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I can see in one of the windows because the shades are pulled back, and as I approach, I realize I need to get a story straight. It’s the middle of the night, after all, and the person who lives here is obviously awake. I don’t think I’ll be bothering them, but still, I can’t exactly say I was just out on a midnight stroll. We’re miles and miles from civilization. It took me two days just to reach the stone tower, after all. I need to make up a lie and I need to make it believable.
I move closer toward the porch and take a deep breath. Just as I’m about to step onto the porch, the front door flies open and a man stands in the doorway. His eyes are wild and he looks angry to have been bothered.
Fuck.
So much for hoping for a good human.
Nope.
This is either a bad guy or a wild shifter.
Either way, this isn’t good.
You should have taken your chances with the dragonman.
“Um, hello,” I say, trying not to be super weird and awkward. “I was camping with some friends and got separated from the group. I was wondering if you happen to have a phone I can use.”
The man doesn’t say anything. He just sneers at me, looking me up and down. He hisses and then he snarls slightly. A little bit of drool drops from his lips.
He’s definitely a shifter.
Not a dragon.
He doesn’t have enough prowess or charisma to be a dragon. From what I’ve seen, dragons are quite charming and delightful when they want to be, but this guy? This guy seems like he’s thirty-seven kinds of evil.
I’d guess he’s a wolf, or maybe even a bear.
“Well, then,” I say, slowly starting to back up. I don’t look behind me. My feet just seem to move of their own accord. “I guess you don’t have a phone, so I’ll just be on my way. Gotta find my friends, you know. You’ve got friends, I’m sure. You know how they worry. Well, I’m very sorry to have bothered you,” I say, stepping back further and further.
A nasty grin spreads across the man’s face.
“Oh, darling,” he growls. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
Before I know what’s happening, he’s behind me, and he has my hands gripped behind my back.
“Please,” I tell him, trying to stay calm. “I don’t want any trouble.” Daisy is still safely in the baby carrier on my front and my cats are in my backpack, but they’re starting to meow loudly and Daisy is crying. “I just want to be on my way.”
“You should have thought up a better lie,” the man whispers in my ear. “I can smell your fear, human. I could smell it from half a mile away. You aren’t with your friends. You’re all alone in the big, bad woods. Aren’t you?”
“No,” I say. I started a lie and I’m going to stick it out. This guy isn’t going to get the best of me. I might be so fucking scared I could wet myself, but I’m going to be brave. I have to be. Daisy, Mocha, and Frappe are all counting on me and I’m not going to let any of them down. Not today. Not ever. “They’re waiting for me,” I tell him. “We were all in a group, but we got separated. They’ll be looking for me,” I say. “They’ll be worried.”
“Liessssss,” the man says, hissing. “You wandered into the wrong wolf’s den,” he says. “And now you’re going to pay the price.”
“Not on my watch, asshole,” the deep voice that comes from behind us is familiar. It’s him. The dragonman from the stone tower. I shouldn’t be relieved, but I am. I am completely, totally relieved.
The wolf is surprised, too, and he loosens his grip enough for me to wiggle away. I stumble to the ground, rolling onto my side so that neither Daisy nor the kittens are hurt, and I look up to see the two men facing off in the clearing. I didn’t even hear Mr. Dragon approach. He must have been following us or hunting us. I don’t know. Still, I can’t say I’m not a little relieved to have him here.
“Come to save your pretty little princess?” The wolf-shifter says, cocking his head to the side. He spits at the dragon. “I’d like to see you try,” he taunts, and I cringe. He has no idea that the man who came to my rescue is a dragon. He has no idea what’s about to happen.
Then I realize that I don’t, either.
I’ve heard of dragons, but only in legend. I’ve never actually seen someone shift before. I’ve never watched them change from human to beast, so I don’t know what it looks like. Does it hurt? Is it loud?
I don’t know.
I shift to my bottom and scoot back until I hit the cabin. Then I don’t move. Perhaps I should, but something tells me it’s simply not worth it. I escaped from the dragon once. If I make him hunt me again, he’s not going to be happy.
“Leave,” the dragon says. “And no harm will come to you. Let us go quietly.” His eyes dart to me almost imperceptibly, like he’s quietly checking on us to make sure we’re okay.
