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Levi took a step forward, and Garret went silent. Garret knew that he stood no chance against Levi and was not ready to get into a fight. Levi began, “You’re the reason the rogue escaped. If I’d let you, you’d have killed the dragon.”
“Yeah, and then whoever sent him would know not to mess with us! I mean, you just let people get to you! You fell for a freaking werewolf!” Garret continued.
“I made my own decisions, and every single thing I have done has been for the bettering of this clan. If you think otherwise, then that’s on you. If you want to do better then you’re going to have to take me on and prove that, when the time comes, you can protect everyone here,” Levi roared, his voice echoing through the room, causing all of the others to cower in fear.
Garret stood strong, defiant, but Levi could hear his heart racing and knew the man was petrified. “I know you’re the leader, and I’m not going to challenge you, but I don’t think you’re doing the best you can. Get your head in the game, Levi.”
Levi watched as Garret turned and walked out of the bakery, and in a few seconds, he was out of range. Reuben turned around. “So, are we done here?”
“No, Reuben, we’re not. Where were you? We had a call out for a rogue, and you just ignored the call. If we’d had you instead of Garret out there, maybe we would have had a different outcome.”
“I had something personal I had to deal with,” Reuben replied, obviously influenced by Garret’s stubbornness.
“The pack comes first. You know this, just like every single one of us. Whatever it is, the pack comes first. We’re not dealing with this again, you understand?” Levi growled.
Reuben nodded and walked away, heading toward the back to continue whatever he’d been working on. Val and Adebayo made their way to the front of the store, putting out the freshly baked buns and other pastries before they the store opened.
“You’re losing them, Levi.”
Levi shook his head, turning to Victor. “You’re wrong, Uncle. Garret’s just a bad influence. Adebayo and Val still have my back, and so do you.”
“I do because I’m your family,” Victor replied.
Levi turned his head away, making a fist. They still hadn’t let him live down the fact that he had fallen for a werewolf.
They hadn’t met Lyra to know that she was different, and it didn’t matter to anyone, not even to Victor. For a long time, when dragons had been hunted by humans, the humans would enlist the strength of werewolves to give them a boost in strength. The werewolves had done their bit to attack the dragons, and were a huge part of the reason there were so few dragon packs left.
Werewolves were the natural enemy. In the past, dragons had gone after the werewolves, hunting and viciously killing them as retribution for what they had helped do. Levi knew this, but still—he had seen Lyra, and his whole world had changed.
Once his pack had found out about her, they had lost all respect for him. Levi had been given the option of leaving the pack to be with the werewolf, or he would be abandoned by the entirety of his pack. He had left Lyra with his heart full of remorse, and as much as he had tried to feel differently, he missed her and still wanted her.
“I’ve given everything I have for the pack. You know this, and they know it too.”
Victor got to his feet, tapping Levi on the shoulder. “Yeah. I know you have, but you have to make sure they see you, respect you, and fear you. As long as your heart is still yearning for something else, as long as you’re still distracted, weak, you’re not going to have their respect.”
Levi felt his fingernails cutting into his palm. “They want me to turn into some vicious man? That’s not who I am, that’s not how this pack works. Unless we have no other choice, we don’t take lives.”
Victor shook his head and walked toward the front door. “You’re a dragon, Levi. Dragons always go for the kill.”
Chapter 3 - Lyra
Lyra pulled her car up to the house. It was a large, seven-bedroom building, with a basement and an attic. After Orson had been bitten, he had joined the Ridgeshire pack. The Alpha at the time was the man who had originally owned the house.
The pack was made of ten shifters, and the large house was a perfect way for all of them to live together under one roof. As time went on, the leader of the pack changed again and again, and finally, Orson had become the new Alpha, so the house had become his as well.
Lyra had spent a lot of time in the house, when she was being taught everything about being a werewolf. Orson had stayed with her the entire time, helping her through the process. This place was what Lyra thought about when she pictured home—the noise of the pack walking up and down the stairs, the banter, the dinners. When the pack wasn’t under attack, it had been incredibly fun, and Lyra had loved every moment of it.
“Woah, that’s a big house!” Adam yelled from the back seat, looking up at the house.
“Yeah, it belongs to your grandpa,” said Lyra, looking at him. “We’re going to be living here for the summer. We’ll both have our own room and everything.”
“Awesome! Can I play in the yard?” Adam asked, opening the car door and stepping out.
“Of course!” Orson came walking out of the building. “Mi casa es tu casa, mi hijo!”
Adam stared at him for a moment, and Lyra walked up to the boy, whispering into his ear, “Does he look familiar?”
“Yeah,” Adam whispered. “I think I’ve seen him before.”
