Needing the anchor of her body, he put an arm around her. Some of his anger faded at the touch, which helped to clear his mind.

He leaned into her ear and whispered, "A human female broke into Quinn and Vivian's cottage and stole wee Murray. Vivian assumes the human was a dragon hunter. If that turns out to be the case, do you know of anything that will knock out a dragon-shifter to the point they are in a coma? Most human-made drugs are useless against our metabolism."

"Murray's gone?"

Thinking about the little spirited baby boy in the hands of his enemies only increased his blood pressure and fueled his angry. He should've increased security around the lad earlier. Apparently, one experienced and well-trained Protector wasn't enough anymore.

With herculean effort, he pushed his fury aside. He'd channel it later and use it on the hunter arseholes. "Yes, they took him. I will do whatever it takes to get him back, but for right now, I need you to concentrate, Evie. Do you know of anything I could use to help Quinn? In a minute, I'm going to have to make an announcement to the clan about the attack. If there's any sort of good news or hope I can pass on, I'll use it."

Evie bit her thumbnail for a second and then widened her eyes. "I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but I've heard rumors about some of the latest weapons developed by the dragon hunters. Believe it or not, one rumor talks about using one of the oldest methods to incapacitate a dragon-shifter. The concoction had been lost for centuries, but a historian recently discovered it and made it public."

Fucking fantastic. "Spit it out, lass."

"A delicate mixture of ground periwinkle flower and mandrake root will knock out a dragon-shifter in seconds. Not only that, it prevents them from shifting for days. Something to do with a hormone imbalance. Historians and scientists decided the mixture was probably responsible for so many English knights slaying your kind in the past."

"So, in the twenty-first century, the hunters have fallen back on technology from the Middle Ages?"

Evie poked his chest. "Sometimes relics are useful. Without them, I wouldn't be able to mate you."

"Fair point. Is there an old fashioned cure to go along with it?"

His female shook her head. "Not that I know of. But if it's just a hormone imbalance, I'm sure Dr. Sid can fix it."

He took one last deep breath of Evie's scent to calm both man and beast before releasing his hold on her. "I'll pass on your words to Sid." Standing up, he ran a finger down Evie's soft cheek. "Thank you, Evie."

She nodded. "I'll try to think of anything else that might help you while I'm with Melanie. Just make sure to keep me in the loop." She took one of his hands and squeezed. "Now, go take care of our clan."

Staring down into Evie's dark blue eyes, a sense of rightness settled over him. It was hard to believe it'd only been a few days since he'd met his female. Now, the thought of anyone else being by his side seemed impossible. She was turning out to be exactly what he needed in a mate.

With one last squeeze of her hand, he released it and turned toward the clan. A quick look confirmed Vivian had called Kai and his Protector had left to set things in motion.

His mind a bit more at ease knowing that, he clapped his hands and whistled as loud as he could.

The music died down and he easily spotted Finn in the crowd. As soon as their eyes met, the Scottish leader's demeanor tensed.

But he'd talk with Finn later. His first priority was to warn the clan.

Sweeping his eyes across the crowd, he willed his voice to be strong. "I'm ending tonight's festivities. There's been another attack, and I want everyone to go home and be alert, just in case more invaders are on the way. I already have our Protectors taking care of things."

Murmurs of "What happened?" and "Was anyone hurt?" filled the room. Raising a hand over his head, the noise died down and he continued. "I will give more details as time goes on. For now, if anyone sees a strange human or Neil Westhaven, I want you to contact me immediately. Also, thanks to Evie Marshall, we have information about a new possible threat from the dragon hunters. She is part of the clan and may be the key to our winning the fight against the hunter arseholes. While I look into this newest threat, I can't always be by her side. I want you to treat her as my mate, because she soon will be."

He hadn't intended to make that announcement, but with the oncoming chaos the next few days were sure to bring, his clan needed to know. Especially if he went on a mission and Evie was left on her own.

Judging by the whispers and looks darting to Evie behind him, he needed to end this now or he'd never be able to leave. Mustering every bit of dominance he possessed, he said, "Now, go home and prepare in case of an attack. You'll receive further instructions shortly."

