by Maia Star
Rolling my eyes, I still maintain my smile. “Let’s say I do become your mate...which is what you want, right? Let’s say that happens. How many kids would you want?”
Arthur blinks and looks up at the midnight sky. “My instincts tell me to have a whole lot. I get lonely as a bachelor, so I want as many as I can have.”
“You got an exact number? Or would you just want to play it by ear?”
“Let’s go with twenty.”
“That’s insane.”
“Kidding! Seriously, though, I wouldn’t mind like ten. Okay, fine, let’s go with seven.”
I groan. “Seven kids? That’s way too much. I’ve already—” Stopping myself before I go on, I clamp my lips shut.
Arthur raises a brow at me. “You already...what?”
“Um…” Trying to divert his attention, I let go of his hand like he did earlier and run up the street. “Oh, look at that!” I point down a random alley, pretending like I see a stray dog or cat. In reality, I see a shadow dip behind a garbage can. I’m stunned, my finger shaking. I didn’t mean to point someone out.
Arthur charges up to me and looks to where my finger is still pointing. It’s when he gazes down the alley that I notice the white van parked down the alley. “What's up? See something?”
“Well, I thought I saw a stray cat…” I lower my finger, scratching the side of my cheek. “But I think I saw someone instead...that’s a bit awkward.”
Arthur peers deeper down the alley as the man I saw shuffles his feet, still mostly hidden behind the trash can. Arthur’s demeanor has changed completely. His friendly, easygoing attitude is gone and is replaced by a mean expression and rigid body. “Hey, man, why are you hiding from us?” he calls.
“Arthur, what are you doing?” I whisper.
The man behind the trash can slowly rises to his feet. He’s bald but dressed in all black. A black mask is clutched in his hand. He waves a simple greeting at us. “Ah, just dropped my keys! So I bent down to grab them. Wasn’t hiding. Honest.”
I’m ready to leave, embarrassed by my actions, when Arthur steps forward. I grab his arm. “Where are you going?”
He ignores me and instead calls out to the man. “Hey! You smell familiar. And why are you dressed in all black? That mask...it looks familiar too.”
The man begins to walk to the white van and opens the driver's door. “Sorry, pal. I’ve never seen you before. It’s a bit weird you’re trying to smell me, though.”
Before I can stop Arthur, he’s rushing forward, sprinting straight towards the man. The man seems to understand the situation he’s in because his face twists in fear as he hurries to get inside the van. He manages to shut the door, but Arthur gets there and tears the door off easily, tossing it to skid on the ground. He grabs the man by the collar and pulls him out, dodging a knife the man pulls out and tries to swipe at Arthur.
Once Arthur grabs the knife and tosses it perfectly in the trash can, he throws the guy against the wall.
I run up, confused and scared, my heart thumping in fear. “What’s happening, Arthur? Why are you attacking him? Why is he attacking you?”
Arthur growls. “I know this guy. Well, not know him, but I’ve seen him before trying to mug some poor guy. I stopped him. Called the police on him, but it looks like he somehow slipped away.”
After Arthur’s speech, the thief looks up and blanches. “Wait, you’re that dragon shifter guy! Goddamn it! Not again! Go screw up someone else’s plan for once.”
“You trying to steal again? Are you hitting a house or apartment this time?” Arthur asks without missing a beat. He growls low at the thief, who, for what it's worth, doesn’t back down.
“Fuck you.”
“Wrong answer, bud.” Arthur grabs him by the collar. “Give me an answer, and I won't beat the shit out of you before you actually go to jail this time.”
I stay quiet as the thief struggles in Arthur’s grip and remains silent, but as Arthur angles his fingers at the thief’s neck, he cries out. “All right! Fine! We’re hitting up some apartments tonight. We know all of them are empty right now. All the residents are gone for the night.”
“The apartments close by?”
“Obviously.”
By now, I’m pacing, and I can’t help but pull out my phone to call up Cindy.
“Are you calling the cops now?” the thief spits out. “Screw you!”
