The scream that tore from Naga's throat was barely humanoid.
He'd been coiled in the den, half-dozing while Leo and Granite packed, when the mate mark on his chest suddenly EXPLODED with sensation.
Danger. Terror. Falling. Water. Cold.
Alex.
He shifted to full serpent form in an instant—thirty feet of scaled muscle and deadly intent—and shot out of the den with a speed that left scorch marks on the stone floor.
Leo was right behind him, already shifted to his full lion form, mane blazing white in the moonlight.
"ALEX!" Leo roared, the sound echoing across the settlement. "WHERE IS HE?!"
Granite emerged from the den at a dead run, his massive bear form shaking the ground with each step.
"What happened?!" he demanded.
"The mate bond—" Naga hissed, his hood flared to maximum width, venom dripping from his fangs. "Alex is in danger. Extreme danger. I felt him FALL—"
He whipped his head toward the communal washrooms, serpentine senses tracking the fading scent trail.
