43. Ryker
43
Ryker
I stood before my father, the man who had made my life a living hell. The leader of the shifter gang, hungry for power, and dealing in all manner of illegal activities. His cold, calculating eyes bore into mine with that familiar disdain.
“So, this is where you’ve chosen to stand, boy?” he sneered, his massive form tensing for battle.
I clenched my fists, feeling the dragon within me stir. I had suppressed it all my life, trying to please a man who saw my true nature as a threat rather than a gift.
I was never enough.
Never would be.
“I’m not a boy anymore,” I spat, my voice low and dangerous. “And I’m done trying to earn your approval.”
He laughed, harsh and mocking. “Approval? You’re a liability, Ryker. Always have been.”
His words stung, but I refused to show it. Instead, I let the anger fuel me, feeling the heat of my dragon form simmering just beneath my skin.
“You’re right about one thing,” I said, taking a fighting stance. “I am a liability—to you and everything you stand for.”
With a roar of rage, he charged at me, shifting mid-stride into a massive chimera. His lion claws swiped at my face, but I was ready. I ducked and rolled, feeling the rush of air as his attack missed by inches.
As I came up, I let my partial shift take over. Scales erupted across my skin, my eyes shifting to their draconic slits. I met his next attack head-on, my enhanced strength matching his blow for blow.
He shifted back to human form. “You think you can beat me, boy?” he snarled between strikes. “I made you what you are!” He smiled, cruelly. “Careful, or you might end up like your bitch of a mother.”
Everything stopped. “What did you say?”
“She thought she could just leave me for another.” He sneered. “She was one of the first to be put down.”
His words hit me like a physical blow.
The world around me seemed to fade as memories of my mother flooded back—her kind eyes, gentle touch, and how she’d sing us to sleep. And the day we found her dead.
“You…” I choked out, my voice raw with emotion. “You killed her?”
He laughed, a sound that chilled me to my core. “Her powers gave me quite the boost.”
Rage unlike anything I’d ever known surged through me.
“You monster!” I roared, my voice no longer human.
My vision blurred, tinted red, as my dragon form took over completely. My body grew in size, new scales erupted across my body, and wings unfurled from my back as I shifted completely.
I lunged at him, all thoughts of strategy forgotten in my fury. My claws raked across his chest, drawing blood. He shifted fully into his chimera form—lion head and body, snake tail, and eagle wings—but even that felt small compared to my dragon.
We clashed in a frenzy of claws and teeth. I felt his fangs sink into my shoulder, but the pain only fueled my rage. With a mighty sweep of my tail, I sent him crashing into the side of the warehouse.
He staggered to his feet, shifting back to his human form. Blood dripped from various wounds, but he still managed to smirk.
“Is that all you’ve got, boy?” he taunted. “Your mother fought harder than this.”
With a roar that shook the very ground, I charged at him. My jaws clamped around his midsection, and I heard the sickening crunch of bones. He screamed in agony, his hands futilely beating against my scales.
I tossed him to the ground, looming over his broken form. Part of me wanted to end it, to crush him beneath my claws and be done with it. But as I looked into his eyes, I saw something I’d never seen before—fear.
Slowly, I shifted back to my human form, standing over him as he gasped for breath.
I knelt beside him, watching him struggle. “I’m not going to kill you,” I told him. “But I am going to make sure you face justice for everything you’ve done.”
He laughed manically as if my words amused him. “You have no idea what’s coming, boy.”
I slammed my fist into his head, knocking him out cold.