The sun caught the green glow of the emerald ring on his finger, and he raised his hand to look at it. Hammered silver metal surrounding a small, glowing stone.
It was the only gift he’d been given before being sent on this mission. And, frankly, it was the only possession he had actually become fond of since being in the human world. Apparently, it was bound to him now, representative of his powers as an emerald dragon somehow, though the concept of being a dragon in the way earth shifters conceived dragons was still strange to him.
After all, Dallin was no ordinary dragon.
He nodded to himself, making one last turn. Damn, why had Ian dropped him off so far from the beacon’s house? Ian didn’t have to be so eager to get back to Liz all the freaking time, making Dallin walk so ridiculously far.
The metal chain on his wrist clinked, and he played with the links between two fingers.
This… contraption held his powers back. His strength. Even his ability to shift. And the only instruction he’d been given was that he’d have access to his powers if he ever really needed them. Whatever the hell that meant.
He’d already been attempting to break the chain, though. See if he could use his abilities in spite of the glorified shock collar dangling on his wrist.
So far, his tests had yielded… unpleasant results.
No one would control him ever again after this, though.
He looked up. This was it, the right address.
And his key to freedom.
He’d protect the beacon, do his job for however long it took, and be done with all of this nonsense forever.
To his dismay, though, there was already a man on the beacon’s porch. He was young, maybe in his twenties, with khaki shorts and a polo shirt and a clipboard in his hand, and he was gesturing animatedly and blabbering about pest control or some bullshit.
The only pest needing control is the one on the doorstep, Dallin thought darkly. But he stood back, waiting for the exchange to end so he could confront the beacon in private.
He couldn’t see her from his vantage, but he could hear her voice, calm at first, but more resolute as she said, “No thanks,” for the second time.
The person, who was clearly selling something, only got pushier. “If you’re all alone, then you need someone to take care of this for you,” the young man stated, moving ominously toward the door. “Here, let me inside and we can talk in more detail.”
Dallin felt the hairs on his arms bristle at attention, his vision zeroing in.
“No, good-bye,” the feminine voice said, and Dallin watched the door close.
But the man stuck his foot in the door, forcing it open as his friendly demeanor seemed to fall into a darker, more sinister glower. “I wasn’t done yet.”
And from the thoughts Dallin heard coming from the man, he wasn’t interested in selling her pest control anymore.
Dallin leaped up the steps of the beacon’s quaint house, feet hitting the landing with a thud. His weight immediately snapped the man’s attention upward.
Just in time for Dallin to grab the puny human by the neck, lifting him off the ground like a paperweight.
Every muscle, every cell in his body burned with utter disgust for the casual, unprovoked evil inside this person. He could feel the beacon—Johanna—standing in the door behind him. Could sense her fear and shock and surprise, but he remained focused on the pathetic piece of human filth gagging for breath three feet off the ground.
“When a woman says no, she means no,” Dallin said darkly, teeth clenching with rage.
He could snap this man’s neck like a toothpick. Break him like a twig. Fold him twenty ways so even his next of kin wouldn’t be able to recognize him.
All just because he could.
Suddenly, from nowhere, Dallin felt a surge of energy through him, magical and green, pulsing in his veins.
His dragon power.
Somehow, for a moment, the chain wasn’t holding him back anymore.
Perfect.
“I’m… sorry… I’m…” the salesman sputtered.
“Shut up,” Dallin commanded. Instantly, the man’s mouth clenched shut. Around them, the telltale green mist hovered like emerald dust.
He might only have one shot at this. He needed to make it count.
But he’d have just a little bit of fun first.
“I want you to never knock, come near, or even think about this house ever again for the rest of your life. You’re going to go on a nice long walk, say… twenty miles, and when you’re done, punch yourself in the balls fifty times. Just so you have something to remember next time you think about hurting someone.”
The salesman’s expression went blank. And when Dallin set him down, he immediately walked off, marching like a toy soldier as he did, never looking or turning back.
“Good boy,” Dallin muttered.
Holy shit, it worked!
Dallin looked at his hands, surprised even at himself for the good fortune he’d stumbled upon. Maybe it had something to do with being near the beacon or maybe just dumb luck.
If he could just tell her to go call Ian, have her ask for a reassignment—Landon and Ryder were certainly more interested in helping beacons than he was—then maybe they would give up on forcing him to be something he wasn’t. Maybe they’d finally see eye to eye with him and just leave him be.
Either way, he was going to do both himself and the beacon a favor right now.
“Are you… okay?” a soft, feminine voice asked from behind him.
Sorry, Johanna. This is for both of us, Dallin thought to himself as he turned to face her.
Her big, honey-brown eyes went wide as she looked up at him, and for a moment, Dallin regretted ever even thinking of using his emerald dragon powers on such a beautiful, seemingly nice person.
But freedom was freedom.
“Human, I want you to call the number in your pamphlet immediately and ask to release me from your service. Make it convincing. Say whatever you need to say to make it happen.” He folded his arms as he spoke, trying to not lose his nerve even though something deep inside him wanted to pull Johanna into his arms, not manipulate her.
The beacon stood there, a full foot shorter than him, mouth agape.
She was so gorgeous with that soft brown hair, that creamy skin, the honey-brown eyes, that he almost felt bad about what he’d just done.
“I… What?” she asked.
Was it working? This was the first time he’d been able to use his powers even once since coming to the human world. Maybe there was a delay because of the chain. Maybe it was—
A blinding, excruciatingly painful shock of electricity hit Dallin like a thousand punches to the gut. Completely overcome, his muscles gave out instantly, and he fell to the side, tumbling down the steps of the beacon’s home and hitting the ground face first. But the cement on his face was nothing compared to the continual stabs of electric pain that seemed to be taking their time going away after several seconds.
Well, that didn’t work, Dallin thought to himself, mind going blank, senses going numb.
In spite of it, the last thought that crossed his mind before he passed out was that Johanna was even more beautiful in person than she’d been in the photos.
Maybe being her bodyguard wouldn’t be the worst punishment in the world.
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