by Maia Star
Going still, I tried to listen to the outside world. Slow your breathing...slow your breathing...calm down, Naomi.
So I listened. I thought I heard voices in the distance, and dirt being crunched underfoot. The moment I heard the steps coming my way, my concentration broke, and I couldn’t help myself from breathing hard.
The front door slammed open a minute later, and Levi stepped in. I managed to peek past his legs to see a group of shifters gathered on a dirt road in the distance, next to a bunch of Jeeps. I didn’t look like we were anywhere near the city, yet I could just barely see the Golden Gate Bridge if I squinted.
Levi noticed me looking and smiled. “Oh, so not only are you awake, but you’re trying to figure out where you are, huh? That’s cute. Go ahead and look as much as you want. It’s not like you’re ever going to leave this little storage shed. Unless, of course, you become my woman instead of Alec’s.”
I sneered, but he didn’t seem fazed. Instead, he crouched down in front of me, running a finger up my thigh. I recoiled, but he simply grinned. “You’re goddamn beautiful. Your skin is divine. Your curves are to kill for. And that face of yours? I’d have sworn you were a goddess come down from heaven.” He shuffled closer, getting his face within inches of mine. “Take a hint, girl. You ain’t getting out of this alive unless I let you. So, why don’t you use that body of yours to convince me you’re worth saving?”
“You’re such an asshole,” I said. “Alec will get here any minute now and this will all be over.”
Levi sighed and hung his head, leaning back on his heels. “So when it comes to your life, you don’t care as much. Hmm...well, hold that thought! I’ll be right back.”
“Wait, where are you going?”
But of course, he didn’t answer me as he vanished out the door. He left it open, allowing me to keep looking. I didn’t see Fallon or Sandra anywhere, which made me want to scream. It was possible Levi split us up just in case I did get free. But then where was Fallon being kept? Did he have Sandra drive off with him?
Most of my questions were answered when I heard Fallon’s gasps close by, and Levi’s annoying voice telling him to calm down. Fallon was dragged through the door by Levi. He struggled valiantly, and when he saw me, he doubled his efforts. But to Levi, the kid was pretty easy to handle, and he brought a knife up to Fallon’s throat.
“I know you love the kid here. Alec’s adorable little clone.” He pressed the knife deeper against Fallon’s throat. Thankfully, Fallon stopped struggling, or else he accidentally would have done Levi’s job for him. “So, ready to offer up those sweet lips of yours to me now? I mean, if you don’t…” Levi clicked his tongue and pretended to saw into Fallon’s neck.
I wanted to scream and kick and tear Fallon from his hands...but I was still bound. Silent, and crying, I nodded. “Fine. If that’s what it takes.”
Levi gave me an ugly smile and then slammed the door shut behind him. He quickly turned Fallon around, picked him up, and shoved him into a crate with a lock on it. He closed the lid, clicked the padlock shut, and stepped towards me even as Fallon pounded on the crate.
“Time to have some fun!” Levi said, unzipping his pants.
I braced myself and closed my eyes.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Alec
I didn’t how long I’d been flying above San Francisco, searching for any sign of where Levi could have taken my family.
Every second that passed, my inner dragon was growing more dangerous and wilder, more unforgiving. I needed to find Naomi and Fallon pronto, or else I might just lose it and go wild on the city itself. If I had to tear apart every building to find them, I would.
When I finally got a view of the destruction that’d gone on around the city, I realized how badly Levi’s clan infected this town like a plague. There were fires everywhere, blue and red flashing police cars racing to various sites where my clan clashed with Levi’s. Red ambulances screeched and roared to life, trying to keep up with the police. People nearby ran away and hunkered down in their homes or cars or whatever store they found themselves in.
Levi was always reckless, but this was too far, even for him. I guessed that he was desperate to rule this city and was ready to do whatever it took to take me out. I saw some of my clan members on the ground, being interrogated by the police. Since Levi’s clan scattered, they were the only ones left to explain the situation, and the blame would inevitably be placed on us.
