“That’s not your fault. Alvin never spanked that boy. I don’t advocate for child abuse, but Harvey needs someone to put him in his place.” Addie took off her baseball cap and shook it out.
From the other end of the street, Harvey shouted back to us. “Your ass is mine, Mutt!”
I stiffened, waiting for them to turn around. The truck turned the corner and disappeared, though. That was almost worse. I wanted to face whatever Harvey had planned. Instead, I would be looking over my shoulder until he struck.
I backed away from my friends. My presence was only going to make things worse for them. I hated that Harvey did this, that I couldn’t even spend time with my friends outside of Bad Moon without fearing for their safety. I didn’t know how to change that, though. My hands were tied.
If I did anything to rebel, then Alvin would see that as treason. Packs didn’t look kindly on traitors. While there was a set of rules that all supernaturals followed for the safety of the community as a whole, packs were allowed a little extra leeway to govern themselves internally. Lakesedge wouldn’t look too hard for me if I disappeared, especially if Alvin claimed treason.
I wanted to go home and curl up into a ball. First, I needed a shower. The cola had dried to a sticky, stiff mess. It cemented in my curls and stuck to my collarbone.
My hound’s howl lodged itself in my throat. The sound that rang inside my skull was lonely and desperate. I wished I had a dragon’s fire to keep me warm. If I had a dragon’s strength, then I could defend myself against Alvin. He wouldn’t dare hurt me then.
The only dragons I knew about were all in Thunder Pass, Colorado. They didn’t really interact with the rest of the world. There were a few dragon shifters in Wales and Germany, but they kept to themselves, too. Dragon shifters didn’t like to leave their homes, apparently.
I would never find a dragon shifter to be my white knight. There was no savior waiting to find me and fix this mess that I was stuck in. I just had to find a way to deal with this on my own.
Did that mean I would have to live up to the prophecy? I didn’t like the idea, but it seemed like I didn’t have a choice. Fate had bound me to this situation, and I was growing tired of showing my submission.