Chapter 14
14
TATE
Austyn shifts. His dino is around four feet tall. Small compared to the other dinosaurs but stretching to over six feet in length.
Rrrruuupt. Rrrruuupt . He displays his blue and green feathers as he screeches at the goons. A Troodon , my brain supplies. He’s stunning. And fast. He extends the claw on his foot and slices the arm of a guy raising his gun to shoot. The man’s screams blend with the bellows and snorts of the other larger dinosaurs and the high-pitched chattering and squawks of the raptors.
How do I know all this? And shouldn’t I be freaking out right now? But I’m not. Even with the chaos and deafening noise in the building, I feel more settled.
Walter shifts into his five-horned dinosaur—a Pentaceratops—and charges a Triceratops, both over ten feet tall. They crash into each other, locking horns as they fight for dominance. I take several steps back.
It’s physically painful to hold the beast back. Hold myself back since he’s a part of me and not a dangerous monster killing people at random. That had all been a lie. People died. Belinda died—but I didn’t kill them. And what’s important right now is that no one else dies needlessly.
Except for Petroni and Jacobs.
Walter said not to hesitate. Follow my instincts. But Austyn warned me not to shift. That’s what Jacobs and Petroni want. I search the building and find them surrounded by men. Protected.
The Llukalkan bellows and snaps at an Allosaurus. They’re about three times taller than me, but the Allosaurus is longer. They circle each other, gnashing their jaws until the Llukalkan bites the therapod with his strong jaws.
I spot the blond guy—Beau?—moving out of the path of a flying dinosaur. Not flying…thrown through the air. Beau grabs something from the ground and starts shooting at the dinosaur fighting the Pentaceratops.
A striped Qianzhousaurus lunges for me. I’m about an inch taller than him in my human form, but with his long tail, he’s almost triple that in length. Jumping back to avoid his snapping jaws, I grab an M16 from the ground and slam the butt of the rifle into his long snout. His head jerks back, but then he’s on me again, snapping at me with sharp teeth that drip with blood. Austyn’s? I shake that thought off. No time for fear or hesitation. Holding the rifle like a bat, I whack him in the head. The force of the blow knocks him over a small parrot-billed ceratopsid and into the tractor. This time, the dino doesn’t get up.
Using the tractor for cover, I search for Austyn. He’s holding his own against an Oviraptor with a beak and no teeth. The Pentaceratops—Walter—neighs low and rough at a Spinosaurus. The therapod stretches his muscular S-shaped neck and growls at Walter. He swishes his paddle-like tail from side to side and then aims it at Walter. The Pentaceratops darts out of the way, his three-toed feet making him quick as he bellows his dissatisfaction. The Spinosaurus charges, avoiding the horns and getting close enough to use his tail. He clips the side of the Pentaceratops, doing less damage than expected. The Pentaceratops gets in a few good jabs before they tumble to the ground. This fight seems less…intense than the rest.
“Tate?” Beau runs over to me, his eyes bright with excitement and worry. He waves the gun in one hand and uses the other hand to push away his sweaty blond curls. “Are you doing all right?” His voice has a lilt, reminding me he’s from New Orleans.
“Yeah.” I grip the M16 tight and stare at the blood on the floor. “Austyn doesn’t want me to shift.” That sounds lame. Weak. I swallow the lump of humiliation burning my throat.
He squeezes my arm. “Austyn knows what he’s talking about. You and Killian are special.”
My eyes dart to the Llukalkan fighting ferociously. “Isn’t it dangerous for him to be here? If they’re after him, I mean?”
“Yes. But Jacobs isn’t the only threat. And my guy never backs down from a fight.” He grins. “And neither does yours.” I follow his gaze. Austyn is biting the face of the Oviraptor.
“Austyn isn’t—” I almost say mine. But is that my fear talking? “He’s amazing.”
“A glorious Troodon.” Beau’s eyes gleam with excitement. “And I fucking knew it. Not enough evidence, they said. Well, he’s the fucking proof. His feathers remind me of Marti Gras. But he’s not just pretty. He’s fierce. Protective.”
