Page 5 of New Nebraska Home (New Nebraska)
Malik
BULLIES ARE THE WORST
W hat did a guy have to do to get his hands on a decent burger?
I’d been riding through these flat plains for what felt like days, looking for somewhere to settle. I hoped that the new laws would help me find more of my kind.
The creature inside me desperately needed its own clan to join. And I wanted to find out more about my people, maybe even find my family.
So far, I’d found nothing but flat monotonous landscapes dotted with the same towns. Their names changed but not much else did. I considered heading to one of the cities, but I loathed them. Something about the congestion of bodies and traffic just made my skin crawl, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else like me would feel any different.
It was about 3:00 p.m.; the sun was blistering, and there wasn’t a single tree in sight for shade. So, I parked my bike on the side of the road, took off my helmet and just let the breeze cool the sweat on my brow. Maybe I could just take a break, get some grub, talk to the locals and see if I could figure something out.
I was looking around, eyeing a diner that an earth elemental had walked into, making me wonder if it was one of those vegan places some elementals seemed to prefer or if it would have something meaty and preferably a little greasy, when I heard the all too familiar noise of a mob.
“Teach that bitch a lesson,” someone yelled, followed by a bunch of jeers.
“No one threatens our pack,” said another voice, and another and another.
Normally, I would have put my helmet back on and kept going. The risk was too great my creature would stir inside me, and it was best to just let the poor thing hide away. But I couldn’t stop myself from at least seeing what was happening.
Without putting my helmet back on, I rode around the corner to see a group of shifters, wolves by the smell of them, surrounding someone next to an old beat-up car.
None of my concern, I thought. Poor SOB got himself into that mess. He can get himself out.
I went to turn around and take a chance on that diner when one shifter moved and I caught a glimpse of bright red curls at about hip height to everyone else.
My blood froze. I moved a little closer to make sure I’d seen what I thought I’d seen. Sure enough, surrounded by that baying mob, was a child. He looked terrified.
That, I couldn’t abide. And my creature was already stirring at the sight.
My mind flashed back to all the times I was that child being targeted by people that were bigger than me, meaner than me and the pain and the fear that they’d instilled over and over. There was a significant difference between ganging up on a grown-ass man, someone who should be strong enough to fight his own battles, and terrifying a child.
Nope, not today, assholes.
I revved my engine a few times, getting the attention of a few of the guys on the outskirts, but none of them moved. That was their warning. If they chose not to heed it, well, that wasn’t my problem. I rode into the crowd, cutting off every single person from that child and whoever’s hand he was holding.
“I think you gentleman made your point,” I growled. “It’s time to go.”
“I don’t think you know who you’re messing with, friend,” said a man with a bad haircut, B.O. and ‘president’ embroidered on his biker outfit. This was the alpha. I was less than impressed.
“I don’t really care.” I looked him up and down, letting him see the annoyance on my face. “You could be Bigfoot himself, and I could still not give less than a fuck. You better take your boys and walk away.”
“Or what?” he asked with a sneer, stepping up to me like he was going to do something. His lip curled in a snarl and a low growl emanated from him, an obvious threat. He knew I was a shifter, but there was no way he knew what I was. If he did, he’d be running away with his tail tucked firmly between his legs.
I stooped, speaking directly in his face. “Or I’m going to show you exactly what it’s like to be harassed by someone bigger than you. If you were smart, you would take your pack of pups and fuck off right now.”
He looked me up and down for a moment, too stupid to know when to run. This man wasn’t a leader. A leader would have been smart enough to get his people to safety. He was a bully. I really didn’t like bullies.
“Bigger? I think you look about my size. Don’t he boys?”
A few of his pack agreed, but there were others that sensed something about me was different. Maybe this dumb alpha thought I was a regular bear shifter or something like that; others knew better.
“Is that so?” I smiled, then took off my sunglasses, carefully folding down the arms and sticking them in the helmet.
“Yeah, you’re getting it now. Why don’t you step off that bike so it doesn’t get scratched while I kill you? I’d hate to repaint it when I take it from your corpse.”
God, I hated wolves.
I nodded for a moment, putting down the kickstand, and stood to my full height.
The look of shock on his face as I stood at least six inches taller than the pup would have been funny if he’d been smart enough to fuck off. Sadly, it only took him a second to regain his audacity.
“Oh, you’re a big one, aren’t you? You some kind of lion shifter or a big-ass grizzly? It don’t matter. I have a pack and even in the wildest of places, a pack will destroy any other animal it faces.” He started walking around puffing out his chest, trying to rile up his men.
None of them would posture with him. Their instincts told them to run, and several had already started backing up. The moment he noticed his pack didn’t have his back, I expected him to bolt. I really did.
