by Chant, Zoe
The tiny animal shot her a look with her big, luminous eyes as if to say traitor! and tried to go around her. Seeing she was blocked in, Ruby fluttered her wings and began to clumsily take off, but Myrtle was too quick.
“Nuh-uh, no you don’t!” She scooped Ruby up gently, holding her so her legs stuck out through the gaps between her fingers, her hooves just off the table’s surface.
“Meee-eeh!”
“It’s like he said, it’s for your own good,” Myrtle said soothingly as Hector finally managed to wipe off some of the puree. “C’mon, Ruby, just relax…”
And to her surprise, Ruby did.
She became calm in Myrtle’s hands, stilling her legs and folding her wings back by her sides. She didn’t even try to move her head away when Hector ran the towel gently over her muzzle, wiping away the last of the puree.
“That’s it, Rubes,” Hector said softly. “There. Nice and clean. You’re fit to be seen again.”
Ruby blinked at him, her eyes dark and liquid.
“I think she likes you,” Hector said. “I wasn’t having any luck until you talked her into it.”
“Maybe.” Myrtle looked down at Ruby, who was now regarding them both seriously. “You don’t think she… well, that she imprinted on me?”
She felt silly asking, but of course everyone knew about ducklings hatching and attaching themselves to the first thing they saw.
Hector shook his head. “I suppose we don’t know. Obviously the first thing any baby should see, ideally, is its mother or father. But since we don’t know if this little one even has a mother or father anymore…”
Hector trailed off.
Sadness welled up inside Myrtle. She might really be all alone.
As soon as the thought occurred to her, she felt a strange, sweeping feeling of comfort wash over her. It was as if someone had just run a warm hand over her forehead, soothing away all her doubts, all her fears…
It was only then that she noticed just how close she and Hector were standing to each other.
In the struggle to get Ruby clean, they’d unconsciously leaned into one another, their heads bent toward each other, their shoulders nearly touching.
Oh. Um.
Myrtle felt a new kind of warmth within her – one that started in her belly and curled slowly downward.
Hector’s breath was warm against her cheek. He was standing so close to her that she could make out the individual flecks of gold in his deep brown eyes, the flicker of his dark eyelashes when he blinked.
All I’d need to do to kiss him is just move my head a little…
She heard Hector swallow, the sound loud in her ears. His eyes flicked down, settling on her lips.
The air between them crackled, and Myrtle felt her stomach turn over.
I –
The sound of a tiny snore jerked them both out of whatever trance they’d drifted into.
As one, they turned their heads to look down at Ruby, who had fallen asleep in Myrtle’s hands, her tiny head resting against her palm, wings folded against her sides.
“Oh,” Myrtle said, feeling almost as if she was waking from a dream – an extremely vivid dream. But she’d woken up before she’d got to the best part!
She shook her head, trying to clear it.
Did that really happen just now?
She glanced at Hector from beneath her eyelashes. He looked mildly stunned, blinking as if he too was just waking up. Though in this case, he looked like he was just waking up from a twelve-hour nap and wasn’t too sure what day it was. Or maybe even what year it was.
“Uh, I guess we better get this one to bed,” Myrtle said, her words coming out in a rush to fill the awkward silence between them. “She wore herself out eating, clearly.”
“She sure did.”
Myrtle laughed shakily in response. Carefully raising her arms so as not to jostle her, she carried Ruby across the room to the feathery nest beneath the heat lamp. Hector was already turning the temperature down a bit, the light dimming.
With infinite care, Myrtle placed Ruby down in the nest. She barely stirred except to make another small snorting noise, kicking her feet a little in her sleep.
“I wonder what she’s dreaming about,” Myrtle said, looking down at her. Affection swelled up within her. She’d only known Ruby for a short time, but she was already more attached to her than she wanted to admit.
