by Maia Star
Reed actually flinches at my boldness and snarls himself. “We’ve been betting on who would sleep with you first for days now. No, actually, that was before we even met you. Sven might be acting all nice right now, but I guarantee you that the second you’re out of sight, he’ll whisper some nasty things to me.”
“At least I don’t need to lord it over people in front of her,” Sven spits. “It’s like you’re too insecure about your standing in our clan...what, did you feel that Hayden and I were so far ahead of you that you had to just rub this in my face?”
A vein pops in Reed’s neck as Sven rises, and the two are inches from each other, snarling and staring each other down.
Finally, I’ve had enough and grab both of their shoulders. I wrench them apart as best I can, straining to push these two dragon shifters away from each other. Sven is easier to push, maybe because he’s willing to back down. But Reed is defiant. “Come on! You’re both here to protect me, not kill each other.” Both deflate a bit.
“It’s your turn to scout, Reed,” I continue, completely putting myself between him and Sven. “Come on...I’ll walk you to the door.”
Trembling, Reed grinds his teeth and shakes his head. “No, just stay in here. Who knows? Maybe Maxen’s just waiting outside to snatch you away.”
He stalks past me, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “What was the point of getting dressed again if I am stripping down minutes later? Unbelievable.” He opens the door and steps outside into the sunlight. Sven and I stand in silence as we wait to hear the telltale signs of his shift into a dragon. Within seconds we hear his roar and the hard flap of his wings as he lifts into the sky.
I’m left alone with Sven, unsure of what to do next.
Chapter Eighteen
Sven
I still find myself staring at the door when Reed finally leaves. It’s more like I’m picturing him still standing here, his back to me. I want to keep glaring at him, but I know that would be a waste of energy.
Glancing at Erika, she meets my gaze, but only briefly. Quickly, she turns away and heads over to the couch, where she collapses and pulls her knees up to her chest. Sighing, I trudge over and plop down next to her, my full weight rocking the couch slightly. Erika jolts at the sudden movement and then gazes at me curiously.
I shrug. “Yeah, this couch has a loose leg. We’ll get it fixed down the road.”
She blinks but otherwise doesn’t say anything.
Out of Hayden, Reed, and I, I’ve probably spent the least amount of time getting to know her. It hasn’t been because I didn’t want to, but Hayden and Reed were usually quicker about these things, much more impatient. I mean, I was impatient to know her too, but maybe I’d learned a thing or two over the years on how to approach these delicate situations.
Right now, Erika was guarded. That much was obvious. Generally, if someone crosses their arms or just leans away from me, they’re a bit hesitant to speak with me. But now that Erika is huddling in a corner of the couch, drawing her knees up, resting her head on her knee and making herself as small as possible, she is more than just a bit hesitant. That conversation between Reed and me clearly upset her.
While we sit on the couch, Erika stares straight ahead, and I follow her lead, stroking my beard.
“Want to watch a movie?” I say suddenly. Erika glances at me, and then slowly nods. “Great. Anything in particular? No? Well, I’m just gonna randomly look for something on TV then.”
She remains silent while I reach forward, grab the remote, and flip on the TV. The awkward tension is still hanging around us, but now at least we have some noise to drown out the silence. And now she has somewhere to look, something to focus on.
I drape one arm over the back of the couch and put my feet up, rubbing my neck from those four hours of flying around the city, looking for Maxen. Peeking at her out of the corner of my eye, I see her do the same. Her eyes can never not make me go wild on the inside. A bright amber color, as if they were windows into her beautiful soul. She keeps glancing at me, as if she wants to say something, but doesn’t know what.
Smiling, I turn my attention back to the TV and land on an action movie. Since we’re already halfway into the movie, the first thing that we see is a muscled guy with three different guns slung over his shoulder shooting wildly into a building, screaming something horrid.
