by J. D. Tyler
“I know. Just like I know him messing with me was nothing but a mindfuck, but that doesn’t make it better. I’m losing my goddamned mind.” Burying his hands in his hair, he held on as though he could keep his scrambled brains inside. “I called him Master, and I liked his approval. No, I craved it, and would’ve done anything in that moment to please him. So I guess you’re right about the cub thing, huh?”
“Jesus Christ.” Nick’s gaze pierced him to the core. “Then what happened?”
Kalen lowered his hands to his lap, fists clenched. “He told me to let Beryl out of her cell. He said she had a task to perform before she left, and that she was never meant to stay with us. I didn’t know he meant for her to die, but I should have. Then I let her out, took her up to the ground level, where she attacked Sariel. Rowan and Aric went after her, and Aric killed her.”
The commander fell silent for so long, fear balled in Kalen’s gut. Finally he gathered his courage and asked once more, “Are you going to kill me?”
“If I said yes, would you submit?”
Kalen nodded, the bottom falling out of his stomach. “I would.”
“Why?” Nick cocked his head.
“Because you’re a PreCog and that means you can sometimes see the future. On top of that you’re a good, fair man. So if the future is better without me in it, if my death will keep the Pack and other innocents safe…” He couldn’t finish.
“On your knees, Sorcerer.”
The commander’s tone was cold, his blue eyes like the Arctic North. Legs shaking, Kalen slid from his seat and knelt on the stubby carpet. Placed his hands on his jeans-clad thighs and stared at his polished black fingernails, which were digging into his legs painfully. His heart thundered in his chest, threatening to break his sternum.
Then Nick walked around his desk and opened a top drawer. Reached in and lifted out the biggest fucking hand cannon Kalen had ever seen. The spit dried up in his mouth and he watched numbly as the Alpha wolf approached, went to stand behind him.
The hard muzzle of the gun pressed to the back of his head. So he’d die on his knees, execution-style. Quick and painless.
Oh, God. Take my soul before Malik can claim it, and look after Mackenzie, too. That’s all I ask.
“I’m sorry, kid.”
Kalen squeezed his eyes shut. Time crawled to a standstill.
The crack of a gunshot split the air.
“Dr. Grant?”
Mackenzie pushed an errant lock of curly dark hair behind her ear and looked up from the paperwork on her desk to see Noah standing there. The cute blond nurse was wearing a pleased expression as he hovered in the doorway to her office.
“What’s up?”
“Blue’s finally awake,” he said. “Blue” was the name a lot of the staff at the compound called the Fae prince, due to his long, gorgeous blue hair and matching wings.
“That’s great news!” She smiled at Noah. “Does Dr. Mallory know?” Melina Mallory was her colleague and a damned fine doctor. Mac counted her as a friend, but the woman also ruled the roost in the infirmary as well as in their research on shifters and other paranormal beings.
“She’s with him now. All his vitals are looking good—well, at least for what we know about faeries, anyhow. The prince has got some color back in his face, but he’s still refusing to eat. I wouldn’t be worried—I mean, it’s not surprising that a patient wouldn’t be hungry after being severely wounded—except Blue hasn’t been eating well since he’s been here at the compound.”
“We need to keep an eye on that,” she said worriedly. “If his weight drops so much as another ounce, I want to know.”
“You bet,” Noah said. Some of his natural cheer returned. “But he’s back with us and that’s what counts.”
“Yes, it is.” Standing, she stretched. “Go and tell Sariel I’ll check on him in a short while. I’ve got a couple of things to do first.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
With that, the nurse was gone. Mac couldn’t help but be fond of the guy. Noah was a bundle of energy, lived at the compound, loved his job, and rarely took any extra time off. He was in his element taking care of wounded Pack members when they were sent out to battle rogue paranormals and were frequently injured. He’d also started working with Kira, rehabbing the innocent creatures like Sariel, who had no one else to care for them and help them adjust in what was, to them, a strange world.
Noah was adorable, and fantastic at what he did.
After straightening her papers, she walked out of her office and down the corridor, past the exam rooms, in the opposite direction of the patient’s rooms. She headed toward the lobby of the infirmary, past the receptionist, and into the main hallway leading to the rest of the compound.
