Chapter 13
Jack
I'd forgotten what real exhaustion felt like until I spent a night caring for a newborn phoenix chick.
Every two hours, before my alarm went off, Kai would chirp. Every two hours, I dragged myself out of the half-sleep I'd managed to fall into, stumbled to where Kai's makeshift nest sat on my dresser, and carefully fed her tiny pieces of berry while she chirped away.
She was insatiable. Hungry every single time, her little beak opening wide the moment she heard me moving. I'd read that phoenix chicks needed constant nutrition during the first twelve hours of regeneration—their bodies were literally rebuilding themselves cell by cell, and that took energy.
But reading about it and living it were two very different things. Had I not exerted myself physically a few hours ago, I would have stayed awake, but as it was, I was recovering too.
By the time weak October sunlight started filtering through my window, I was slumped in the chair I'd pulled next to the dresser, watching Kai sleep off her latest feeding, trying to remember what it felt like to not be bone-tired.
The mate mark on my chest pulsed with warmth, reminding me why this was worth it. She's safe and she's growing.
A knock on my door made me jerk upright.
"It's just me." Swinger's voice came through the wood. "Can I come in?"
I glanced at Kai, who was still sleeping peacefully in her nest. "Yeah, sure."
The door opened and Swinger stepped in, his eyes immediately going to the dresser. "You look like shit."
"Thanks," I muttered. "Newborns are work. She wanted food every two hours."
"Damn." He moved closer, peering down at the sleeping chick with genuine curiosity. "She's bigger than last night."
He was right. Kai had grown to the size of a small chicken. Her golden down had started to show hints of the brilliant feathers that would come later, and her wings, still tucked against her sides, seemed longer.
"How was the party?" I asked, yawning. The music had finally died down around two, which shocked me until I remembered that the guys had brawled earlier.
"Same old, same old. I went to bed around midnight. I went toe-to-toe with that midway dude with the spiral horns. You know, sheep boy or whatever he went by." Swinger rubbed his side. "I know I've at least got a few bruised ribs, if not broken."
"Shit, sit down then." I motioned to a chair behind him. Swinger moved it closer to the window, wincing as he sat down. "Man, that was some fight." Swinger's expression turned more serious. "Last I looked, I thought I saw three bullet wounds in that Mortis freak. There was a lot of blood."
My hands clenched. "I saw him go down."
"He dropped like a sack of bricks. Those clowns surrounded him, screaming that horrid sound of theirs.
Shit, it took me a minute to figure out that they were screaming, not laughing.
" Swinger shook his head like he was trying to shake the sound from his ears.
"You wanna know the fucked-up part? Those clowns—they carried Mortis out.
" He looked at me and my shocked expression.
"Yep, dragged his body out of the tent before the cops showed up. "
Ice settled in my stomach. "They took the body?"
"Yeah. Some of the carnies grabbed the red clown too—apparently he took a bullet during the chaos.
They all just disappeared into the carnival grounds before anyone could stop them.
" Swinger shrugged. "Cops showed up about five minutes after we cleared out.
Probably didn't find much except blood and broken chairs. "
"What about the VIPs?" I asked.
"One of them caught a stray bullet—some rich asshole in a designer suit.
Not life-threatening, just a flesh wound.
He was screaming and carrying on like his arm had been amputated with a spoon.
Dude was yelling about lawsuits before his friends dragged him out.
" Swinger grinned. "A few other people got knocked around during the panic, but nothing serious. We got out clean."
"Good. You think Mortis is dead?"
Swinger studied me for a moment. "Yeah, I do. I can't imagine him surviving his wounds. He had two in the chest and one in the leg. Then again, that's one bizarre dark fucker, so who knows."
We sat there in silence for a minute, each of us in our own thoughts.
Mortis has to be dead. Otherwise, Kai wouldn't be here. She couldn't get this far from him. That's proof enough.
"What are you smiling about?" Swinger asked before I realized I was.
I sat up straighter. "Just that I'm glad Mortis is gone."
"Me too. The world's a better place without him in it." Swinger looked at Kai. "Fang was saying that phoenixes need a full year before they can burn again. Is that true?"
Kai chose that moment to wake up, her eyes opening and immediately finding me. She chirped—a sound that I'd come to know would soon be a demand.
