Page 6 of Monster

Drake had even experienced some of it, but nowhere near the horrors a beast like this had. The others he’d come across in the prison, he’d been able to piece together and figure out. Scents and movements and glimpses had given him all he’d needed to deduce what they were.

The screaming monster in the cage was an enigma.

Drake couldn’t put this puzzle together… and from the little bit of chaos inside the beast’s head… he wasn’t sure he wanted to.He assumed there was some cat within, from the sound he’d just heard, but couldn’t be sure which type.

But that scent…

Drake stiffened, staring up at the nearly full moon.No.It can’t be.

He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the rushing of the wind to drown out the sounds of the creature.Sleep. He needed sleep, even if it was only an hour or so.

The adrenaline in his blood still lingered and slumber evaded him. He sat there, bumping along in the night, trying to ignore the raging beast beside him.

And the raging beast within.

Eventually sleep came. Fitfully.

And much too brief.

A hand shook him awake. He jerked, knocking the hand away before realization hit him. I’m not there.

The sky above was gray around Jaeger’s head.They weren’t moving.

“Wake up, sleepyhead.We gotta bolt,” the dragon said.

“I thought we were bolting?” Drake asked, scrubbing his face with one hand. “Why have we stopped?”

“Roadblock ahead,” Deacon said.“I shifted and took a peek from the sky… there’s no way around it.We can’t go back, so the only other option is to go on foot.”

“With this thing?” Drake asked, tossing a thumb to the cage.

“I’ll drag the sonofabitch if I have to,” Deacon said.“It’s our only option.”

Drake leapt from the back of the truck and helped the men get the cage down from the back of the truck. He turned to Deacon.

“You know… you could’ve just shifted and carried him back home without us.”

Jaeger grew quiet, staring between him and Deacon.

“I offered you a safe haven, and I meant it,” Deacon said, his face looking ashen. “I won’t back out now.”

Drake’s teeth clenched.If he and Jaeger were still capable of flight, they’d all be somewhere safe now. If it wasn’t for the molten metal poured down their backs by that sadistic fuck of a human, they’d be whole.

“We’re putting you in danger,” Drake said to Deacon.

Deacon didn’t know them.They’d met only hours before… when Deacon’s team had infiltrated the Project Zed compound on the base. The only thing that bound them was the fact they were dragon shifters… a rarity in this world.

Deacon owed them nothing.

“I promised you… and I don’t back down from a promise.”

“You could give us directions,” Jaeger said.“And take off with the creature. We can follow.”

Deacon shook his head.“I never leave a man behind. If you’re coming with me, we do this together.”

Drake eyed the dragon, and he felt respect blossoming in his chest. Deacon had not only forged a path for them to get out of General Lore’s House of Horrors, but he was offering a safe haven for them to heal in.

And refusing to let them falter.

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