She lifted her brows at him, fed up with his poor-me attitude. “Grow up. You’re not a kid anymore. You forfeited the rest of your childhood when you took the drugs that destroyed your beast. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
“Don’t you think I don’t know that?!” His hoarse shout was anguished.
A strange idea began to form. If he didn’t want to live to help himself or his brother, she would give him what worked for her—vengeance. “What I’m saying is that you can still be part of the team. You’re not useless…or at least you don’t have to be. You know a lot about Director Erickson, his weaknesses and strengths. We need to go after him, which means we’ll need someone to guide us in the outside world, do research…someone behind a desk who can lead us to the fucking bastard. Wolves are supposed to be cunning. Use that cunning to help your brother survive.”
He stared at her mutely, as if too scared to speak…or hope.
“Erickson needs to be stopped.”
“He needs to pay.” Kevin nodded slowly. “And you’d trust me to have your back?”
“I trust that you want him to pay. I trust that you’d do whatever it takes to protect your brother.” She sat at the edge of his bed, then leaned forward to rest her arms across her knees, suddenly tired. “Erickson has murdered hundreds of shifters during his reign of terror. He’s insane, believing any sacrifice is worth it in his quest for power. His drug destroyed your life, and he’ll keep doing it to others.”
“He never forced any of us to take the drug.” Kevin’s brown eyes lowered in shame. “I did that on my own.”
“And you’re paying the price.” She placed her hand on his blanket-covered ankle. “Who’s going to make him pay?”
A heartbeat, then two, passed, until she shrugged and stood. “Think about it. Maybe if you decide to live, your beast might be able to heal. You might not ever be able to shift again, but maybe you’ll be able to keep your extra senses, keep the extra strength. You could make it be enough.”
As she turned to go, Kevin spoke, “You’re going to get yourself and your pack killed going after him.”
She halted, her mouth snapping shut against the urge to protest, everything inside her shutting down as she turned to face him.
“You’re too nice.” Kevin stared her down without flinching. “You help people who are weak, stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong. People will notice, and they’ll see your kindness as weakness. It’s a vulnerability they’ll exploit.”
She couldn’t say he was wrong. Her uncle used that vulnerability against her often enough in the past, but she didn’t want to be like her uncle or Erickson. She didn’t want to harden her heart, because she was terrified she’d become an even bigger monster than the rest of them put together. Thankfully, the guys grounded her. They’d never let her go off the deep end. “That might be true, but you forgot to take something into account.”
She strode toward the door, more than ready to leave, pausing at the bottom of the stairs to glance over her shoulder at him. “I’m more than willing to do whatever it takes to protect my pack. If I have to tear down the world to do it—I won’t hesitate. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, even if I have to stick them into someone’s chest and rip out their heart to do it. Get out of bed, eat, train, and for god’s sake take a shower. We can talk to Director Greenwood when you’re in better shape.”
His face turned beet red. He dipped his head and smelled himself, then winced and jerked back.
She took it as a good sign. As she headed up the stairs, she forced herself not to charge up them like a lunatic, refusing to let her fears control her.
And she couldn’t stop her thoughts from jumping to Logan again.
Ten days.
He’s been gone ten fucking days.
Only the gods knew what tortures Logan was enduring at her uncle’s hands. Every time she closed her eyes, she’d swear she could hear his screams. When she lay in bed at night, hovering between awareness and sleep, she could feel every lash of the whip against Logan’s flesh, every cut of the knife.
As soon as Logan noticed her, he’d shove her out and sever the connection.
She wasn’t sure how much longer she could remain sane before she broke and slipped into the afterworld to track down her uncle. She knew she’d be able to find him if she pushed the tenuous link joining them, if she gave herself over to the darkness.
The only thing stopping her was the fear that she might end up taking the rest of the guys down with her.
Chapter Three
When Annora headed down the stairs after her shower, her backpack over her shoulder, she heard the guys arguing in the living room. Their voices were harsh whispers as they tried to keep quiet, but they couldn’t quite manage to mask the worry and anger.
Her first impulse was to slip away, not sure she was emotionally equipped to deal with another drama.
Her hand was on the knob when she heard her name, and curiosity got the best of her.
“I don’t like her heading off to class for hours without one of us there to guard her.” She winced at Camden’s overprotectiveness. She’d swear that if she let him, he would whisk her away where no one would ever be able to find them.
The only thing stopping him was knowing it wouldn’t solve any of their problems.
As she crept closer, she heard Xander grunt in disagreement, the sound so close she knew he must be leaning against the wall just inches from her, but she couldn’t make herself move away. “Class is the only thing preventing her from training twenty-four hours a day. While I want to protect her, coddling her will just push her further away.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Mason’s voice was gruff when he spoke, the floor creaking as he shifted his feet. “She’s not sleeping, and when she does, she’s having nightmares. She’s hardly eating. She won’t be able to keep going much longer without cracking.”
