Chapter 1Terrell gulped.
At once, Dakota finally understood what he meant. Trust, not that he could protect him, but that he could do so and still be himself. The muscles in his back tightened. He pushed up the loose sleeves of his jacket, just in time for the spines that rested below his skin to slowly slide out and into view. Dakota had felt the extra texture inside his arm. He’d even kissed the calloused places where the barbs protruded. He knew all about them. He’d seen them in action. It was nothing new.
At least not to him. To the creature, the appearance of the reptilian spurs was taken as a direct challenge to its control of the situation. It dropped its jaw all the way, so that the bottom rested against its neck and chest, and let out a roar that sounded like it came from three