Apprehension suddenly filled her. As the last remaining pegasus on the planet, what would happen to Ruby now? Would she go to a lab to be studied? Would she always have to be under protection, never safe from people like the ones who’d tried to buy her egg, just so they could have boasting rights of owning the one and only remaining pegasus?
“What will happen to her now?” she asked Hector, looking up at him. “You must have had plans for what would happen to her if the egg turned out to be real after all.”
Hector glanced at her. He still looked mildly dazed, and Myrtle’s heartbeat sped up a little.
Maybe it wasn’t a dream after all. Maybe he was on the verge of kissing me before…
“I’ll be honest, Myrtle: I don’t know,” Hector said. “Before, when I said I was a cop… that was only half the truth. I am in law enforcement. But what I do… well, it’s more complicated than that. And it’ll take a lot of explaining.”
“Well, obviously,” Myrtle said, sweeping her arm out to gesture at the range of high-tech equipment that filled the room. “Either you’re no regular cop, or things are pretty different around here. No cop I’ve ever heard of sits around in the middle of the desert monitoring… well, just what are you monitoring here anyway?”
“Like I said, it’d take a lot of explaining,” Hector said. “But I can say that no one will be taking Ruby away or… dissecting her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Shock coursed through Myrtle. “Was that a risk?!”
“No! No. Not at all.” Hector hesitated. “It’s complicated.”
Myrtle rolled her eyes, aware she was being impatient, but not able to care right now.
“You keep saying that! Look – I’m a scientist. I’m used to hearing difficult things. And part of my study involves endangered animals, so I’m used to hearing bad news. Just tell me.”
“All right, all right,” Hector said. “No more giving you the runaround. The truth is, Myrtle, that –”
He broke off suddenly, twisting around to face the door. At the exact same moment, Ruby woke from her slumber, her head shooting up, eyes wide. A tiny, anxious whinny escaped her.
“Hector?” Myrtle asked, her breath catching in her throat. “What is it?”
Hector didn’t answer her. She stared up at him. He had an expression of fierce concentration on his face, like an animal scenting the wind. She could see all the coiled, latent power in his limbs come to life.
And for a moment, she could have sworn she saw his eyes flash gold.
What – what the –
“Myrtle,” he said, his voice low and urgent, “get down.”
Chapter 5
He could sense it as Myrtle’s breathing sped up, her heart beating wildly.
“Hector? What is it?”
“Just go into the other room and get down,” he repeated, before, leaning over, he carefully scooped Ruby up in the palm of his hand, passing her to Myrtle. The foal didn’t struggle, though for a moment, he thought he could feel a sense of confusion and fear bubbling up against his mind. “And make sure Ruby’s safe. Hold her and don’t let her go. And don’t come outside until I give you the all clear.”
Myrtle opened her mouth, looking for a moment like she might argue. But then she simply closed it again, nodding.
“Okay. I won’t.”
He watched as she bustled across the room, holding Ruby to her chest. He’d been on the verge of telling Myrtle everything – that aside from being a pegasus, Ruby had a human form that she’d be able to take on when she got a little older. The same way that he had an animal form he co
uld take on when he needed to, along with an annoying griffin living inside his head that occasionally gave him irritating and only partially correct life advice.
One thing it was rarely wrong about, though, was when it sensed danger. And all the griffin’s senses were bristling now, warning him that something was coming.
God, I hope I’m wrong.
But deep in his heart, he knew he wasn’t.
Shit. Shit shit shit. Fuck. Shit.
Sparing a backward glance at the door Myrtle had disappeared through, Hector vaulted easily over the table and then strode over to the steel door leading outside.
We must protect our mate and the cub, his griffin screeched, rearing up inside his head, sending a burst of fury through him so strong that for a moment, all Hector could see was a mist of red.
Of course I’ll protect them, he shot back as he went out into the night. Forever. With my life, if I have to.
He hoped it wouldn’t come to that – after all, he didn’t even know what kind of danger he was facing yet, only that it was there.