Bram looked back to Finn for a second, hoping the leader would understand the need to come back up to the front, then turned from the crowd to signal he was done. Evie was already on her feet and moved to his side. "You shouldn't have credited anything to me. They're just rumors."

"Most rumors have a grain of truth to them."

Finn ascended the stairs and prevented Evie from replying by saying, "Tell me what's going on, Bram."

Staring at the Scot, Bram knew this was one of those moments which could change the future of his clan forever. If he trusted Finn with the details of the attack, the dragon leader could either use it help him or use it to exploit a weakness.

His dragon chimed in. Tell him. He is good with Arabella. He will help us.

Bram didn't like his dragon picking up on Finn's actions toward Ara, but he'd deal with that later. For now, he'd trust his dragon's intuition, especially given his beast's reluctance earlier. "The short version is someone attacked and kidnapped one of our young. Once I make sure Evie is taken care of, you can come with me. I'll discuss the details on the way."

Finn growled, "Why would someone steal one of your young?"

He nearly blinked at the sudden change of attitude. He was starting to see more and more why Finn was the leader of Clan Lochguard. Still, Bram was in charge. "I'll fill you in later."

He turned toward Evie but saw Liam, Samira, Melanie, and Arabella making their way up the stairs. Once they were close enough he could whisper, he said, "Liam, I want you to take the females to Tristan's house. The two of you are to guard them with your life, especially Evie. Someone kidnapped Murray, and Evie could be next."

Liam nodded. Melanie took a step forward and asked, "Do you know who it was?"

"Evie can fill you in and I'll give the rest of the details when I return to collect Evie." He looked at each one of his clan members standing in front of him until his gaze rested on Evie. "And you be careful, lass. I know sitting around and doing nothing isn't your way, but I don't want to have to worry about you."

His female moved in front of him and placed a hand on his chest. "As long as you promise to be careful, too."

He nodded, gave Evie a much too brief kiss, and motioned for them to leave. As he watched his female leave, Finn said, "She'll be safe. She's a clever lass. Not to mention she was a natural with her behavior earlier, when she politely told us to sit the fuck down. She'll be an asset to the clan and make a fine mate." Bram glanced to Finn and the Scot continued, "Now, let's start walking so you can tell me the details. The sooner I know the facts, the sooner I can help your arse out."

With a nod, they walked toward the hall exit.

Chapter Five.

The entire walk to Melanie and Tristan's cottage, Evie tried to recall anything she might know to help Bram. She knew a lot about the dragon hunters. There had to be a pebble of knowledge inside her head that could help her dragonman.

So far, her only real lead was the possible use of a mandrake and periwinkle concoction. Most of the dragon hunter gangs were little more than bullies looking for ways to fund their drug and sex addictions. None of them would have bothered to keep a dragon-shifter alive if given the chance; they'd just drain him or her of blood, sell it on the black market, and spend the profits. Most of the hunter gangs were lucky if they caught one dragon a year.

However, because of strong leadership, certain gangs planned for the long-term and had a far bigger reach than their immediate territories. Those dragon hunter gangs usually took down dragons in other countries with laxer laws and then shipped the blood to developed countries to earn the most profit.

The small group of resourceful, and therefore powerful, hunters possessed the patience to crack the exact amount of each ingredient needed to knock out a dragon-shifter without killing them. Bram had mentioned the Carlisle hunters earlier, and they were one of the more powerful and successful gangs.

Not much was known about Carlisle's leader, Simon Bourne, apart from his ability to rein in and control the Carlisle hunter gang to follow his orders. In the five years he'd been in charge, the Carlisle branch's reported violence had decreased while their profits increased. Rumor said they hunted dragons in the Russian wilderness to fund their operations. The DDA had been trying to obtain proof, but relations between the UK and Russia were less than friendly.

With all of Bourne's success, Evie had no idea why he'd want to kidnap a five-month-old half-dragon-shifter baby. Dragon blood couldn't heal any diseases until a dragon-shifter reached adulthood.

