It feels like an eternity before I take a deep breath and acknowledge that he’s not coming back, at least not right away. I turn to my daughter. “You okay?”
Her lower lip trembles, and for a moment she looks much, much younger than her fourteen years. “What do we do, Mom? Do we have to leave?”
For a moment, I wish I was Rabbit’s real mom. Maybe I’d know how to comfort her better in this moment. As it is, I pull her close, wrapping her in my arms even as I keep an eye on the horizon. Just in case. “It’s going to be all right.”
“But a nomad knows where we live now,” she says, voice shaky.
“Yes, and Murr will be back at any moment. He won’t let that guy try anything. Remember how protective he was of his kittens? He just thinks of us as more kittens. It’ll be fine.”
She brightens, and then her smile of relief fades just as quickly. “Unless he thinks of that guy as a kitten, too.”
I snort, brushing her hair back from her face. “Did he strike you as even vaguely kitten-like?”
“No.”
“Exactly.”
She manages a small smile. “He’d probably take one look at Murr’s dick and freak out.”
“Very true,” I agree, and manage to laugh without it sounding too horribly forced. It takes everything I have not to scan the horizon, looking for a pair of wings.
Where the hell is the damn dragon when you need him?
CHAPTER 17
MURR
I takemy time choosing a fat animal for my humans to eat. I don’t want to give them another sick one, because I don’t want to make them ill. I’m a bad provider if I can’t give them good meat, so I find a herd of bucks and settle atop a tall building nearby, watching them graze. When I’m satisfied that two or three look healthy and fast, I get to work. I scatter them and chase after one in particular, downing him quickly.
With my kill in my claws, I fly back to my family of cast-offs, imagining the happy noises that Dakotah will make when I feed her. I enjoy the company of Ribbit as much as any of my cats, but Dakotah is the one that fascinates me and makes me linger. She is the one I want to make word sounds at so I can understand her.
As I land, I can tell immediately that something is wrong. Dakotah has her weapon out, and there is a fear-smell all over her. Ribbit’s scent is nearby, but she is hiding. The breeze shifts, and then I smell it.
Someone else has been here. Another human. A male human.
And my females are frightened.
I growl low in my throat, rage blistering through my thoughts. This ismyterritory. My females. My family. This other male is trespassing.
I can feel my eyes growing dark, the rage too close to the surface. It threatens to blot out my thoughts entirely, and I can sense that I’m slipping back into the madness that took over my mind for so long. I fight against it, but every time I get a whiff of Dakotah’s fear-scent, it unleashes something feral in my mind.
She looks up at me as I land with the buck, and her scent instantly changes to one of relief. “Murr!”
Her joy at my return soothes some of the madness away. I want to chase down the male and rip him limb from limb simply for encroaching on what is mine, but Dakotah and Ribbit need me here to protect them and make them feel safe. I stay in my battle-form, nosing Dakotah with my muzzle and trying to reassure her. I cannot make the human mouth sounds with my dragon snout, but her scent remains one of relief, and when she calls Ribbit out of hiding, I can sense them both relaxing.
They remain uneasy for a while, watching the horizon. I’m tempted again and again to hunt down the male that decided he could come onto my territory, but I do not want to leave Dakotah and her daughter for even a moment. Not when they are so skittish.
So I stay right where I am. I curl up and let the cats nestle against my scales, enjoying my warmth. I keep a watchful eye as the two human females butcher the meat I brought and roast it over their tiny fire. They chop it up and feed the cats, and save some for themselves for tomorrow. Once they go inside their dwelling, I decide I will hunt down the interloper.
But it begins to rain before I can leave, and I know the scent trail will disappear. Frustrating, but I have made my choice. Dakotah needs me and my presence more than I need to exact vengeance on this unknown male.
They clean up the fire and the cats scatter, some of them going inside Dakotah’s dwelling with the humans. Cats do not like the rain, but it does not bother me. I remain where I am, lounging directly in front of their home, and I extend a wing out to shield the cats that choose to remain at my side.
I will protect my new family, no matter what it takes.
CHAPTER 18
DAKOTA
