11. The Butt（ler） Invasion #2
In fact, this building contained several tiny run-down apartments. Some were being rented by some seriously questionable people. Any of those people could be suspicious, or they could have friends who were suspicious.
It wasn’t likely to be Ronald out there.
And yet all the scars on Emre’s body prickled and burned.
Huxton met Zenith’s eyes, nodding him over to the window.
For his size, Zenith could move very quietly if he wanted to. He joined Huxton and peered at the parking lot downstairs, except his breath hitched.
Emre’s stomach twisted. What had Zenith seen?
He had to see for himself who it was.
He fumbled to his feet.
Zenith was crowding into his space the next moment. “Sweetheart, what are you doing?”
Emre glanced at the window, and Zenith frowned.
The alpha lowered his voice. “Do you think...?”
I need to know, Emre mouthed, unsure how much of it Zenith understood. But he couldn’t risk speaking again; if it was Ronald out there, then the less anyone heard of him, the better.
Zenith tightened his jaw. But he wrapped his arm around Emre and walked with him to the window. When they were close, Zenith tucked Emre to the side of the glass pane, keeping him out of sight as much as he could.
Like Huxton had said, a hooded figure lurked by the cars in the parking lot. Their shoulders were broad like an alpha, bulky body concealed by their clothes. There was no way to tell who it was.
But it was eerie, and foreboding, and it felt plain wrong.
The pit in Emre’s stomach gnawed and gnawed.
Zenith nudged Emre away from the window. “Hux.”
Huxton saluted and slipped out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.
Zenith did not leave the window. Emre bit his lip, waiting for something to happen. It couldn’t be Ronald out there, right? That part of his life was over. He had made sure to cover his tracks; it had been so long since he’d seen that alpha. He didn’t want to think about his past.
Except he had a body full of scars, reminders that Ronald wasn’t dead. Ronald was still out there somewhere, lurking in the corners of the world.
Something fluttered beyond the window. It was a crow, a small dark shape taking off from the edge of the building, soaring above the parking lot.
Hux? Emre mouthed.
Zenith nodded.
When Emre looked back down, the hooded figure had disappeared, between one second and the next.
Where had they gone?
Emre clutched at Zenith’s hand, horrified.
Zenith swore under his breath. “Hux, eyes on target?”
“Leaving the premises, following,” came Huxton’s voice from far above.
“Be careful,” Emre whispered.
“He will be,” Zenith said. He gathered Emre into his arms and gave him a big sideways hug. “Things will turn out fine.”
Emre wanted to believe Zenith, but he had been burned too many times to place his faith in the unknown. All the same, he didn’t want his cynicism to infect Zenith. “For all I know, it’s just some college kid waiting for their friend.”
“Possibly,” Zenith said, rubbing Emre’s back. “C’mon, there’s no point in us guarding the window when Hux has an eye on him. Let’s sit down and wait for news.”
He gave Emre a quick squeeze, then led him over to the couch. Emre was secretly glad to sit down; his feet were starting to ache.
“You okay?” Zenith asked when Emre sighed.
“My feet hurt,” Emre said, making a face. “I know you rubbed them not too long ago, but...”
“Here, let me rub them again.”
Emre hesitated. “Are you sure? Or do you have a thing about feet?”
Then he choked, because that was not what you said to someone who was offering you foot rubs!
“I just put my foot in my mouth again,” Emre whimpered.
Zenith’s lips twitched. “Maybe you’re the one who has a thing about feet.”
“Oh gods,” Emre whined. “My life probably smells like dirty socks.”
He hiccupped, and a large, iridescent bubble floated out of his mouth.
A bubble.
From his mouth.
For a long moment, both of them stared at the gently floating bubble. It was starting to drift away; Abbie pushed her snout over the edge of the couch, staring at it too.
Then she raised her paw to bat at it, but the bubble popped before she could.
Emre exchanged a look with Zenith. “I didn’t hallucinate that, right?”
“If you did, then it means we’re sharing the same hallucination,” Zenith said dazedly. “Has this happened before?”
“No!” Emre sighed. “Fuck. What if this is because of the unborn pup?”
Zenith paled. “I haven’t even finished prepping for the wolf part of the new pup!”