Then it hit her: Bourne had the patience required to develop his own blood farm system. True, dragon-shifter blood was worthless for curing diseases before maturity, yet if the Carlisle gang kept children locked away from infants until adulthood, they could make complacent blood slaves. They'd no longer need to risk their lives illegally hunting dragons.

Since the DDA was currently investigating a corruption scandal amongst the Cumbria Constabulary, who oversaw both Stonefire's lands as well as the city of Carlisle, it was more than possible Simon had bribed the police to look the other way and avoid raiding his properties. A monumental task considering the destruction a rogue, unsocialized dragon could wreak on the public if they ever broke free.

Without thinking, she muttered, "So much for protecting the public."

Liam, being a dragon-shifter, had exceptional hearing. He turned toward her and said, "What do you mean 'so much for protecting the public'? Bram is doing everything he can."

Evie blinked. "I wasn't talking about Bram. I know he would cut off his right arm if it meant protecting the clan."

Mel piped in. "Then tell us what you were thinking, Evie. Sometimes voicing your thoughts helps to connect the dots. It also gives us the chance to help you, if you need it, since you're new to Stonefire."

She glanced around at the quickly darkening sky. "I'd rather not do it outside."

Mel threaded her arms through Evie's and increased her pace. "Then let's hurry up. We're nearly there."

Five minutes later, Mel shooed her mate away from the door and guided them inside. Before Tristan could do more than frown, Melanie said, "All right, now talk. I'm dying to know what you're thinking."

Bram's earlier statements about the extent of what Melanie would do to find out what she wanted was proving true. Not even Mel's frowning mate could sway her from her current task.

Evie looked at every person in the room before she said, "I may have an idea of why someone would want to take Murray. There's always the possibility his father wanted him, but given that Neil hasn't tried to take the boy in five months, my gut says it's something else."

Mel allowed her mate to put an arm around her waist as she said, "Then tell us, already."

"The Carlisle dragon hunters are managed by Simon Bourne. That man has been under investigation for years for various accusations, although nothing has stuck. While I have no proof to back-up my claim, Bourne has the patience, resources, and intellect to implement long term plans."

Tristan grunted, "Get to the point."

She raised an eyebrow but it wasn't the time to challenge the dragonman. "If Bourne started collecting children now, then in ten or twenty years he could have his own supply of dragon blood to sell. The money he earned over time would give him tremendous amounts of power."

Liam interjected, "But given what I know, the dragon hunter we captured yesterday wants you. That makes little sense with your theory. Why mention your name if they're after the children? You might be Bram's mate-to-be now, but you weren't when you first stepped on this land."

It was hard to believe she'd only arrived yesterday. "Bram and I discussed this last night. If the hunters scare away people from applying to work for the DDA, the sacrifice system would crumble. Your numbers would dwindle, which would eventually lead to the loss of any power over the human governments."

Melanie finished her thought. "But if someone like Simon Bourne had a steady supply, he would have the power to ask for what he wanted from either the wealthy and desperate or the government."

"Exactly. Murray's kidnapping could've been in the works for a while. Bourne no doubt has spies everywhere and a parentless dragon-shifter baby would be easy pickings for him."

Arabella, who had been unusually quiet, spoke up, "Tell us what you know of Simon Bourne, Evie. We might be able to find a weakness to pass on to Bram."

"First, someone needs to fetch a laptop so I can access the DDA database and then let's all sit down. If Murray's kidnapping is just the first wave of trouble tonight, then we need to save our energy. Standing around is an unnecessary waste."

A cry sounded from upstairs. Melanie looked up and said, "I need to check on my babies." Looking back at Evie, she continued, "I'm bringing them downstairs, too, just to be safe. Tristan can find the laptop and get you settled in."

Melanie rushed up the stairs. As the group moved to Mel and Tristan's living room, Evie took a deep breath. If Bram hadn't found something during his own investigation on the attack, taking down Simon Bourne might very well fall to her. She only hoped she could still log into the DDA information database. Unless someone had tipped them off, it shouldn't be a problem. If her access had been revoked, however, Bram's clan might very well depend on her memory.

Talk about pressure.