“Don’t let Reed or I get to you, Erika,” I say, choosing to start the conversation. My inner dragon wants to get to know her better, and this is as good a chance as any. “We’re all competitive shifters by heart, and sometimes we’re driven to try and one-up each other.” She frowns but otherwise doesn’t speak, so I go on. “Reed is...well, he’s not the youngest, but I think sometimes he feels like it. Hayden is just all around naturally charming, and me, well, what can I say?” I wave at myself. “I mean, I’m practically a Roman god, right?”
Erika gives me a half-smile. “I guess so.”
I lay my head back in defeat. “Damn! Well, if you’re not convinced, I suppose no one else will be.”
“I don’t like the way Reed acted as if he conquered me,” Erika blurts out, curling up tighter on the couch. She turns to me, a skeptical look in her eyes. “Are you guys seriously competing over who’ll sleep with me first?”
I scratch my chin. “Honestly? We are...or were, since I guess Reed beat us to it. I’m sorry about that. We all just think you’re gorgeous and our innate dragon nature demands us to sleep with women to stay sane. It was...kind of natural for us to want to sleep with you.” Erika is watching me intently now, her face blank, almost unreadable. I’m not exactly sure how she’ll react to what I’m telling her. “It’s perfectly fine to be frustrated with us because of that. We’ll all probably butt heads over it again.”
Erika’s telltale red cheeks appear again. “So you’re just as attracted to me as Reed, or Hayden might be?”
I grin. “Of course! Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? It’s not only that; you’ve got a great personality. Plus, I can relate to what you’re going through, so it’s a bit easier for me to fall for you, I think.”
She raises an eyebrow, her legs coming down. Now she leans towards me. “How so?”
Turning towards her, forgetting about the flashing movie on the TV screen entirely, I put my full attention on her. “When I was a kid, I had a pretty controlling father. He would beat my mother for talking to the people he didn’t want her too. If she even looked at another man, he would drag her into the bedroom against her will and have sex with her until she couldn’t move. He wouldn’t let us have any kind of phones or laptops whatsoever. I couldn’t even go to a normal school. I was an only child, but as soon as I got old enough, I did odd jobs for our neighbors secretly to earn enough cash to buy a cam recorder. When I finally did get the recorder, I used it to film my dad’s abusive behavior. Then one day, I strolled into the local police station and showed them the footage, and weeks later, he was in jail.”
“Oh, Sven, I’m so sorry,” Erika says. My hand is on the couch, and she reaches across to clasp it. Her touch is soft and electrifying, and I crave so much more.
I can’t help but grin. “Looks like you’re feeling better already.”
Chapter Nineteen
Erika
Sven’s hand is tough yet warm. Where Reed is quick, or Hayden is cool and charming, when I hold onto Sven, I feel a different kind of inner peace. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s older and more experienced that comforts me, or maybe it’s because Sven actually understands what I’m going through. Either way, I’m quickly falling for him too.
My head is practically hurting from this trio. I never expected to fall for any of these three shifters. I only wanted their protection, but now that I’m getting to know each of them in turn, I can’t help but grow closer to them. They’re quickly becoming my first friends in San Francisco, my first family, and maybe something more.
But I tremble at the thought. It’s not like I can take all three of them as l
overs, can I? No, that can’t happen...can it? I doubt they’ll all agree to that. They’ll probably kill each other before that happened, and I can’t allow tensions to ever get that far, especially not when Maxen is still on the prowl.
Sighing, I hold Sven’s hand tighter subconsciously, staring back up at the action movie. One of the bad guys on screen shifts into a dragon, towering over the good guy with all the guns. They have an epic stare down before they charge at each other. And then it goes to commercials.
“Damn it all, what terrible timing,” Sven mutters. He glances at me. “You’ve got soft hands, by the way. Just thought I’d let you know.”
I let out a laugh, and he laughs too.
Then his phone rings somewhere on his side of the couch. Frowning, he has to let go of my hand while he reaches down to pick his phone off the carpet. Raising a brow, Sven glances at me. “It’s Hayden.” Answering, he looks up at the ceiling while he talks. “Hey, what’s up?” He pauses while Hayden speaks. I recognize Hayden’s confident voice, but there’s a hard edge to it now. He sounds...apprehensive, not that I can make out anything beyond that.
