Chapter 32
Cleo and I waited in the alley where the Mage had met with us earlier.
The dog inside the apartment hadn’t appeared in the window, so it was eerily quiet.
Every sound had me on edge. Footfalls of someone running down the street, a window smashing in the distance, shouting from inside an apartment.
It was too dangerous to leave Cleo, but I was torn. I couldn’t abandon my packmate.
My friend.
My love.
What if Scorpius has a friend pop in unexpectedly? What if Krys needs me? I held Cleo protectively to my side as the worst thoughts raced through my head.
“He’ll be okay,” I said.
My inner wolf alerted me when a figure running down the sidewalk halted in their tracks. The ambient light framed Krys’s shocking condition. His arms, shorts, and legs were bloodstained.
Out of breath, he approached Cleo. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Did they hurt you?”
Cleo shook her head.
“Because if they did, I’ll resurrect their asses and kill them more slowly. Just say the word.”
Cleo rushed into his arms. “Why does this keep happening?” she sobbed into his chest. “Why doesn’t my mother want me?”
“You don’t belong with your mother,” he said firmly. “She doesn’t deserve you. Never did. The fates know it, and that’s why they keep bringing you back to us.”
She sniffled and moved her head to face me. “I didn’t think anyone would find me.”
“I would’ve searched forever.”
I touched his arm. “Are you okay?”
Tears spilled down Krys’s cheeks. This was the moment he had once dreamed of for himself. A boy in bondage who wondered if anyone would ever rescue him—if anyone loved him enough to try.
Cleo stepped back. “Why are you crying?”
Krys wiped his face, smearing blood around his cheeks. “Because I love you, kid. This isn’t what I wanted for you.”
“I know.” She turned her gaze to me. “You can hug him.”
My brow furrowed. “What?”
“I know you two love each other. Hug.”
Part of me wanted to laugh, but I was still reeling over the nightmarish fears of losing him forever.
Krys pulled me in tight and nestled his face in the crook of my neck. I wasn’t certain if it was residual anger or adrenaline that made him tremble. His fierce hugs were unparalleled. Krys hugged me the way I needed, the way no man or woman had ever held me.
Like I mattered.
Like I was the only one.
But I wasn’t. I reached out and pulled Cleo into our hugfest. “We’re the three musketeers,” I said. “All for one and one for all.”
Once we arrived at the hotel, Krys used the shower first to remove the blood. Because he was uncharacteristically exhausted, I suspected his wolf had finished the job with the Vampires. Shifting back and forth in short intervals wore down our animals.
My wolf wanted to check on Cleo, so he sprawled out beside her on the floor. I was surprised she hadn’t shifted, but Cleo was still shaken up.
After the shower turned off, I heard the door open and saw Krys round the bed. He hiked up his grey sweats and squatted beside me. My wolf’s tail thumped against the floor. He hated the smell of the stinky hotel soap and the lingering odor of chlorinated water. He missed home.
Krys stared at Cleo for a beat. “They’re dead. You don’t have to be afraid. Do you want to leave tonight or in the morning? It’s up to you.”
She stroked my wolf’s paw and played with his toe beans. “The morning, I guess.”
“You should take a shower and put on clean clothes before bed.”
“All my stuff is gone.”
Krys walked out of sight before dropping a bag at her feet.
My wolf jerked his head up to investigate and sniff.
Cleo sat up and pulled it toward her. “You got my stuff?”
He raked back his damp hair. “Your camera’s in there too. There’s also money from… Well, there’s money, and it’s yours. You can stick it in savings or remodel your bedroom into a movie theater. Whatever you want.”
“Does that mean I’m going home? Or do you mean…”
Krys sat on the bed and rumpled her hair. “We’re going home. Your home. My home. Our home. Got it?”
She nodded.
“I’m sorry, kid. I screwed up.”
Cleo rummaged through her bag.
“How do you feel knowing you’re a crossbreed?” he asked.
When I sat beside her, she put her arm around my neck.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s cool. I’m kinda like Uncle Lucian, even though I can’t do any Chitah stuff.”
“I’ve seen you scale trees when you’re in human form. It doesn’t matter if you have any traits or not. You’re still half Chitah.”
She played with the ends of her short hair. “At least now I know I’m not like this because of the lab stuff. My dad didn’t shift all the way either.” She shrugged. “It’s what I’m supposed to be.”
“Damn right. Your aunt Joy is special, and someone betrayed her too.”
“Why?”
“Men with insecurities and egos target people who are different. You were smart with those Vampires. They’re too strong to fight, so sometimes you have to use your brain. When we get home, we’ll have a long talk about bad people.”
Her pale brown eyes stared at the floor. “Does my mother have a right to take me back?”
“Not everyone who has kids deserves them. We’re the only family that counts.” Krys heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry your mother’s a bitch from hell who deserves to be in prison, but she’ll never come near you again.”
“Will they arrest her?”
“I don’t know. Go wash up. There isn’t a window in there, and you know how I keep the doors locked tight. You’re safe. You got that? As long as I’m around, you’re always safe.”
When Cleo stood, she collected her bag and dragged it into the bathroom.
