Odin (Alien Adoption Agency #5) - Tasha Black Page 0,40

as if they were heading out for a night of carousing, not like men intending to pen up sheep and ship them out to their own farm.

And they smelled wrong too. They didn’t smell like timothy hay or manure or sweat.

They smelled like hoverbike grease.

Fury boiled up in his chest.

Odin had read the intergalactic warning posts before entering Lachesis. The Sons of Sirius were a hoverbike gang out of the city center. Though they were mostly known for violent bar fights and disorderly conduct, they aspired to much more than that. Local law enforcement had a sharp eye on them.

As Odin watched, one of the disgusting wretches reached for Liberty.

The world suddenly slid into slow motion.

The man’s hand moved toward Liberty.

The dragon rose in Odin’s chest, throwing itself against the bars of his restraint.

And Odin threw open the gates.

There was no disorientation, no pain. He had denied the dragon for so long, but his body expanded into place as smoothly as ever.

The dragon felt the satisfying give of the soil beneath his claws, and the ballast of his mighty tail, holding him steady under the weight of his massive head.

He let out a roar so loud it made the jaguarootte’s warning sound like a small child clearing its throat.

The villain’s hand dropped from his mate and the dragon rejoiced.

But when the hand reappeared, there was a gun in it.

From his vantage point deep inside the dragon, Odin screamed in anguish.

A series of images played in their shared consciousness.

Another ambush, another villain whose treachery was escalated by the presence of a dragon, the cry of a boy and then worse, his silence.

He had not learned his lesson, and now he was doomed to repeat it.

Odin howled in anguish.

The dragon was shocked to feel the wave of despair in its chest. It was a wholly alien feeling, not one the dragon had ever experienced before. The man-side wasn’t fighting for control, he wasn’t trying to wrestle his way out. This was pure desolation.

The emotion tasted of surrender and the dragon hesitated, uncertain how to proceed.

35

Liberty

Liberty watched the dragon, in awe for a moment at its power and beauty.

While Odin’s skin tone was a gentle ruby, the dragon’s scales burned red as coals. Glittering eyes fixed on the man who was reaching for her.

Then the dragon let its beautiful head fall back and roared. Though the sound was loud enough to blow her hair back, she found it thrilling.

This creature was so proud, so joyous. It was as if this side of Odin had harnessed all his elation and was letting it fly from him now. There was no sign of her brooding, angry Odin.

When the beast suddenly dropped its head and the massive tail drooped, she wondered what was happening.

Cora gasped and Liberty turned to her.

Then she understood the dragon’s despair.

The man who had been about to grab Liberty was holding out a gun. And it was trained on Cora.

“Nooo,” Liberty moaned.

“Come closer, little girl,” the disgusting brute growled at Cora. “Let me get a better look at you.”

Cora’s face was free of all expression.

The intrepid babysitter took two deliberate steps forward, but stopped just outside of the gunman’s reach.

Liberty watched as the brute reached out and grabbed for Cora.

A slow, radiant smile appeared on Cora’s face as the man’s hand locked around her wrist.

Liberty had just enough time to realize what was happening.

Cora grinned, then stepped forward, shifting her weight as she counter-grabbed the man’s hand and ducked under his arm in one smooth, practiced motion.

The man sailed through the air, his body flipping over itself like a griddle cake before coming to a rest, hard, on the ground in front of the delighted babysitter.

His gun flew from his hand and landed at Liberty’s feet, and she snatched it up and pointed it at him before he had a chance to react.

All the men in the circle backed up, lifting their hands in surrender. The one who’d foolishly grabbed Cora made his way shakily back to his feet and stumbled back to them.

“You thought you were pretty tough, didn’t you?” she addressed them, secretly enjoying the fear in their eyes. “You thought you would steal my sheep and threaten my babysitter. Well, look who’s in charge now!”

There was a snort of agreement behind her, and she felt a draft of warm air against her back.

She glanced over her shoulder to see that Odin was behind her, still in dragon form, standing proud again, in all his glory.

His eyes glittered like diamonds.