Only when she was alone did she reach up to touch the pendant hanging around her neck from its long chain. The weight of the disk was solid, comforting. She could feel the raised ridges that formed the pentagram within the circle and the pendant seemed to warm in her hand. Almost as though it was seeking to reassure her that it would always do what Kalen had said—protect her from all evil.
Including Malik. The Unseelie slime had sent a Sluagh to attack her and Kalen in town a few weeks ago, and Mac had been scratched by the beast. This had somehow allowed Malik a portal into her mind, and the bastard had truly frightened her. Kalen had promptly given his beloved amulet to Mac, his sole possession of any sentimental value. The enchanted protection his grandmother had given to him was now Mac’s.
Oh, but Kalen had shared so much more than that. Her footsteps faltered and she halted, remembering.
Breathy moans and tangled sheets. Messy black hair falling over his kohl-rimmed green eyes as he moved over her. Thrusting, possessing.
Making love.
And then it was over and he’d pulled into his isolated shell, claiming there could be nothing between them. He’d given her the pendant, made her promise never to remove it, and then put miles of emotional distance between them. They might as well have been living on different planets, it was so great.
Why?
A loud crack startled Mac, making her jump. The noise echoed down the corridor, and as it faded, she realized what the sound had been.
A gunshot.
Heart thundering, she took off in the direction of the noise. Kalen had used his Sorcerer’s power to ward the compound against intruders, but perhaps a Sluagh or some other creature had gotten inside. Or maybe one of the creatures from Block R had become feral.
But no, the sound took her past Rehab, past the wings where the living quarters were located. Men from the Pack bolted from their rooms, came from every direction, rushed past her. She ran, at last realizing they were heading for Nick’s office. She couldn’t imagine what terrible thing could have happened.
Until she saw Nick standing like a statue over Kalen’s prone body, a smoking gun in his hand.
Then Mac’s eyes rolled up in her head and she saw nothing more.
I’m not shot. Holy fuck, I’m alive.
Kalen stared at the burned spot in the carpet right next to his leg for about five seconds before he slumped to the floor. His body simply refused to cooperate any longer, and he lay there in shock, hardly believing he was breathing.
“I had to know if you’d go through with it,” Nick said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“Shit,” he croaked.
“Your last thought was for the safety of others, not yourself. You were willing to die for the greater good, and that means Malik hasn’t won. You’re a good man at the core, and so there’s hope.”
“Nick, am I fighting this battle just to die anyway?” It was a question he’d asked before, and he received the same answer.
“I don’t know.”
“And you wouldn’t tell me even if you could.”
“That’s right.”
God, what a screwed-up mess. He wasn’t sure how he would’ve responded, but the sound of footsteps, voices raised in concern, floated from the corr
idor. Kalen let out a deep sigh, humiliated that the team would witness this and learn about Nick’s little “test” of his worthiness.
“Hey, catch her!”
Her? Kalen sat up quickly, just in time to see Zander scoop Mackenzie into his arms and lift her against his chest. Kalen shot to his feet and, before he thought about what he was doing, grabbed the doctor from Zan with a snarl, holding her close. He glared at the man, warning him back.
Zan raised his hands, palms out. “Chill, man. Would you rather I had let her hit the floor?”
With an effort, he calmed himself. Zan was only trying to help. But inside, his panther raged at seeing Mac—their woman—in the arms of another male. He’d never felt anything like it in his life. It was confusing as hell.
“No, sorry,” he managed. “I’ll just—”
“You can put me down.”
Anxiously, he looked down into Mac’s beautiful face. Large blue eyes fringed with dark lashes stared up at him, blinking away tears. His gut tightened, knowing he’d been the cause of her tears, in more ways than one.
“It wasn’t what it looked like, exactly.”
“Put me down. Please,” she entreated softly.
Reluctantly, he did as she asked, but that didn’t stop him from checking her from head to toe. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No.” She glanced around at the guys who’d assembled there, her cheeks pale as milk. Swallowing hard, she said, “I’m fine. Now tell me what the hell is going on in here.”
“Nick gave me a test. I passed. The end.”