I ignore him and the look Arthur throws me, and I rub my forehead as Cindy’s cell goes to voicemail. “Shit.” I call again and quicken my pacing. Something doesn’t seem right. My apartment can’t be one of the apartments being broken into right now, right? We’re not too far from it. But Cindy and Kai would be there. Damn it, why won’t Cindy pick up?
Finally, after the third call, Cindy picks up, but her breathing is jittery and her voice is quiet. “I can’t speak that much. I gotta talk quiet, so just listen,” she says. “Sorry to spring this on you, but your apartment is being broken into.”
Alarm bells go off in my head. “What do you mean? Have they seen you? Are you okay? Where’s Kai?”
“Kai’s with me,” she says, but stops. She waits for a few seconds before speaking again. “We’re hiding in the closet for the time being. They aren’t coming in here since they saw this was a kid’s room. But please, call the police.”
“I will, I will! Please, Cindy, keep Kai safe!”
The phone ends there, and I stow my phone. Arthur is staring at me, one hand still clutching the thief’s collar. “What’s wrong? Who’s Cindy and Kai? Some friends of yours?”
“We need to get back to my apartment, right now!” I say. I turn to run. “Please, Arthur, just follow me.”
“Wait, what? But this guy—” Arthur shuts up and punches the thief, knocking him unconscious. “Fine, what’s happening, Scar? Are they going after your place? Do you have someone over there? Did a neighbor see it?”
I’m too worked up to answer him. All I can think about is Kai, Kai, Kai. My son is in danger. My son is in danger. My son is in danger!
With Arthur along, we can easily save them, but then he’ll learn about Kai. Not that that’s important right now. Kai’s life is much more important. I wouldn’t put it past random thieves to kill people who could tattle on them, no matter how young they are. I just can’t risk it.
“We need to hurry! Can you...can you run on ahead?” I ask.
“Yes, but then I’d have to leave you—”
“It doesn’t matter! Just go!”
Stunned, Arthur sprints ahead so much faster than I imagined.
Chapter Fourteen
Arthur
Sprinting ahead of Scarlet, I burst down the street, angling towards her apartment.
I’m a bit worried about leaving her behind on her own, no matter if that other thief is knocked out or not. There could have been more thieves hiding somewhere nearby that could go after her. But Scarlet was insistent that I get to her apartment and stop the other thieves.
Rushing down the street, I come to a sliding stop in front of her apartment building. It’s quiet, but if I listen hard enough, I can hear shuffling around and lots of grunting from inside her apartment. I peer at her windows; the blinds are close...but there are still very tiny gaps in which I can see motion through. And if there’s motion, there’s unwanted guests in my mate’s apartment.
I don’t think I’ll be very forgiving with them.
Leaping up the steps to the front door of the building, I get inside and up to her door. I press my ear to the door and listen to what sounds like three men whispering to each other. One chuckles, while the others walk around, carrying something heavy. Just before I’m about to open the door, I hear a girl’s scream.
“Oh shit, what was that?” one thief says in anxiety. “Is there someone in this apartment?
As the screaming and whining girl gets closer, a fourth voice speaks. “Just this girl.”
The girl’s voice is squeaky, high pitched. She’s probably a teenager.
..but what would a teenager be doing in Scarlet’s apartment? “Please! Let me go! Just take the jewelry and leave—” The girl’s voice cuts out when someone audibly slaps her. She coughs and swears.
“Not happening,” says the gruff, fourth voice. “You’ve seen our faces now. We’re taking you with us.”
“No!”
Licking my lips, I step back and ready my leg. It’s about time I spring a nice surprise. I’ll apologize to Scarlet later about what I’m about to do to her door.
Sending a foot at the door, I snap it in half easily, and it collapses to either side of the doorframe, allowing me to slip in. I grin furiously at the four thieves within, who stare shocked back at me. “What kind of party is this? Or is this even a party at all if you break in, steal Scarlet’s things, and smack a teenage girl, all without Scarlet’s consent?”
One thief grabs one of his friends and forces him to grab the girl, while another runs off towards the hallway. The other two size me up and step forward. “Go fuck off!” the closest one says.