She swallowed hard, surprised the guys had noticed so much. She couldn’t help but feel like she was letting them down. She stepped under the archway between the rooms, her eyes immediately dropping to Eddie’s unconscious form passed out on the couch. “What the hell happened?”
She strode forward and leaned over the back of the couch to examine him, expecting to find they’d beaten the shit out of him, but he didn’t have a mark on him. She brushed his hair away from his forehead, and he leaned into her touch, but quickly fell back into unconsciousness of sleep.
“Whatever you hit him with outside knocked him out cold.” Xander pushed away from the wall, gazing down at Eddie impassively. “I hauled his ass inside and dumped him in here, figuring you didn’t want to leave him outside.”
So touching.
She sighed when his last comment sounded more like a question than a statement. “Thank you.”
Worried she might have harmed Eddie flashed through her, but she quickly dismissed it. He lived in the afterworld for years, so an influx of the energy wouldn’t harm him now. She refused to admit she could’ve given him an overdose while he was stuck in his human form…or that he was weaker than he said.
After watching the steady rise and fall of his chest, Annora straightened and gripped the strap of her backpack. She smiled at Mason, completely ignoring the others and the conversation. “You ready?”
Mason grinned, his upper and lower fangs sticking out slightly, marking him as not completely human. His forehead was a little too broad, his features a bit exaggerated, not to mention the bright pink hair and the ring of horns adorning his head.
That he couldn’t completely pass for human was what she liked most about him. While he might resemble a monster, he was an angel to her. She’d met a number of humans who were more of a monster than actual shifters.
He quickly crossed the room and held out his hand in a silent demand for her bag. His pink hair was slicked back, but strands sprang forward as if reaching for her, the strands of hair giving away his emotions more readily than his face. His lavender eyes were br
ight as he gazed down at her, waiting patiently for her to comply, and she knew the big lug wouldn’t budge an inch until she obeyed.
She huffed in exasperation as she handed it over, her lips quirking. “You know I can carry my own things.”
She followed him to the door, and he smiled at her over his shoulder as he turned and held it open for her. “But why, when I can do it for you?”
“Charmer.” She reached up and patted his chest as she passed him on her way out the door, doing her best to pretend everything was normal…even if only for a few minutes.
* * *
Mason escorted Annora to her class, her presence calming his troll, who wanted to rage against the world that hurt her. He surveyed the students around them, seeing everyone as a threat. Since the rescue, her role in the whole mess has gotten out. While some people blamed her for taking away their drugs, the majority of the packs were grateful to her for saving them—despite a few who vehemently disliked being in her debt.
One thing was clear…everyone now knew who she was.
Annora ignored everyone around her, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of everything. If anyone came too close and stepped into her personal bubble of ten feet around her, looked at her too long, or even whispered her name, she would tense. It wasn’t even a conscious thing on her part, more like an extra sense.
It would only take a snarl from Mason to send them scattering, but he knew it wouldn’t last for long.
They would get braver.
She was powerful, and they were drawn to her because of it.
“We could leave here, go into hiding.” Mason would do anything to keep her safe. He wanted to take her away but knew she would never allow it. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. “We could train you without being watched, your every move reported.”
“And where would we go?” Amusement sparkled in her dark eyes, lighting up her whole face.
“My family.” He cleared his throat, running a distracted hand down his shirt. “We could live with them for as long as you need. They vowed to protect you.”
She cocked her head, her pace slowing as she studied him with narrowed eyes, like she was hearing everything he wasn’t saying. “At what price?”
An ache burned in his chest where his heart stopped beating for a second. “My return. I would never be able to leave again.”
“No.” Her face shut down, and she stormed away, her short legs working so hard he actually had to skip a step to catch up to her. Wisps of black smoke rose from her skin, snapping around her like snakes in her agitation. “Not acceptable.”
“The hell it isn’t!” he growled, and he wanted to shake her for refusing to understand how important she was to him. “Your safety is worth more than my freedom.”
“You’d be nothing more than a slave.” She whirled and faced him so quickly he almost trampled over her. Instead of being intimidated, she popped her hands on her hips and glared up at him. “You’d give up being my mate?”
Her voice didn’t wobble, but the vulnerability in her eyes slayed him, and he ruthlessly squashed his feelings. “In a heartbeat, if it meant that you would live.”
His heart turned over in his chest, determination hardening inside him. “You will always be my mate, but I couldn’t go on living if anything happened to you.”
Her brows rose, her anger faded, and she placed a hand on his chest. “You can better protect me by remaining at my side.”
As if she hadn’t just taken him out at the knees, she calmly turned and walked away.
When they approached her building, her stride automatically slowed, like she wanted to prolong their time together. Though he might not have known her long, he missed her when she wasn’t near. If she wasn’t in school, she was training. Without Logan, it was like a part of her was missing.
He very much feared things were going to get much worse before they got better. The only thing he could do for her was be there when she needed him and catch her when she stumbled. He quickened his steps, reaching over her shoulder to open the door for her, already aching at the coming separation.