Emre gaped. “You’ve been preparing?”
Zenith’s face suffused with pink. “I told you I’d help, didn’t I?”
Emre tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Zenith had been putting effort into welcoming Emre’s baby. It wasn’t even Zenith’s.
He opened and closed his mouth several times. Finally, he found his voice.
“Thanks,” Emre said shakily.
Zenith beamed. “You’re welcome.” He began typing into his phone. “Is the bubble the only odd thing to happen during this pregnancy?”
Emre nodded. “I’ve been craving raw meat, but that’s typical of wolf pregnancies.”
“What about when you were pregnant with Abbie?”
“I burped quite a bit. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, those smelled smoky. No smoke, though.”
“Hmm,” Zenith said. “Any cravings for spicy food?”
Emre’s eyes went round. “With Abbie, yeah. How did you know that?”
“No reactions to the spicy food?”
Emre fidgeted. “I had cravings, but I never really got to satisfy them. Either the people I was with hated spice, or I didn’t have the money to buy some. When I did get my hands on some chili flakes, I added just a little to my food.”
Zenith frowned. “No reactions when you ate that?”
Emre shrugged. “None that I remember.”
“Maybe you just... don’t present symptoms.”
That made Emre narrow his eyes. “Was I supposed to have more symptoms when I was carrying Abbie?”
“Well... If my guesses are right, then yes. Carrying Abbie should’ve made you burp smoke, maybe breathe a little fire. Especially after you eat spicy food.”
“And how do you know that just from her setting everything on fire?”
Zenith gave Emre a long look. The pieces began to click into place. The fireproofing. The strange, old power Emre sensed from him. Zenith’s scent was smoky.
“I would prove it,” Zenith said slowly, “but I don’t want to alarm you. You’ve mentioned an aversion to open flame.”
Emre bit his lip. “But this is something I should know, shouldn’t I?”
“It’s something my family tries not to share, because it can become dangerous for us. Certain materials are very valuable to hunters and poachers.” Zenith held out his hand. For a brief moment, his skin turned golden. Shiny. Those were scales.
Materials, Zenith had said. Not humans.
“They—They want that?” Emre squeaked, feeling nauseated.
“Yes.” When Zenith’s hand turned back into a human’s, Emre looked up. Zenith flashed his eyes red, his pupils turning into slits like a reptile.
“Wow,” Emre said, feeling overwhelmed.
“I apologize for not telling you sooner,” Zenith said, dipping his chin.
“This isn’t something we share lightly. And preferably not with others in range.
” He glanced at the apartment’s walls; Emre could hear the sounds from the neighboring apartments, which meant that anyone with sharp hearing could listen in on this conversation too.
Emre mimed pulling a zipper across his lips.
Zenith cracked a smile and gestured toward Abbie. “If you want, I can... try and trigger a shift.”
Emre eyed the door.
“We’ll be fine,” Zenith said.
They had only known each other for a couple of days. Despite that, Emre trusted the alpha.
“Okay,” he said.
Zenith moved the furniture around, leaving an empty space in the middle of the living room. Then he sat down facing Abbie, placing himself solidly between Abbie and the front door. Abbie watched him curiously.
Zenith breathed in. He shimmered gold all over, and his body expanded in size, growing bulkier, heavier, his face stretching into a scaly snout. Golden scales covered every inch of his skin. Leathery wings unfurled from his back. His hands became paws, fingernails turning into claws.
There was a huge golden dragon in the middle of the living room.
Emre squeaked, his heart pounding. “This is crazy.”
Zenith shrugged, his voice lower and rumblier than before. “It is what it is.”
“Aren’t you extinct?” Emre whispered.
Zenith huffed. “Do I look extinct?”
“Well, you might be another hallucination.”
“We went into hiding to avoid being hunted,” Zenith said dryly. “Although that’s something I’ve personally never experienced. It happened to the older ones in our flight.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Emre winced. He wanted to pull Zenith into a hug somehow. His arms weren’t long enough to wrap around the dragon, though.
Before he could say something, Abbie made a little sound. She craned her neck and stared up at Zenith.
Then she shifted into a tiny red dragon.