Breathing in, I looked over to see dozens of other dragons soaring the skies. Typically, only one or two dragons would be in the skies above San Francisco. But this was an emergency. I could only imagine what we must have looked like to the people below.
Being waved at by a few members of my group on a tall building below, I almost ignored them to keep looking. But then I calmed down enough to see they were waving me down for a reason, so begrudgingly, I landed, forcing the three men to jump back. Shifting, I eyed them all. “You better have some good information for me.”
The one in the middle stepped up. “We do!” he said. “So we’ve been watching the movement of Levi’s men from up here. We’ve seen a bunch head further inland, away from the city. There’s a bunch of big hills further out. We can just barely see a lot of his men climbing one hill in particular.”
I looked to where my men pointed, squinting at a hill that was far away from downtown San Francisco. There was a transmission tower on top, with what looked like a tiny house, or maybe a workstation or shed. Something in my gut told me this was the right place to be looking, so I turned to the shifter who pointed it out and embraced him. He was stunned and lightly tapped me on the shoulder.
“Thank you!” I said. “Now go round up the others. We’re going to storm that hill.”
The guy blinked. “But we’re not completely sure that’s the hill.”
“Oh, it’s the right place, alright. Call it a gut feeling.”
As the other three shifted and flew off, I continued to stare at the hill, knowing full well that Fallon and Naomi were on it. My gut was never wrong.
Without waiting for my fleet to arrive, I jumped off the building and shifted myself, flying towards the hill with rage in my veins.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Naomi
Levi was unbuckling his belt as he stood over me with a savage, wild grin on his face. I think he got a thrill from trying to dominate his rival’s lovers. If that’s what it was, I could probably use that to my advantage.
Fallon continued to wail on the lid of the box he’d been placed into, howling and kicking. But even if he was a shifter, Fallon was still a kid. He just didn’t have the strength to break off a padlock.
I waited patiently as Levi slowly pulled his pants down, revealing his underwear underneath. He went to pull those down as well, but then stopped and stared at the stained bed. “You know what? I’ll throw you a bone. I’ll at least make you comfortable while you go to work on me.”
I wanted to puke, but I didn’t get the chance as Levi grabbed me under my armpits and easily lifted me onto the bed. While he pulled away, he grabbed at the collar of my shirt and tore it down the middle. He whistled as my bra and stomach became visible.
“Hot damn...where did Alec pick you up? Honestly...there aren’t many women with your body, sweet cheeks.”
“Shut up,” I growled.
“Oh, so you’re getting bolder with talking to me, huh?” Levi said. “I love it! It adds some spice. Alright, well, let’s get this show on the road…”
Levi straddled my stomach without care for whether or not I could handle his weight. Since my hands were bound behind my back, my wrists were pushed against the hard mattress. It hurt like hell. I winced, not that Levi seemed to care. “Alright! Now, pull down my boxers, Naomi, and get going!”
My head pounded, and my heart thumped. This felt so, so wrong, like I was cheating on Alec. But I needed to comply while Fallon was at risk.
Before I could do anything, though, the shed door
banged open, and Sandra stood on the other side. She was fuming, her cheeks rounded and eyebrows creasing together. She marched in and gasped when she saw Levi straddling me.
“What the hell are you doing?” she screamed.
Levi shrugged. “Testing out new merchandise.” I paled at the metaphor. “What’s it to you? When I rule this city, I’m going to have more than one woman at my side. I’m just seeing if Naomi here has what it takes.”
“You son of a—” But Sandra stopped when Fallon cried out from the crate he was still locked in. Sandra’s eyes went wide, and she frantically looked around. “Fallon’s in here? Where? I came to check on him...what, why is he in this box?” she stepped over and fiddled with the padlock, unsuccessful as she tried to pull it off. She breathed heavy. “Levi? Why did you put my son in here? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Again Levi shrugged, not giving a damn, and motioned for me to continue. When I didn’t immediately lean my head forward to bit down on the edge of his boxers to pull them down, he scowled and grabbed my hair and jerked my head closer to his crotch. I tried to shake away, but he had an iron grip.
