With a sigh, Candace draped her arm around Nevada’s shoulder and they watched the boys.
Nox moved the tarp and shouted outside, “Hey Vyr, can you check on Mr. Diddles?”
Nox and Torren jerked out of the way of a golf ball-sized sphere of fire that blasted through the tarp.
“His name isn’t fucking Mr. Diddles!” Vyr yelled.
“I never called him Fucking Mr. Diddles. That’s a terrible name!” Nox hollered back.
Vyr let off a long, prehistoric bellow that shook the whole house. Torren sighed tiredly and stared at her like are-you-sure-you’re-up-for-this-mess?
But even with the rough ending to the night, she was still here, arm around Nevada, her new friend, with the boys. Claiming mark still tender on her neck, and newly paired with a man she was falling hard for. She wasn’t eating a microwave dinner over the sink in her apartment alone, dreading the roach season.
Now, for better or worse, she was part of a crew.
Sure, it was arguably the worst crew in the whole world…but it was hers.
And that counted for a hell of a lot.
Chapter Eleven
Dad’s tiger was the most familiar thing in the whole world. He was a big, powerful, dominant, rogue. He walked gracefully in front of her, the forest alive with cottonwood fluff and flying bugs. Everything was so bright and saturated with the midday light. She didn’t recognize these woods, but she didn’t mind. Dad was here. Candace was safe.
Her little paw sank in the soft earth into one of Dad’s prints. Someday she was going to grow big and strong like him. He paused and looked at her over his shoulder.
I’m here, Dad, sticking close like you taught me.
He was panting, but not from exhaustion. It was hot here. And foggy... No. Smoky. Dad’s gold eyes were relaxed, though. Come on, Little Cubby.
Coming, Dad. Candace bounced forward, determined to be big and tough like him. She rubbed her little body against his leg. I love you, Dad. I’ll always love you. You’re the best dad. Puuuuuurrrrrrr.
He licked roughly up her neck the wrong way, and she shook her head to get rid of the tingly sensation of her fur standing against the grain.
Now it smelled like smoke, and she scowled and sneezed. Gross smell. Not like a regular fire, but something more sinister. Her heart started beating faster, and she was getting a little scared. But Dad still looked steady and wasn’t rushing his pace when he began walking again. She felt watched, and when she scanned the smoky woods, there were people standing around, watching them. Men and women, all their eyes glowing—shifters. Dad?
Everything is fine, his quick glance said. They’re friends.
We don’t have friends.
Dad was walking faster now. Gotta keep up. Move little legs!
“You’re supposed to be here,” a man said.
Candace skittered to a stop and crouched down to her belly. The ferns tickled her tummy. She flattened her ears and hissed because the man was scary. Tall. Muscular. His eyes were glowing green, and on his arm was a giant raven. He walked toward her with a deep limp, then stopped and adjusted his stance. He said it again. “You’re supposed to be here. For him.”
She didn’t understand, but the man and the raven looked off to the left, and when she followed their gaze, her heart stuttered.
There was a massive silverback standing on all fours, tall and proud next to a giant, blue dragon. Kong, Torren’s father, and Damon Daye, Vyr’s father. And both were watching a small red dragon, standing on the ground, wings tucked, blasting a stream of fire at a half-grown gorilla. Torren. Vyr. Torren shrank back and roared in pain.
Stop, Vyr! You’re hurting him!
Vyr clamped his mouth closed, tensed to jump, and beat his wings hard until he was airborne. But then Torren was charging. Fearless Torren. Kong. HavoK. He leapt high in the air and wrapped his arms around Vyr just as he retracted his wings to beat them against the air currents again. His arm was blistered and mangled from the fire but Torren held on tight as they pummeled to the earth. They crashed hard, splitting the ground under their force. The crack in the earth snaked straight to Candace and stopped right at her tiny paws.
“Stop, or you’ll hurt me! You’ll hurt me, and I’ll never be your friend again. I won’t be your friend, Vyr. I won’t!” Torren bellowed.
Everything froze, the entire scene before her. Torren was still as ice, arms wrapped around the frozen Red Dragon. The man with the raven didn’t move a muscle. There was no rustle of leaves, no movement of small forest animals. There was silence. There was stillness.
Dad?
But when she looked for him, he wasn’t there anymore. In his place was a white tiger with small stripes and one blue eye, one green.
“Mom?” Candace looked down at herself. Her tiny paws had disappeared. In their place were human hands covered in her black winter mittens. She wore black pants and a black sweater. She was grown. “Mom?” she asked louder.
“I’m sorry I left.”
“Why?” she asked, tears burning her eyes. “Why did you do that?”
The smoke was growing thicker, wafting through the woods and covering everything.
The white tiger sat there staring at her with the saddest eyes. Candace could hear her mom’s voice so clearly in her head. “I just couldn’t stay. You’ll do better. You won’t be like me. Everything is going to be okay, Little Cubby. But first you have to do something brave.”
“What?”
“Help. Your. Man.”
And then dragon’s fire blasted through the smoke and swallowed up the white tiger.
“No!” Candace screamed, lurching up in bed.
Bedroom? Yes, she was in a bedroom. She couldn’t breathe. She was in bed, not the woods. A mattress on the ground. An old black and white picture of Torren and his family on the wall. A lamp glowing with soft light in the corner by the neatly folded piles of clothes.
She searched the bed, but she was alone. Torren’s side was cold. They couldn’t have been asleep long because it was still dark out.
A low, vibrating rumble filled the room, and Candace froze in terror. Slowly, she forced her gaze to the red-haired behemoth leaning against the open doorframe. He wore blue linen pajama pants but no shirt. His torso was covered with tattoos, and his arms were crossed over his chest, making his biceps look intimidatingly big. Vyr stared at her with those silver snake eyes. “I saw that dream. Your demons are loud tonight,” he murmured in a cold voice.
“D-did I wake you?”
“No. Torren’s demon was louder.”
“HavoK?”
Vyr nodded once. He angled his face and studied her. “I know he fights. I know he can’t help it. I know he’s getting sicker. I know I can’t stop HavoK from taking his sanity. He gets worse year after year, month after month, and lately, day after day. Why are you here?”
“Because Torren is the keeper of you. And I want to be the keeper of Torren. I want him to stay.”
Vyr frowned. “Stay in the Sons of Beasts Crew?”