* * *
Annora ignored the open door and paused in front of Mason, her insides melting when a smile spread across his face. His lavender eyes brightened, his pink hair swaying toward her, giving away his pleasure at just being near her.
Her breath caught at having anyone look at her that way—like she was the only thing that mattered.
Though it might be selfish, she couldn’t give him up.
It would break something in her.
“I ran from my uncle last time instead of dealing with my problems, and it cost me Logan. I won’t lose you or anyone else. I need to stay and fight.”
When he looked ready to protest, she backed toward the door, wishing she had more time, but students were now hurrying past them to get to class. “If I remain in the public eye, they can’t take any action outright. While people might report my activities and whereabouts, he can’t attack without repercussions. But if I leave and go into hiding…if I disappear…no one would ever know what happened to me.”
Instead of letting her go, Mason followed her step for step, a menacing expression on his already forbidding face. Then he crushed her to his chest, the frantic pounding of his heart thudding under her ear. “I would know. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
She wrapped her arms around him as far as possible, doing her best to calm him. When the halls began to clear, she reluctantly pulled away and grabbed her bag. “I have to go or I’m going to be late for class.”
His grip tightened, squeezing the breath out of her, before he reluctantly released her. He sighed so heavily his shoulders heaved. “Go while you can.” He gave her a sharp look as he began to pace the hallway. “One of us will be here to take you to your next class.”
He didn’t give her time to respond before he marched up to the door, grabbed the handle, and flung it open, the metal frame creaking and swaying as he stormed outside. She watched for a moment longer, not surprised when he took up residence under a tree to stare broodingly at her building.
Annora reluctantly turned away and hurried into her classroom. Theoretical magic—how it worked, and how to tell when magic was being used in close proximity. The class was mandatory for everyone, the group kept small to allow more one-on-one training. Thankfully, when she slipped into her chair, dropping her backpack at her feet, she had thirty seconds to spare.
The teacher shot a pointed look at the clock, annoyance shining in her eyes. The woman was a witch, resentment putting starch in her spine at being forced to teach other paranormals anything magical. She was youngish, maybe late twenties, and not very powerful, which probably explained how she got stuck with this job.
Her brown hair was spun up in a fancy twist, a glower permanently etched on her face, aging her prematurely. She wore a jacket over a silk shirt, jeans, and high heels, so pretentious Annora was surprised the woman could even bring herself to breathe the same air as the students she was supposed to teach.
Every day she would select a different student, then proceed to make the next hour of their life hell. Annora had a sinking feeling that she just landed at the top of today’s shit list.
Slouching lower in her chair, hoping the teacher would forget about her, Annora opened the textbook and did her best to pay attention, but it was hard to concentrate with all the magic saturating the room. As each student entered the classroom, their magic was revealed for all to see…and feel. The force of it made her head pound, and it was all she could do not to sneeze and choke on the polluted air.
A slight tug on her pant leg had her stiffening, and she leaned over, spotting a small ferret at her feet. Shock washed over her. “Edgar?”
He promptly sat upright, pawing the air, as if begging for forgiveness.
The pleasure at seeing an old friend again faded, her smile melting away when she realized he was still Eddie. She faced the front of the class, her heart aching. “I
can’t just forgive and forget.”
It didn’t matter that he was an animal with no way to communicate with her.
He should have found a way to tell her the truth.
Even if in doing so he risked that she would no longer trust him, and he wouldn’t have been able to protect her when she needed it most.
Knowing she was being unreasonable, she released a weary sigh and rubbed the tips of her fingers over his head, unable to resist petting him.
I miss my friend.
And the bastard knew it.
He’d somehow took a piece of himself and gave the critter back to her. She suspected he didn’t do it as an act of forgiveness, but because only he understood how much the little guy had come to mean to her over the years.
As if he sensed her resolve weakening, he tugged on the zipper of her backpack and slipped inside, rummaging around until he found the snacks at the bottom of her bag that she didn’t have the heart to clean out. For the next couple of minutes all she could hear were small rustlings, wrappers being torn open and crunching as he chomped down on his chips.
The teacher was going over the different ways to sense magic, and Annora tuned out her pretentious, snobby voice. She slipped out her phone and opened it to try and decipher the pictures she took of the spell book she’d pilfered from Director Erickson.
Most of the book contained handwritten passages, many from different eras, the scrawling notes crossed out and overwritten many times. To her frustration, a good portion of the writing contained more images than words. Going on a hunch, she allowed the particles from the afterworld to fill her eyes. While she still couldn’t read anything, if she concentrated hard enough, the purpose of the spell began to slowly form in her mind.
Though she wasn’t a witch, she suspected if she pushed enough particles into the spell, it would be strong enough to trigger it.
“Are you listening, Miss Greenwood?” The teacher stomped toward her desk, her voice sharp, the clickety-clack of her shoes giving away her annoyance. “Don’t think because you’re Director Greenwood’s pet that you’re exempt from participating in my class.”
Shackled to the World: A Phantom Touched Novel Page 3