Chapter 13 #2
Now it’s just me and a feral dragon. No, not just any dragon. This is Grim. There has to be a tiny part of him left inside there.
“Grim.” My voice shakes, but I force myself to keep talking. “It’s me. It’s Wren.” I swallow thickly even though my throat has gone completely dry. “You know me, remember? We work together.”
He’s getting closer. Close enough to see my reflection in his eyes, which are slitted and completely reptilian. How did I ever think this was a good idea?
“We were going to get lunch,” I continue, my words tumbling out faster now.
“Remember? You invited Sally and me. We were going to get burgers. You said they make a mean bacon-egg-and-cheeseburger at The Fire Pit. Sally wanted a cheesesteak hoagie. I didn’t know what I wanted.
I never do. I’m bad at making decisions like that.
I never know what to choose.” I’m rambling, but he seems calmer somehow.
Maybe it’s the calm before the storm. In this instance, the storm being my death.
He takes another step closer. His head lowers, bringing his jaws level with my face. Each tooth is as long as my forearm.
Holy shit!
I think I’m going to be sick.
“I want that burger now,” I tell him. “So you need to shift back, okay? You need to shift back so we can go get lunch. I’m starving. Aren’t you hungry?”
Since when is asking a dragon if he’s hungry a good idea? It’s official, I’m an idiot.
His nostrils flare. Hot breath washes over me, smelling of hints of smoke.
“You’re going to be so pissed at yourself if you kill me,” I say, trying to inject some lightness into my voice, even though I’m absolutely terrified. “We’re only just becoming friends, remember? You carried those boxes to my car. You walked me home from the park. You met my dogs.”
I laugh, but it comes out hollow.
“Who’s going to take care of Ball and Breaker if you kill me?” I ask him. “Huh? I rescued them a few years ago when an elderly patient passed away. I promised Mrs. Patrick that I would give them a home. Best decision of my life.”
He’s so close now that I could reach out and touch his snout if I wanted to. I weirdly want to, but I don’t since I don’t have a death wish.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see three of the anti-vaxxers huddled behind some bushes to my left. Another one is crouched behind a trash can up ahead. No one is moving. No one is even breathing.
Including me.
My mind has gone blank. I’ve run out of things to say. Run out of ways to reach him.
“Please,” I whisper. “Please, Grim. Come back. I need you to shift back. I need you to be you again. Please.”
Nothing.
His eyes bore into mine, but there’s no recognition there. No hint of the grumpy, quiet male I like.
He’s gone.
And I’m going to die.
“Please,” I say one more time. “Please, I—”
Pain explodes in my head.
It’s like someone drove a spike through my skull. Like my brain is being torn apart from the inside. I gasp, my hands flying to my temples.
I make this weird groaning noise because it hurts so bad.
The pain intensifies, searing and white-hot. I can’t breathe. Can’t think. Can’t do anything but feel the agony ripping through my mind.
My knees buckle.
I land hard on the ground, and I think I might pass out because the pain blessedly subsides.
“Wren,” someone calls my name.
I try to open my eyes, but my eyelids feel like they weigh a thousand pounds.
“Wren. Wake up. Are you okay?” I think it might be…Grim.
I feel weightless and warm…so warm.
“Wren…please.” It’s definitely Grim. I try to open my eyes, but the light is harsh and blinding. My head still throbs a little.
Maybe I was hit over the head…or…? I have no idea what happened.
There is a steady rhythm of a heartbeat beneath my cheek.
The scent of sulfur and smoke fills my lungs. But underneath that, there’s something else. Something familiar. A scent I recognize. Sandalwood and rugged man.
My eyes flutter open.
His face swims into view above me. Those dark eyes, no longer glowing with dragon fire, but filled with something else. Something that looks like concern…fear, even.
“Grim,” I manage to whisper. My mouth feels dry. “You’re you.”
He nods once and gives me a ghost of a smile. It’s gone almost before it begins.
“I’ve got you,” he says, his voice rough. “Just hold on.”
He’s shirtless and clutching me to his chest like I’m the most precious thing in the whole world.
“You shifted back,” I murmur.
“Don’t talk,” he tells me. “Save your strength.”
“My head… What?” I frown. “What happened?”
Before he can answer, the anti-vaxxers surround us. All of them. The ones who survived Grim’s rampage, at least. One of them has a bloody face. He’s limping badly.
Kaine steps forward, that mean smile back on his face. “Well, well. Looks like the mighty dragon has a weakness after all.”
Grim pulls me closer to his chest, his arms tightening around me. “Leave now. This doesn’t have to get any worse.”
“Doesn’t have to get worse?” Kaine laughs. “You killed one of my brothers. We wanted an audience. Wanted to get the word out, and I think you helped us with that. But finished? No, not by a long shot.”
The bald shifter appears at Kaine’s side. He has Sally in his grip, a knife held tightly to her throat.
“I’ll open her up if you try anything,” he tells Grim.
My heart drops.
“No,” I whisper.
The bald shifter grins. “Oh, yes.”
“Let’s go,” Kaine says. “The party is only just starting.”
They march us toward the clinic.
We’re pushed through the shattered doorway, glass crunching under Grim’s bare feet. He doesn’t even flinch.
Sally whimpers.
“Check every room,” Kaine shouts to one of his males. “Barricade the doors. Draig Security forces will be here soon. We have a plan, let’s follow it.”
A plan.
What plan?
Why are they here, and what do they want?
I look up at Grim. His eyes are narrowed, and his jaw is tight.