I nodded. I hit the play button and gestured for her to put on her headphones. I knew she heard the roar when her eyebrows lifted.
The male made it, and I was a direct threat to the safe space he built for his mate. Fear oozed down my spine. He had my scent, and I wasn’t sure how far he’d go to dispatch a threat.
The footage continued, but as soon as I stepped out of the cavern and light hit the lens, everything turned into a kaleidoscope. “You’ve got to be fucking me.”
So much for my proof.
The stew turned to mush in my mouth.
I needed to see him again, even if it made my fingers tremble. I needed to confirm that it really happened. And it was gone.
“The camera took a beating. The daylight lens must have gotten smashed.” Her normal snarky tone took over. “You did alright, though.”
I sighed. “I got a camera on the nest.”
Knowing my luck, that wouldn’t pull up either.
She pulled up the application for our remote monitoring, and that feed was still rolling, but the nest was empty. Small Victories.
“Is it safe enough to go back?”
“We should wait a few days. I pissed off the male." But suddenly I wanted to go back, just so I could prove he was there.
She stood up, closing the laptop. “You did okay. Tomorrow we’ll do better.”
Then why did I feel so defeated?
My eyes went over to Gale’s tent and found him sitting out front with a book in his lap, but his eyes were locked on me.
At least the monster showed his teeth to everyone.
Chapter 7:
Dreamsofdrowninginmurky water kept me from getting any rest. I startled awake for the fourth time and stared at the stars over the trees. There was nothing like a sky untouched by man.
It was a big upgrade from waking up under a bridge.
A prickle across my nerves made me scan the area, only to find a giant shadow with glowing red eyes, looming over me.
My already pounding heart went into over time, and my breath caught. I jerked away, forgetting that I was in a hammock. It flipped me onto the hard ground ass first, but I ignored the pain shooting up my spine.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness and found the creature standing just outside of the sage patch.
The instinct to run made my blood quicken, but I heard my mother’s voice in the back of my mind.Hold steady or the monsters win.
If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it while I was asleep. He could have done it in the moments where I flailedabout like a newborn. I let those truths settle, and calmed my racing heart with deep breaths.
I wasn’t in immediate danger.
The light shone on his wet scales,and this time I let myself study him.
He had strong shoulders and biceps that some men never attained, even after decades of body training. It explained how he’d thrown me around like I weighed nothing. He wasn’t lean with muscle; it thickened his waist and thighs in a way that said he could probably shred through any obstacle in his path. Even his tail was strong.
Objectively, he was a beautiful specimen. He was a scientific wonder. Was he a reptile or mammal? How could he be so humanoid?
What was he?
“Beautiful,” I whispered to myself.