I sit quietly. “Uh-huh, well, that’s a problem. Stay safe while you follow him. Want me to call Reed up for you?” Sven blinks, and then glances at me, handing me the phone. “He wants to talk to you, Erika.”
Shocked, I take the hot phone and press it against my ear. “Hayden?”
“Erika! Glad you’re there. Listen, I don’t want to startle you, but at this rate I...eh, hold on.” I hear rustling in the background, the pitter-patter of running feet on concrete and then metal. The wind can be heard whistling in the background too. “Look, I think I might have found Maxen.”
My heart stops and my throat is dry. I swallow as I sit up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“I saw a guy that fits your description, and I’m following him from the rooftops of the city now. I—” He pauses. “Uh, what I need now is to know how he fights. You’ve probably seen him get into a brawl or two, right? Please tell me you have because that’ll make this a lot easier.”
All those peaceful thoughts and mood are out the window and my mind is racing to think of the information Hayden is asking for. “Um...I...I’m sorry this is such short notice.”
“I understand, but if you can think of anything, it’ll be a huge help. I’m going to confront him soon, so I want to be prepared for anything. If I can capture him, I can bring him to the police. This could all be over in a few hours.”
I absently nod, even though Hayden isn’t here with me. “I...the best thing I can think of is that he likes to play dirty. If there’s anything nearby, like a bag of something, or maybe something that can be used as a weapon, he’ll likely try it first before shifting. Shifting into his bear form is his last resort.”
“Got it; anything else?”
“Um...I’m sorry, I can’t think of much else at the moment.”
“That’s fine, Erika. Hey, just relax. Sven is there with you, so no matter what happens, you’ll still be safe. You’ll be free from this guy in no time. All right, gotta go.”
And with that, he hangs up the phone.
I’m still clutching Sven’s phone, staring at the ground, when Sven shuffles over and wraps an arm around me. “Are you okay?”
I don’t know what to say, so I just look up at him and hand him his phone.
Maxen is definitely here in the city, looking for me. And now he’s about to be confronted by Hayden.
Sven rises to his feet, putting the phone back up to his ear. “I’m gonna go call Reed quickly and let him know to hurry over to help Hayden. I’ll be right back.” He walks away towards the front door, stepping outside. “Hey, Reed! Big news, so…”
His voice trails away as I remain on the couch, picturing Maxen fighting Hayden in some street or alley right now. I can’t stop trembling as I imagine what’s about to go down somewhere out in the city. Hayden could catch Maxen, beat him silly, or even straight up kill him, and that’ll be it. Like he said, I’m only a few hours away from true freedom. I won’t have to be scared of running into him anymore.
Clenching and unclenching my fists, I sit silently, unable to think of anything else other than Maxen’s defeat.
Yet the more I think, the harder I frown, and more my nerves overtake me. A sickeningly feeling in my gut tells me something is seriously wrong. Will Hayden really be able to easily take Maxen down? Will he be overconfident and screw up the fight?
Will Maxen kill him instead?
I know my ex is capable of killing. I’ve never seen him kill before, but I’ve heard rumors and seen the way his expression turns stony after a particularly grueling argument or fight.
I want to disappear for good, to go far away to a place Maxen will never find me, but I know that just isn’t possible.
Curling up on the couch again, I lay down and hold myself, hoping Maxen never walks through the front door.
Chapter Twenty
Hayden
When I hang up the phone, I instantly wish I didn’t.
I've been waiting for hours to hear Erika’s voice again, and when I finally did get to speak to her, it was like my whole world brightened. I feel more confident in how I’m going to handle Maxen, and her tips were pretty useful too.
