The Scars of Her Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 14) by Julia Mills Page A

atrocities put upon the helpless creatures who’d undoubtedly been lured to their untimely deaths.
    Leaning forward to make sure she wasn’t imagining what she saw, the little dove’s stomach rolled as one specific shot caught her eye. It was of a tiny wereleopard, no more than twenty or thirty years old, stuck in the middle of her shift, still part human but also part leopard, strapped to a table while men in surgical robes and masks dissected her like a frog in science class. Whoever the photographer had been had snapped the picture right as the little one was blinking. It was more than Olive could bear to think that the poor leopard had been awake, coherent, and feeling, while those vile bastards had taken her apart...piece by piece.  
    Thankfully, Max’s voice drew her attention from the carnage. Unfortunately, her relief was short lived. “This,” the King pointed to a smiling man shaking hands with three other smiling men standing mere feet from a gutted, full-grown black bear laying lifeless on a gurney, “is Tariq O’Baoill, the sorriest son of a bitch to ever take a breath.” The picture shook as Max literally vibrated with rage at the blatant disregard for life that was commemorated for all time.
    Kellan tensed as the need to retaliate, to fight, to rip Tariq O’Baoill limb from limb exploded within him. He attempted to drop Olive’s hand, to pull away from her, to spare her his feelings of hatred for the man who’d irrevocably changed his life all those years ago, but she was having none of it. The little dove held tight to her dragon’s hand, refusing to be pushed away.
    “Don’t do that, Kellan. Don’t you dare shut me out. We can handle anything as long as we handle it together.”
    “If you’re sure,” he answered with a fair bit of skepticism.
    “You know I am,” she answered, pushing confidence, love, and calm that she didn’t even feel herself through their mating bond.
    “It appears the bastard has hired a team of scientists ,” Max spat out the word like it scalded his tongue to even liken those monsters to a usually well-respected profession, and his disdain didn’t stop there. “My scouts have discovered these tests were conducted in the search for a way to harness our power, our magic , the very thing that makes us who we are, with the hopes of creating a synthetic form of that essence.” He scoffed. “Stupid bastards.” He stopped and took a deep breath, still so angry his speech was an odd mixture of Spanish and English. “They then plan to take this, let’s call it a drug because I literally cannot think of a word atrocious enough to describe it, and create super soldiers. The plan is to use those soldiers to exterminate all magical and paranormal creatures, as well as anyone else who dares to rise against them.”
    The panther with whom Max shared his soul showed his own vehemence by appearing in the Leo’s typically tranquil green eyes. His usually circular shaped pupils surrounded by a splendid emerald green morphed to the horizontal slits of his beast’s, highlighted by a highly agitated mixture of yellow and green. His usually suave Spanish accent was thick and harsh, rage tainting every word.
    “Let’s hear it for the megalomaniac narcissists of the world,” Rory growled.
    “I have seen them come and go but this tops the charts.” Maddox paced on the far side of the room, talking more to himself than anyone else. Thankfully, his thick brogue hadn’t kicked in yet so Olive could make out pretty much everything he said.
    Looking at the faces around the room, she saw the same expression of wrath and retribution she felt reflected in their glowing eyes.
    “Is this the only facility they have?” Lennox asked, still looking at the photos with a shocked expression on his usually smiling face.
    “Yes, from all the files we were able to get our hands on, this is the only one. But it is massive. At least a square mile of underground barracks with a labyrinth of