Does he mean protective of everyone? Or me in particular. The way he says it makes me think he means the latter.
“While our guys work on the muscle of this operation, how about you and I take out the brains. Those motherfucking Godfather wannabees.” He points to Jacobs and Petroni. I swallow my nerves and nod. My body thrums with excitement, drowning out the anxiety churning in my stomach.
The beast wants to chew Jacobs up. Break every bone in his body, not just because of Austyn. He hurt all those innocent people, including Belinda.
“Fuck.” Beau stares past me with wide eyes. “That’s not good.”
I follow his gaze and my heart stops. A T. rex with a gash on the side of his face—not new and bleeding but also not healed—has the Troodon in his jaws. Fear grips my chest. Is that Johnny? He violently shakes Austyn and throws him to the ground.
But before I can move, Beau grips my arm. “Hold on.” A Velociraptor—Rad—jumps in our path with a high-pitched squawk before viciously attacking an Oviraptor. Once they pass, Austyn’s broken human body comes into view. No, please. My chest squeezes painfully. He has to be okay.
But he isn’t moving . “Let’s go,” Beau says, and we almost reach him when the T. rex trills a loud warning and lifts his leg to stomp on Austyn.
Rage consumes me. There’s no hesitation. No thought. I shift, and it takes way too long. What if I don’t make it? But my worries are replaced by overwhelming pain as my bones and muscles stretch and move and change. My screams become a ferocious bellow as I express my fury—a need to smash everyone in my path. My head hits the ceiling, and I bend my long neck as those below scurry out of my way.
The scent of their fear spurs me on. I charge the T. rex and smash him into the ground. He doesn’t get up.
“Austyn, are you okay?” The blond man helps my mate to his feet. Then his eyes return to me. “How in the hell is this all real?” He laughs, sounding gleeful as he and my mate crane their necks to stare at me.
“A Brachiosaurus? Petroni, you fucking idiot.”
I jerk my head toward the voice. He hurt my mate. My stuttering rumble is all the warning he gets as I stomp in his direction. The man scrambles backward. “The darts. Use the fucking darts.”
They shoot tiny things that sting my chest, but I swipe them away.
“Shit. He’s too big.” The tiny man hides behind the men shooting me. “Get him, now!”
Something bites me causing a sharp pain in my side. I turn and gnash my teeth at the T. rex. But he’s not the only one. Others attack, and I pull them off one by one and throw them down. The others I stomp on. I’m not a predator by nature, but my need to protect my mate spurs me on as I destroy anyone who challenges me.
When the other dinosaurs are down or running away, I search again for my target. The man intent on hurting my mate. My Austyn. I find him scrambling toward the door. It only takes a few steps to reach him. I ignore the men under my feet. They weren’t good men. The scream of pain stops me. Austyn. His human scream sounds different from his Troodon, but I still recognize it.
I turn, my tail knocking over men as I rush to save him.
My mate has a gash on his arm, but he doesn’t need me to save him. He stabs the man threatening him in the shoulder and pulls out the knife. The man collapses and doesn’t move.
The rest of the men scramble to leave, and I realize the man who hurt Austyn is already gone. I start to chase after him.
“No, Tate.” Austyn’s voice stops me. “Let them go.” It reminds me of ginkgo leaves rustling in the wind. Comforting. His smile is warm, as if he’s found me worthy, and I puff up with pride. Austyn turns to the pirate, no longer in his Pentaceratops form. “Are you okay, Walter?”
I pull back on my Brachiosaurus and transform into my human form. We’re all naked, of course, but our clothes are still intact. Austyn is a genius.
Before I can dress, Austyn is in my arms, holding me. He leans back, searching my face, my arms, and my chest with his eyes as well as his hands. “Are you hurt at all?”
I shake my head.
“Thank fuck.” He hugs me again, and I cling to him. I finally pull away long enough to claim his lips in a desperate kiss. Austyn is mine. And I almost lost him.
