Her lips pouted out. “Hush. You’ll need mittens and a scarf, too.”
I sighed. There was no arguing once Doris had her mind set on something. “Alright, if you say so.”
She nodded at me and headed for the door. “Stay safe, Liam. Have a good night.”
“You too,” I said.
As Doris left, I closed and locked the door behind her. Nobody had ever tried to break in, and I wasn’t even sure if the lock was even still in good condition, but it didn’t hurt to do it anyway. Putting the bread away in the safe far corner of the den, I carefully crawled up the rickety staircase to the top floor. I liked to watch Doris go home. It almost made me feel normal, like waving goodbye to a neighbor from your apartment balcony. Except calling the dusty half-broken window I gazed through a “balcony” was really a stretch.
Doris turned and was heading around the back of the building to a side street, which she would take to her duplex. There was a narrow alley behind my building, overgrown with weeds that spread from the remnants of the garden that once stood here. It was long gone now.
As Doris was about to turn the alley corner, something caught my eye. A figure that made my fingers twitch against the windowsill. A man was coming towards her opposite. A growl rose in my throat. No one ever came down the alley except Doris, and the only reason she used it at all was because it was a shortcut to this crap heap of a building. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. Something wasn’t right.
I watched Doris’ muscles twitch as she clutched her purse tighter. She shuffled off to the side. My nostrils flared. So she had noticed, too. I tried to keep calm. Nothing good would come if I jumped to conclusions.
But my animal instincts were screaming at me to fight.
And a moment later, when the man snatched at her and Doris cried out, my instincts exploded.
I skidded to the staircase, throwing myself over the rail and breaking into a run the instant my feet hit the floor. The wood creaked in agony beneath my weight as I pushed off of it. Blood roared in my ears. Something else was roaring inside of me, too.
No, Liam, keep it together!
The man hadn’t noticed me yet. He was too busy wrenching the purse out of Doris’s hands, but she was a feisty little woman, and she wasn’t ready to give up that easily.
“Let go!” he grunted.
The man gritted his teeth, and shoved her to the side. She tumbled over with a cry of pain and shock.
“Get away from her!” I snarled.
I leaped forward, spitting with anger. Rage burned in my chest like a fever. The man stumbled back and gritted his teeth. I let out a smug huff. I bet he wasn’t expecting anyone to jump to her aid. Smirking, I circled around him. Doris’s purse was still clutched in his hand.
I shot her a glance. She looked too shocked to move.I’ll get it back for you, Doris.
Lurching to the side, I cut off the main street so the man had nowhere to run except towards the abandoned building. He was in my territory now, and he would be a fool to fight back.
“Get out of my face,” he spat.
“No.” I held my ground. “Give her back the purse.”
“Why do you fuckin’ care?”
My lips curled into a snarl. No doubt my fangs would be exposed. My bear clawed at the surface of my consciousness, straining and begging to come out. I shoved it down. Shifters weren’t taken kindly to in human cities, and the last thing I wanted was for Doris to be afraid of me.
“Just give it back and get out of here,” I said.
The mugger paused. For a moment I thought he would bolt. Then, cursing, he stuck his hand in the bag and rooted around for her purse. I snapped and leapt at him, a growl burning in my throat. My knuckles were in searing hot agony. Every cell in my body fought to shift, to become my bear, but I couldn’t let that happen. I cursed myself for letting it get this far. Holding back a shift was excruciating. Sweat rolled down my temples and I panted heavily as I grappled with the mugger. No matter what, I was determined to win.
We slammed onto the concrete, me on top of the mugger and baring my fangs. They were the one thing I couldn’t control. My jaw contorted in blistering discomfort as my canine teeth shot out, while the rest of my transformation was being blocked. I was getting a headache. The man beneath me shouted something, but I couldn’t hear over the agony in my own head.
With a heavy kick to my stomach, the mugger sent me flying across the concrete. I skinned my arm and hissed. I couldn’t let him get away.
I dug my elbow into the ground and pushed myself up. Doris wasn’t moving. Fear shot through my body, fearing the worst, until I saw her fingers twitch. I sighed in relief. She must have passed out from the shock.
Shoes scuffed and I whipped around to the mugger. New fury erupted inside me as he made a break for the main street.
How dare you hurt Doris!
