E R I K

I wanted to throttle Morgan. I'd already rescued her once from the vampires. Why the hell would she want to go back through the portal?

She whizzed around the kitchen, flinging cupboard doors open, looking for supplies to take with her on her journey. She was determined to speak to the Mad Prince's bride.

The thought of her returning to the Mad Prince's court filled me with all types of horror.

I couldn't let her go on this trip - it was far too dangerous. Thousands of miles separated the mountain fort from the Mad Prince's castle - miles that were plagued with all kinds of danger.

"Morgan, stop for a moment. Talk to me, my beloved flame," I said, taking her hand and forcing her to look at me.

Dark rings of exhaustion framed her bright blue eyes. It was clear that she was tired and in need of food and rest.

"When was the last time you ate a proper meal or had a good rest?" I asked.

She scowled at my question.

"How could I possibly be worried about my stomach at a time like this? You are about to start World War Three with the vampires, and I'm the only person who can stop it," she snapped.

My insides clenched with worry. My child might be growing inside her, and she was putting herself and the baby in danger by chasing vampires and skipping meals.

"You must stay here," I commanded.

"Excuse me?" Morgan said, raising her eyebrow.

She had that look that my mother had whenever me and my brothers had done something wrong. That look scared me.

I cleared my throat carefully and softened my tone.

"My beloved flame," I began.

"Oh no, don't you start with that 'beloved flame' nonsense. I can see what you are doing," She said, waggling her finger at me. "You said that I was not a prisoner in this house."

"You're not," I choked.

"Then why are you ordering me about like you own me?" She said.

"I'm trying to keep you safe. You're clearly exhausted and in need of a good hot meal. You're in no shape to be making any big decisions right now," I argued.

Morgan pushed past me and continued shoving cans of food into a bag.

"I can do what I want. I don't need your permission," she snapped.

"Okay, I take your point. But as your mate, I am concerned about your welfare - and I'm extremely worried about you jumping through the portal to seek the Mad Prince's bride," I said.

"Great, I have listened to your opinion and filed it under 'opinions I don't give a shit about'," she said flippantly.

I clenched my fists and tried to breathe evenly. The dragon inside me was becoming impatient with our little mate. She clearly didn't understand what was best for her.

However, a knock on the front door soon distracted us from our arguing. Byron answered the door, and Rupert walked through the door carrying a couple of carrier bags of blood containers.

Rupert glanced wistfully up the stairs and asked, "Is Poppy awake yet?"

Most dragons would have the sense to be repulsed by the monstrosity Poppy had become, but not Rupert.

Morgan marched past me and went straight up to Rupert.

"I need you to take care of Poppy while I'm gone," she told Rupert.

Confusion crossed Rupert's face.

"Where are you going?" He asked Morgan.

I dragged my fingers through my hair and growled, "She's not going anywhere."

Morgan shot me a fifth look and turned back to Rupert.

"A war is coming, and I need to stop it. I must go away, and I need you to care for Poppy. You're the only one I can trust with her," She said.

Her words stung me. I was her mate, she should trust me to know what is best for us.

Rupert eyed me wearily and nodded his head.

"I'll take care of Poppy," he replied.

I threw my hands up into the air.

"Have you both gone mad! Morgan, journeying to the Mad Prince's Castle will take you weeks. You'll be in constant danger - it is not safe for you to go," I argued.

Morgan shrugged her shoulders and returned back to the kitchen. I pursued her, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and forcing her to look at me.

"This is sheer fucking madness. You cannot go," I yelled.

My voice must have been loud enough to wake Poppy, who ran downstairs to see what the commotion was about.

She entered the kitchen and saw my hands upon Morgan's shoulders, and her eyes flashed bright red with vampiric rage.

"Let go of her, you bastard," she shouted.

Rupert tried to pull her back, grabbing her by the waist, but Poppy dragged him across the kitchen floor with her.

The kitchen exploded into chaos. Poppy slammed into me with the strength of ten dragons, knocking the wind out of me.

I let go of Morgan, who suddenly bolted for the portal. I panicked, reaching out for her, but Poppy jumped on my back and started pulling at my hair.

I could have blown the silly girl up with a fireball, but she was my mate's adopted sister, so instead, I tried to gently shake her off.

The cupboard door under the kitchen sink squeaked open, and I glanced up to see Morgan crawling into the portal on her hands and knees.

At that moment, I panicked. I dived toward Morgan with Poppy on my back and grabbed Morgan's ankle.

It was too late. Morgan was already sliding into the portal, and the interdimensional pull was too strong for me to fight. I still clung to her ankle, refusing to let go of my mate.

Poppy let out a cry of fright as suddenly we were both sucked into the portal with Morgan.

Cold darkness enveloped us. I kept one hand firmly on Morgan and the other on Poppy. I would not let either my mate or her vampiric kin be harmed.

Seconds later, we spat back up onto the cold flagstone floor of the Mountain Fort.

I let go of Morgan's foot and gently lowered Poppy onto the flagstone floor. Only then did I realise that Rupert was also with us. He hadn't let go of Poppy waist. He had held onto her, like I had held onto Morgan's foot.

He staggered onto his feet and looked back at the swirling black portal he had just popped out from.

"What the bloody hell was that?" He asked.

"Congratulations, Rupert. You are the first dragon from the village to set foot in our homeland," I said.

Poppy kicked me in the shin and snapped, "You mean the second dragon - I was the first."

"My apologies," I said. "But none of that matters. We are going straight back home. This is not a safe place for us, especially without Ranni and Byron."

Morgan dusted herself off and stood up.

"You can go back home, but I'm going to find Ebony," she said.

"My flame, please see reason. You do not know these lands, you have no idea where the Mad Prince's Palace lies. Henry is gone, and there is no one to take you to the palace," I said.

"You could take me," Morgan replied.

I burst out laughing. The suggestion was ridiculous. I was the vampire's sworn enemy. I couldn't just waltz into their palace and ask to see their king.

"My dear, the vampires would murder me the moment I crossed the midland bridge," I explained.

"Tell them this is a diplomatic mission - you need to use your words to solve your problems instead of your swords," she replied.

"Are you calling me a barbarian?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

"If the shoe fits," she bit back.

"Then perhaps you won't be surprised when I toss you over my shoulder and drag you back through the portal," I said.

Our eyes locked together. Two egos refusing to back down. The small voice of rationality and sense within warned me to tone down my attitude. Morgan was my mate, not an enemy I needed to subdue. But the dragon within was panicking. Our mate was weak and vulnerable. I had to protect her, even if I hurt her feelings.

"Morgan, I'm going to count to five, and if you have not jumped back through that portal by then, I will pick you up and put you over my shoulder. One -" I said.

Morgan lifted her hand up, and inside her palm, a bright blue ball of flames burst into existence.

I felt myself start to sweat. Maybe this was a bad idea, but I couldn't back down now. Surely, she would kill me, her mate, with her flame.

"Two... Three... Four..." I opened my mouth to say five, and the ball of blue flames went careening past me and hit the portal.

There was a flash of blue and black as the portal suddenly collapsed in on itself with a thunderous crack.

I stared at the scorched flagstone floor where the portal once stood. It was gone - our only way back to the village was gone.

"Are you crazy?" I yelled at Morgan.

Morgan shrugged her shoulders casually and said, "You shouldn't have pissed me off."