"Hungry again already?"
She chirped louder, struggling to her feet in the nest. Her legs were still wobbly, but she was definitely stronger than she'd been two hours ago.
"Swinger," I decided to come clean, if for nothing else than to prove Fang wrong. "It doesn't take a year."
"Oh, that's good," Swinger said, pushing off from the wall. "I came in to tell you the President wants everyone in the main room at noon for a meeting. Something about planning our next steps."
"I'll be there."
After Swinger left, I carefully lifted Kai out of her nest, supporting her tiny body with both hands. She was warm, and I could feel her heartbeat racing against my palms.
"You're doing great, baby," I told her softly, carrying her to the small table where I'd set up her feeding station. Fresh berries, water in a shallow dish. "Just a few more hours and you'll be back to yourself."
She chirped again, her beak opening wide, and I carefully placed a piece of raspberry in her mouth. She swallowed it whole, immediately demanding more.
By the time I'd fed her enough to satisfy her—at least temporarily—I was starting to understand why parents of newborns always looked so exhausted. This was constant work. Constant vigilance. Constant worry that I was doing something wrong.
But every time she looked at me with those amber eyes, every time she settled contentedly in my hands, I knew it was worth it. And bottom line, there wasn't a soul in the world I would trust to take care of my mate.
"Come on," I said, carrying her to the window. "Let's get you some sunlight."
I'd positioned a pillow on the windowsill the night before, creating a comfortable spot where Kai could sit and absorb the sun's rays. Phoenix chicks needed sunlight like humans needed oxygen—it fed their regeneration process, helped them grow stronger faster.
As soon as I set her down in the sun, she fluffed up her down feathers and closed her eyes, stretching her neck as far as she could, cooing a sound that was almost a purr. The sunlight seemed to make her glow, the gold in her feathers becoming more pronounced.
"That's my pretty girl," I murmured, settling into the chair beside the window so I could watch over her.
I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, someone was pounding on my door.
I jerked awake, immediately checking on Kai, who was still happily asleep in her sunny spot.
She'd grown again—now somewhere between a large chicken and a small turkey.
I blinked several times, looking at her.
Kai had all the looks of a pre-teen. She was long and lanky, her full-grown feathers had started sporadically coming in.
Wrinkly bald skin where the chick fluff had fallen off and her new feathers had yet to appear.
She looked like something people would cross the road to get away from.
I wanted to laugh, but I bit my lip. She couldn't help it.
But damn, I wished I had a cell phone so I could show her later.
Someone pounded the door. "Hey, Runt! You in there?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here," I called out, not moving from my protective position between the door and Kai.
Tank stuck his head in. "Meeting's starting in ten. President says bring the bird."
"Fine."
Tank's eyes found Kai on the windowsill, and he let out a low whistle. "Damn. She's getting big fast." His brows furrowed as he stuck his head in farther. "Is she supposed to look like that?"
"Yeah, it's called the molting process. The chick fluff falls off and the feathers come in."
"You sure? She looks like a zombie bird I killed once on the Xbox."
I chuckled. "She's fine."
After Tank left, I gently picked up Kai and carried her, nest and all, to the main room.
The club members were already gathering, most of them nursing hangovers from the previous night's celebration.
They gave me curious looks as I set Kai on a table in the corner, but nobody said anything, even though I could see their confused looks and hear their whispers.
The President walked in with Fang, both of them looking far too energized for men who'd been partying.
"Alright, boys!" the President announced, clapping his hands together, which produced groans from the guys. "I want to talk about our newly acquired wealth."
"While you pansies were sleeping, Fang and I took a little ride. The gold is approximately four hundred and fifteen thousand dollars, maybe even five hundred."
I could hear the intake of air from the guys in the room. So much for their hangover brains—they were all focused now.
The President went on. "Our buyer says it's without a doubt the highest quality he's ever seen." His grin was predatory. "And we're gonna get more. Once a month, we harvest from our little gold mine over there."
I felt my gorilla rise at hearing his plan for Kai, but I forced it back down. Not yet. Not until she's herself again and we can run.
"Now, here's what I want to talk about," the President continued. "I think—"
"Me too," Fang commented, not wanting to be left out of the planning.