Page 3 of Alpha Dragon's Mating Contract
Then he locked the apartment behind himself, and headed out.
This late, the streetlamps were mostly lit. They cast the sidewalks in orangey-yellow, except some of the streetlamps were further apart, leaving deeper pools of shadow between them.
Walren hurried down the street, his shorter leg making his steps uneven. He was missing his right knee; his leg didn’t bend at all, so he had to take odd, rolling steps to move forward.
Alphas probably didn’t want an omega like him.
He sighed and cradled Zebbie against his chest, eyeing the street signs so he would know where to make a turn.
Then Zebbie wriggled.
Instead of sticking out a hand or leg like an ordinary baby, something fluttered under Walren’s hoodie.
Something that looked like a wing.
He held his breath and glanced around. No one had seen that, right?
Walren picked up his pace.
He was a street away from Nood’s Good when the back of his neck prickled.
Walren called it his prey instinct. He wished he didn’t need it at all, except as a gazelle shifter, he was at the bottom of the food chain. He needed all the help he could get.
He cradled Zebbie against his chest and began to run. He knew where Nood’s Good was. All he had to do was get there, tuck himself in between witnesses, and hope one of the omegas would let him shelter in the washroom.
If only his bum leg didn’t slow him down!
He gritted his teeth when the ominous presence pulled away from the shadows, following him in earnest.
Closing in on him.
I need to keep Zebbie safe!
Walren took a calculated risk and darted across the street, in front of a wave of cars.
The cars honked. Their headlights lit him up. Walren’s heart pounded as he yanked his bum leg forward, lunging for the other side of the road.
His feet landed on the sidewalk.
Two seconds later, the cars passed him, horns still blaring.
At least he was in front of Nood’s Good, a river of cars holding back his pursuer.
Just that the restaurant’s windows were completely dark.
Walren blinked several times, but the fact remained: There was no one in there.
Horror flooded his stomach. Why was it closed? Was it already that late?
Where was he going to hide?
He spotted a dark alley and crossed his fingers, darting into the shadows. There was a dumpster here, too exposed to shelter them.
Walren began trying all the doors he came across. One of the handles jiggled slightly.
So he tugged on it. To his surprise, the door opened.
He held his breath and swung the door wider, using it as a shield in case someone was in the building.