It didn’t take him long, however, to figure out exactly what his griffin had sensed. The roar of motorbike engines sounded from somewhere distant, cutting through the silence of the night.
So they did track us after all, Hector thought grimly. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. It would have been difficult, but a real pegasus egg was obviously worth the effort.
Fucking shit.
Hector cursed himself. He’d been too distracted by Myrtle’s beauty, Myrtle’s scent, Myrtle’s everything to think straight. And until it’d hatched, he’d really thought the egg was a fake.
I still don’t understand how I missed that, Hector thought. He should have been able to sense the tiny pegasus inside the egg. And he didn’t exactly understand why it’d chosen now of all times to hatch…
… But that wasn’t important right now. Myrtle might not know yet that she was his mate, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was her safety. As long as he was alive, he wouldn’t let anyone touch a hair on her head.
Or Ruby’s either, Hector thought as he turned his head, getting a bearing on the approaching motorbikes. He knew it wasn’t smart, but he’d let the cute little gal get to him. And as of now, she didn’t have anyone else in the world but him and Myrtle.
I really need to apologize to her, Hector thought as he began running. To them both.
Myrtle had saved Ruby. She’d protected her even though she’d been risking her own life to do it. She’d known what Hector had missed: that there was something living inside that egg, and it had needed her help.
A fierce warmth welled up inside Hector’s heart.
Our mate is strong, brave, and smart, his griffin said. And you have not yet proved yourself worthy of her.
But I will, he promised it. If I get out of this, I will.
The regret that he hadn’t just kissed her back in the ops room simmered in his belly. He had wanted to – fuck, he’d wanted to, more than he’d ever wanted anything before in his life – and she’d wanted him too as well. He thought she had, anyway. Maybe, despite her misgivings and his shitty behavior, she could feel their connection too.
No more secrets after this, Hector promised her in his mind. No more hesitation. I’ll tell you the whole truth – and then we can finish what we almost started.
The roar of motorbike engines became louder, and headlights blared out of the darkness as the bikies crested a rise, their bikes tearing up the dirt road.
Hector wasn’t as far from the shipping containers as he would have liked, but at this stage there wasn’t a lot he could do about it. It would have to be here.
I’ll stop them. Right here. They won’t get any closer to either Myrtle or Ruby.
Inside him, his griffin glowered, flexing its talons, its lion’s tail flicking back and forth. He could feel that it was just itching for a fight.
And maybe these bikies would oblige it.
Hector lifted his arms, and bellowed.
“HEY! HEY, DICKHEADS! HEY!”
He supposed there was a risk they might just drive on past him – but in that case he’d simply shift and swoop down on them from above. There would be no time for niceties or not blowing his cover if there was even a chance any of them could get close to his mate.
And if they’d been trying to sell a pegasus egg in the apparently full knowledge of what it was, then they must have already known about shifters, anyway.
The leader of the gang jabbed a finger in Hector’s direction, bringing his absolute monster of a bike ’round to face him.
Hector counted four of them. Far from the whole gang, then, but who knew where the others were? This was probably just a scouting party, sent out into the desert to search.
It might have been pure chance then that they came in this direction, Hector realized.
But maybe not, his griffin reminded him. Were you really going to leave it to chance that they’d drive on by?
Might’ve been wiser to wait, Hector told it as the bikies slowed, circling him, filling the air with red dust and the sound of roaring engines. That’s your problem. You never wait.
His griffin didn’t respond, but he could tell by the flick of its tail that it was caught somewhere between irritation and apology. Though the balance was tipped way in favor of irritation.
“Well, lookie here,” the first bikie said as he cut the engine to his motorcycle, the headlights still on. He planted his feet on the ground and leaned back in the saddle, crossing his arms over his gut. “Reckon you’ve just made our lives a whole lot easier. Saved us the trouble of being out half the night lookin’ for yer skinny arse and dragging it back with us.”
Skinny?!
Hector’s griffin was outraged.
