Page 110 of Anaki

I continued to let my scent penetrate the area, keeping everything covered in it. “Do you hear that?” I moved the branches around to keep him hidden.

He shook his head. “Don’t hear anything.”

“That’s right. Something is wrong. Not even the animals are moving.” I stared up at the sky. The clouds were thick, and thunder rolled in the distance. Darkness had taken over. I didn’t even remember what time it was, but I didn’t recall it being that late.

Did time mean anything anymore?

“Promise me something, Luis.” I grabbed both of his hands. “Promise me you won’t leave. No matter what you hear. If your mother calls, if I call for you, do not come out. I will come to you.”

Luis’ eyes were large, concerned.

“Why—”

I put his hand on my chest. “I need you to trust me. I know we have spent little time with each other, but I’ve got a bad feeling. Magic, dark magic…” My instincts went into overdrive, and I felt my scales cover my back. “Do not come out. Bad people…”

Luis reached out and wrapped his arms around my neck. “I won’t leave. I promise.”

I hugged him back and rubbed his messy hair. “Thank you. I’ll be back for you. Remember what I said.” He nodded, and I prayed to the goddess he did what he was told.

As I raced back to the village, the silence broke with an earth-shatteringboom.I tumbled and fell to the ground. I let my claws extend, as my scales continued to ripple to cover my back and chest to protect me. I wouldn’t shift into my full dragon—yet.

I didn’t need the fae worrying more and thinking I was the enemy. They didn’t know I could fully shift yet.

As I sprinted to the edge, I looked around the corner of the first home and onto the pathway to see the commotion. Fae were on their knees, most of them bound with a muting and bonding spell because they were unmoving and silent. They were bleeding, bloodied, and bruised.

There were rows of them, and I didn’t hear any of it. There had to be a silencing spell or something.

Damnit, surely the cameras caught all of this. With our luck, Idris turned them off or put them on some sort of loop. Idris was a sneaky bastard.

Dark, hooded figures stood by, while men who appeared to be human,but there was a tinge of other smells that were shifter and vampiric blood mixed together. These must be the men Idris had experimented on and who remained loyal to him.

Hybrids.

Idris promised them power and strength if they stayed with him after Delilah’s ex-husband's timely death. He gave it to them, alright. Some were in crouched positions, ready to strike, while others’ eyes glowed red, and they licked their lips as if they were hungry from thirst.

“Put them away and deal with them,” A towering, hooded figure exuding an aura of authority spoke, its voice cutting through the air like a blade. Instantly, I recognized the person by their distinctive gait—an unwavering confidence in every stride as they emerged from the crowd and disappeared into the depths of the forest with an air of undeniable control.

I couldn’t go to Elena, not yet. I had to save these people, but delicately. Scales was ready to obliterate, but one wrong move and this could all go to shit.

There was a reason I liked to stay behind the bar.

Two hooded figures–they appeared to be magical entities–had them all rise. They were being led single file to a cage that flickered gold, and was out of the way of the town, near the hidden entrance where Elena and I usually frequent.

I watched the crowd follow the magicians’ orders.

If the fae got into the cage, it would give them protection while I shifted and took out all the hybrids before any harm came to them. So, I waited and stripped out of my clothes until the final fae was in the large cage. The door was barely closed before I fully shifted.

Scales unleashed a thunderous roar that echoed through the air, seizing control of our body with a powerful surge. With a swift, graceful motion, we leaped into the heart of the town, landing amidst the hybrids with aforce that sent vibrations through the cobblestones.

The hybrids that Idris had created seemed nearly uncontrollable. Their moves jagged, their claws and fangs unable to descend quickly enough as they raced toward me.

Scales smiled at them as I backed off and let him take the lead. I wasn’t about violence, though I had the overwhelming urge to protect those I loved, but this was his thing.

He knocked the first wave of hybrids from in front of me with one swipe of his long neck. Our tail swiped behind us, knocking hybrids to the ground. The snarls, the guttural growls, and the smell of blood filled the air as I stood my ground, facing the advancing horde. The hybrids lunged at me, their eyes filled with rage and hunger. Scales reveled in the thrill of the fight, every move calculated and precise as we deflected their attacks.

But amidst the chaos, a flash of movement caught my eye. A figure darting through the shadows, moving with a grace that seemed out of place in the midst of battle. They were swift, like the wind pushed them along. They were fast, the white braided hair behind them flowing, smacking tree limbs as they went by.

They stopped behind a hybrid vampire who was about to leap for my neck, not that it would be able to penetrate my scales, they grabbed it by the forehead, took their dagger and slit it across its throat. Once it fell to the ground, they decapitated the head and kicked it away.

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