Twisting on my heel, I tucked my wings against my back, and my feathers tingled from the force of Savannah’s glare. Still holding my waist, Derek kept close to me, but the thrill of what might’ve been real danger had passed. Frowning deeply under furrowed brows, I grabbed his fingers to pry his palm from my hip, and my chest and throat tightened at the warning growl he gave. The events of the night had been shadowed by this threat, but, now, the memories came crashing back to sting my eyes and tighten my throat.
Derek didn’t try to get closer to me, and I wrapped my arms around myself as I strode past Alpha Jackson and the clan – away from my mate.
CHAPTER NINE
Derek
My lips curled in a snarl as my narrowed eyes spied one of Linne’s coworkers entering her house, and my claws dug into the hard, solid concrete beneath me. The baking sidewalk burned the pads of my toes, but that pain was dull compared to the ache that spread harshly through my chest. It’d been nearly four days since I’d seen my mate despite keeping constant watch, and now she was with a male – alone. Rationale told me firmly that Linne wouldn’t cheat on me; the mate bond wouldn’t allow her to, and I doubted she would anyway.
But the irrational couldn’t help but worry.
“Derek – ” The thick fur of my mane bristled at Jackson’s call, but I didn’t tear my eyes off the house across the street. “We have an issue, and I thought you’d want to be the one to handle it. Jordan’s doing a terrible job hiding his canvasing of the clan. He’s got some of his old pack with him.”
Only grunting in acknowledgment, my red-tinged mind latched onto the idea of ripping into Jordan and holding tight. There was no guilt or hesitation; the guy was a grade A asshole and deserved it, in my opinion.
Not to mention, it’d lessen some of the tension thrumming through my body like lightning ready to discharge. No amount of blood would get rid of the ugly void the absence of my mate left, but killing Jordan – that would help a whole fucking lot.
“Are you just going to sit here until she can’t take the pain anymore and comes crawling back to you? If she’s becoming part shifter, it’s got to be getting unbearable at this point.” A low growl was Jackson’s only answer, and my tail swished in agitation as the concrete trembled from the inaudible rumble.
“You know, Derek… Linne may be taking the brunt of this change, but you went through the same thing a long time ago. Maybe you should tell her about it. You didn’t have an easy shift, either.”
In this moment, I almost wished I had the luxury of being a wolf and having a mental connection to Jackson. Clenching my wide jaw, I stood up to shift back into my human form, and my skin prickled at the sudden tightness restricting tense muscles. Raking my hand violently through my hair, I only briefly revisited that time so many years ago, and I finally tore my eyes off Linne’s home to glare at Jackson.
“Tell me about Jordan.” Rasping, hoarse, my demand earned me a long stare and resigned sigh, and Jackson leaned back on his heels to turn his gaze to the sky. No clouds blocked his view of the light blue stretching across the horizon, and sweat beaded my forehead and the nape of my neck from the blazing rays of the sun.
“Todd noticed it, actually. He said five or six scents, but there’s probably more. Jordan’s been seen around the city without actually coming onto my territory. I’ve contacted Karina, but she can’t push him out until the new wolf pack gets here and their Alpha does it.” Annoyance laced Jackson’s tone, and he shook his head hard as a grimace painted his expression.
“I brought this to you for two reasons. One – if you’re the one that kills Jordan, the treaty we signed would be valid. Also, I’m worried about you. I’m worried that – while Linne is going through all of this – something is also going on with you. I don’t want you to explode or something because you’re so focused on her. Take this opportunity to figure out if there’s even a hint of anything magical going on with you, Derek. Not only for me, but for Linne, too – she needs to know she’s not alone.”
My brows drew sharply together at that, and Jackson glanced at me down his nose. The rationalization he’d given circled in my mind, sounding more and more attractive as it rang in my ears.
“I’ll do it.” Speaking up gruffly, I swiped my hands down my face as Jackson looked at my fully. “Give me a couple hours.”
