“Noted.” Visibly pleased, Nick stood. “Are you sure you’re all right after that dizzy spell? Do you need me to call Melina in to take a look at you?”
“No, thanks. I’m all right now.”
“Hmm.” Which meant he’d probably do it anyway. “Well, take it easy and I’ll see you later.”
Giving Nick a halfhearted smile, she watched him walk out. And wasn’t surprised when Melina hurried in less than a minute later.
“What the hell does he mean, you weren’t going to tell me you’ve been dizzy?” she bitched.
Back to the exam room. And just think—only eight more months to go, give or take.
Yippee.
* * *
You won’t be alone. We’ll be there with you every step of the way.
But they couldn’t follow through, no matter their good intentions, Kalen thought. The darkness inside him was taking root like a plant that had been dying of thirst for too long. He curled on his side and stared out the bedroom window at the deceptively bright day. At the lush forest beyond, beckoning his panther to go for a run. But even that small happiness had been taken away, unless he wanted to risk being drawn to Malik’s lair again.
Idly, he gazed at his hand resting on the bed. Focusing on his panther, he allowed a tiny bit of a shift and one of his sharp claws grew from his index finger. A deadly weapon fit to skewer an enemy. Especially when he was one of them.
The claw would make a perfect razor blade.
Heart pounding, he placed the tip of the claw against the inside of his left wrist. Could he do it? Make a couple of deep gashes and simply wait until the pain was ended for good?
Nick’s friendship, the Pack’s support, even Mackenzie’s love, were conditional. They would accept him as long as he didn’t fuck up—which he did, frequently. He had nothing. No real home, a mate who didn’t want him, and only an evil bastard who did. He would end up hurting everyone he’d never wanted to care about.
I will terminate you, Nick had said.
Why wait?
Then the memories of making love to Mackenzie stole into his thoughts unbidden. Of holding her close, skin to skin, just listening to her breathe. The bittersweet images gradually eased the turmoil in his mind. Calmed the desperation. Despite the heartbreak of the path he’d traveled to get to this point, he wasn’t ready to give up.
Not yet. When and if he went down, his death had to have meaning. Purpose. Until then, he’d hang on. Another hour. One more day. The claw retracted and he started to relax.
Come to me, boy. I have a task for you.
He started at the damned Unseelie’s voice in his head, though he’d been half-expecting the asshole to intrude in the wake of his last thoughts.
“I can’t do that,” he snapped to mask his fear. “It’s the middle of the fucking day. Everyone will want to know where I’m going.”
Don’t play me for a fool. You’re a Sorcerer. Simply cloak your passing and nobody will know.
Not necessarily true. He could think of one who might, but he carefully guarded that name.
“It’s an unnecessary risk.”
And a test. Don’t try my patience. Just get your ass here.
Kalen’s brow rose. A crack in the Unseelie’s normally cool, persuasive facade? Interesting. Whatever Malik was up to, it was a matter of some urgency, and his curiosity got the better of him. “I’ll be there. Are you at the cabin?”
No. Follow our bond, and you’ll find me.
“Or I could just follow the stench.”
Agony knifed through his head as swift punishment, there and gone so fast he barely had time to draw breath. The connection between them vanished, but his orders were clear. God, how he wished he could tear out the bastard’s throat. One day soon, he promised himself.
But he was the only one who could get close enough to learn Malik’s immediate plans for his so-called super-shifters. To help the Pack stop him. If only he could hold on.
Considering his options, walking through the busy compound, even cloaked, didn’t sound like a great idea. Nick or one of the others might still pick up on his life force moving in their vicinity. Using his magic to translocate was one way to go, but was a method he seldom used. It required a lot of concentration and zapped his energy much too fast. But right now, it was the best way.
Closing his eyes, he let the room fall away. Concentrated on his breathing, finding his center. Then he opened his mind to the black thread of the bond connecting him to the Unseelie. It stretched past the boundaries of the compound, beyond the forest, over the miles almost into the town of Cody. What was Malik doing there?
No time to dwell on it. Gathering his magic, he focused his power. Directed it into breaking every particle of his body down to nothing more than mist—a dangerous transition should he lose his grasp on the power. He let his body begin the journey, felt himself travel through space. Faster and faster, following the dark thread to the end, to Malik.
As he reached his destination, his form once again became corporeal. His boots touched solid ground and he took a deep breath, swaying a little. Blinking the spots from his vision. “Shit, that jacks me up every time.”
“Perhaps you should practice more.”
Malik stood a few feet away, wearing his guise of Evan Kerrigan. He looked like any classy businessman out for a midday stroll, his dark hair smoothed back, sunshades perched on his angular face.
“What do you want?” Kalen said with barely concealed venom.
“So testy.” He smirked. “Watch your tone with me, boy.”
“Whatever.” Glancing around, he frowned. “Why are we standing in the middle of a park? Where are we, exactly?”
“We’re in a small town not far from Cody. The name doesn’t matter. It’s a quaint little place, don’t you think?” he observed, waving a hand at the peaceful, sculpted slice of town.
Across the expanse of lawn, a couple walked a yellow Lab. A man jogged past them on the paved, winding path, doing a double take at the undoubtedly odd sight of a businessman and a guy dressed in Goth attire loitering in the park.
“Yeah, it’s nice. What does this place have to do with anything?”
“Are you so shortsighted? Look around us. It’s the perfect canvas for the first swipe of our brush.”
“Meaning what?” When Malik merely gave him a droll stare, dread crept through his stomach. “You’re not planning to hurt any of these people, are you?”