When he turns his gaze on me, his eyes are shadowed with concern. It’s kind of touching that this is bothering him so much.
With that inhuman speed of his, he’s up the stairs before I even register he’s moved. He plants his left hand on the door behind me, and his other hand tangles in my hair, cupping the back of my head. His lips are touching mine before I come to my senses and plant a firm hand on his chest.
A slight push is all it takes. He backs up immediately, running a nervous hand through his hair.
“I’m sorry, Whisper.” It’s as if he’s apologizing on behalf of his gender. Or the entire system we live in. This guy needs to relax a little.
“I’m going to be an Elite. Maybe not now, through you, but someday. However flawed this system might be, it hasn’t stopped me yet.”
“It’s not fair.”
I can only laugh. “Goodnight, Gideon. Thank you for considering me for your Apprentice.”
I hold out my hand, and he doesn’t hesitate to shake it. I open my door, letting Damon in first before I follow, closing and locking it behind us.
I let out a long breath.
Damon’s big head pushes against me until I finally clue in and start scratching his ears. He keeps pushing until I just give in and sit on the floor, granting him full access to rub his face against mine and bite at my shoulder. He’s rougher than usual, wrapping a paw around my waist as his teeth and rough tongue claim my neck, shoulder and arms.
Jealous much.
“Buddy, easy, I get it. You own me.”
You’re mine.
I laugh at his display, even though it occurs to me that he might be a tad more possessive than the average Shifter.
Betrayal
I wake up late the next morning to find Damon stretched out alongside me. I don’t remember having a nightmare, but I’m wrapped around him just the same.
I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d been more encouraging when Gideon tried to kiss me... if it would be his warm body against mine now, instead of this furry heat pad. I almost want him to officially take back his offer and pick another Apprentice. Maybe then... That’s just my starving libido talking. I want that job more than I want a night with any man. Plus, Mr. Manners doesn’t do casual sex. Even if it’s obvious he wants it bad.
I roll out of bed, removing my clothes as I head to the bathroom. My comm buzzes, but I ignore it. I need a long, hot shower before I start another day of begging for work. I take a little extra time to think about Gideon while the steaming water runs over me, letting myself imagine him here. I picture the cascading water soaking his beautiful body as his hands slide across my skin.
It’s a pale substitute for the real thing, but at least a little solo action will keep me from chasing after the first acceptable male I come across today.
After my shower, I grab my comm with fingers crossed. My hopes are up when I see there’s a text message from Charles, but when I open it, I have to read it twice before I can process what it says.
Charles: Sounds like your meeting went well. Elite Gideon left word that your comm is registered at the Teleports. You can check in at Headquarters on Solar One tomorrow. If you’re accepting the offer?
“Shit, Damon. We got the job.”
What job?
He jumps down from the bed as I start to sift through my closet, trying to decide if I’ve got something to wear or if I should just convert some dirty laundry.
“With Gideon, dumbass.” I read him the text from Charles, realizing I didn’t actually message him back yet.
Me: Yes, of course! If you can spare me... I know I’m your best Agent ;)
He doesn’t respond to that, but I’m too wired to even care. It’s nearly 11:00 now, so I gather some leftovers from the fridge for Damon to eat.
“This is it, Damon. We’re finally going up there.”
Nothing wrong with down here.
“Buddy, I love you, but you’re a pain in the ass.” His eyes are narrow slits as he lowers his head, ears flattened, and begins to stalk toward me.
My comm buzzes with a new message. I dodge Damon’s advance and scoot to the kitchen.
Charles: Can I buy you a drink to celebrate?
Me: Ok...
Charles: Don’t worry, I won’t make you hang out with the old folks for long. Meet me at that bar you like at 7?
Me: Sounds good!
He wants to say goodbye. When I go up there tomorrow, I’ll be working for Gideon. If I get a permanent position, I’ll be working for the Elders directly. All this I knew, but the sudden reminder makes my head spin.