“Take your time with yourself, Derek. Maybe killing Jordan will clear your mind a little.” Catching Jackson’s gaze, my own narrowed to find points as he cracked a slight smirk. “My dad was right about you, you know. You’re a good right-hand man.”
The mention of that old, dusty bastard stiffened my spine, and I snorted roughly even while fond memories wiggled into my mind’s eye. Shifting back into my beast, I shook my fur out roughly before making my way deeper into the park. Mid-day needed to pass before I’d have any chance to finding Jordan or his cohorts, and that left me with a lot of time to think.
Dropping down heavily between two trees at the very back of the park, I relished the soothing coolness of the earth beneath my paws, and my mind began to work harder. While my body rested, my brain kicked into overdrive to send sharp images into my mind’s eye, and I kneaded the soft soil underneath me.
Jackson’s father had taken me in when I was less than a year old, and he and his mate raised me alongside Jackson. They never treated me like I was theirs, but more like I was a cousin or something that they’d adopted after my birth parents got rid of me. Contrary to what most people thought, my parents had paid a lot of money to ensure I had a good life.
They just couldn’t fight beyond the shame of my deformity to deal with me themselves. Paying the old man was a way to ease the guilt of throwing me to the wolves – literally.
Jackson himself was only four months older than I, and we’d always had a weird relationship; there wasn’t any awkwardness, but there were times when we didn’t know where we stood with one another. When Jackson first shifted, the weeks after were fraught with tension.
Now, as adults, we were stable; I accepted living just a half step behind him. After all, I didn’t want to deal with all of the shit that came with leading a Clan, or even leading a pride of my own.
Linne’s image blossomed in my mind’s eye, and I gave a harsh huff of an exhale as I closed my eyes. She couldn’t have children; she was slowly but surely turning into a half-shifter, and the appearance of her canines signaled the coming end of that transformation. Half-shifters weren’t uncommon, but it’d taken me until just the day before to realize exactly what was going on.
What was going on with me? The thought replaced the image of my mate to circle my mind viciously, and my lip twitched in the beginnings of a snarl. It was weird when I could see Muss without that freaky parasite-in-the-eye thing of Chad’s. I hadn’t been expecting to be able to touch those creatures Linne had created at her company party.
But there had to be more. There had to be something more, or the lack of would tear my relationship with Linne apart.
Consumed by these problems, none of which pertained to Jordan in any way, I didn’t notice the slow sinking of the sun towards the tops of the houses situated around the park. The emergence of insects and flies that had hidden from the heat buzzed in my ears, and I forced my eyelids open stiffly to find a golden glow had settled on the park. Humans were jogging, walking their dogs, playing at the small baseball field on the far side – all totally unaware that I was here.
My black fur blended in easily with the shadows of the trees, and I jostled up to my paws to stretch languidly. Shaking the dirt and debris from my mane, I stared down at my left front leg through narrowed eyes to shuffle absently. Linne thought I was powerful – beautiful – the sight of me brought tears to her eyes. This deformity was a blessing in her eyes, and she’d even said it herself.
My mutation was a sign of great power, and now, I needed to find out what that was.
Leisurely making my way out of the park, I ambled down an alley towards the edge of Jackson’s territ
ory with renewed vigor. Jordan – this encounter – was the perfect opportunity to figure out what the fuck makes me special. This night would be the bridge that healed my mate by damaging me.
Thick, muscular legs carried me out of the alley, and I glanced around through thin pupils as I sucked in deep breaths through my mouth. The taint of Jordan was faint but still managed to get my blood pumping harder, and my claws ached as I moved to follow the trail. My mind stilled at long last, surrendering to the anticipation of the coming battle, and my thick hide twitched with anxiety.
Jordan’s trail took me to the west end of town, and I slowed to a stop as at least a dozen other scents began to cloud the air. I could see them now – like faint lines of sparkling dust hanging heavy in the atmosphere.
Closer.
