“You don’t have anything to do with this. I should be speaking with Amanda.”
“No.” Dunc began walking toward Joseph, hoping that he would back off if he saw him coming at him. Joseph took a step back, then decided to see if Dunc was bluffing him or not. Joseph shoved Dunc. The next thing Joseph knew he was on his back in the grass. Dunc had shoved him back and pushed him entirely off the porch. And now he was coming for him. Joseph rolled to his feet. Dunc jumped off the porch with both hands up in clenched fists. He stretched like a boxer about to go into a fight, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up.
Amanda stared from the window. She had not expected it to escalate like this. She had thought Dunc’s size would be enough to scare off her coward of an ex. Amanda rushed to the door. Getting sued was one thing. Getting Dunc sued was a completely different thing. Joseph had already proven he enjoyed dragging people through the courts. He also had no problem tossing money around to get his desired outcome. She had to stop him!
“Dunc!” Amanda jumped off the porch and grabbed his hand. She pulled back as hard as she could. Joseph was on the ground again with a bloody nose. “He’s not worth it!”
“He hit me! He hit me!” Joseph whined, grabbing his face and purposely wiping the blood over it to make the injury look worse.
“Oh, grow up, Joseph!” Amanda yelled at him. “I have a restraining order against you! How do you think it’s going to look when I call the police and inform them that you stalked me to my neighbor’s house? And then picked a fight with him? I’ve been here all day! I have witnesses!”
Joseph glanced from screaming Amanda to the man who looked like he wanted to eat him for dinner. He decided a strategic retreat was in order. “Okay, okay! I’ll leave.” Joseph warily got up, unsure of how much control Dunc had over himself. The man was furious, and the only thing holding him back was Amanda’s grip on his hand. Dunc scowled and took another step forward, and Joseph scrambled to get to his car.
Amanda wrapped her arms around Dunc’s arm and hugged him tightly. He was trembling with rage and silent. “Hey, Duncan. Step back. Calm down.” Dunc didn’t begin to relax until Joseph was out of sight. The words’ restraining order’ immediately triggered something in him. This man had done something awful to Amanda.
“You dated that creep?” Dunc mumbled. “Why?”
“Mistakes were made.” Amanda groaned, squeezing Dunc’s arm tighter. “So many stupid mistakes. I am so sorry. You don’t deserve to have to deal with him.” She turned her face into Dunc’s arm, and a choking sob escaped. “I’m going to have to move again if he comes back.”
“Why should you have to move?” Dunc turned and wrapped an arm around Amanda’s shoulders. She let go of his hand and slid her arms around his waist, leaning into his warm embrace. “You were minding your own business.”
“Dunc, the police won’t do anything to him unless he actually does something to me.” Dunc lowered his head and looked off in the direction Joseph had gone. None of this was right.
“Do what you need to do to be safe, Amanda.” Dunc scowled, letting her go. He took a step back. He didn’t want any part of this situation. Amanda sighed and, with her head down, trudged back to her house. Dunc fought the urge to follow after her and offer comfort.
“Amanda?” Dunc started up his steps. “If you need anything or feel like you’re in danger, please come and get me or call me.” Amanda nodded in response but said nothing more. “You are always welcome in my home.”
***
Dunc retreated to his room for a little quiet time before rejoining the party. Amanda. He had been the one to approve her as the sole human in the neighborhood. It was a way to keep the community from slipping up. If they knew a human was in their midst, it kept them vigilant. It was also good to have a good human among them for the kids’ sake.
Amanda had turned out to be different in several unexpected ways. First of all, she was almost a complete shut-in who didn’t get out. The addition of her two family members was a good thing in that regard. Two, the moment he saw her drive up, he was immediately drawn to her. That was a perk of his Lycan blood. A very annoying bonus that everyone else got at a far younger age. But not him. There was no special person of his particular type to which he could be drawn. Everyone around him was either Lycan or Scion, but none of them were equal to himself or his mother.
It was just his luck to be drawn to a human. It happened sometimes. There were many matches out there, and he had no idea how it worked. It had something to do with how they were created. They were supposed to match up with someone who would strengthen the bloodline. Dunc was a King in that area. Royalty. A Caliph Regis Lycan. His match would be equal to him. But that sense sometimes forgot about what was right for genetics, and a human could trigger it. Or an ugh… Arcadian… even worse… a Vampire.
He couldn’t pair up to a Scion or one of his own kind. It had to be a human, a fickle human, who would neither doubt nor understand a Lycan’s loyalty. He didn’t want what she brought, but once it was at his doorstep, he had to accept it and do whatever he could for her. Dunc shied away from Amanda because she came at him with so much
