Determined Prince (Captured by a Dragon-Shifter) by Michelle M. Pillow

portal should never have been reopened, and after I’m finished, it will never be again.”
    “I thought you needed women.” Eve tried desperately to keep him talking. She saw the deadly intent in his eyes.
    “Shifter women,” he clarified. “It’s only a matter of time before we are blessed once more. We cannot lose faith by allowing humans into our world. Any child you bear will be an aberration.”
    The man continued to mumble under his breath, but she could not understand the Qurilixian language. She felt the bite of his claws in her arm and the wet trickle of blood as he punctured the skin.
    Eve ignored the pain. “If we’re so awful, why come here at all? Why not kill me back home? Scared the others will find out what you did, coward?”
    “And let your human filth rot on our sacred planet?” The very idea seemed to make him shudder in revulsion.
    A man came striding around the corner wearing absolutely nothing but a short pink tutu. She never thought she’d be so glad to see a crazy eccentric so much in her life. Mr. Tutu marched with purpose, and the sight of his pale naked ass was enough to distract her captor long enough for her to rip her arm free. Eve didn’t hesitate. She ran back the way they’d come.
    The catshifter gave chase. He growled. The noise caused her to run faster. She turned the corner in front of Lalaurie Mansion. The tour had moved along, their absence emptying the street to being nearly abandoned.
    Another growl sounded as she was hit in the back. Eve flew forward and braced herself for a hard concrete landing. Instead, arms caught her and she instantly knew she was safe.
    “Kyran,” she said in surprise even before she looked up to confirm what her body knew.
    “Are you injured?” he demanded. Eve shook her head in denial and he pushed her behind his back.
    The second she was shoved to safety, he shifted and charged forward. Her husband’s roar met with the cat’s growl. Talons formed on Kyran’s outstretched hand as his body hardened with brown armor. The catshifter leapt. Blond fur sprouted on his features and covered his forearms. He didn’t fully turn into a feline, but to a standing cat.
    Eve had seen Kyran shift, but the full extent of what that meant became incredibly clear. The cat slashed. Kyran deflected the blow and swung the man up and over so that he was launched into the air.
    “Yeah!” someone yelled. The noise soon attracted others and a crowd began to gather. The cat slammed into the street, only to instantly push back to his feet to keep fighting.
    “Get him!” another screamed.
    “Whoo-hoo!”
    “Yeah!”
    Eve ignored the onlookers. She tried to find an opening to help Kyran. Though it was evident he didn’t need her help. He held his own.
    The shifters fought their way down the street, toward the convent. The crowds followed, cheering and clapping. Eve screamed as Kyran was slammed into the wall. She surged forward to thump her fists against the catshifter’s back. Before she made contact, Kyran kicked, launching the man over the wall into the convent yard. Kyran leapt high into the air as he propelled himself over the wall to give chase.
    The crowd clapped wildly now that the show was over. Eve looked for a way to go after the shifters. She felt people pressing forward. She turned, lifting her hands to push them back. Only they shoved money at her, tipping her for the performance.
    Eve tried to smile, well aware that Kyran would want her to keep the dragonshifter secret even though he’d just battled down the French Quarter. When finally she broke free of the crowd, she ran down the sidewalk to the iron gate they’d used to leave the convent’s courtyard. Once inside, she found Kyran coming back from the portal alone.
    “What happened?” She ran for him.
    “He’s dead,” Kyran said. “I pushed him through to our side so he would not be found by humans.”
    “How? The portal closed.” Eve wrapped her arms around his neck.
    “No, it’s