Heat.

Heat engulfed me as flames that were supposed to be searing hot came crashing towards me like waves against the shore. I braced for impact, trying to ready myself for the smell of my flesh burning and unimaginable pain spreading across every inch of my body. But the flames never touched my skin. Although I could physically feel the heat warm up my insides, they never actually burned me. My heart was pounding so hard against my chest, I felt like I would faint any second.

The fact that I was unscathed only increased my panic. How was I not burned? Had I been in my human form, sweat would be seeping out of every single pore. Instead, I started panting.

From outside it must've looked like an invisible protection barrier had formed around my body—it was certainly what it felt like. I watched as the fire dulled and finally went out completely. Once the fiery red flames disappeared, I stared at five shocked creatures and instinctively started barking and snarling. Fear settled in my stomach and I felt like I was being pulled towards the ground by the weight of it.

What the hell were they? And how was I not burned?

The beat of my heart drowned out every sound, every rational thought. I was about to turn away and run for my life when I suddenly recognised someone standing amongst the grotesque creatures that had nearly killed me.

One of them was Kendra.

I turned to leave but my legs would not carry me further. My brain still tried to process all the images my eyes were seeing...

A slow, unsure, Uh... was all I managed to say. Kendra's chuckle went through our link. She slowly came towards me, a still somewhat shocked expression on her furry face. I backed up, still pumped with adrenaline and a cold sense of panic.

Get away. Get away from me!

Kendra's deep, brown gaze turned into one of shock and she stopped moving. She tilted her head, not realizing how all of this was completely overwhelming me.

You're alright, they won't hurt you. Before I explain myself—how the hell did you just do that?

If I would have known, I would have told her. Unfortunately, I had not the flicker of an idea. But once I realized that I could have been seriously injured and she barely twitched as a reaction, anger suddenly flared up inside just like the flames had around me.

Those things just wanted to torch me! What the hell did I do wrong to deserve such a painful death? I would have been grilled alive!

My voice was laced with panic as I quickly backed up, away from the four enormous scaled lizards in front of me. That was when true realization hit me—they were still there! The Promised Bond vibrated within my soul, indicating that Reagan was close by. My adrenalin must have clouded all of my senses. Unless Reagan was coming to my rescue, in which case I welcomed the thought of him being close.

My mind frantically searched for a way to remove myself from this situation without being burned.

Looking around to see if he was somewhere in the trees, my heart pounded against my chest as another wave of fear ran through my veins. Reagan couldn't be here. I'd left him in Everett Valley.

But... but if... if he was here, where the hell was he hiding? What did he want? Confusion overruled my panic, though all of it quickly mashed together and my emotions turned into a chaotic mess.

Kendra, you should step back. It just tried to kill me. We should leave! The worry in my voice carried through the link.

I locked eyes with a pair of golden ones and felt an electricity surge through my bones that only one person could cause. He had a full set of razor sharp teeth, each as pointed as spikes, at least 5 centimeters long. Being caught between those two jaws would be a fate worse than death.

I shuddered at the mere thought of it and had to force myself not to run the other way with my tail between my legs.

I had more dignity than that. It slowly dawned on me who it was, staring me straight in the eye. Why my Promised Bond had made me feel that Reagan was close by. And then, finally, everything clicked into place and I knew exactly who those four lizards really were.

It was terrifying seeing them this way. So... feral. Dangerous.

So finally it can be said with certainty that they are far from being human.

They were literally capable of crushing Kendra and myself with one swoop of their huge, pointy claws. My eyes wandered down their four legs—specifically the mesmerizing black one. On the back side of his legs spikes protruded from midnight black scales, while his claws were about 20 centimeters long and curved and as golden as the orbs staring straight at me. He was a beast with sleek, black scaly skin and countless more spikes protruding from multiple places throughout his body. His head was slim and the longer two of four horns were curved towards the ends.

How could that be Reagan?