I brace myself against the small kitchen island, taking a deep breath to center myself. I’ve only ever worked for Commander Jeffries. He’s supported me since day one and stepping out from under him is a little bit terrifying, to say the least.
Are you okay?
“I’m good. I just... it’s a lot to process.”
“Are you serious?” Kelsey’s voice jumps a couple octaves as she folds her hands in front of her chest, almost like a prayer.
“You bet. I head up there first thing in the morning.”
She squeals and does a strange little wiggle, then reaches out to put a hand on mine. “I’m so proud of you. You’re a good person, Whisper. You deserve this.”
I don’t get a chance to reply before she’s summoned away by another customer. Her words make me all warm and tingly inside, and I haven’t even started drinking yet. Can’t say I agree about the ‘good person’ bit, but it’s nice to hear it anyway.
“There’s my girl!”
Charles’s voice is warm and just a little thicker than usual. Guess I shouldn’t have bothered saving the first drink of the evening for his arrival. He clearly started without me.
“Charles!” I say with equal enthusiasm, and he doesn’t even blink at my use of his first name in public. A new era indeed.
He pats me roughly on the back as he takes the seat beside me, ordering up two imported beers that I’ve never tried. Kelsey slides the open bottles across the bar, and Charles taps his against mine with a satisfying clink.
“To you.”
It seems like he might add more to the toast, but he thinks better of it and drinks. I laugh as I join him happily. I’m not a beer fan, but I have to admit this goes down smooth. Guess the price tag does make a difference. I might order this on a regular basis, once I’m earning the wages of an Elite.
We chat. We drink. I dance with anyone who looks like they know how to move.
The hours fly by and before I know it, I’m feeling more buzzed than I have in a long time. I’m way passed buzzed; I’m drunk. I laugh just thinking about it, and Charles laughs right along with me.
He’s my new best friend.
“I gotta go home, buddy,” I finally concede sometime after midnight. I’m hitting that wall where all I want to do is get home and snuggle my kitty.
“Yes, ma’am! You have to get up for work in the morning!” Charles slaps his hands on the table we migrated to. Come on, I’ll call us a ride.”
“No, my truck...”
He waves a hand, dismissing my concern. “I’ll have our vehicles delivered before morning, no need to worry about it.”
Sounds like a good plan to me. I step out into the warm night air, expecting it to straighten me up a little. Strangely enough, it has the opposite effect and I feel myself sway.
“Gotcha,” Charles says, hooking his arm under mine and letting me lean on him. He’s such a good man.
… one... okay?
Alcohol has never affected our Link before. I try to catch a glimpse of Damon, but Charles is the only thing keeping me upright. I didn’t mean to overdo it, I was just… we were only…
I’m okay, just need to sleep it off.
I’m not even certain if he heard me, and as I’m looking around to spot him Charles guides me into the back seat of a car. I can’t even think about resisting, I just want to be home in bed. I catch a quick glimpse of a golden dog
as we pull away. He’s going to be so pissed.
My head lands on Charles’s shoulder. He smells like leather and beer and something smoky. I should apologize for my behavior, but the dim interior of the car is fading to a peaceful black.
We’re walking again. His arm is around my waist now, and I’m barely contributing to the effort of walking up the stairs and into my own house.
He unlocks the door. I must have given him the key.
I’m sitting on the cool floor now, my back against the kitchen island. Charles is pacing in front of me. Back and forth, back and forth. Why is he so steady? Hell, I should be able to out-drink a man twice my age.
“This was never supposed to end this way, Jane.”
I haven’t heard that name since the ceremony that made me an Agent. It’s the name my parents gave me. Whisper’s my real name. Whisper in the Dark, my brothers called me. I was good at slipping around the house without a sound. That’s the name I earned.
“Charles...”
My own voice is foreign to my ears. My arms are useless weights at my side.