Thanks to Evie's information about the periwinkle and mandrake root, Sid had been able to revive Quinn after a few different shots to balance out the hormones in his body. Bram was patiently waiting for the dragonman to wake up enough to talk.

Kai and Finn were checking the perimeter for clues. The darkness was no match for dragon-shifter eyesight and they hoped to find something, especially if the attacker had been human. Even if they'd had a flashlight, without ample lighting to guide them, they could easily trip and drop something without realizing it.

While bleary-eyed, Quinn took one last sip of water from his mate and said, "I don't remember much, except that there had been two figures before Vivian rushed in to investigate the door being kicked in."

Bram looked to Vivian. He'd waited to ask some of his questions until he could question them together in case one of their answers spurred the memory of the other. "You had been in the nursery. Do you remember hearing any sounds near the window or the room?"

Vivian brushed her mate's forehead as she shook her head. "No. Murray's room was the most secure place in the cottage. The room only had two small windows that no adult could fit through. Being on the second floor added another layer of protection."

"Quinn, can you remember anything about their appearance? Or even their accents?"

The male shook his head. "Nothing except that the first person had been female. Then something pricked my side, and the world went black."

Vivian added, "That's right. When I came downstairs to find Quinn unconscious, the woman ran just as I heard the loud noise upstairs, the one we later found out was the result of them blowing a hole in the wall farthest away from the baby." She swallowed. "To think, one wrong calculation and they could've killed Murray..."

Quinn gave his mate's hand a weak squeeze just as Sid stepped from the side of the room. "Bram, wrap it up. The injection was a temporary fix. He'll be out again soon. I need him to sleep so I can run some more tests."

He wanted to argue, but Sid crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. Bram knew that look-she'd find someone to drag him out of the cottage if need be. As the clan's head doctor, she was one of the few who could do so when his presence or actions risked a patient's life.

"I'm done for now, but keep me updated on Quinn's status." He looked to the couple. "And if you remember anything, let Sid, Kai, or me know, but no one else. I don't want the information to fall into the wrong hands."

Both Quinn and Vivian nodded. Bram stood up, squeezed Sid's shoulder in gratitude, and went outside. He had hoped for more information, but Quinn was exhausted and pumped full of drugs. He would have to question them again later.

He found Kai and Finn squatting on the ground near the rear of the cottage. He joined them and said, "Shoe prints. It looks like there were three people total."

Finn nodded as he pointed to the smaller set. "This is the female's." He motioned toward the other two. "And two males."

Bram looked to Kai. "Did you find anything else? While knowing there were three people is a start, I'd like something more concrete."

Kai stood up. "Not yet, but while most of the clan was at the gathering, some stayed home with the old, the sick, and the young. I'll have some of my team question them."

Bram also stood. "No, the Protectors should focus on the perimeter and known weaknesses. I can question the possible witnesses."

Before Kai could reply, Finn said, "If you'll let me contact my clan, I can have some of my Protectors fly south to help you out. Too much work will cause stress, which will hurt you in the long run with daft mistakes."

Bram studied Finn's face in the near-darkness. He wanted to believe he could trust the Scottish leader, but the alliance was new. However, he did trust his inner dragon, so he spoke to his beast. What do you think? Should we ask for his help?

There was a long pause before his beast replied. Yes. I think he wants the chance to see Arabella again. He will help us and not betray us.

Is there something you're not telling me? Earlier, you couldn't stand him.

Circumstances have changed.

His dragon retreated and Bram knew that was all the answer he'd receive for the time being.

He met Finn's eyes. "I would be honored to accept your offer of help."

One corner of Finn's mouth ticked up. "That's quite formal, Bram, but I'll take it. Let me call my people and they should arrive within the next hour."

"Thanks, Finn. Make sure they come in from the west." Finn nodded, pulled out his mobile phone, and walked away. Bram looked to Kai. "With the extra help, have someone question the witnesses instead of me. Evie might have remembered something we can use, and I'd like to hear her out." After ensuring Finn was outside of hearing distance, he whispered, "Any news from Zain?"

Kai also kept his voice low. "Yes, but I don't know the details. He didn't want to risk telling me over the phone."

"I'll stop by and chat with him first. Reach out to me when you're done."