Page 8 of Doyle

It took me a few seconds to realize it was my fox. He hadn't spoken to me in years and yet...why had he reached out to me now?

I swallowed, facing the dragon, and waited for what he would do next.

Running away wouldn't work because he could simply catch me in his claws—his massively sharp claws—without trouble.

I didn't know what possessed me to utter the next words: "Um...hello? If you have no intentions of eating me, can you let me go?"

CHAPTER THREE

DOYLE

I didn't knowwhat prompted me to leave the thick of the fighting to follow that mysterious and delicious scent.

Our grizzly shifter allies had come through for us and narrowed down the location of Liliana's coven in Yellow Ridge, a small town in the mountains that was half a day's flight from Sky Stead.

After a week of planning with the bears, I was eager to fight, to put a stop to the black coven's operations, and yet...here I was deviating from the fight in search of...him.

That frightened pale-faced shifter that I spotted earlier, running far away from me, from the chaos.

The forest was alive with the sounds of battle: roars of Draven and Ivan, growls of our bear allies, and the crackling energy of spells.

But as I broke away from the main fray, all those noises seemed to fade, replaced by the rhythmic pounding of my own heart.

I couldn’t focus on anything else but that scent. It was intoxicating, a heady mix of pine and something uniquely his.

Flying over the towering pines, I followed his trail, moving swiftly and silently. His scent grew stronger, leading me deeper into the heart of the forest.

I found him in a forest clearing, his chest heaving with fear and exertion. His eyes, wide and full of terror, locked onto mine as I landed with a thump.

Seeing him up close, the first thing that struck me was how similar he looked to my William.

At first, I even thought memory or perhaps a talented witch like Liliana was playing tricks on me. Upon closer examination, I realized there were a few differences between him and William.

William had dark gold curls, while this…fox shifter had hair the color of dark chocolate and blue eyes instead of green.

Still, the resemblance was eerie and that made me undeniably curious about him.

I could still hear the sounds of fighting in the distance but in this clearing, everything seemed to stand still.

I thought he would pass out right there and then, but he met my gaze.

“Um...hello? If you have no intentions of eating me, can you let me go?" His voice was shaky, but there was a hint of defiance in it.

It would have been more impressive if he wasn’t trembling. Then again, his fear was justified.

Judging by the state of his filthy clothes and how skinny he was, he’d been kept prisoner by the coven for some time.

I was guessing he escaped during the commotion of the battle, only to stumble upon a battlefield.

Anyone would feel disjointed and confused in his shoes. I then changed to my human form. Bones broke, my scales and wings disappeared as I shrank.

In my dragon form, practically nothing could hurt me and yet for some reason I wanted this fox shifter to feel at ease around me.

To that, I needed to be less imposing. Zane would’ve probably reprimanded me for my actions.

Ivan too, would tell me I was inviting harm to myself for a complete stranger and yet…I felt a strange and indescribable pull to this fox shifter.

He gaped at me, and when I did nothing else, he looked me up and down.

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