He ignored it, focusing on the bikies. He could only see the two that were parked right in front of him, but nonetheless, he could sense the exact location of the two behind him as well. If either of them moved, he’d know it.
“You reckon, do you?” he asked, clenching his fists and staring the leader of the pack directly in the eyes. The man – his face a patchwork of white beard and red blood vessels – didn’t flinch.
“We can do this one of two ways. We can drag you back kicking and screaming – or we can just drag you.” He shrugged, as if it was all the same to him, which it probably was. “Your choice, mate.”
“Boss said it was a chick who took off with the egg.” One of the bikies behind Hector spoke up next.
The man in front of him smirked, cocking an eyebrow. “This guy’s pretty enough to be a chick,” he said. “Sure he didn’t make a mistake?”
Hector rolled his eyes. “If you’re asking me out, this is really not the right way to go about it.”
The bikie chuckled, learning forward and resting his forearms on the handlebars of his bike.
“You’re funny. But Terry’s got a good point there. Where’s your little girlfriend? Was this whole thing a setup from the start? Pretty stupid plan, if you ask me. What, just a smash and grab? Did’ya think we’d just shrug our shoulders and write it off?”
They still think Myrtle’s the buyer, Hector realized. That she always intended to skip out with the egg.
“Worth a try,” he said, shaking his head. Anything he could do to misdirect them was good. He had to keep his cover intact as far as possible. Let the bikies think he was just a particularly stupid scammer who’d messed with the wrong scumbags.
“Worth what? You ending up in bits and pieces from here to Coolangatta?” The bikie laughed. “Not likely.”
“We need to get back, Baz.” Terry the bikie spoke up again, sounding nervous. “We found him, so let’s just grab him and go back.”
The lead bikie – Baz – shook his head. “Nah. Not yet. While we’re dragging this guy back, his little lady’s off and running. We’re not going back without both of them. And the egg.”
Hector shrugged. “You won’t find her. And the egg… well, sorry t
o say it met with an accident. It broke. Those things are more delicate than they look.”
Not even a lie, he thought. The egg really had gotten broken into about a hundred pieces when Ruby had burst out of it.
Baz the bikie went dangerously still. “I’m gonna hope for your sake – and for the sake of your girl – that that’s a joke.”
“We don’t have time for this shit,” Terry broke in again.
Baz nodded. “You must think I’m a fucking idiot if you think I’m gonna go for that ‘whoops we dropped it!’ bullshit. You’re just buying time for your girlie to escape.” He pointed a finger at Terry and one of the other bikies. “You two – get going. Find the girl.” He paused, reaching over his shoulder. When he lowered his arm again, he was holding a sawn-off shotgun, which he leveled at Hector’s chest. “We’ll deal with this bullshit artist.”
Hector tensed, clenching his fists. His griffin lowered its head, hackles rising. Here we go.
There was no way he was letting Terry and his offsider get anywhere near Myrtle and Ruby.
As a shifter, he could move faster than any ordinary human – and as a griffin, he could move faster than any ordinary human could see.
Ducking his head, he swung around to Baz’s left, out of the line of fire of the shotgun, and out of the middle of the ring of bikes.
“What the –”
He heard the surprised shout, but he didn’t stop. He came up right behind Baz, smashing his elbow into the side of his neck. It was a move that would incapacitate, not kill – he wouldn’t be able to justify killing, not against a regular human. Even if Baz had shot him, his shifter healing meant it was unlikely to inflict a fatal wound.
And by the time Baz and his little friends here came to, Hector was planning to have Myrtle and Ruby well on their way to somewhere safe.
Baz’s massive body jerked, muscles going slack as he lost consciousness, shotgun sliding from his fingers. He toppled over like a fleshy landslide, taking his monster of a bike with him.
“Fuck!”
The other bikies, thrown into confusion, were twisting around in their seats, or reaching for their own weapons. Terry jumped off his bike, snatching Baz’s dropped shotgun and swinging it around, trying to track Hector’s movement.