"I see you are immune to fire," one of the creatures said, moving their mouths while speaking, which made me jump back. It was the darker one of the two gray lizards standing there, his eyes a penetrating blue I would recognise anywhere. They all looked similar, though the two gray ones were bulkier than Reagan. Even in their... true... forms, they looked like twins. The brown one, the bulkiest and smallest, I assumed was Tyrion. It was my arch nemesis, however, who had spoken. I recognised his voice instantly.

Dante.

"Oh—she's not completely daft."

I growled at that comment. Shut up, lizard.

Kendra snickered, for which she earned a hard glare from her promised.

"But how is she immune to our fire? Or is it just Reagan's fire she's immune to?"

When my gaze wandered from Dante's long, black claws that served as a stark contrast to his otherwise gray coloring, I never could have imagined Tyrion taking on the form of a huge, earthy-brown coloured lizard. His spikes, compared to Reagan's, were less pointy and were more stub-like than the sharp blades that armored Reagan's back. He was rounder, too.

"I am not about to let myself be called a lizard!" Dante interrupted, huffing loudly and took two ground-shaking steps towards me. This time, I stood my own ground and would not waver. My strength and courage slowly returned to me as the fear and panic subsided.

"Call me lizard again and we'll test if you're immune to my fire, too."

Dante craned his neck and suddenly, his scaled, pointed snout was only centimeters in front of mine. I smelled a rough breath of smoke. I choked back a bark. One of his blue eyes stared directly at me, about as big as a large dinner plate. His iris was a thin, vertical slit that made me squirm. As it moved, I felt myself wince.

In all the gods' names, please someone help me, I thought to myself, suddenly overwhelmed again by the sheer size of them. Dante was a lot less intimidating in his human form.

"You're scaring her," a deep, commanding voice spoke, for the first time since I'd arrived, directed to Dante. He instantly pulled his head back again, the coldness in his gaze along with it.

I wobbly stood on my four legs, bowing my head. And then I mustered my last bit of courage and said something I hadn't really planned to say.

I apologize, I muttered slowly. I wasn't entirely sure why I was apologizing in the first place. Maybe it was my instincts, telling me to submit, since I clearly stood no chance against one of them. They could crush me with a single talon and no effort at all.

"That was not something I was expecting to hear from you. Like, ever."

Don't get used to hearing it, I snapped back, growing profoundly annoyed at Dante. Even if he could crush me with his oversized foot, he wouldn't dare. Not when Reagan was close by. Albeit Reagan hadn't spoken much and barely seemed to acknowledge me, I knew he wouldn't let anything serious happen to me.

While Dante still intimidated me more than I was comfortable to admit, it was a relief to know that he wasn't any different personality-wise even if he looked like a huge, fire breathing reptile.

What I hadn't expected was Dante actually chuckling at my response. The deep, rumbling sound coming out of his wide, gray-scaled chest caught me so off guard that I laughed too.

Finally, you're getting along! As if on queue, Kendra trotted over to my side and dug her nozzle into the base of my neck, a sign that she was content.

We're not. "We're not." Both Dante and I answered at the same time, making me cringe even more.

Could this get any worse?

Feeling Kendra's contentment made me feel at ease. It nearly made me forget that I was still pissed off at my promised for trying to torch me. Not let anything happen to me, my ass. He was probably the type of person that was so proud, he wouldn't allow anyone to hurt me unless it was him.

That dark thought crept into my heart and I directed it to Reagan when I caught his stare, but the fierce look in those burning, golden eyes made me remain quiet. His physical presence overwhelmed me completely and whilst I hated feeling so pathetically small, something similar to pride swelled inside my chest. My emotions were going completely haywire.

Not every shifter could say that they had one of these huge, powerful creatures for a promised. Then again, with great power came a great responsibility.

So what the hell are you, exactly? I asked, genuinely curious.

"Your worst nightmare," Dante answered without a moment's delay, moving his legs so that he almost plopped onto his shins, laying down onto the ground.

