Page 13 of Primal Dragon

Henrik shifted his weight and took a step back and then another. She hated the distance growing between them with each movement he took toward the door.

“Stay warm tonight, Doc. I’ll come for you soon.”

She blushed at his promise. The kitten pawed at her lab coat. She looked down and then she heard the click of the door closing.

Henrik was gone.

* * *

Quinn wentthrough her checklist as she packed her duffle bag. She knew it was unlikely she would use anything, but she didn’t want to go without being prepared. James had told her how to kill a vampire.

The gun case on her bed remained unpacked. It was a .38 revolver loaded with silver bullets. She hated that he gave it to her, but he was convinced being in his life was somehow going to bring danger to her doorstep at some point.

Well it was bringing danger to the vampires’ doorstep instead.

She would bring wrath down on anyone who hurt her friend.

Her phone rang. She wiped away the tears she wasn’t even aware had spilled.

It was her brother. “Hey, Drake,” she answered.

“Hey, sis. It’s been a while. I wanted to see how you were doing.”

She glanced at her dresser where there was a picture of her and Drake from when she graduated college. He was glancing down at his phone in the picture. She framed it anyway. It was the most accurate depiction of her brother she had.

Quinn spent a lot of time in her life being second or third priority. Her parents and Drake had laid the groundwork for that. Friendships, relationships, all seemed to play out the same way. She was always more involved and more committed than they were. She stopped trying so hard. When she was old enough to grasp the reality of her parents’ abusive and toxic relationship and how much they favored Drake over her, it was easy to put distance between them and her.

James was the first friend she had that really made her feel important. No matter what he had going on, he made time for her. And she made time for him.

James had a falling out with all the vampires he’d been close to at one time. He’d clung to her because she was the only person who didn’t judge him for what he’d done, unlike the vampire community.

Knowing that he was going back into that world to try and change it from the inside, made her scared for him, but she couldn’t deny him. She tried to change the world, even if it seemed small and insignificant. He was trying to do something bigger, something that could affect things greatly. She wanted to support him.

Now she wished she’d just locked him down.

“I’m good. How are you?”

Drake chuckled. “You’re in the middle of something.”

“Usually that’s my line.”

“Usually, I’m a dick, what can I say. Seriously, you doing okay, Quinn?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Why?”

“I don’t know. I just haven’t talked to you in a while.”

“Drake, you’re being really weird. What’s going on?”

He sighed. “Am I not allowed to play the big brother?”

“You’ve never played the big brother, Drake. What’s going on?”

He was up to something.

“Nothing. I’ve just…I’ve had a couple of close calls lately. I’m taking stock of what I have. I’m trying repair what I’ve broken. Which I know is our relationship. I’m a greedy, selfish ass and you’re a great little sister.”

“Am I?”

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