I shrug. “You can’t make me. Hey, but don’t you think this is a bit dangerous? A bit unfair?”
The duo coming at me laugh. “Learn to deal with it. Life isn’t always fair, dude,” the first one says.
“No, I mean it's unfair for you guys. Two isn’t going to be a challenge for me. Yet you’re guarding a teenage girl. What’s she gonna do? Gossip you all to death?” The three men in black ski masks frown at me. “And what about that other guy? Does he run the show? He’s probably running off with the loot right now!”
The thieves don’t care to listen to me anymore, and instead, they both come up at me while the third drags the girl over to the wall. I dodge a flurry of very slow but heavy fists. It’s pretty pathetic watching these two grown men try to fight me after lording over a teen girl. I can’t wait to see their faces when they find out I’m a shifter.
The two attacking me already look pretty confused, so I know I’m doing something right.
Ducking under a punch from the first thief, I sweep my leg low and take out his, forcing him to hit the floor hard and roll away. The second thief is forced to jump over the first, and I take the opportunity to step forward and punch him in the nose. I’m pretty sure I smashed his nose in, since he falls back, crying, blood flowing from nostrils. Neither thief is completely down yet, so before either can crawl up to their feet, I walk forward and punch them hard on the heads, knocking them at least semi-unconscious. Point is, they won’t be moving around anytime soon.
I go to face the third thief, who’s holding the girl by her hair. The girl wears a twisted expression. A look of fear as she struggles against the man. The thief pulls out a knife, though, and presses it to her neck.
“We weren’t planning on harming anybody,” the thief says, his voice shaking. “But you’re forcing our hand. We just wanted some goodies, that’s all.”
I hold out a hand to calm him, which seems to work. “Look, I get it. Poor thieves like you just want to do what you do best. Sneak in poor, sneak out rich. But you’re pretty bad at that, so maybe you should think about getting a better profession, eh?” When the thief only tenses up, I put on a harder, tighter expression. “If you harm the girl in any way, I’ll make sure to roast you alive...you understand?”
The thief’s eyes widen as he gets my meaning. “You’re a dragon shifter!”
At that moment, the thief loses focus, and his hand falls from the girl’s neck. She gives me a look and pulls away. A few strands of her hair are pulled out as she lurches forward, and she cries out, but she manages to get far enough away for me to dart forward and intercept the knife and close a hand around the thief’s throat.
The girl stumbles towards the door while I disarm the thief and hold him up by the throat. The knife clatters to the floor. The teen girl and I have just switched places.
I grin up at the thief while he struggles to breathe. I strangle him to the point of unconsciousness, and then he slumps on the ground.
Just as I step back, hurried footsteps appear at the front door. I whip my head around to find Scarlet staring in, her hands on the door frame, eyes gazing around in horror at the crumpled bodies.
“Don’t worry, they aren’t dead,” I say with a smile, hoping she’ll smile along with me. When she doesn’t, I cock my head. “There’s still one more, so you should probably stay outside for now, okay?”
Suddenly the teen girl gets up and embraces Scarlet and cries. “It’s okay now,” Scarlet says into the girl’s hair. “Cindy, it’s okay...where’s Kai?”
“You mean this boy?” the final thief says, coming out of the hallway with a rigid, frightened boy in front of him. The boy, who I presume is Kai, is blond, his gold locks tousled, and his green eyes wide with fright. He’s staring at Scarlet but won’t say a thing. The thief puts a hand on the kid’s shoulder, and from my angle, I see a handgun pressed to Kai’s spine.
Scarlet begins to step forward. “Let him go!”
“Wait!” I shout, throwing out a hand. “He’s got a gun, Scar. Stay there.”
The thief sneers at me. “Oh, you’ve got good eyesight in the dark! I was gonna shoot her when she got close enough...but I guess you just ruined that plan. What, are you? Wolf or bear?”
“Dragon,” I snarl. “If you harm that boy, this won’t end well for you.”
“Well, if you don’t want any harm to come to this kid in the first place, then everybody needs to get over by the wall. Now!”