From my perch on top of a ten-story office building, I stare down at the bulky figure I’ve tagged as Maxen. The bear shifter walks with a swagger down the street, as if he owns the whole city, and he’s the king gracing the peasants with his presence. It makes me sick just watching him bump into strangers and force others to move out of the way for him.
Because we’re downtown right now, I’m hesitant to confront him just yet. As much as I want to give this guy a lesson about treating women, I can’t risk a potential fight spilling into the general populace. I’m not about to get anyone hurt or even killed because I can’t control my temper.
So I’ve been following him ever since I first laid eyes on him waltzing out of a sandwich shop. And of course, all he’s been doing is walking around, gazing at the crowds, trying to find Erika or at least sniff out her trail.
He’s already been by the Fiery Hearts office building, and I’m sure he’s thinking she hired bodyguards to protect her.
All I have to do right now is wait for the right opportunity as I leap from building to building, tailing him from above.
Luckily, he’s on the move further away from the downtown area, walking in the direction of Street House. Once he turns onto a street with barely anyone on it, he speed-walks into an alley, and I know this is my chance.
Hurrying so I don’t lose the guy, I leap to a shorter building below, landing in a roll and jumping to the edge, where I drop down to the ground. My landing could have gone better...but no one saw me, which was perfect. Adjusting myself, and dusting off my shoulders, I walk down the street and turn into the same alley.
Maxen is nowhere in sight, but I expect nothing less. I follow the angles of these back alleys, sniffing his musty scent and following the scuff marks he’s left on the ground or walls. There are even claw marks in a few places, made because he’s been slowly losing himself to his bear nature without Erika around to satisfy him.
Eventually I turn a corner and see him hunched over behind a garbage bin. He’s puking his lunch up, heaving it up in spurts. It’s disgusting to watch. He hasn’t noticed me yet because of it, and this could be a chance for me to wait for backup from Reed...but…
Grinning to myself, I continue forward. I’ve been waiting for this chance ever since I met Erika. I wanted to give this guy a small taste of what he’s done to my future mate, and I didn’t want Reed around to hold me back.
Before I’m even a dozen feet away from him, he looks up and scowls at me. “What do you want?”
I hold up a hand in peace. “Oh, I just saw you wander down here and thought you looked a bit ill. Turns out I was right! Let me help you out, buddy.”
I take a step closer, but Maxen spits at me. “Get
lost, or I'll tear your head off.”
My nose twitches at his tone, so I grin madly. “I don’t think so...Maxen.”
Chuckling, he stands up straighter, wiping snot off of his face. “Oh, I get it now. You’re probably one of Erika’s bodyguards, am I right?”
It’s impossible for me to hold back now, and so I dart forward, intent on picking him up and slamming him against the wall. But he makes a small movement, and instead of running from me, he steps in, opening up his arms. He’s got me in a headlock and lifts me off the ground, slamming me against the wall instead. Pain engulfs my body for a few seconds as my skin tingles, and then he plants a foot to my chest, kicking me hard. I lash out with my fists, but he deftly dodges me. Instead, he steps back, picks up the top of the garbage can, and smacks me across the face with it as I try to stand.
Rolling back, I rise to my knees, holding up my arms in defense. Maxen can’t seem to stop laughing at me. “Stupid dragons...always thinking they have the advantage in every fight.” I snarl at him, but he waggles a finger at me. “Let me just kill you quickly, so I can find my woman.”
“She isn’t yours!” I shout, racing forward again. This time I kick off the wall to aim my other leg at his head. He tries to catch my ankle, but I twist in the air and land my kick, sending him sprawling backward. He roars out in anger and lunges at me, partially shifting as his giant paw smacks me in the chest, sending me skittering back.
“Hayden!” Reed shouts somewhere close by. “Say something! I’m here!”
“Hurry up!” I shout, glancing away for a second. If we can corner him, we can get the upper hand…
But when I turn back, Maxen is sprinting around the corner, trying to escape. I run to catch up to him. I would shift into my faster-moving dragon form, but it’s entirely too cramped in these alleys, so I’m forced to keep running on foot.