“ – we can go in at night, maybe? It’s not like they patrol their area or have any real defenses up.” The deep, male voice sent sharp prickles down my spine as I came up in front of a multi-level apartment complex. Turning my gaze upwards, my ears twitched as voices rained down on me through an open window. Surprise and disgust mingled on my tongue, but I shook my head hard as murmurs of agreement drummed into my brain.
Jordan really was a fucking idiot. We weren’t on Jackson’s territory, but this was just plain idiocy to a degree that was almost baffling in its depth. Dropping my ass right on the concrete sidewalk, I struggled to keep my own inner voices’ clamoring down as Jordan’s familiar baritone reached me.
“No – they’re always on guard no matter the time of day or if they’re not awake. That’s pointless. I think we’d be better off trying to sneak in when they’re all training… you’ve got the schedule down, right, Cindy?” Stiffening at the name, a tickle of a memory wiggled into my mind’s eye as real surprise threaded my veins. Cindy was the name of that woman who had originally defected with her mate to warn us of Liza’s plan.
What the fuck is she doing with Jordan?
“Yes, I do. I also know that the angel doesn’t live on clan grounds. She’s been holed up for some reason in her house all week. It’s the perfect time to get revenge for Tommy.” Tommy’s dead? My mind worked frantically to find any explanation for this sudden turn of events, and my eyes widened as realization struck. We’d shipped Cindy and Tommy off to their relatives out of state, but we didn’t protect them. That’s what Jordan has been doing all this time. He’s been killing surviving members of his pack and blaming it on Linne to get them on his side.
“Yeah – yeah, you’re right. We’ll do it first thing in the morning.” Jordan’s agreement landed on uninterested ears as I stared at the white, pristine concrete sidewalk. If he’d kept Cindy alive and killed Tommy, he didn’t need muscle. He had a man inside Karina’s clan to keep tabs on the progression of the meetings.
His plan wasn’t to kill Linne – it was to out her and shred the treaty. He’d regain his spot in Karina’s clan, and we’d be forced onto the defensive while they paid us back for the heavy compensation we took from them.
That’s so fucking stupid it might work…
CHAPTER TEN
Linne
“Your first mission was at nine years old? Is that normal for slaves in your realm?” Shaking my head furiously, I stared down into the depths of my take-out container as I scraped the bottom with a plastic fork. “What happened?”
Jon’s intense gaze bored holes into the side of my face, and I pursed my lips together as I remembered that night so long ago. It seemed like lifetimes had passed, and, in some ways, they had. Twirling my fork absently, I inhaled a deep, stabilizing breath into an otherwise void, bottomless cavity in my chest.
“My master has many enemies, and she does not like to kill them unless she can back it up with very good reasons. My first mission was to gather intelligence on a Lesser Unseelie that my master said had been stealing from the market. I remember…she was very proud of me when I came back a few days later with proper evidence…”
Twitching slightly, my lips curved into a small smile as Kaslni’s image filled my inner eye. “Then, she called someone into her sitting room, and it was the woman that was stealing. It had been a test, and she wanted to make sure I was ready for real missions. At the time, I-I just wanted my master to be very proud of me again. She had given me the gift of being able to train to control my magic, and I needed to repay her.”
“You don’t consider it some sort of Stockholm syndrome? I mean, you weren’t treated very well by anyone while you were a slave, Linne – you have to realize that now, right?” Taking a moment to think on that, I slowly nodded before dropping my fork to touch my leg. Smooth, thick scar tissue met my fingertips, and a sigh floated from my mouth as I remembered that day nearly a year ago now.
“I know that, but being a slave in my realm is not the same as you think of it, Jon. My trainer was not needlessly cruel to me… Brutality is needed to achieve complete control. Any Unseelie that cannot control their magic is killed – they are a threat to everyone around them. Meditating – wishing – believing in yourself – these things are not enough to learn control. I trained, and I slept, and there were times when I thought I would die from my Trainer’s punishments…but that fear only pushed me harder.”