Walter whistles. “Here I thought Tate was the lucky one.” He winks at Austyn and leers at me. “Congrats, Aus.”
“Stop being an ass, Walter.” Austyn’s words sound almost routine as he hands me my clothes.
“How is everyone else already dressed?” I ask, quickly pulling on my clothes.
Austyn smiles and kisses me. “Lots of practice, sweetness.”
Walter groans. “I hate to be the one who always breaks up the party,” he says, looking grumpy but mostly okay with a bruised and bloody face. “But this is the part where we might need to flee.” He glances around the room. Is he assessing the damage? Or searching for something?
Killian and Beau break apart from a heated embrace, and I realize we weren’t the only ones celebrating. No wonder Walter is grumpy. Killian nods. “I agree. We must go.”
“Sounds good to me.” Rad ties his long hair in a knot. He has scratches and bruises, but other than that looks fine.
“What about Mr. Jacobs?” I gesture toward the door. “Shouldn’t we go after him?” And kill him painfully.
“We’re not ready,” Austyn says with a sigh. “I’m not sure we’ll ever be ready. But right now, all I care about is being safe.” His gaze moves from me to Killian and Beau and then to Rad. He finally looks at Walter. “All of us being safe.”
“Awe, sweetheart, I knew ye secretly cared.”
We help Austyn check the men. Most of them are alive, but many are injured. I notice Jatel and Johnny are both gone.
“Should we help them?” I ask, rubbing the back of my neck. They believed Mr. Jacobs. And I couldn’t really blame them for that.
He smiles, and the affection in his eyes leaves me breathless. “They’ll be fine. Shifters heal fast. Ready?”
I nod and glance around at the others. Killian has a dart gun over his shoulder. He and Beau are standing away from everyone else, discussing something. Rad and Walter are gathering weapons.
Austyn takes charge, leading the way out of the building. I take a few steps, but something on the ground catches my attention. A black and gold hat with red and white feathers. Walter’s pirate hat. I snatch it up and hold it out to him. “Missing something?”
“You found me hat.” Walter takes it with a grin, dusts it off, and sticks it on his head. Then we follow Austyn out the door.
We don’t get very far.
Petroni stands ten or so feet outside the door with a knife to Austyn’s throat. He grins with a deranged look in his eyes as blood drips from a cut on his mouth. The rest of his face is bruised, and his nose looks crooked. Is it broken? “Try anything, and I’ll kill him.”
The panic I expect to feel isn’t there. Instead, I assess our options. Walter and Rad have guns. But can they shoot Petroni without hurting Austyn? I hope they don’t try. It’s too risky. I straighten to my full height. “Let him go.”
He shakes the knife at me. “You fucked everything up. All of you.”
“But I’m the one you want.” I lift my hands in the air and step closer. “Take me instead.”
“No, Tate.” Austyn’s eyes plead with me. I’m not surprised. Have I given him a reason to trust me? “Please don’t?—”
“Shut the fuck up.” Petroni yanks Austyn’s hair and holds the knife like he’s ready to slice his throat. “Or so help me, God, I will cut out your vocal cords and watch you choke to death on your own blood.” His eyes glitter with an insane fury, leaving no doubt he’ll do it.
“Please don’t hurt him,” I say, stepping closer. Almost there. “I’ll do anything you want.”
Petroni laughs, and his hand relaxes a bit. “Anything? Maybe you should’ve?—”
But I don’t let him finish. Instead, I take the last step, grab the hand holding the knife, and elbow him in the face. If his nose wasn’t broken before, it is now. He howls in pain as Austyn scrambles away. I twist his wrist until he drops the knife and then give him a Walter-style kick in the balls. He drops to the ground.
Task completed, I dust off my hands and face the others. They’re all staring at me, mouths open. “What?”
“How did you— When did you—?” Rad asks, with an incredulous shake of his head.
I shrug. “Walter said not to hesitate.”