There was only one thing to do, he held back for a split second allowing the earth king to run up behind him and at the last second he punched, hearing cartilage and bone smash as his fist connected with the male’s face. On a loud groan, his adversary went down, falling hard. There was a tight group of males behind him. The one at the head was Torrent. By taking Granite down, it would ensure a fight between the males in the group, as well as those close behind. This would buy him time to take the lead. Unfortunately, it looked like the air king would secure a female. This put more pressure on him. He had to win one of the other four at all costs.

Coal sprinted past the female, his nose in the air. He followed the scent. The sounds of fighting ensued as the males realized that Coal was not interested in the female and that they stood a chance. There was a whole lot of grunting and the sounds of flesh slapping against flesh. Shouting, groaning and moaning. The noises only grew louder as more and more males joined in the fray. Coal couldn’t think on it. Needed to get ahead. This was an opportunity. Let the others fight for her.

There were two options, down the valley or into the forest towards the river. If he were running, he would choose to go towards the water. This was the wisest and most logical choice and therefore he took it himself. If he was forced to take a human, he would take the strongest and most intelligent of the five females. He was the fire prince, heir to the throne. He deserved nothing less.

Half an hour later, he reached the stream. It was knee-deep at the center and only six feet wide. He was disappointed to find that the females had chosen to cross the river and continue on. The current path he took would lead him to the base of the peak. A human could never hope to climb such a mountain. It would mean having to skirt around the base which was a waste of time. It didn’t make sense. Although the scent was still strong, he could see that that they had made a silly attempt to cover up their tracks. Stupid humans!

Then all of a sudden the trail disappeared. As in gone. Scent and all. What magic was this? Adrenaline coursed through his veins. The need to continue running rode him hard. The need to shift rode him even harder. He fought back against the feeling of his scales as they rubbed his skin and his teeth as they threatened to erupt into something far more sinister.

He sucked in a couple of deep breaths and willed himself to calm down. This didn’t make any sense. Had they somehow managed to completely mask their scent. It was not possible.

No.

Forget it.