I forced my wolf down and shifted to human form. After putting on jeans, I sat next to Krys and rubbed his back. “What happened with the Vamp?”
He bent forward, arms resting on his knees, fingers interlacing so tightly his knuckles turned white. “They were going to sell her to poachers.”
“Poachers? What do you mean?”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “Haven’t you heard about those rich assholes who hunt Shifters for sport?”
Apparently, we didn’t hang out in the same circles. “Why? She’s just a kid.”
“Because she’s special. And these particular megalomaniacs pay extra for special. They think it’s a challenge to hunt people like her. Or maybe they’re just a bunch of sick fucks. Take your pick.” He fell onto his back and sighed.
I reclined next to him and put my hand on his chest so I could feel the comforting thump of his heart. I kissed his shoulder. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
“Do what?”
“Make me leave you.”
He put his arm around me and stared at the ceiling while the water in the bathroom continued running. “I wonder if her mother knew who she was selling her to this time.”
“They scrubbed her. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Krys rubbed his anguished face. “We can’t let it happen again. To her. To anyone in the pack.”
I stole a kiss and rested across his chest. “What happened down there?”
He averted his eyes. “You don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
He slanted his eyes toward me. “Because you’ll never look at me the same again.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m delicate. You act like you’re not worthy of love, but you’re wrong.
You know what I saw back there? A man ready to die for his packmate.
You’re always saying that I should trust you more and not keep everything a secret.
Well, the same goes for you. They got what they deserved, but…
what happened? You’re supposed to confide in me. That’s how this works, remember?”
He closed his eyes. “I’ll tell you but not tonight. My head’s spinning, and if I keep thinking about it, my wolf might jump out.”
“Maybe he should. You need sleep.”
My fingers traced his bristly jaw down to his black goatee.
I memorized the Cupid’s bow of his upper lip, the rogue hairs below the slant of his wolfish eyebrows, the strong line of his nose, the imperfect shape of his hairline.
Behind his hardened features was a glimmer of a man living a different life in a parallel universe—one who was never snatched as a child and forced to fight.
A man who grew to know himself and laugh more. Maybe even love more.
His eyes popped open. “Where’s your ghost?”
“Gone. For good.”
“No shit?”
“I guess she did her good deed and the fates wanted her.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
He rubbed his temple. “I was just wondering how many good deeds I’ll have to do before they accept me into the next life. They’ll probably have the gates locked.”
I tapped his chin. “That’s not how it works. Think of it like a bus depot. They don’t care if you’re good or bad; everyone’s supposed to get on.”
“Where do you think they go?”
I nestled into his arms. “I don’t know, but I hope Count Scorpius comes back as a dung beetle.”
Krys absently stroked my hair. “I hope his worthless soul gets sucked into space and disappears down a black hole before rocketing to a distant sun where he’ll incinerate into the nothing he always was.”
I chuckled softly. “That’s how I feel about the man who invented potato chip bags you can’t open without scissors.”
“We need to focus on Cleo. I don’t think we should tell the pack about us until she settles in and Tak figures out what to do about her mother. He might kick me out for what I’ve done.”
“Why do you say that? You saved her.”
“He doesn’t just look at the end result; he looks at the whole picture. We acted without his permission. Hell, we didn’t even tell him what was going on.”
Krys’s remarks made me wonder if he wasn’t just looking for a way out of this unplanned relationship.
Tak wouldn’t kick him out. Or would he? Can’t predict what a Packmaster might do.
I wonder if Krys would invite me to go with him.
Probably not. He’d walk the earth alone like that Kung Fu guy on TV.
What was that actor’s name? Robert something.
Then I’d be left alone. Why would he do that to me?
Then again, why not? My own father didn’t want me.
My Packmaster didn’t want me. This is what I get. I should’ve never given him my heart.
Krys wrapped his arms around me. “Cut that out.”
“What?”
“Thinking. I can practically hear your thoughts. I’m serious about us. You got that? I never thought in a million fucking years I’d settle down. It might be you who decides to quit this, but it won’t be me.”
“And why would I quit you?”
“I’ve got issues.”
“Story of my life.” I sat up, deciding not to overthink this all over again and just go with the flow. “Let’s shift and give Cleo the bed. We have a long drive, and I’m ready to get back to my monotonous routine. After this trip, I’ll never complain about cleaning the chicken coop again.”
When we got up, Krys locked his arms around my middle. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For leaving when I asked you to. I couldn’t let those men live. They’d do it again. You know that.”
We were both barefoot, so I was a smidge taller.
“I need a favor,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“Can you take my wolf for a walk? I’ve gotta take a piss.”
He rocked with laughter. “I’m not walking your dog.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and turned on the charm. “Come on! You know he gets hyperactive in unfamiliar places. If I go alone, he’ll run away. You’ll have to send out a search party. Do this for me, lover boy. Use your belt as a leash. I don’t mind.”
“Never thought in a million years I’d have to walk my boyfriend.”
I shucked off my jeans. “Be sure to scratch him by the tail. That’s his favorite spot, and nobody ever gets it.” As soon as I morphed, my wolf jumped on him.
Krys gave my animal a full-body scratch before focusing right above his tail. My wolf did a happy dance, and not just because of the pets and love.
He had finally found his life mate.