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Except for him and Levi, all of the elders were spawned during the BC era. Originally, there had been twenty-five families making up the council, but six had been exterminated—one by Roman gladiators, one by the crusades, and one by medieval and renaissance witch hunts. The rest had fallen prey to the Djinn and Elvish. They’d nearly decimated the Dragons’ numbers and had wiped the Dragon families of Shadowine, Thorusus and Bleddon from existence. Behemoth shuffled some papers in front of him into a pile and stuffed them into a folder. He thumped his fist on the table, and all activity and discussion ceased. Everyone slid their chairs into place at the table, sitting at attention. Standing, he scanned those gathered, the silence growing while everyone awaited his announcement. “As you know, and as young Janos experienced earlier today—”
    Janos grimaced at being called ‘Young Janos’ in front of the council.
    “—the Djinn and Elvish are growing to be a greater problem than ever. The last such instance, which was smaller than this, resulted in the witch hunts which took the Bleddon from us. Our enemies’ objective seems to be focused on one woman who is now under Janos’
    protection. My operative in the inside reports that she survived when our enemy tried to eliminate her last time, and now they’re more determined than ever to kill her.”
    It had always amazed Janos that Behemoth had managed to get someone on the inside of the Elvish forces. He suspected it was a half-blood who was both Elvish and Dragon, a

    rare mix. And the Elvish must be aware of the Dragon heritage.
    “Why are they going full out for her?” Harrod asked. “She’s a mate, but she’s just one woman who didn’t even know of our existence.” He pinned Janos with a stare. “Until now.”
    Janos looked down at the arm that lay beside his notepad. The sepia filigreed design grew darker as his blood continued to react to Scarlett—Scarlett. His mate’s name was Scarlett. He liked it and it fit so perfectly for his clan. The Cruentus Clan. The Blood Clan. His skin itched at the rapid change taking place beneath it. Normally, the mate marking didn’t appear so quickly. He hadn’t even sampled her blood… His eyes closed as he realized. His shift. He’d shifted in front her. While he’d held her. His body in flux like that could draw in her essence without tasting her.
    Levi nudged him, and he looked up to find everyone staring at him. Behemoth cleared his throat. “Do you want to transfer her into the keeping of another Dragon? Most here have larger contingents than you do. You’re only here with your wingscion, correct?”
    Rebellion roiled in Janos’ gut, confirming what he’d denied to now. “Yes, Jonah is my sole companion on this trip. And no, I will not transfer her.” He held up his arm. “She is my mate.”
    A few mouths dropped open, and Behemoth nodded. “That explains why they’re so intent on killing her. The mate of an elder. She’s to be a powerful woman.”
    “How do they know this? How did they know when they tried to kill her years ago, too.”
    “Seven,” Levi supplied.
    “So how did they know she’s my mate?”
    “Magic,” Harrod grated, his tone implying Janos was an idiot. Levi chuckled. “Wish we could get us some of that. It would make things a lot easier. It’s seriously unfair that they know our mates before we do.”
    “I’m working on it,” Behemoth answered. “And Dr. Genjhury is developing a way to more easily detect Dragon’s blood, which will lead us to our mates.”
    “How many centuries does a man need?” Harrod grumbled.
    Janos growled, his scales rustling beneath his skin at the affront to his scion. This meeting was pointless and only underlined what he already knew. “My brothers will be here in a few days, and we’ll transport Scarlett to our compound. She’ll be safer there until I can change her.”
    Of course, she’d have to be convinced to change. He