“Well, my mom is usually here with her. Stepmom—we’rethatfamily—but we care so much about her. Nat used to be Dad’s favorite, and when he died she just seemed to break. She hasn’t been the same since,” Axle replied.
“Damn, I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to relay it back to the station,” the officer added.
“Yeah, but you do know this is only when she says ridiculous things? Once she’s on her meds, if she calls for something else, she’s probably right. It’s just the fact that she’s off now.”
“Yeah, I get it. Stay safe, man.”
“Thanks, officer,” Axle replied, shutting the door.
He heard the sound of footsteps rushing at him from behind. As he turned around, a vase slammed against his head, shattering instantly. He turned to see Natalie taking a step back. She quickly pulled out a knife and swung it toward him. Axle moved to the side in an instant and grabbed her arm, holding it steady.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Axle whispered, his face only a few inches from her own.
Being that close to her, seeing her struggle—for a moment, he noted just how beautiful she was. He looked at her lips and at her face, trying to shake the thoughts that were coming to his head. He hadn’t thought of a woman like that in forever, and he definitely wasn’t intending on being with just some random human.
But denying just how pretty she was felt almost impossible. Her blue eyes glistened with tears, and he felt her breasts against his arm. His body tensed up for a moment, realizing just how close they were. He knew she was scared, and he began to let go slowly. But as he did, his body repelled the notion. Axle didn’t want to let go of the beautiful woman.
While he was distracted, she let go of the knife with one hand, caught it with the other free hand, and drove the blade at his neck. The knife bent to its max before forcing her hand backward. The blade moved back and slightly cut across her cheek. Natalie staggered backward, dropping the weapon in fear and disbelief. Axle quickly grabbed her hands and pinned her against the wall.
Natalie began to scream in his face, but he grabbed her mouth, glaring at her. “Now, I told you to keep it simple, Nat. I told you to make sure that you sent him off instead of causing a scene. But you went ahead and did that, and now you’re doing this. I have no intention of hurting you, but if you try to threaten our existence, if you do anything to make me feel like my people are going to be exposed, I promise I will kill you. Do you understand?”
Natalie whimpered, shaking violently. Axle felt bad, knowing he didn’t have to threaten her like that, but it was the only way he would get her to comply. Scaring her into silence was better than the alternative, which was killing her.
“Do you understand me?”
She tried nodding, and Axle took his hand off her mouth.
“I need you to say it. Talk to me, so we’re certain we understand each other.”
Tears began dropping down her cheeks as she spoke. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
“No, that’s not what I want you to say,” Axle replied. “Understand that I will be watching. I won’t be far.”
“I understand,” Natalie replied.
“Good, now go to bed.” He let go of her and picked up the shirt he had taken off. As he put it back on, he walked toward the door. “Make sure you lock your doors. There are worse things than me out there, and you should be scared of them.”
Natalie walked toward him, holding the door as he walked out. Just before she shut it, he paused and turned back to her. “Be smart, Nat. You saw something you weren’t supposed to. I’m sorry for all of this, but for your own safety, do not look into this. Forget you ever saw it, and your life will be fine. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. “Okay.”
Axle listened as she shut the door. He heard her sitting right behind the door, sobbing for a while. He knew she was going to be fine. It would be a day or two, but she would be fine. He would show up again and again in her life, just to remind her, but also to show that he was not a threat to her.
As he walked across the street to where he had parked his motorcycle, a figure stepped out from behind a parked car, startling Axle. It was hard to do that to him, as he normally would have sensed the individual long before he saw them. He would have heard their heartbeat, smelled them, or something else. But there was nothing.
Axle raised his fists instinctively, ready to fight, but relaxed when he recognized who it was.
Bingwen, the sorcerer.
“You’re a funny one though,” Bingwen began. “I mean, one would think a dragon like you would be dead quick, but somehow you’ve managed to stay alive this long without any of the things that make a dragon.”
“Yeah, good to see you too,” Axle replied, frowning.
Bingwen was talking about his inability to use most of his dragon abilities. Axle had never thought about them, until he saw what the others could do. They were a different breed, and he felt like an outcast even within his own pack. The fact that he couldn’t shift made him feel incomplete and different, and as much as he pretended not to care about it, it secretly ate him up.
“You need to cheer up. On the flip side, you’re not a total waste. Just an aberration,” Bingwen said in a carefree tone. “Now, we have to find Kanai.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why I asked for you. If he’s still out there, it means he’s going to be causing trouble. He wasn’t even trying to hide from the humans.”