She scowled at Nick. “What sort of test involves firing a gun at one of your men?”
Nick addressed the group, keeping the explanation to the point. “Kalen was willing to be executed rather than risk bringing harm to his team. There’s still hope that he can be saved from Malik’s control, so we’ll see this through. Anybody disagree?”
No one did. One by one each man, plus their lone female, swore loyalty to the team. And that loyalty included Kalen. As he looked at each of them, he couldn’t breathe. Never had anyone stood up for him. Stood by him. Not even his own parents, the people who should have sheltered him and loved him the most. The idea that these people who’d come into his life so recently would have his back, even in the wake of him letting them down, overwhelmed him.
He could hardly speak. “I swear I’ll do my best not to fail all of you again.”
Or he’d die trying. Suddenly the chaos inside him seemed to settle and his purpose became clear—he’d fight Malik with everything in him. And when the time came, he’d make the right choice.
Whatever that proved to be.
“Excuse me,” Mackenzie said tightly. “But I think I’m going to be sick.”
Spinning around, she dashed to a woman’s restroom down the hall from Nick’s office and disappeared inside. He would’ve gone after her, but Nick blocked his way.
“You should probably let her be right now.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. Frustration rose, along with his anger. Quelling his pissed-off panther again, he nodded and strode in the opposite direction, putting as much distance between himself and everyone else as fast as possible.
Just as he’d done all his life.
“Mac?”
“In here.” Bent over the sink, Mac finished rinsing her mouth, then turned off the water. Glancing at Melina, she grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser, dried her face, and tossed them in the trash. “See? I’m fine.”
“I don’t think so.” Melina’s sharp scrutiny roamed over Mac’s face, and she apparently didn’t like what she saw. “To the infirmary with you. I’m going to give you a checkup.”
“I don’t need—”
“I didn’t ask. I’m telling you. Doctors make the worst patients,” she grumbled. “Let’s go.”
There was no arguing with her friend when she had a bug up her ass, so Mac relented. Though Melina was slight of frame, and sort of resembled an elf with her short cap of dark hair, she was fully capable of making the toughest Pack member cringe in fear. She was a tough, militant bitch.
And that was when she was in a good mood.
Her friend hadn’t always been that way, but that was before her mate, Terry, the Alpha Pack’s former commander, had been killed in an ambush several months ago. Accepting Nick as the new leader in her mate’s place had been hard on the woman, and she and Nick didn’t always see eye to eye. But they’d found some peace between them, based on mutual respect.
Melina led Mac into an exam room and gestured to the table covered with the hated crinkly white paper. “Sit.”
Dutifully, Mac did, and proceeded to subject herself to a complete physical. Melina checked her eyes, ears, nose, and throat. Checked her reflexes. All seemed clear, but the woman still wasn’t satisfied.
“I don’t like it one bit that you fainted,” she said with a frown.
“For God’s sake, I thought Nick had killed Kalen! Give me a break.”
“How long have you been queasy? Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
She had? Mac blinked at her friend, hedging. “I don’t know. A few days, maybe.”
“How often have you been throwing up?”
Mac stared at her, silent. Shit, shit.
“O-kay,” Melina drawled, brows raised. “Here’s what’s going to happen. Noah is coming in to take blood for a complete standard workup. Then you’re going into the restroom to pee in a cup. Then you’ll come back in here, sit down, and wait for me. Got it?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“Good girl.”
Melina patted her knee and left. Soon after, Noah came in, swabbed the crook of her elbow, and took three vials of blood. When he was finished, he pressed a cotton ball over the injection site and topped it with a Band-Aid.
Giving her a smile, he pointed in the direction of the restroom. “Go do your thing.”
She absolutely hated peeing in a cup. It was a dicey proposition at best, aiming just right. But she managed and in short order was sitting back in the exam room.
Where the clock on the wall ticked by with unbearable sluggishness.
Five minutes passed. Ten. Mac was starting to fidget when Melina walked in, carrying a sheaf of paper. Her friend closed the door and slowly turned to her. The expression on Melina’s face sent a bolt of terror all the way to her toes.
“What is it?” she gasped, gripping the edge of the table. “What’s wrong?”
“Mac, honey. We have to talk.”