At first, Scarlet and Cindy don’t move, but slowly, Cindy, still clinging to Scarlet’s side, begins to pull her over. Scarlet is glaring at the man with all the ferocity of a demon, but when she looks at Kai, she softens. “Everything will be fine, Kai. Just let him walk you to the door, okay? He’ll let you go after that.”
The fourth thief does exactly that, shuffling over to the door and letting Kai go. Just before Kai runs over to us, however, the thief grabs him by the collar, pressing the handgun to his back once again. “On second thought, I think I’ll keep this kid as insurance. Stay here until we’re gone, or this kid is dead.”
I fight the urge to rush the guy right but I keep still, even as Scarlet rages next to me. “No, let him go! Let my son go!”
What? Glancing at her, Scarlet doesn’t seem to have a care for anything else in the world, save for Kai. But...Kai’s her son? I thought she hadn’t dated in these past couple years? Is that what she told me? Or was that just something I made up in my head? What the hell is going on?
The thief scoops Kai up and rushes away from the apartment complex, forcing us to shuffle slowly to the front door.
“Scarlet—” I try to say as I watch her rush outside.
“No! Nothing else matters right now! Go save Kai, Arthur! Save my son!”
Grimacing, I do as she asks. I don’t even need to think twice. I’m outside once again, chasing after the thief, who’s now darting down an alley. Kai’s voice is ringing off the walls, calling for help. His cries get some people to flip on their lights in buildings all around us.
Sprinting after them, I quickly catch up when they get to the other street, though the thief is smart enough to turn around and press the gun to Kai’s small head. “Stop! I’ll kill this kid, you asshole! Stay there and don’t move, or else I’ll kill him.”
Snarling, I pace back and forth, letting the thief know he won’t get away so easily. He continues to back up until he turns the corner and runs down the street. Knowing full well the man could pull through on his threat, I roll my neck and go with the only course of action I have left.
I shift into a dragon.
The alley is a bit too tight for me to just take off into the sky, so I climb up the side of the nearest building and then take off from there. I fly high to keep the thief from noticing me too soon. I find the thief constantly looking over his shoulder, forcing other night-goers out of the way with a wave of his gun and some quick shouting. Soon enough, he’s the only one on the street.
Once he
tries to cross the street, heading towards the van we saw earlier, I see my chance.
Darting down, silent as I can be, I pull up just a dozen feet behind him and flap my wings as hard as I can. The thief and Kai get lifted into the air. Both are too stunned to react instantly, and the gun drops from the thief’s hand, as well as Kai. I quickly dart forward to catch Kai and set him down. The thief lands with a cry but is still conscious and moving.
Shifting back to my naked human form, I stroll up and kick the thief’s head, knocking him out as well.
Sighing, I look back at Kai and smile. “Let’s get you back to your...mommy, all right, kid?”
But Kai is too scared to move. I don’t think he fully comprehends what’s happening right now. But he soon faints, and I manage to catch him before he smacks his head on the concrete. Lifting him in my arms, I walk back to Scarlet’s apartment, a million questions rushing through my head.
Chapter Fifteen
Scarlet
When I see Kai cradled in Arthur’s arms, I want to rush down the steps to grab him, to hold my son just like Arthur is. And that’s just what I do.
Darting past the police officer questioning me, swerving around the two parked police cars in front of my apartment building, I meet Arthur halfway in the street. I reach forward to pry Kai from Arthur, and Arthur lets Kai go immediately. When Kai notices he’s been given to me, he begins to bawl, trying to say Mommy through his tears. His hands grip my shoulders and clothes, and I have a feeling he won’t be letting go anytime soon.
I’m all smiles now, seeing him alive, unhurt. I’m so, so happy!
But when I look up into Arthur’s eyes, I don’t see a smile. I see the opposite. There’s been very few times I’ve seen Arthur mad, or frustrated. Usually, he’ll try to laugh off those frustrations, but this time, it seems to have gotten him.
“Is Kai your son, Scar?” he asks solemnly. If the mood right now weren’t so serious, I would have laughed at how he’s stark naked right now. But instead, I tighten my smile, sensing the storm about to arrive.