“It’s that assholes fault. Thinking he’s being progressive, or clever, or maybe he just wants to get in your pants. Who the hell knows. Not like you’d play hard to get with him anyway.”
He’s pacing, running his hands through his hair. He looks over at me, as I’m looking back at him. His expression is pained, but I watch the emotion slowly melt into a deadly calm. He walks toward me, crouches down, and grips my chin with cold hands.
“Do you understand?”
I don’t understand anything. Everything is wrong. I didn’t drink that much, and drunk doesn’t feel like this. I want to ask what’s happening, but my mind is foggy and my body’s dead weight.
“Jane.” He says that name again, and I want to break his jaw. “You were never supposed to make it past the Academy. You sure as hell shouldn’t have made it out of the Enforcers. A female Agent. Hell. What did you think would happen? Did you think you’d be allowed to continue? I tried. I really tried. Keep you busy, keep you on the ground. That was the condition. But you had to go and hook that... that Gideon.”
Whisp... Damon’s voice is in my head. He’s close. I hear him scratch at the door, and I try to speak to him through our Link, but I don’t think it’s working. I’ve never left him behind. I’ve never locked him out.
“Dammit.” Charles lets go of my face as he looks toward the door. “I’m going to kill you, Jane. I don’t want to, but it’s the price I have to pay for letting it get this far.”
My heart’s beating faster than it should, or possibly not at all. I hear him. Hear every fucking word, but it doesn’t make sense. This is Commander Jeffries. Charles. He’s always had my back. He’s the one person I’d trust with my life...
“If I could’ve convinced you to stay on the ground, mind your business and do your job.” He shakes his head, scrubbing a hand over his face. “But you won’t, and now we’ve come to this.”
The scratching at the door intensifies, joined by the heavy thuds of a body being thrown against it.
Charles stands, starts to walk away, then turns back to me as he levels a 9mm at my head. I can’t believe this is how it ends. Betrayed in my own home. Without so much as a struggle.
I’m sorry, Damon. I love you. I pray he can hear me. My death will kill him. The loss of a bondmate triggers a Shifter’s body to shut down. He’ll be dead within a couple weeks, if his broken heart doesn’t destroy him sooner. That thought makes my lungs contract, as my body starts to vibrate.
“Please...” I rasp out, as Charles’s already pained expression crumbles even more. His hands shake as they grip his weapon of choice.
A bolt of pain slices through my eardrums as a shot splits the air. White-hot pain sears across my neck. Fuck. When’s the last time this asshole fired his weapon?
The scratching at the door becomes frantic, though it’s muffled and distant to my ears. He won’t get through. He’ll bloody himself trying, but the tech that kept us safe will seal our fate.
I close my eyes, waiting for the next shot. I summon my superpower, detaching from the pain and the fear, forcing my body to relax and take in air for as many breaths as I have left.
Something’s happening. New sounds reach me through the fog. I struggle to bring my mind back to the present. Just as the room comes into focus, fresh pain detonates in my left side.
I grit my teeth against the pain, seeing the tile floor against my face. Its white surface is streaked with red. I see the door, open. Damon. Where’s Damon? Please don’t let him kill Damon before me.
Charles. He’s on the floor, too. There’s another man, standing over him. Naked. Makes sense. It makes sense that my brain would create a hallucination of the perfect male as it’s last act. Fuck, why do my eyes have to be so blurry?
“Damon...” I feel the vibration of my words even though I can’t hear them.
“I’m here, little one.” I hear his voice. He’s here, somewhere. Relief floods my veins, but I’m just so tired. I can’t fight anymore.
Damon
I am helpless to save her.
The thought only fuels my anger. This house was built to shelter us, coated in tech to protect us while we sleep. Now, it keeps me out like a fly against the window. Even my claws, sharpened to lethal points, are useless against the invisible barrier.
I keep trying. I claw and throw my weight against the door, then the window. Let my flesh tear and my body break if it means I have any hope of getting through.
