided that if Humphreys had no more guards, it would be entirely too easy to stop him from setting foot on the chopper. London could always stop the flying contraption later.

Feeling his fire was ready again, he dipped back down, letting the air through his wings ease his descent. This time, when he breathed his fire, he created a circle of flames around the two animals. They panicked, swiping at the air to try and get to him. London landed in the flames, his scales completely untroubled by the heat. With one of his back legs, he kicked the lion hard through the fire. The animal skittered, burned and bleeding from the gash London’s talon had made.

The bear reared forward.

Of course the biggest creature would be the last one standing. London was getting annoyed with the fight. The only thing he wanted was to find Bethany. This was all getting tedious. He moved his tail, hitting the bear in the chest, quickly following the hit with a flap of his wings. The bear fell to the ground, and by the force of the air, couldn’t manage to get back up again.

London was issuing a silent threat: stay down.

Either the bear didn’t understand, or he had a wounded ego and wanted to get payback for losing the fight so far. The beast surged,