Page 3 of Scout’s Honor

“There.”

Dakota parked near a swanky apartment building in fading evening light, then she got out and drew close to the building, while two ‘Cause’ shifters came close with information for Aven. Dallas stayed in the car, watching. Aven and the two talked for a moment, then they strolled off.

Dakota and Aven went inside, and Dallas followed at a run, but his mind was still on his jaguar. He climbed trees in his imagination as they reached a fancy-ass staircase and headed up, with Dakota and Aven discussing strategy. Dallas put much of his weight on his arms, using the railings for help. Steps were hard on his leg, and made it ache, especially three flights. If he shifted he’d be able to run up those stairs like nothing, using his three good legs and the prosthesis mostly for balance.

The stairs ended and Dallas breathed a sigh of relief. Ahead, down the hallway, Dakota stopped and Dallas almost ran into her. Aven was knocking on a door. Dallas told himself to pay attention. This situation could be dangerous. Thorn was mysterious, and they were supposed to be ready for anything.

Dakota wasn’t ready though—her attention wandered and she moved toward the stairwell, her blue glow brightened to blinding for a moment, making Dallas shield his eyes. The door to the apartment opened and Dallas looked that way. Thorn was tall with straight, short hair, wearing tan chinos and a pressed shirt. His expression was neutral until he saw Aven, and then he looked pissed.

Thorn scented like nothing Dallas had ever scented before. Dallas moved in closer, trying to figure it out… but Dakota moved into the stairwell, drawing Dallas’ attention.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Thorn demanded, but then he saw Dakota. “What’s wrong with her?”

Dakota ran down the stairs and Aven followed her. Confused, Dallas turned to go with them, but Aven shouted at him, pointing at Thorn.

“Keep him away from her!”

Dallas stopped on his good foot and pivoted his bad foot behind, stopping Thorn with a hand to his chest, praying Thorn didn’t go backwards and spill Dallas to the floor.

Thorn leaned into his hand, staring after Dakota. “Is she okay?”

“Sure,” Dallas said, shoving at Thorn and regaining his balance. “Back off.”

“But—” Thorn said. “What if she needs help?”

Dallas didn’t know what to think. The guy scented sincerely concerned about Dakota. Thorn turned and went back into his apartment. Dallas eyed the staircase, unsure what to do. Thorn reappeared, keys in hand. He pulled his door shut and sprinted down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Dallas couldn’t catch him. He followed Aven and his sister instead, down the stairs, out into the dark and the empty sidewalk. Dallas crossed the street, dodging one car, looking and scenting for anyone he knew. Ahead, in an alley between two apartment buildings, he saw a glow—Dakota—and he ran that way.

A white van full of people sped down the alley, straight for someone—Aven! Dallas shouted. Aven jumped back. The van sped past. Dakota followed at a run, a spear in her hand. She didn’t look around but jumped into her car and took off after the white van.

A blue sedan raced out of a parking garage, metal scraping concrete. Dallas jumped out of the way, sure he wasn’t going to be fast enough—but the car swerved to miss him, then gunned it after Dakota, with Thorn behind the wheel.

Dallas swore, momentum shoving him into the grass next to the road, and almost knocking him on his ass, but he managed to stay upright.

Aven ran by, yelling, “Call for backup!”

3—Cause Shitshow

“Call for backup!” Aven shouted, saying more, but Dallas couldn’t make it out.

“What?” Dallas shouted after him. Aven kept running, then jumped and at the crest of his leap he shifted into a golden eagle and what the hell? Dallas stopped and stared, barely able to believe it. Aven glowed the same color as Dakota and his eagle was bigger than any eagle had a right to be. The thing was massive, looking like an aerial apex predator able to carry off a cow or two. It flew off after the vehicles. Behind it, a smaller hawk swooped in from nowhere and followed.

Dallas shut his mouth and pitched forward, shifting as well. He sensed no human eyes on him, so he released the call of civil behavior in his mind and fell into his black jaguar with a snarl, claws digging into grass. He ran, his supple body lengthening as his muscles warmed up and he gained speed. He jumped into a ditch on the side of the highway, loving it, while one part of his mind cautiously gauged how long he had and how far he could push it before the prosthesis gave out.

Two big cats fell into step with him on either side with a snarl. Dallas snarled in acknowledgement. These were the two ‘Cause’ shifters from earlier and he even remembered their names from when he’d met them a few days ago: Ryder and Shiloh. They were brother and sister, a clouded leopard and a snow leopard.

The three of them ran together, their bodies feeding off of the recoil of the others, almost like birds in formation. Dallas loved it. If this was how working with ‘The Cause’ was gonna be, he was IN.

The three big cats covered several miles in minutes, their eyes on the eagle in the sky and the hawk that followed. The terrain changed, becoming rocky, causing Dallas’ prosthesis to slip occasionally. He slowed. The other two slowed with him and Dallas knew he was holding them back. He snarled that they should leave him. The snow leopard snarled that they were sticking with him.

They ran on, and a warm feeling of camaraderie filled Dallas’ chest. He hadn’t felt like this since the Navy had tossed him out on his ass for getting shot. The feeling morphed into a tight pang of loss in his gut that he struggled to shake. That was then. This was now, and now, he was gaining what—family? A pack? He didn’t know, but emotion swirled thick within him. He put on speed to try to run it off.

The road curved and they ran down it. Ahead, they saw mountains and Thorn’s car. He’d slowed and had his head out the window looking for a way to continue because the road was washed out ahead of him.

The moon hung low in the sky, and in the moon-shadows, Dallas spied the white van stop near the looming mountain. Dakota, glowing like a bulb inside her car, pulled up behind the van and jumped out. The glowing, oversized eagle flew directly over her shoulder as she ran toward the driver’s door.

Dakota lunged at something while human women dressed in ragged clothes with wild, unkempt hair spilled out of the van. Each woman looked strange, like gray haze swarmed the edges of their skin and hair, dulling out the contours of their features. Dallas wondered what the blur was. Vampires?