The earth beneath us rumbled as he did so.

And what exactly are you doing here? What do you want? I continued, hoping for some answers. They'd given us answers back at the mansion, but not enough to reveal what their intentions were. There was still a swivel of distrust towards them. What if they were working for the council, in secret, and following us?

Reagan must have felt my distrust and concern, since he was the one who answered. "We're here to protect you, nothing more."

I doubt that, I shot out, the words leaving my mind as quickly as they'd popped up.

Reagan huffed. "Of course you do," he said simply, disappointment flowing along in his words with an underlining tone that made it clear he wasn't only talking about now.

He wasn't happy with my mistrust and inability to believe every word he said. It made me angry that he expected me to, despite barely knowing who he was.

Just because we're promised doesn't mean you have a free-pass to expect us to trust you blindly, I accused, feeling anger and resentment sneak forward from the dark place I normally hid them in.

Dante spoke next, before Reagan could. "Isn't that what the Promised Bond is about?" he questioned.

This was not a topic I really felt comfortable getting into, but I answered anyway. It should be. Doesn't mean it is.

I glanced at Reagan when I felt a pinch of curiosity travel towards me and wondered what it was he wanted to know. If it was anything, he didn't say it. Or ask, for that matter.

"Well, trust us or not, we're here to protect you and that's the truth. We've already held off two Immortals that have been following you since you've left," Dante said and caught me off guard.

I guffawed. We've been followed?

Dante nodded his large, scaled head and averted his sight to Kendra. "And we will continue to do what is necessary to keep them away."

You can't possibly expect us to just accept that the four of you moved to Everett Valley, thought you'd spend some time there and then just follow a pack of rogue wolves who decided to rebel against the council, for no real reason?

I made sure to have my disbelief evident in my voice as I spoke to them through the link they shared with us.

You're the Ancients that you told us about, aren't you? The race that's supposed to be extinct? Kendra piped up, ultimately making that piece of information click into place. Though it was terribly off topic.

I could have smacked myself for not realizing it sooner. Of course they were. Driven into extinction my ass.

But that meant... that meant there were more of them. There had to be. They couldn't be the last of their kind, could they?

Dante broke off eye-contact to Kendra and instead slightly craned his neck so he could look at his eldest brother, their leader. Reagan's stare was fixated on me however, and he did not say a word.

No one did for a few moments, which was enough confirmation we needed.

So that means you're in some kind of a fight with those that oppose you, right? I said, not expecting much of a reply albeit I still hoped they would elaborate.

Though Kendra and I were getting dangerously close to the truth by putting together the pieces, the main question was still left unanswered. What did they want in Everett Valley?

If they were truly the Ancients and if it was true that they were fighting against the humans, then why waste their time in a secluded community not even known by the rest of Espheros? Surely Everett Valley had no significant meaning to anyone on the outside. No one knew it existed.

Then, Reagan finally spoke. "We have been in a cold war for centuries," he said with a deep, calculating voice. "And that war will come to an end, very soon."

Confused as to what that meant, I kept silent. His tone was void of any emotion. It was a dangerous sound that made me wish I'd never started the conversation in the first place.

The intimidation that radiated from my promised was overwhelming. I wished I'd been immune to it, considering my soul was the other half of his. But I was everything but unscathed and I hated feeling the way I did. It was worse than Dante's intimidation. Much, much worse.

To my surprise, Kendra had the final word. I trust that you don't have ill intentions. But if you do not want to lose that trust, you will have to share the intentions you do have with us sooner rather than later.

A moment of silence passed in which I waited for a reaction.

None came.

"I suggest you two run along—your pack is searching for you," Ryker spoke for the first time, the light gray lizard motioning with his enormous head towards the forest behind us. His head was slim, similar to Reagan's, while Dante's was bulkier, like Tyrion.

Kendra and I exchanged knowing glances and returned to our pack to warn them about the immortals. Before we reached them, I looked at her again.

So, did you know they were following us?