If only I were bigger. Much bigger.
I picture the biggest creature I’ve ever laid eyes on. A massive, green dragon. The Elite’s Shifter, Tarek. I saw him only from a distance, hovering in the air far above his bondmate. I try to picture the details of his form, try to make it my own.
I imagine wings sprouting from my back as scales replace my dense fur. I imagine my muscles stretching, expanding, growing until I can tear the roof off this tiny building. I try to harness the power and the strength that form would give me.
A gunshot sounds from inside my home. A strangled scream reaches my ears, turning my anger into blinding rage. I can’t grasp the dragon’s form. I can’t get through this cursed door.
I can’t lose my Whisper.
If only... A thought strikes me, bringing with it a cold, clear determination. She hides a key to this door. A silly hang-up from her childhood, she says. From the years when keeping a key hidden was the only guarantee she had of being able to get inside her own home.
I pivot, leaping down the stairs and tearing up the lawn as I bolt around to the side of the house. A drainpipe. A patch of rocky turf. A few scrapes of my claws and a small, wooden box is unearthed.
Now my strength, my claws, my crushing jaws and deadly fangs... they are all useless for what I need to do. I imagine the form I need. It feels oddly familiar, almost welcoming, and I give myself over to the shift.
A rush of thoughts and emotions hit me like a physical blow to the head. My ears are ringing as my chest constricts with a wave of sheer panic. My body folds, falling to the ground on human hands and knees. Cold air rushes against vulnerable, hairless skin.
Sparks of white light cloud my vision. I blink and shake my head until I can see the small box on the ground in front of me. Reaching, I fumble again and again until I can finally control my long, awkward fingers. At last, I have it in my grasp, folding it open to reveal the shiny, metal key.
I stumble and trip over myself as I scramble to get back to the front door. With shaking hands, I fumble some more at the door handle before it mercifully clicks and the barrier between me and my Whisper is gone at last.
As the door swings open, I see a man. The Commander. He has a gun aimed at Whisp, who slouches like a doll against the island. Her limbs are slack, her head is tilted to reveal a red wound on her delicate neck.
I shift back to my panther form, growling my deadly intent as I leap at his body. The weapon fires before he attempts
to turn it on me. He’s too slow. He yells in fear as I plough into him, knocking him to the floor. The gun flies from his grip as his skull cracks against the hard floor. I close my jaws around his head, ready and willing to end this traitor permanently.
A soft whimper cuts through me like a knife. I turn toward Whisper to find her laying on her side. Red soaks through her shirt, and she gazes out at me with unfocused eyes. I forget the man on the floor, and I coax my body to take human form once again.
The headrush is slightly less painful this time. I force the onslaught of thoughts and emotions away, focusing on the only thing that matters.
“Damon...” Her voice is so frail.
“I’m here, little one,” I say, speaking the words into the air between us.
She smiles softly, her face relaxing as her eyes close. I push the hair back from her neck. It’s just a graze. Nothing her Medic can’t handle. Holding my breath, I peel back the shirt from her abdomen. The wound looks painful, but it was another miss. Two splintered holes mark the places where the bullets struck the wooden island. I silently thank god, the universe, fate... whoever I should be thanking.
I glance behind me to make sure the Commander hasn’t woken. He’s right where I left him. Anger boils in my veins, but making Whisper comfortable is my first priority.
Sliding my arms gently under her small form, I lift her off the cold floor and cradle her against my body. She’s warm and comfortable against me, and when I reach our bedroom, I’m almost reluctant to lay her down. It feels so good to be this close to her.
I put aside my selfishness and tuck her into the covers, leaving her for just a moment to fetch a warm, wet cloth from the bathroom. I clean her wounds as gently as I can. It’s all I can do. Her heart beats strong, her breathing is steady, and her Medic will help her heal before any infection gets the chance to set in.
Whisper in the Dark Page 5
