Shifter's Baby(12)

Tenia didn’t notice the clouds rolling in above her, or the feel in the air. She was blissfully sleeping, unaware of the danger that was about to befall her. Tenia’s luck was never good and it seemed to be getting worse and worse by the minute.



Bradey was out in the night, the feel of the rain was a welcomed change from all of the dry nights that him and his brother had spent out. Raild was nowhere to be seen and Brad enjoyed a moment to himself. The two were out there looking for the enemy. Land shifters and sky shifters had always had issues, but the brothers did not get into the picture, unless they had to. Too many sightings of the wolf shifters had been seen in the area. Most people had thought them coyotes, but he knew what they were and more importantly, what they were after.

Every year the land shifters went a little crazy at the beginning of summer. Like the animals that they were, they would hump anything in the vicinity when they were in mating season. While the Dragonkin did not like to get involved, it was their duty to make sure that their secret stayed just that. The flyers were the rulers of the shifters and it was only when the mutts were kept in line, that everything went smoother.

It had started long ago, way before Bradey was the leader. Werewolves were caught and the stories began. Dragons are in the stories as well, though no one ever thinks that they are shifters. No dragon has ever been caught shifting and if they were, the witness was not left around to tell anyone. That left dragons mystic creatures that ruled the sky and the Dragonkin liked it that way. There was safety in the world not knowing they existed. But that existence had a tendency to be lonely from time to time.

Bradey was too busy musing and he was right up on someone in the canyon when he passed by. He could see something warm through the nylon material and Brad was about to pass by when he heard the roar coming in the distance. The rain had started to fall and the canyon was the perfect place to funnel it all into a raging flood. With a moment of indecision, he decided to go against the rules and help one of the humans.

Sweeping down from the sky, Bradey stopped short of the tent. He looked over to his left and knew that he did not have much time. Even something as big as he was at the moment, could be swept up in the rushing waters. Nothing could withstand the powerful river once the rain started, not even the rock that it had cut a path through over the years.

There was no more time to muse and he grabbed her out of the tent seconds before the fifteen-foot wall of water was upon them. The woman screamed and thrashed so much that he almost dropped her. When she finally opened her eyes and saw the earth moving beneath her, Tenia was beside herself in fear. She did not know what was going on, but she had enough wherewithal to see the flash flood engulf her tent. If whatever it was hadn’t saved her, she would be dead.





Chapter 4


“Please let me down.”

She squeaked out the words and she re-thought them as she realized how high up she was. The beast probably couldn’t even understand her anyways. It was a large winged creature and the word dragon popped in her head, but it was too far-fetched. Tenia must have hit her head and she wondered/hoped that the last few moments of her life was just a very realistic dream.

Instead though, the black creature started to dive towards the ground at a break-neck speed and she clung to his neck, closing her eyes for the impact. There was no impact though, only a small bump when it touched down on the ground. Its body shimmered and she slid off the beast in one fluid motion. Tenia looked at the creature in his eyes and there was a humanity there that she had not expected.

Taking a step back once her legs decided to cooperate, Tenia just stared at it in disbelief. There was less and less fear. She was pragmatic if nothing else and if it had wanted to eat her or something, she figured it wouldn’t have saved her.

Instead of running like most women would, Tenia stepped back towards it. She couldn’t help it when her hand moved forward of its own volition. Tenia just wanted to really feel the sleek body. She had been too afraid in the air to really feel anything and she was genuinely surprised when it didn’t move away. She chuckled to herself. Why would it when it could just stomp her into the ground right where she stood?

The texture was soft and a muscle underneath the area she touched moved. Tenia had a strange feeling that it was trying to scare her and she didn’t move back. The dragon lifted up his wings and stood tall, towering over her. Her heart pounded in her chest, yet she held her ground. When it finally laid back down as it was, there was humor in the black depths.

Tenia surprised them both when she wrapped her arms around its neck, thanking the beast for saving her. She wasn’t sure why it did, but she was thankful that it had decided to help her. Her fate was clear if he hadn’t have saved her. Her lips brushed the side of its face.