Blackwing Defender (Kane's Mountains Book 1) Read Online Free

That dragon will kill you and laugh at your corpse.”
    Logan shook his head, and ignoring Dustin’s warning, pushed his way through the fight. Winter stood on the log, balancing on her tiptoes to see what Logan was doing. Dustin had been wrong. He wasn’t going after the dragon at all, but he was pulling the mob back one by one, yelling at them, making space for Dark Kane to fight. And then Beast was there too, pushing the masses back with Logan.
    “Fuck,” Dustin muttered as he made his way toward them. “Move!” he yelled at someone who was standing in the way. When Dustin snapped his teeth at them and growled, the gooseflesh rose on Winter’s arms.
    “I’m out of here,” the goth girl murmured. She strode off for the gravel road, but Winter stood there stuck. Did she get in the middle of a dominant male fight? Or did she make like Goth Girl and get the hell out of here?
    Emma was standing on her log, too, neck craned as she watched the fight. If the human was brave enough to stay and see this thing through, then so could Winter. If for nothing else than to make sure the fight didn’t migrate this way and hurt the frail girl. Winter wasn’t as dominant as the brawlers, but she was a fast Changer, and her animal could fight well enough to protect Emma. She could at least buy her time to run.
    The man who bumped her shoulder earlier Changed into a big, blond-furred grizzly and charged Kane. Two echoing clicks sounded and then fire, the shape and size of a soccer ball, struck the ground in front of the bear, stopping him in his tracks. And now Rowan, the fire-spewer, looked good and pissed. She jammed her finger at the grizzly. “You want to die today, you keep it up. You want to get into a Change-off in dragon territory, really? I’ll fucking eat you. Leave.”
    The fire had brought the fight to a stop, and now the clearing was heavy with shocked silence and the scent of smoke and blood. Winter wondered how many noses Dark Kane had broken today.
    The dark dragon himself stood close to the cabin, shoulders heaving, face like a beast, skin on his bulging arms cracking like concrete and cinching back together, cracking then cinching with every breath. And now Winter could see why Rowan had lost it. Dark Kane didn’t have the best control, and mass Changes would summon his hellish monster from him. Rowan had probably saved everyone in this clearing, and they didn’t even realize it.
    Logan was standing closest to Kane, Beast next to him, then Dustin, glaring down the crowd. This is what happened with hordes of dominant shifters. One mistake could trigger an avalanche of violence.
    Kane snarled and spun, limped up the porch stairs, and disappeared inside, slamming the door behind him hard enough to rattle the tiny cabin. For reasons unknown to her, Logan slid a lingering glance to her. His eyes were bright silver, and crimson streamed from his lip. The neck of his T-shirt had been ripped, and there was a seeping gash on his neck. He didn’t look in pain, though. He looked…concerned. You okay? he mouthed.
    Winter checked behind her, but she was alone. Was she okay? She wasn’t the one bleeding all over the dark dragon’s front lawn. Jerkily, she nodded and mouthed, You?
    Logan ripped his gaze away and spat red in the grass. Okay then.
    Rowan disappeared inside, but Air Ryder was still leaning against the railing looking flushed. About half of the crowd was already drifting back to their cars, but to the rest who lingered, he said, “Fill out your applications, and I’ll be back out with you shortly.”
    “So the crew recruitment is still on?” Dustin asked.
    Air Ryder shrugged coyly. “Maybe.” Then frowned down at his phone. “Is there a Winter Donovan here?” His attention went right to her, and his ruddy eyebrows arched high. “Winter of Red Havoc?”
    Winter swallowed hard under all the attention that had suddenly been cast her way.
    “No,” she said, lifting her chin higher. “I’m Winter of