Sandra continued to scream at him, even coming up to grab his shoulder to force him to get Fallon out, but he punched her in the gut and forced her to stumble back into the doorframe.
When that happened, I looked to Sandra and felt guilty. As much as I hated her and she hated me, she had the short end of the stick. I mean, I saw it coming, and she reaped what she sowed, but damn. But then my spirits lifted as I looked past her and saw a dragon ascending the hill. It was flying high, careful to avoid being noticed until it was going to be right on top of Levi’s clan. I almost smiled and gave it away, but thankfully, Levi didn’t realize.
He laughed. “Happy to see your rival go down like that, huh?” Levi said, misunderstanding my smile. “Good. Maybe you will be my main woman…”
But his voice trailed off as his ears perked up, and he turned his head halfway to peer out the door. Just as the dragon landed in front of the shed, shaking the ground like crazy, Levi jumped off of me, ready to fight. I swung my legs around and kicked at his thigh, forcing him to stumble into a wall.
Outside, the angry shouts of Levi’s men filled the air as Alec shifted and charged inside and past Sandra. He saw me and grinned, matching my own as I turned and nodded to the rope binding me. “A little help?”
Within seconds, he pulled apart the rope binding me, but then Levi jumped on his back and the two went spiraling down, growling, punching, and digging their fingers into each other. They crashed through one of the windows and rolled around fighting. I heard Levi’s men all rushing up to help.
I quickly jumped to my feet, a bit dizzy from laying down for so long, but then I was rushing over to the crate where Sandra was hunched over, trying to open the padlock. When she saw me coming, she spat at my feet, but I just waved her off. “Move!” But when she didn’t, I just grabbed her shoulders and threw her back.
Angling my kick, I wound up and smashed open the padlock. Luckily for me, and just like everything else in this shed, the padlock was rusted over, making it easy to force it apart. When I finally got it open, I lifted the crate lid and Fallon sprung up like a jack-in-a-box. He hugged me, whimpering. But then Sandra was screeching in my ear and tearing me away, slapping me and hitting me. “Stay away from my son! He’s not yours!”
“Fallon, run!” I shouted, trying to fight Sandra off.
Thankfully, Fallon obeyed and jumped out of the box and ran. I spun Sandra around and gave her the slip, then followed him.
I smiled. This was it; we would be free. The rest of Alec’s clan would come, and Levi would be crushed.
But then Levi came out of nowhere, his hair messed up, a welt on his cheek, blood on his stomach. He wrapped an arm around my stomach and his other hand closed around my throat. In the distance, Alec ran to meet up with Fallon and embraced him, but then straightened when he saw me get snatched up. Levi’s other shifters surrounded Alec and Fallon.
“Things won’t go down like you want them to, girl,” Levi whispered in my ear.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Alec
When I embraced Fallon, immense joy filled my entire body. I was in heaven seeing my boy safe and sound in my arms.
But then I looked up and saw that Levi had captured Naomi. She was held tight, one of his hands digging into her neck. She looked at me stoically, but I could see the pain in her gaze. She was brave but scared.
I barely even noticed the rest of Levi’s clan as they surrounded us.
“Alright, well, this has been fun, Alec!” Levi said. “But this little game of ours is officially over. Submit right now, or I’ll kill her. Plain and simple.”
“No,” Fallon muttered. I placed a hand on his shoulder and stood taller, locking eyes with Naomi. Her lips quivered, and she wore the look of a cornered animal, afraid and willing to lash out at the first chance she got. If it weren’t for Fallon, I might have just charged Levi, hopefully getting there before he crushed Naomi’s windpipe.
