Skyborn (Dragons & Druids #1)(15)

I thought Keegan or Logan would interfere, but they didn’t. This must be how disputes were solved in the pack. Great.

Sophie stepped closer to me and I saw her coyote face barely below the surface.

“Because I’ve been with Logan for a few years now and we’ve only had a handful of hunter run-ins. One every year or so, and NEVER at the house. It’s you,” she spat. “I can smell the dragon all over you.”

Her words cut, deep. For a tiny moment I thought I could make my problem someone else’s and get some help, but it was clear I was on my own.

I shoved my feet into my black ankle boots and gave Sophie a salute. “Well, I’m not your problem anymore. Sorry for the trouble.”

I blasted past her, knocking into her shoulder, hard, and she stumbled backwards. The growl in her throat made me wonder if I should be giving her my back, but screw it. I needed to leave before these assholes saw me cry.

“Wait!” Logan shouted, and I stepped out into the frigid snow trying to pick up the pace. I heard footsteps behind me and then Logan spun me around to face him. Dammit, a few tears leaked out of my eyes before I could control my emotions, and when Logan saw them he looked on in horror, as if he had never seen a girl cry—he probably hadn’t. Sophie and Nadine looked like they didn’t have a single tear in their badass bodies. I wiped the tears quickly and gave him a piece of my mind.

“My car is parked downtown. Once I get to it, I’m outta here.” I had stashed my only possessions in that car and left it there so the hunters wouldn’t destroy it. I couldn’t wait to get back to my life and leave this freak show behind me.

Logan looked offended. “You’re not leaving,” he said with certainty, and I looked down and noticed his feet were bare. He must be freezing, but he didn’t show it. “You’re a part of our family now whether you like it or not.”

Family. That word did funny things to my insides. Keegan trekked out into the snow with a coat and handed it to me.

“Put this on, you look like a prostitute jonesing for her next fix,” he said with a wry grin.

I made a choking sound and laughed. Bastard was a total dick, a funny one. I think I liked him. He reminded me of my best friend in sixth grade. Tommy. I hadn’t spoken to him in years.

“But Sophie…?” I motioned to the house, where Sophie was waiting with the rest of the pack.

Keegan nodded. “She had a concern, she brought it out into the open. That’s how we deal with things in the pack. We can’t let things fester or they build and it affects the whole. We’re family. We’re honest. And we get it all out so we can get over it. She is annoyed by your presence and she let you know. You stuck up for yourself. Great, now it’s done.”

What the…? These people were crazy.

Logan tilted his head towards the house. “Come on, we gotta get Nadine and Gear to a sorcerer friend for a healing. And I need to speak to Eva about you. We need to cover your scent.”

I didn’t know what that meant, but I guessed I was riding a little bit longer on this crazy train. To be honest, the latest run-in had scared the crap out of me, and I figured I had better odds of staying alive if I stuck with my new friends.

“Okay,” was all I said, and started following Logan into the house.

Keegan stepped beside me and bent down low to whisper in my ear. “My guess is that Sophie isn’t crazy about some hot chick living with her ex-boyfriend.”

My eyes widened and Logan snapped his head back and glared at Keegan, who gave him an easy smile.

Keegan winked at Logan. “Just keeping it real, brother.”

Logan looked like he wanted to retort, but Nadine’s wail cut him off. She was in pain and we needed to help her.

As we entered through the blown-out wall, I looked around at the neighbors. Shouldn’t the cops be on their way? A wall was blown out of the side of the house and they must have heard the fighting.

I looked at the ground, watching my step, and to my shock the dead druid had been drug out onto the snow. It looked like he had sunk halfway into the ground. The hunters too.

“What the hell?” I muttered, unable to keep the shock from my voice.

Logan gestured to the scene. “I had a spell on the house to keep it from human eyes. The dead druid and hunters will be absorbed into the earth. They’re her burden now.”

Earthbound. Wow, that was really literal.

Keegan glared at us. “This learning session is cute but my pack is injured.”

Dick.

Logan looked at my outfit. “We need to go to a club for supernaturals. Eva, my sorcerer contact, lives on the top floor and owns the place, but I can’t have you recognized or smelled as we walk in.”

He was looking at my red hair. How would anyone recognize me? I was a nobody.

“The hunters have spread the word about a redheaded possible dragon female. Until we can camouflage your scent, you need a disguise.”

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. Mostly because Sophie was still shooting eye daggers at me. But also because at the word of hunters spreading rumors about me, a fresh wave of fear washed over me. I was fully jumping on this crazy train and I was afraid I would never find my way off.





4





“THIS IS MESSED UP! This better not be some kind of prank or I’ll kill you,” I shouted to Logan as Sophie and Cooper snickered in the corner of the alley. Dom stood at the opening of the alley, two guns drawn at his sides.