Chapter 14: The Ex-Fiancée

POV: Luna Torres

The huge creature crashes through the roof above us, sending chunks of wood and metal raining down. I throw myself sideways, rolling behind a fallen table as everyone else scrambles for cover.

But I'm not running from this fight. I've been waiting for chaos like this my whole life.

Through the dust and rubble, I see Kael protecting his precious human mate, shielding Aria with his own body. It makes me sick. He used to look at me that way. He used to care if I lived or died.

"What is that thing?" Murphy shouts, pointing his gun at the ceiling.

I know exactly what it is. The Luna-Moon witches aren't the only magical family with old grudges. Rosa's word didn't just reach werewolves and vampires. It reached the dragon shifters too.

And now one of them is here, probably looking for revenge against anyone linked to the supernatural wars.

The creature moves across the roof with heavy footsteps, each step shaking the entire house. Dust falls from the broken roof like snow, and I can hear its deep, rumbling breath.

"We need to get out of here," Alexander says quietly, but his eyes are worried.

"Too late for that," I say, checking my silver knife. "It's already locked onto our scent."

Through the hole in the roof, I can see a massive scaled head looking down at us. Golden eyes that glow like fire. Teeth longer than my arm. This isn't some baby dragon - it's an ancient one, probably older than everyone in this room combined.

"Nobody move," Sarah Luna-Moon whispers anxiously. "Dragons hunt by movement and fear."

But Vincent Castellano isn't listening to anyone. He raises his gun and fires three shots straight at the dragon's face.

The shots bounce off its scales like raindrops.

And now it's angry.

The dragon roars, a sound so loud and terrible that the windows that weren't already broken explode outward. Several folks scream and cover their ears.

Then it drops through the roof like a falling mountain.

Everyone flees as the dragon lands in the middle of the room, its wings spreading wide enough to touch both walls. Up close, it's even more frightening. Black scales that shimmer green in the light. Claws that could slice through steel. And those burning gold eyes that seem to look right into your soul.

"Rosa Martinez," the dragon says in a voice like thunder. "You have called for war. I have come to answer."

Its head swivels toward Rosa, who has gone totally white with fear. "You sent your message to every magical creature in Louisiana. Did you think the old ones would ignore your call to battle?"

"I didn't mean—" Rosa starts to say.

"You didn't think," the dragon corrects. "You never do. Your family has been causing problems for ages."

I see my chance. While everyone else is looking at the dragon in terror, I move quietly around the edge of the room toward Kael and Aria. This chaos is great cover for what I need to do.

Kael is so focused on protecting his person that he doesn't notice me coming up behind them. Aria is pressed against his chest, her eyes wide with fear as she looks at the dragon.

She doesn't see the silver blade in my hand until it's too late.

"Kael," I say, just loud enough for him to hear.

He turns, and his eyes go wide when he sees my knife pressed against Aria's throat.

"Luna, don't," he says quietly, his voice deadly calm.

"Don't what?" I ask nicely. "Don't take back what's mine?"

"She's not yours," Aria says softly, but she doesn't try to pull away from my blade. Smart girl. Silver would cut through her human throat like butter.

"Everything about Kael belongs to me," I tell her. "I've been his mate since we were children. I've fought beside him, bled for him, waited for him to stop playing with human toys and remember who he really is."

The dragon is still talking to Rosa, demanding answers about her war plans, but I can feel other eyes on us now. Alexander has noticed what's happening. So has Vincent.

But they can't do anything without risking Aria's life.

"Let her go, Luna," Kael says, taking a careful step forward. "This isn't about her. This is about us."

"You're right," I agree. "This is about us. About the life we were going to have together. The pack we were supposed to lead."

"We can still have that," Kael lies, and I can hear the falseness in his words.

"No, we can't," I say sadly. "Because you picked her over your own kind. You picked a weak human over a strong werewolf. You broke every law our people have."

I press the knife a little harder against Aria's skin, and a thin line of blood appears. Kael's eyes flash golden, his wolf rising to the surface.

"But I'm going to fix your mistake," I continue. "I'm going to remove the temptation. And then you'll remember who you really are."

"Luna, please," Aria says quietly. "I know you love him. But killing me won't make him love you back."

Her words hit me like a slap. Because she's right, and I hate her for it.

"Maybe not," I admit. "But it will make sure he can't love you anymore."

I raise the knife, ready to end this once and for all.

But just as I'm about to strike, something impossible happens.

Aria's eyes suddenly flash bright silver, and strength explodes out of her like lightning.

The force throws me backward across the room, my knife flying from my hand. I slam into the wall hard enough to crack the stone.

Everyone turns to stare at Aria, who is shining with silver light, her hair floating around her head like she's underwater.

"That's impossible," Alexander whispers. "Humans can't—"

"I'm not completely human," Aria says, her voice echoing strangely. "I never was."

The dragon stops mid-sentence and swings its huge head toward her, golden eyes wide with surprise.

"Luna-Moon witch," it says with something like respect. "But how? Your father is human."

"My mother," Aria says, the silver light beginning to fade. "She was Rosa's sister. The one everyone thought died twenty years ago."

Rosa makes a choking sound. "That's impossible. Maria died in the fire. I saw her body."

"You saw what my mother wanted you to see," Aria says, swaying on her feet as the power leaves her. "She faked her death to protect me. To hide me from the magical world until I was strong enough to handle it."

Kael catches her as she falls, but his face is full of shock and confusion. "You're a witch?"

"Half witch," Aria corrects softly. "The Luna-Moon family. That's why I could save you five years ago. That's why the mate bond worked even though I'm human. And that's why—"

She doesn't get to finish her words.

Because that's when the windows explode inward again, and Vincent Castellano's backup team floods into the room with military-grade guns and body armor.

But these aren't normal human soldiers.

They're wearing special helmets with glowing red visors, and their guns are crackling with electrical energy that makes the air smell like lightning.

"Government supernatural response unit," their leader says through a speaker. "Everyone on the ground now. You're all under arrest for violations of the Supernatural Registration Act."

Murphy goes pale. "What registration act?"

"The one that went into effect an hour ago," the leader says. "By executive order of the President of the United States, all supernatural creatures are now required to register with the federal government or face immediate detention."

The dragon laughs, a sound like an earthquake. "Foolish people. You think your rules apply to us?"

"Actually, we do," the leader says quietly. "Because we have something that will make you comply."

He signs to his team, and they raise weapons that look like nothing I've ever seen. The barrels glow with the same silver light that just came from Aria.

"Luna-Moon witch magic," Alexander says quietly. "They've weaponized it."

"That's impossible," Sarah protests. "Our magic can't be contained in human technology."

"It can when you have a willing Luna-Moon witch helping you design the weapons," the leader says.

He pulls off his helmet, and I see a face that makes Rosa scream in fear.

It's a man in his fifties with silver-streaked hair and recognizable eyes.

"Hello, sister," he says to Rosa. "Did you miss me?"

But Rosa isn't looking at him. She's staring at something behind him in total terror.

Because walking through the broken windows, surrounded by more government forces, is a woman who looks exactly like an older version of Aria.

A woman who's supposed to be dead.

"Hello, daughter," she says to Aria softly. "I think it's time we had a talk."

The room goes totally silent except for the sound of the dragon's breathing.

And that's when I know the real war hasn't even started yet.