“I get that, I guess.” Turning my eyes to him, they narrowed as Jon reached to rub the back of his neck. His expression was deathly calm, almost blank, and he shrugged as he caught my gaze. “When I was in the military, I had to go through torture simulations. They’d stick us in these tiny cages, and we’d only get water – no food. They tortured us to make sure we didn’t break if we got captured. I went in right out of high school, and I went on my first tour when I was nineteen. Made the SEALs when I was twenty-six. The first kill I ever made…the guys always say it stays with you – changes you. But it didn’t for me. None of them did.”
“I have killed many people for my master…so many people. I never kept track. I did my mission, and that was all. Your missions were the same?”
“Most of the time it ended up like that, yeah. I only kept track because the guys in the Marines would come up to me and be like – ‘You reach the hundred mark? Two-hundred mark? Three-hundred mark?’ – and I’d be expected to answer. When I got out, I was a legend.”
Curiosity burned at the back of my throat as Jon shrugged nonchalantly, and I frowned slightly at the utter lack of sympathy or guilt in his eyes. “There was a lot of war going around back then, so it was relatively easy. I just killed who they told me to kill. I grabbed who they wanted me to grab. Even the seriously evil guys – the guys that killed my friends – they were nothing to me. Everyone else got pissed, hellbent on revenge and shit, and I just did my job.”
“The humans praised this? Did no one think you were…weird?” Failing to find a word to describe the person Jon painted of himself, my frown only deepened even while he jerked his head in a nod.
“I got regular evaluations, and I’m diagnosed as a non-violent psychopath. If I had done that shit as a civilian, I’d probably be dead right now. In the Marines, I was celebrated even though they kept a really close eye on me. After a few years as an operator, they realized I didn’t care about anyone enough to go after them, so they cut my evals and let me work in peace. Chad really helped me when I got back. He’s kind of grown on me, you know?”
Nodding in understanding, I reached to drop my empty container in the bag that sat on the floor at the foot of my bed. My home was still pathetically devoid of furniture, and there was nowhere else to sit. Even so, the atmosphere was light, and I relished this opportunity to be real with someone.
“He’s a great guy – one of the greatest I know. He’d put his life on the line for anyone…even people as fucked up as us.”
“…I feel like I am betraying him by straying. Derek… Meeting Derek has made things…difficult.” My chest tightened, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I ducked my head. “I do not like what I am becoming.”
“I don’t really understand love and all that shit, Linne, but you
shouldn’t ignore the problem. Ignoring things makes it worse. I mean, you look like shit, and this is the first time you’ve eaten in a week. Obviously, whatever you’re going through, you’re only making it harder on yourself. One thing I do understand pretty well is that people, humans, or shifters, or even you, should take the path of least resistance, but they don’t. You’re afraid of becoming a shifter – and I don’t know much about fear – but did you ever consider that you won’t turn into a full shifter?”
My head whipped up at that, eyes widening as Jon cocked his head, and he flicked his long, brown hair across his forehead before continuing. “I mean, there are such things as half-shifters. They got the teeth and the claws and some fur, but they’re usually mostly human. Whether you acknowledge it or not, you’re already half and half – half human, half Unseelie. What’s to stop you from becoming a third shifter, a third human, and a third Unseelie? How do you know that being thrown across the Veil didn’t change you in ways you wouldn’t realize? For that matter – how can Derek change you unless you were already different?”
Jon threw question after question at me, and my jaw unhinged at the enormity of his reasoning. Watching me closely, he pursed his lips together as the silence stretched on, and my mind whirred almost too fast to work properly. If this was a cartoon on the human entertainment, I would have smoke pouring from my ears.
But this wasn’t a cartoon, and Jon’s voice slammed into my already overloading brain as he spoke up once more.
“To be honest, from everything you’ve told me today, I wouldn’t be all that surprised if the Veil did something freaky to you, Linne. It seems like that kind of magic, you shouldn’t be messing with. You said also that your wings sprouted when you were four years old, and that it had never happened before so young. Maybe you were different, and no one ever knew. Maybe being tossed into another realm amplified those differences.”
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