Captured By The Dragon
Episode 56

Where there was darkness, there was also a bit of light.

Many people tried to fight against the ones that captured shifter children. They strived for justice and equality between all kids—not just the human children. They cared about their lives even when everyone tried to convince them that they were just deadly creatures that deserved to be put down as if they were animals.

There were organizations that went by many names and stretched across every city, but they all had the same agenda—they wanted to reunite the shifter kids with their parents. And if if it was the parents that gave them away in the first place, they would replace better families for the children to someone that actually wanted them.

All they knew was that they had to get the kids out of the torture that the anti-shifters released upon them. They tried to save them before death found them first, and more often than not—they were too late.

The anti-shifters had put up better security ever since they found out that people actually cared what happened to the children. They wanted them freed and rescued, but the anti-shifters were stubborn and set into their hatred. They became more sneaky and more wise with how they did things. There were rarely ever traces to what they did, and it only made those that were pro-shifters more frustrated.

A lot of the police were crooked, they knew what the anti-shifters were doing and many would look the other way or go as far as to cover it up just so it could continue. They acted like they cared in front of strangers, yet immediately covered it up once they were alone. Cases disappeared and soon the children were forgotten.

But not by those that still cared.

And Dylan knew just where to replace them.

Dylan

Patara hadn’t said a word since she’d left her house. She sat in the front seat while Erik sat in the back of the van dozing off. It was better to have her up front when she had so many bad memories of being in the back of a random van.

Something was off about her, but nothing I said would make her admit it to me. She ran out of her house and right into my arms and clung onto me like I was the only thing keeping her alive. Now, she distanced herself from us as if she was trying to register everything that happened to her. I wanted to help her, I wanted to reach her, but she felt so far away.

Patara stared out the window with an empty look on her face. I knew that look all too well, I must have worn it a thousand times.

Patara stared out the window with an empty look on her face. I knew that look all too well, I must have worn it a thousand times.

“Where are we going?” She said in a small voice. It was all scratchy and rough and I knew that she had been crying.

“There are people that can help us replace where the baby might have gone.” I said as gently as I could. I reached down to grab my spare jacket and lay it over her lap.

“Who? Do they know who took him?” She asked, sitting up a little.

“I’m not sure if they know yet, but they can replace out. I only know of them because I did a job for them a while ago to get into this anti-shifter…prison.”

“Prison?” Patara finally moved to look at me. Her eyes were so red, it broke my heart. I knew she would talk about it when she was ready. My hands tightened around the steering wheel at just the thought of what her mother must have said to her.

“These people that might have him… they’re not good people. They dedicate their lives to studying shifter children and putting them in these underground prisons so no one can hear their screams.”

“W-what? I’ve never heard of something like that happening…” Patara’s hands started to tremble. “They… they took my baby there? That’s where they’re holding him?”

“It’s the first place I thought of when you told me what happened.” I admitted. I kept my eyes on the road as I reached over to take her hand. Erik was snoring in the back after being up all night watching her house.

“What do they do to them…? Keep them in cages and cells to study them? He’s a baby! He shouldn’t be in a cell, he should be in my arms!”

I kissed her hand. “I don’t know exactly what they do to the children, but when I went in there to save a few—it wasn’t good. I tried to get the place shut down but they just open more and get better at hiding.”

I pulled into the parking lot of a tall structure. It looked like it had better days—but I knew that they still operated here. I turned to her and caught her looking down at her lap.

I gripped her chin gently and turned her face towards mine.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked quietly. She glanced towards the back where Erik was still asleep and closed her eyes.

“She said I wasn’t her daughter anymore… she did this to our baby.” She whispered. A spike of anger ignited inside me, but I quickly dimmed it before it made her close in on herself. “I don’t have a home anymore.”

“Of course you do. Your home is with me.” I rubbed my thumb across her jaw slowly and caught any stray tears that escaped. “You’ll always have a home with me. You don’t need her to tell you where your home is.”

Patara’s eyes were wide and shiny with the promise of more tears. I would catch them all night if I had to.

“I don’t think she ever loved me. Just the idea of me when she had me act exactly how she wanted.”

There was so much pain in her words, I didn’t even want to guess how long she had felt that way. She was too young to feel as if she wasn’t good enough for her own mother.

I wish I had come looking for her sooner. I wish I hadn’t let my pride get in the way of what I wanted.

Patara leaned her face against my hand and I leaned forward to k**s her.

“Ay—we here? Why didn’t you guys wake me?” Erik g*****d as he sat up slowly. Patara quickly pulled away from me with a blush on her cheeks. I tossed a glare at Erik who looked at me in confusion.

“Yeah. We’re here.” I grumbled. “Listen, these people are for shifters and our rights and all that but they are still humans and might get nervous being around one. Maybe you should stay in the car, Erik. You’re always more than most people can handle.”

“No way, they need to know that you have backup.” Erik started to shrug his jacket on and smirked at me. “I promise to be a good boy.”