It had been explained to me that pack animals had a hierarchy. Their hierarchy wasn’t based on bloodline like the Fae, or even seniority, like some elementals. Shifters were more like vampires in that they could sense someone’s innate strength. They knew who the strongest in the pack was and they fell in line. So, when a little alpha puppy like this guy stood in front of me, he should have been able to recognize who was stronger. He should have been able to sense maybe not what I was, since most wolves didn’t know I existed, but my power. And, at the very least, back the fuck up.
Instead, he snarled at his pack, the sign of a truly terrible leader, then rounded on me, coming at me, putting his hands on my chest and shoving. I didn’t move an inch.
He threw a punch, and I caught his fist and pulled his body close to mine. I let my fire surge in my veins. I wanted him to feel the heat, feel the primal power he lacked, but I had in spades.
I let my eyes flash red, my inner fire reflecting in my pupil, and I knew he saw it. The sharp acid smell of urine was a dead giveaway. He tried to pull back, but I wasn’t ready to let him go.
“Do you still think I’m a bear?” I growled.
“No.” His voice trembled, and he shook. I should have let him go there, but I glanced behind me and saw the kid. He couldn’t have been more than eight. He was tiny, and I wished when I was that small, someone had stood up for me. I wasn’t going to let someone so defenseless feel that much fear, not when I could do something about it.
“No, what?” I asked, lifting him off the ground and holding him just far enough his piss didn’t get on me, but high enough everyone could see the stream running down the inside of his pant leg and puddling on the asphalt.
He looked confused, so I repeated. “No, what?”
“No, sir?”
“Was that a question?”
“No. No, Sir. I don’t think you’re a bear. I don’t know what you are.”
“Then let me educate you.” I clunked him down but kept my grip tight on his collar. He tried to pull away, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m the person who’s going to hunt you down the next time you think it’s okay to intimidate a child. I’m the person who’s going to haunt your nightmares. For the rest of your life, I’m going to be the man that made you piss yourself in front of your pack. Do you understand?”
He nodded frantically, and I dropped him on the ground, making sure he landed on his ass in front of his pack. At least those who hadn’t run off.
“This is your only warning. Do not come after this or any other child ever again.”
His pack pulled him to his feet, and they started scrambling off. He was maybe twenty feet away from me when he tried to save face by swearing at me, and promising some type of revenge.
Empty threats from an inferior alpha.
Turning my back on the wolves, I faced the child, who didn’t look scared anymore. He blinked up at me with bright golden-green eyes and a huge smile on his face.
“Hi, my name’s Leif. What’s yours?”
“Malik,” I gave him a friendly smile and reached out my fist for him. He fist-bumped me, pulling away slightly from the person he was next to, and I looked up to figure out who he was with. I expected to see some lesser shifter, or maybe a lone wolf. Instead, the most beautiful human woman I had ever seen was watching me with weary eyes.
She had an arm wrapped around the child. She looked too young to be his mother. With the fierce look in her eyes, she looked like a protective angel.
“Sorry to disturb, ma’am, but you guys looked like you needed a hand. And I didn’t see you, I only saw the kid.” I rubbed my hand on the back of my neck, not sure why I was explaining myself or rambling. I did not explain myself. Ever. Nor did I ramble. I had gone months without uttering over three words, but suddenly I couldn’t make myself shut up.
“Thank you,” she said when the kid nudged her. “It was very kind of you. I just hope they don’t come back once you’re gone.”
“Well, I’m looking for a place in town to stay for a spell,” I said. What? No, I wasn’t. Why were these words coming out of my mouth? “If you can point me to the nearest motel, I can make sure the pack doesn’t retaliate against you or the kid.”
“The motel closed, and I don’t think the new owners are up and running yet.” She stared at my chest for a moment before her eyes snapped back up to mine. Her eyes were the prettiest pale blue I had ever seen. It reminded me of the cornflowers one of my foster moms used to grow in her garden. It was the last place I remember being happy. Before they realized I was different, that I wasn’t like the other children.
“You can stay with us,” the kid said with a bright smile. “We already rented the two rooms down in the basement, but there’s the one smaller room just off the kitchen. It’s not much, but the bed’s clean and we include breakfast.” He stated all of this like he was a one-man welcoming committee as the young woman looked between us both with wide eyes. “Oh, and tonight Brock said that he’s gonna freeze water for us, and we’re going to make snow cones.”
The young woman sighed, looking exhausted for a minute, before she shrugged, accepting what the child was saying.
“My brother is right,” she answered slowly. “If you’re looking for a place to stay, we are renting out one more room in my home. It’s only about a ten-minute drive from here.”
“Well, I can’t really refuse. Especially if breakfast is included.” The words tumbled out of my mouth in a rough voice, my breath laced with a bit of heat from my creature.
What was wrong with me?
Why was I saying these things? It only took one more look at this beautiful woman, and feeling the peace of my creature as it soaked up her presence, to know exactly why. Something about her made me want to stay. Something made me want to make sure those wolves didn’t come back and that she and the child were safe.
Maybe dragons had an instinct all of their own.