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He nodded. “I know her. She’ll be pissed right now; she won’t even want to see you. Me neither.” He let out a sigh. “Give her some time. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
I frowned. It was true, Shane knew her better than I did. They had been friends since they were kids, and they had even dated for a couple of years. Though she and I had come to a truce when the pack was enslaved, I knew she wasn’t a big fan of mine.
It felt like we had added another problem to our long to-solve list.
“I should go before anyone else sees us,” I said, dejected. Did this mean Shane and I would have to be even more careful? That we couldn’t even sneak out here and there? I didn’t want to think about it.
“Hey.” Shane pulled me closer. “You’re more important to me than anything else, you know that, right?” He cupped my face. “Even if Lucille told everyone now and for some insane reason they all came with pitchforks, I would stand by your side. Forever.”
“Hopefully, it won’t come to that.” I pressed a soft kiss on his lips. “Good night, Shane.”
He held on to me for three more seconds, then finally he let me go. “Good night.”
Lightning cut through the sky above my head and a rumble followed.
What I needed. To be rained on.
I hurried my steps and made it back home as the rain started again, stronger this time.
21
RAIKA
It rained all night.I knew that because I didn’t sleep well. I kept having nightmares of Lucille telling everyone about Shane and me. The pack turned against me and did horrible things—burned me at the stake like a witch, threw me off a cliff, tied stones to my bound feet and threw me in a deep river …
It was insane.
Even if they didn’t approve, no one would kill me.
Restless, I started my day earlier than usual. I went to the library, where books about poisons and crystals were spread over several tables, and delved into research. I didn’t believe we would find anything in these books, but I was afraid of pushing them aside and missing something important.
Every fifteen, twenty minutes, I got up and glanced out the windows. I hoped to spot Lucille so I could talk to her. But so far, I had seen only a handful of people.
The rising sun peeked from the few breaks in the dark clouds—it seemed it wouldn’t rain anymore today—and one patch cast light over the crack in the main square. Sometimes it felt ludicrous that there was a freaking dragon sleeping beyond the crack.
I frowned.
Curious about dragons, I weaved through the bookshelves until I found the mythical creatures section. Mythical was a loaded term, being that, to humans, even wolf shifters were mythical, but I hadn’t been the one who organized these shelves!
I spotted a handful of books about dragons, wyrms, and wyverns. I picked them all up, found an empty table, and spread them around.
I didn’t know much about dragons, but I was about to find out.
All of the books said basically the same thing: Dragons had come from another realm and were the most powerful of all supernatural beings. They were hunted by all because of their powers, and soon became extinct. Dragons weren’t rational like humans or wolf shifters, and acted like predators, attacking anyone who got too close. They were hoarders and liked living inside dark caves, but they also liked the sky, especially at night. Most could breathe fire and all of them were impervious to flame.
Despite common belief, dragon shifters weren’t born of a love story between a human and a dragon—ew—but of magic. The legend went that long ago, a human saved a powerful dragon. The dragon gifted the human with dragon magic, and thus the first dragon shifter was born.
Dragon shifters revered dragons and took care of them. When others hunted dragons, dragon shifters responded in kind. However, when the other shifters discovered that dragon shifters were as powerful as a dragon, they hunted them and the dragon shifters’ numbers dwindled.
It had been centuries since dragons or dragon shifters had been seen, thus giving birth to the theory that both were extinct.
I glanced at the window in the distance. There was a damn dragon right here. Who said there weren’t more dragons and dragon shifters out there too?
The greed of any being with a conscience was ridiculous. Why couldn’t we all share this world and live in peace?
I heard voices coming from outside and went to the window. There she was. Lucille and Dom carried boxes into the infirmary—the shipment of medicine and other supplies. It was supposed to arrive early this morning.
I ran out of the library and had to skid to a stop in front of the infirmary when Lucille walked out again.
