The smile dropped from Abby’s face and she nodded. “Enjoy your coffee,” she called out as she began walking away.
Axle smiled as she walked away, feeling a little sad inside. It wasn’t the first time a woman had hit on him like that, and most times he didn’t even notice until it was too late. He didn’t care for any women he didn’t have a connection with. But then, it was hard to find that one person.
Sadly, Abby wasn’t that woman.
He spotted Natalie walking out of the building and he quickly rushed over to his motorcycle, jumping on as he waited for her to drive off. He wasn’t sure where she was going, but he was going to follow her around for a day or two, just to make sure she didn’t get herself in trouble.
As she pulled out to the road, Axle quickly noticed she was heading back to the site. He let out a groan. He had done his best to clean up the place after the fight, making sure there were minimal signs of what had actually happened. But if she looked, and knew what she was looking for, she was going to find what she needed.
He parked his bike at a nearby gas station and took off, heading through the woods.
Axle had never been able to fully shift. Even his claws never materialized when he tried to draw them out. No one was sure why it was like that for him, but in exchange for this, he was incredibly strong in his human form.
Most dragons had heightened senses in their human form, and when they shifted those senses were boosted even further. But for Axle, his senses were always at their peak form, and it made him the best hand-to-hand fighter in the pack. While others could slash and tear and rip through enemies, Axle could pummel them into nothingness.
He ran through the woods until he was out by the canyon. He had reached the site before Natalie arrived, so he looked down the road, watching her vehicle as it made its way down. Once she arrived, she got out of the car and began walking up a path to the top of the cave. Axle watched as she began lowering a rope to rappel down into the cave just like before.
“You’re going to get hurt,” Axle whispered to himself. He quickly dashed through the canyon, making his way up until he was right behind a boulder that blocked him from her view. As he watched her, Axle saw that she had pinned down her rope on a shaky base, and her weight had pulled on it.
He heard the pin shake, and a moment later it popped out of the ground. Realizing she was going to drop over ten feet to the ground, he darted out from behind the rock, grabbed the pin, and drove it back in harder before she realized she was falling. Axle held it in place, listening to her heartbeat. She had noticed the sudden jerk and was nervous.
Natalie made her way to the bottom, and Axle quickly went around, taking the longer path to get into the caves. The humans hadn’t found the cave entrance that Axle and the dragons had used, mostly because it was behind a sheer cliff face, and there was no way for anyone to climb up into it. Axle simply slid down the side of the cliff and swung into the cave.
He dashed through until he was in the cavern where they had fought Kanai. He paused for a moment, wondering if there were any other demons around. He looked around, wishing he could shift his eyes just like all of the other dragons. He couldn’t see in the dark like everyone else, and had to rely on his hearing to find them.
He quickly spotted Natalie and her flashlight looking around in the cavern. She moved her flashlight until she settled on a rock that had been smashed in. Axle recalled slamming a demon’s skull into that same rock. She lingered over it for a moment, and then pulled out her camera and took a photo.
He watched, her clothes accentuating her curves as she graciously walked between the boulders, trying to find her proof in the darkness. Axle had to commend her for being brave enough to come out here alone, in the darkness. But then, it wasn’t the best idea.
She set down the camera and walked up to the altar where the explosion had emanated from. Axle hadn’t bothered with figuring out what the place was. All that had mattered was that there were demons in the location.
But now, he could tell it was some sort of ancient religious site. Whatever Kanai was trying to find there was of some importance to the demon, so much that he didn’t care about getting attacked by the dragons.
It was evident that Natalie had some connection to the site, which was why she was there when the battle had happened. When Axle had taken her back to her place, he had noticed her collection of books and notes and rocks, and he made out that she was some sort of geologist.
Whatever it was they had dug out from the site, Kanai was interested in it as well. If the dragons hadn’t come when they did, the demon would have killed the woman.
Axle watched now as she ran her fingers over the altar, trying to figure out what it was about the place that had drawn them there. He smiled, knowing he would have done the same if he was in her place. In the dim lighting, she almost looked like a princess out of a movie.
She walked around to the front and waved her hand over a part of the altar that seemed to reflect the beam of light from her flashlight. Axle noticed it was a piece of metal, one which had come loose from the dirt only after the explosion from the altar had occurred. Natalie pulled on it, but when it didn’t come loose, she pushed it.
A deep reverberating click went through the cave, and Axle’s ears picked up on it as it ran underneath where she was standing. He listened as the sound began to crack something, and the cracks traveled back up to where she stood. He quickly realized that it was a trap, and she had just pressed the button to release it.
He looked up to see the floor vanish underneath her legs. The platform which was designed to carry people safely into the lower recesses of the cave had grown weak with time. With Natalie’s weight on it, the wood broke and Natalie dropped into the hole underneath.
Axle was out from behind the rock, sliding into the hole in the ground just moments after she had begun falling. He forced himself down by kicking off the edge of the platform and speeding toward her. It was a long drop to the ground and he caught a glimpse of the bones and weapons that littered the bottom of the secret area.
He grabbed Natalie’s foot in midair and pulled her back, throwing her over his shoulder and out of the hole in one motion. Their eyes locked for a moment as she was sent back, and Axle stuck out an arm, punching into the wall to slow his descent to the bottom. He quickly jumped out and landed beside her.
Natalie looked up at him, her eyes blinking rapidly in fear and confusion. He could hear her heartbeat spike, and her breathing became ragged as she stared at him, slowly crawling away from him in fear.
Axle paused, not sure of what to do. She had seen him, and there was no way for him to deny what had happened. But she was still just a human, and humans did not need to know about the existence of paranormals.
“Don’t be scared—” Axle began, raising his hands to show that he was not a threat, but Natalie burst into a scream instantly.
Before the sound could carry out of the cave, Axle covered the distance between them and put a hand over her mouth, stopping her scream. Being so close to her gave him a chance to really see her. Natalie’s eyes were wide with shock, and she seemed on the verge of losing her mind from what she had seen. He leaned in, not breaking eye contact with her.
“If you keep screaming, you’ll get hurt. No screaming, don’t do that. I’m not going to hurt you if you don’t scream.” He paused and considered what he had said, and saw that it didn’t make her any calmer. “I will not hurt you.”