Flames didn’t greet me, but the sudden shadow blocking the moon made me shiver. Fright … it’s the only word I could think of to describe the feeling rippling through my bones. I suddenly wished I’d listened to Jasper and let him return the bike.

When the Scaler landed in front of me, it was like none I’d ever seen before. The darkness of the night couldn’t mask his reddish hue. The charcoal grey underbelly seemed to tower above me. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t screamed by this point. His wings stretched out in front of me, blocking every possible direction for me to get the hell out of here. I would have turned around, but that would take too long.

So I sat there, frozen on the motorcycle that didn’t belong to me. The dragon kicked his head back and set off three short bursts of flames into the sky, like flares. It looked like a signal of sorts, but I couldn’t be sure who it was calling out to.

Within moments, the beast brooding before me began to scale. I couldn’t remember whether I’d seen him before, but fear had my mind trapped with every possible situation that could happen next. Leave it to a Scarlet Wing to have rusty red locks. His hair fell just beyond his ears, luxurious and shimmering in the light. Those hazel eyes of his narrowed to me with an expression of anger scrawled across his face, “That does not belong to you.”

I couldn’t speak. I was stunned into silence. I watched him as he walked towards me. Somewhere between scaling and where I stood frozen, he’d pulled a shirt over his head and tightened the belt around his jeans. He was muscular, even more so than Bold Blue Eyes, who I suddenly wished was here.

“Get off of that bike, Fleshpot,” he snarled, “That was not crafted for you!”

I hadn’t realized my hands were trembling, gripping the handlebars until my flesh paled white. I managed to shut the bike off, put the kickstand down and climb off of it slowly. While this one was massive in size, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to test how fast he was in his Anthros form.

“How did you get this?” he demanded to know moving around the machine running his fingers over it. He bent down over the leather seat, inhaling deeply and then he turned to me. “You smell delectable.”

It’s a word that held several meanings, and none of them were good from where I stood. Swallowing hard, I found myself backing away from the monstrous man hoping he’d keep himself occupied with the bike. Instead, he ran his finger along the edge of it before stretching his neck from side to side.

“You marked?” he asked me.

“What?” stumbled off of my lips.

“Are,” he walked closer, “You… marked?”

I shook my head, “No, um, I don’t think so. I, um …”

He inhaled the air deeply through his nostrils. They flared with a grumble and growl of hunger erupting from somewhere deep inside of him. It made my skin crawl.

“I remember you,” he sneered tilting his head to the side eyeing me from head to toe, “I remember you perfectly well. My, my, my, haven’t we grown? I told him he needed to mark you that day, but he settled for delicate conversation instead. I tried to tell him the likelihood of you surviving without him would be slim to none, but here you are, proving me wrong. You must be a fighter.”

That much was true, and I was readying myself for an intense battle right now.

He kept coming closer and closer until I couldn’t back up anymore. Nowhere else for me to go. It felt like deja vu playing an awful trick on me. Who’d you like to be mauled by, Finch Skinner or a Scarlet Wing?

He ran to me with lightning speed, his powerful fingers seizing my throat. I could barely get a gasp of air in. A tear rolled down my cheek. The softness of his tongue licking it away made me cringe with disgust and fear.

He must have felt my body trembling as he leaned away just enough to take me in, “You don’t have to be scared, Darlin. You might survive the night. But first, just to be sure…”

I didn’t know what he meant until I saw a talon protruding from two of his fingers. He swiped at the collar of my shirt, tearing it from the neck across to my shoulder. Peeling it down to reveal the soft plumpness of my cleavage along with the rest of my bare skin.

“You are unmarked,” he said with a big smirk on his face. He stuck his face up to my neck, taking in a big whiff. “Oh my… I can’t get over how good you smell.”

“Perhaps you should take a step back then, Bart,” his voice came out of nowhere. Relief washed over me as um, Bart released my neck and took a step back. The other man stood close by, brooding, dark hair falling in his face and smoke billowing from his nostrils. It was Bold Blue Eyes again.

“You know a part of me was wondering when you were going to show up,” the man chuckled.

Bold Blue Eyes simply shrugged, “It took me awhile, but I’d been looking for her and my bike all afternoon. I was worried that Finch may have gotten to her, but thankfully enough she ran into you first. Right? You know who that is, Bart.”

“Does she know that?” he leered at me, toying with the piece of fabric he’d already torn away.

