Read Guardian's Flame [Guardian City 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) for Free Online

ride.
    “Yep, got it loud and clear, but what I was suggesting was for you to catch a ride instead of trying to keep up with the wolves,” D explained patiently. The girl considered this for a moment, but the breathing from his mate’s brother had slowed considerably. Apparently they had tiptoed about the shifting subject, probably making the girl feel even more different.
    “How am I going to catch a ride? My dad couldn’t even carry me after I turned six,” Pandora pointed out logically.
    “Because like you, I’m other,” Demend answered.
    “Because he can shift into a Dragon, among other things,” Nathan explained to her.
    “Dragon would be easiest, but I can carry you in my tiger form. So it’s either a ride in the sky, or on the ground. Your pick,” Demend said with a smile as he hid the bag full of food and medicine that Jason had been carrying in the trunk of a tree.
    “Tiger,” Pandora said with a real smile that reminded D of Nathan’s.
    D nodded and put his hand on Nathan, allowing him to shift without pain. He pulled his cat to the surface and felt the skin shrink and push out the creature that wanted out so badly. He flicked his tail against Nathan’s body before turning to Jason. Can you steer us, Captain?
    You got it! Jason almost yelled through the bond. D smiled at the excitement Jason felt before watching his mate poof into his Phoenix counterpart. D walked slowly toward Pandora, lying on the grass while she eased onto his back. She pushed her hands through his fur until she had her arms wrapped around his neck. D looked at the brothers as they shifted painfully slow, and D knew he should have helped them shift also. He would make a reminder to talk to the Elves about a cure to make their shift easier. It was time to move on from the curse from so long ago. Jason took to the skies, and even in the dark, D could make out his quick, darting form in the moonlight.
    Once everyone was shifted, D launched into the forest setting a fast pace for the wolves. They needed to make good time here, and D didn’t have enough magic in him to open a portal, even for a moment, to contact another Elf to help. Pandora held on tightly and even squealed as they flew past the scenery. D felt Nathan a few steps behind, knowing they had so much riding on this extra half-day home. This would put them entering The Swamp at midday at the earliest. D knew that the trip was even more dangerous now without Nathan, and with the changed time frame. Incubi are weakest during the sun’s strongest hour.
    Tell me if you’re struggling, D told Nathan through their bond. Nathan pushed a little harder and caught up to D’s tail, nipping in the darkness at the tip. D spurned himself to move faster, and quickly the miles flew by, with Jason leading them through the darkness. When they reached the halfway mark, where they drank from earlier in the night, D only stopped for a few sips. Nathan’s brothers were struggling to keep the grueling pace, but Nathan seemed ready to go. D set the fast pace as soon as the brothers had stopped drinking. This half of the journey had thicker foliage as the party grew closer to the Elvin realm.
    D was panting heavily with the added weight of Pandora, but he wasn’t going to stop. His body could handle this pace for a while still, but flying a twelve-hour flight would be difficult. The time was passed by quickly between their conversations about the trip to The Swamp, and what room would be best for the girl, who would require a whole set of guards. When they rounded the corner that opened up into the Elvin City, D was more than grateful. He carried the girl to the town’s center before allowing her to climb off of him. He slopped up the water at the fountain before moving away to shift. His skin appeared, and D touched Nathan, allowing him to shift quickly before moving to the brothers, who were already in mid-shift. D touched their fur, and the shift was completed in seconds.
    “What time