Kal stepped out, Maddie tried to grip his shirt to pull him back, but there was no controlling him.
She wrinkled her nose at the stench of the nearby dumpster as her own fear started to unravel within her. Clutching her hands to her stomach, she watched. Remaining hidden, she tried to cast a protection spell, something that wasn’t entirely her thing.
“I don’t think you have any idea what I am. Who are you?” Kal asked.
“Give us back the girl and we won’t hurt you.”
Kal grunted. “I won’t give her back. And I don’t think you will hurt me.”
The three figures moved back.
“If you hurt us, I guarantee you’ll make everything much worse. Tell us where you’re from.”
Kal didn’t turn to Maddie; he started walking forward.
“How about you leave that being my business and you will all live to see tomorrow. I’ll be gone soon enough and it will no longer be your problem.”
Maddie couldn’t make out the third body. He or she kept just out of sight around the side of the building. She definitly didn’t recognize the others.
Silence followed. A few cars went down the street, but there wasn’t much going on downtown on a weeknight.
“Kal?” she whispered.
In her head she could hear him.
Stay hidden. I’ll be right back.
Maddie faded into the background as close to the wall as possible.
Something whizzed through the air past Kal.
What was that?
She hoped he heard her.
“Shooting darts at me isn’t a good choice.”
A feminine voice called back, “then don’t give us reason. Return the human and tell us where you’re from. Our boss can be very generous.”
Another whizzing. Kal roared, and he took off toward the entrance.
“I told you not to do that.”
Maddie could see his shift starting as he breathed a wall of fire out in front of him. All she could see was the scattering of three bodies.
A second later Kal’s dragon form came up to her. She stared into his eye, large, orange, with large slits for pupils. Scary, if she didn’t know it was Kal.
Get on.
Maddie looked at his extended leg and stepped up. She jumped to get atop his neck and squealed as her skirt rode up. God, if they weren’t being attacked this would be embarrassing.
Maddie looked around at the small space where Kal nearly touched both walls. How the hell were they getting out of this?
Hang on. Kal’s voice filled her head.
She studied his neck and had no idea what the hell to hang on to.
Maddie conjured up a bit of rope around his neck just as he jumped and sunk his massive claws into the wall of the building.
Clenching her thighs around him, she held on. Crumbles of stone clanked to the ground as they climbed.
Great. She’d have to come back and magic that shit away tomorrow.
They climbed up and onto the roof.
The building wasn’t that tall, and it took only a second. Kal probably could have jumped had he had more space. Once on the roof, he pushed up, meeting the sky and took off into the night.
“Who were they?”
The dragon grunted. Apparently he didn’t know, making being chased more scary. They knew about him, but he didn’t know them. He didn’t know he was being hunted.
10
If she stayed here much longer, Maddie would have to paint the ceiling. Her nerves wouldn’t let her sleep, so instead she stared up at the blank white canvas.
Who the hell were those guys last night? Something had seemed familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Her magic etched the scene over and over in the air, but she finally stopped obsessing and let the images fade. This wasn’t helping. Her mother would be helpful right now.
Things hadn’t been the same last night. Kal had been protective, cautious. He was almost afraid this morning when he needed to go find his brothers. Maddie had wanted to go with him, but he’d felt she would be safer here. Or at least safer away from him and his brothers.
Stretching, she kicked off the covers. It was no use. She couldn’t go back to sleep.
Sitting up, Maddie moved slowly. Her body was sore from all the working out she’d done with Kal. Maybe she’d bother finding a scale and see if she’d lost any weight. Maybe on her new planet the gravity would be less and she’d weigh less there. So many hopes.
Rolling her eyes, she laughed. She could deal with going to another planet, why not? But, Maddie still hadn't wrapped her head around being mates, married, never alone again. This was the best time of her life. What would it be like to wake up to him every day? Was this all a dream? Maybe she’d hit her head, and this was all made up.
The images though. Everything felt so real. The dream of his planet, they weren't hers. But they too were real. She knew it all was real.
What should she do to kill time? Not leave. Kal had been insistent. Fine. She’d listen. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen horror movies before. Or read books where the heroine did something dumb and got herself kidnapped. No. She’d just stay. Fine. But, lordy. Mundane. Without him everything was meaningless.
Padding down to the kitchen, her stomach growled in a reminder of how hungry she was. Daydreaming, she grabbed up some bread. She’d miss bread, or at least Earth bread. Finding some peanut butter and jelly she made what she hoped wouldn’t be the last sandwich she ever had.
Spreading the knife over the soft surface, she smiled. Her mother’s annoying talents finally paid off. This house was exactly what Maddie needed, for now anyway. Maybe the rest of Kal’s brothers would come knocking. Maybe they wouldn't. She had no idea what being mates meant for the rest of his warriors, pack, no -warriors. Whatever.
Maddie somehow knew them though. Images of their planet, of each one of them, all there. Was this part of mating? Maybe she’d siphoned his memories along with his powers? No. This seemed like something