“Not necessary,” Blue Eyes told my captor moving firmly in between us making sure to move Bart’s hand off of me. He gazed down into my eyes with concern written all over his face, “Are you okay?”

“Ye-Yeah,” I stammered. I couldn’t believe he was genuinely concerned. I was ready to fight them both off, but that fight would have to wait. He moved me away from the large, red-headed beast, making sure to keep his eyes on him and his back to me.

His voice vibrated through his body, “You know who this is Bart. Don’t make this a thing between us.”

“Oh but Young Squire, you should know and apply the rules. We are friendly, but make no mistake, we are not friends. When it comes to survival of the fittest, you have to make sure your pets are fit to survive. And correct me if I’m wrong, but when this bike was gifted to you, I thought we had an agreement that no pets were to be driving it… You know it’s more of a protection thing, to avoid situations like this. Her scent travels faster than that hog does. You’re lucky it was me and not… oh but wait you’ve already done battle with Finch today. Who’s next? Are you willing to take on Argos the Imperial? Please tell me you are, I’d love to see that,” Bart joked with a glimmer in his eye.

Who the hell was Argos the Imperial? I wondered.

Bold Blue Eyes didn’t take any levity of this situation, “Bart. We had an agreement.”

“Yes! Yes we did! But those agreements only work when you uphold your end. Please take your pet inside,” he sneered.

“I’m not his-” I shouted but was abruptly interrupted by the feeling of his strong hand pressing hard against my stomach. It didn’t hurt me but felt more like him urging me to be quiet.

“I will have her in my chamber by sunrise,” he uttered.

“You will do no such-” I automatically spoke up, to fight back, but I felt him against my stomach once again.

“Be quiet,” he growled.

I swallowed my words and finally did as someone told me.

“Very nice,” Bart nodded with pleasure in his eyes, “I always admire the listeners. Well, we know what happens to those who don’t.”

He snickered as he made a whistling noise while walking his fingers off of his palm, falling and then clapping his hands together loudly. He didn’t need to tell me, nor did he need to act it out… the pets who didn’t listen all took a flying lesson where they never caught a gust under their flailing arms. I shuddered to think what would happen to me. I should have listened to Jasper, and now?

We simply stood back waiting for Bart to leave. Blue Eyes was poised, standing firm in front of me. I have no doubts in my mind that he wouldn’t have stood there all night, protecting me. Is that what he was doing? Protecting me?

Finally, after what felt like hours of intensity, Bart spoke up, “Alright. You’re lucky Ashton. Keep her off the bike and off of these streets. I’ll see you around, Ash.”

“See you Bart,” he said with a sigh of relief. We stood perfectly still as he scaled and took off into the night sky.

I was thankful for a second until I remembered what Blue Eyes told him. I shoved him as hard as I could, “Who the hell do you think I am?! I am no one’s pet! You might as well kill me now because I ain’t going anywhere with you!”

“Thanks for returning my bike,” he replied sarcastically turning around to stare at me, “You don’t remember me, do you?”

“What? From this morning?! Yeah, how could I forget two Scalers dueling over who got to take me home? Imagine my shock when you show up again to claim me as your prize. I won’t go with you,” I told him adamantly with tears welling up in my eyes. I watched his hand come close to my face. I back away in fear but he moved in slower to wipe the tear away.

“You have to come with me. If you don’t, you’ll be dead by sunrise,” he told me, and I believed him.

“I don’t get it,” I shook my head, “Why? Why won’t you kill me and get it over with?”

“Because neither of us wants that,” he said. “How about we go somewhere and just talk? If you’re not convinced of what I have to say then I’ll let you go and you’ll never hear from me or see me again. I promise to leave you alone, and I promise I will never lay a single claw, tooth, scale, or talon on you.”

“Okay, so we don’t have to go to The Towers?” I asked him with my voice still trembling.

“No not right now, but when we’re done talking, I have a feeling that you will. And my promise will uphold there as well. Just, trust me…”

“Are you kidding me? You want me to trust you?!” I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Well, your other choice is to take off right now on foot. You can’t get back on that bike and I’m sure Finch and Bart are out, on the prowl. Like it or not, I’m the only person keeping you alive right now.”

I hated to admit that he was right. Bold Blue Eyes made perfect sense, and I didn’t have Jasper around to help me out. So I agreed to his plan and took him somewhere we could talk. It was one of the few places in Black Harbor that Anthros could get to and Scalers couldn’t. Well they could, but they’d never feel welcome enough to stay, intrude, or torch the place. It was way too wet for any of that.