The alpha stepped closer to Logan. “Do you think she can?” Keegan asked him. He seemeddoubtful.
Logan eyed me seriously. “Yes,” he said withconviction.
Keegan shrugged. “She’s smaller,untrained.”
I didn’t know what they were referring to, but at the comment of my small stature I scoffed and stood. I was 5’8, which was tall for a girl, and yes I was thin but had somewhat of an athletic build from years of soccer. Technically, I loathed regular exercise, and the Grand Canyon hike had nearly killed me, but I was strong ... on theinside.
“I’m not small,” I growled at the alpha, and that earned me a smile from Nadine and a few of the otherpackmates.
The alpha seemed to look at me with amusement. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I was talking about your dragon. She is small and untrained, wild andreckless.”
It felt like an insult, but since I knew nothing about dragons or their size, I decided just to pin him with a glare. As I did, a low rumble emanated from his throat and his jaw clenched. Logan leaned into my ear, bringing with him the scent of the forest. “Staring an alpha in the eyes isn’t a great idea unless you plan on challenginghim.”
Oh.Shit.I looked down at the alpha’s neck and cleared mythroat.
Keegan laughed suddenly, full of warmth and amusement. “She’s got spunk, Logan. You might beright.”
“What are you talking about?” I couldn’t stand being in the dark when they were talking aboutme.
Logan peered at me behind his ruffled dark locks. “I think once I train you, you will be strong enough to harness the magic—take a bit back from the druids and even the scales. I can only hold so much, which is why the humans aresick.”
That sounded intriguing but … I wasn’t interested. “Actually, I was wondering if you could make it go away. Make me normalagain?”
The entire room froze. One of the guys even dropped a beer and it shattered to the ground, sending glass everywhere. Even silent Dom leaned forward from his dark perch in the corner of theroom.
Logan’s mouth was frozen open, gaping like a fish out ofwater.
“What?” I defended my position. “I want my life back! I wasn’t born into this like you were. Some freak thing happened to me a few weeks ago and now you want me to start stealing magic from druids and start training? I just want to see the world. Paris, Ireland—I haveplans.”
I knew I was pouting and probably seemed petty, but come on, they couldn’t really expect me to … what, live here forever harnessing dragon magic? It was all ridiculous. I had accepted that magic was real—fine, someone put a curse on me or something. But there had to be a way to removeit.
I didn’t realize how much my question must have hurt them until I noticed the tears swimming in Nadine’s eyes. She had those blunt cut bangs and wore a red bandana so she was perfectly channeling a rockabilly chick. And now that I had her in tears, I felt likeshit.
“She doesn’t know any better,” Logan told thegroup.
Sophie, the other female, who had been shooting eye daggers at me all night, stepped forward now, her body clenched, and it was clear she was seething with anger. She was one of those tall athletic blondes that commanded the attention of every pecker in theroom.
“We’ve spent eternity guarding Logan so the humans can have a fighting chance! Every night before we go to bed, we pray, we beg—do you know what we ask for?” Her voice shook and I felt like crap for getting everyone allemotional.
“What?” Icroaked.
She thrust her hands my way. “More dragons! And here you are and you don’t even want it!Unbelievable.”
Keegan growled suddenly and the blonde quickly lowered her head insubmission.
“I understand where you’re all coming from, but you need to understand where I’m coming from.” I directed my next question at the blond girl. “Sophie, right?” She nodded, still giving me her best resting bitch face. “You were raised your entire life knowing you were a … shifter, right? That your life would involve protecting Logan or whatever.Right?”
She nodded, a proud look on her face, making her upturned nose even more annoying. “My mother trained me to protect the skyborn from the age ofthree.”
“Yeah, well, what if tomorrow morning you woke up completely human, in a new apartment with new roommates and a bunch of other crazy stuff? What is the one thing you wouldwant?”
She grit her jaw, silent. After a few beats, she answered, “To be a shifteragain.”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
Logan placed a hand on my shoulder. “Alright. I think that’s enough fortoni—”
He was cut off by a shrill hissing sound. It was like a massive tea kettle had gone off and I could actually feel pressure building around my body. My ears hurt and my chest was constricting, making it hard tobreathe.
