Truly Ours ✔️

Chapter Four

trigger warning: homophobic slur, mention of abuse

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐹𝑜𝓊𝓇 / 4 / 𝐼𝓂𝓅 𝒜𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈

Taz had been at school for nearly two months now, and he was comfortable enough to hang out with other people without Cadence. It had been in small, growing increments of time. Taz knew that he had separation anxiety, and hated being away from Cadence for too long. The same went for Trinity and Micah. But, if he had at least one of them, he was alright. He found it was comforting to be around Arielle, Estra, Jamie and Xerum as well.

    Mikael and Aspen had become good friends as well, and in turn, Taz had made friends with a few other members of the River Bane Pack. Olivia, Sam, Madelynn and Markus would always greet Taz in the halls when they saw him, sometimes striking up conversation. Taz was happy that people were willing and patient enough to talk to him while he wrote, or typed out a response on his phone.

    Cadence teased Taz about being popular, but Taz always just wrinkled his nose, shaking his head. He really only had about fifteen contacts in his phone, though he did talk to the majority of them often when he and Cadence weren't in school.

    Taz was hanging out with Mikael and Aspen when he heard a sudden commotion, yelling and a screech that sent shivers down his spine. He recognized that voice. Taz scrambled to his feet, noting Mikael and Aspen getting up to follow from his peripheral vision. Jamie was being cornered by three much larger boys, and Taz could sense the supernatural aura radiating off of them.

    Jamie was one of the only human friends that Taz had made, and he was vulnerable right now. Xerum had gone back to report to Cerberus for the week, so he was gone, and Jamie was alone. Taz couldn't understand what was going on, over the white noise in his ears. They were harassing Jamie, and no one was helping. Taz knew that they were saying hurtful things, because Jamie was crying, and Jamie never cried unless something really hurt him.

    Taz could feel a foreign emotion rising in his chest. It felt hot, and it felt angry, and Imp was stirring again. Taz hadn't felt Imp's presence since the first day of school, and Taz did the first thing that came to mine. His tail came to curl over his shoulder, and a small burst of scorching blue hellfire shot out, hitting one of the supernatural male's in the back of the neck. He yelped, and whirled around, eyes murderous. Taz felt himself falter, but he didn't want to back down. They hurt his friend.

    A small crowd had gathered, and Taz spotted Mikael and Aspen a few feet away, gaping at him. They seemed to make a move towards him, but faltered as Taz shot them a warning look. The two other supernatural males turned slowly to look at Taz, and Jamie immediately darted out from beneath them where he'd been pinned to the wall. Jamie came to hide behind Taz, and the shifter was shocked that he wasn't shaking to the core. Taz was tiny in size compared to these almost 2 meter tall brutes.

    Imp was definitely alert inside of him, fur bristling and standing on end as the first male approached him, baring a set of sharp teeth. They weren't a canine. The eyes were different - more feline. Taz's eyes caught movement in his peripheral vision and ducked just before the swipe connected to his temple. Jamie yelped and rolled away, and Taz soon found himself surrounded by the three shifters.

    "Who the fuck are you?" One sneered.

    "Defending the fag. Are you a fag too?" Taz didn't understand what that was, but narrowed his eyes, lifting his chin defiantly even though he felt like he was trembling like a leaf in the wind. His tail sparked with blue hellfire again, and he heard Mikael's yell to get a teacher. Taz was struck by one of the males, and it sent him flying to the side, collapsing into a heap on the ground.