In the distance, I heard a dragon roar, and I grinned and looked over my shoulder. Dozens of dragons from my clan were barreling towards the hill, ready to fight the moment they arrived. They’d be there any second now. So, turning back to Levi and seeing his nasty smile fade away, I spoke. “You’re right, Levi. This is over. So I’ll give you one chance too. Submit to me, and I’ll let you live.”
Just then, Sandra stumbled out of the shed. She looked like hell, but her entire focus was on Fallon.
“Fallon!” she screamed.
Levi flinched at the sound of her voice as if he’d forgotten she was there.
His hand loosened on Naomi’s neck. She took the chance.
She spat in his eyes and shoved him away, spinning out of his grasp and bolting. A few of Levi’s men went after her. I moved forward, leaving Fallon to run in the opposite direction. I trusted my son, and he understood what my intentions were. He slipped through the hands of two shifters and ran towards the incoming dragons.
Levi snarled and turned to go after Naomi, but I barreled into him instead, sending us both to the ground. He tore away from me quickly, scooped up a wad of dirt, and smashed it into my face. Some got in my eye, forcing me to close it.
“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you!” Levi said, getting up to kick me in the chest. I rolled back after the kick and up to my feet, steadying myself and wiping the dirt out of my eye. He came at me but stumbled when my clan finally landed on the hill, shaking the ground and causing many of Levi’s shifters to fall and trip over themselves. Levi did the same, tripping over his own feet and falling towards me. I grabbed onto his shoulders and tossed him to my left, letting him slide down the steep slope. He rolled, screaming, but then managed to find his feet and just jump off. In the air, he shifted and flew away. I turned back to see most of Levi’s men rounded up and Naomi embracing Fallon. Sandra was still yelling and screaming, but she was being held back.
Naomi caught my eye and nodded. Nodding back, I turned around and sprinted, leaping off the steep slope. In the air, I followed Levi’s lead and shifted, roaring and charging after him.
Levi freaked out as he realized I was following him and frantically tried to outmaneuver me. But his dragon was a bit slower, so I managed to catch up with him in no time.
Crashing into his side mid-air, I bit down on his leg and grabbed onto his back and stomach with my claws. He cried out and desperately tried to shake me off, but in the end, our combined weight dragged us down. We fell, the wind whipping all around us, and we smashed into the side of another hill. Rolling over each other, we untangled from each other’s bodies. Levi tried to swipe his claws across my eyes, but I ducked and swiped at his chest, nailing the hit.
Levi collapsed backward and continued sliding down, holding his chest wounds. I charged down after him, roaring out in rage. He used the opportunity, as soon as I jumped on him, to kick me over his head. I landed on flat land and slid to a stop.
Quickly rising to my feet, I shifted back to my human form, seeing Levi do the same. He still held his chest, wincing at the pain, and pointed at me.
“Why do you even care about ruling the city? Why are you even fighting me? Just give it up!” he shouted.
I shook my head. “You don’t deserve it. Besides, you’ve attacked my family and pissed me off. You tried to tear my life apart, so I’ll tear you apart.”
He roared in frustration and shifted, charging me quickly. I wasn’t prepared for how fast he was, so I was only able to shift before he slammed into me. I was sent back but managed to land on my feet. Fire erupted from his mouth, and he tried to engulf me in his flames, yet his breath wasn’t hot enough to hurt me. Feeling my heat rise within me, I opened my mouth and let my fire shoot out, smashing into his column. We stood there, trying to get our fire to overpower the other’s. Eventually, mine came out on top, shoving aside his flames and overtaking his head. He cried out and swung his head around, trying to bat out the flames.
I didn’t give him a moment to rest and charged him, hitting his side and flipping him over. I tried to stomp down on him, but he shifted and rolled out of the way.
But I was quicker.
As soon as he stood up and tried to shift back, I stabbed him with one of my claws. He jerked and grabbed onto my claw, looking down at his own impalement. He looked up at me one more time, grinned, and then went limp. I released him, and his body fell backward, hitting the ground.
I shifted to my human body moments later, standing over him, waiting for him to pop up and try to attack me again.