Corbin looked at him again. “Because I’m a killer. That’s what I was raised to do ever since I started to walk. I was raised in a lab, by scientists. I killed for the first time when I was sixteen, and I didn’t feel regret, neither that time nor the forty-six times that followed.”
Eli felt sick to his stomach, and just a bit scared. Corbin hadn’t tried to hurt him, and it looked like he was following Kameron now, but still. Knowing he’d killed forty-seven times already gave Eli the creeps. “How old are you?” he asked in a trembling voice.
“Eighteen.”
Eli gulped. “Same as me.” He couldn’t imagine what Corbin’s life had been like, and he seemed so cold, so uncaring. It made Eli want to shake him, just to get a reaction out of him. He sighed in relief when Kameron’s house came into view and he almost ran to the door.
It opened even before he reached the porch. His dad stood there, pulling Eli into a hug as soon as he got close enough. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“What happened, Dad?”
His dad ushered him inside and Corbin followed, closing the door behind himself. Dad guided Eli toward the kitchen with a hand on his back, and Eli wasn’t surprised to see the room filled with people. There wasn’t a free space at the table, but Blake got up when he saw him and pulled him into a hug.
Eli hugged his mate back, scared of what he was about to hear. “Who was taken?”
“Ronald Teague.”
Eli slumped in relief. He was sorry for Ronald’s family, but the man himself had always been an ass to his sons, first to Derick, then to Duncan.
Blake made to let go of him, but Eli held on. He wasn’t ready to let go of his mate, no matter how much Dad huffed next to them. And when Blake sat back in his chair, Eli settled in his lap, uncaring of his dad’s grimace. “What happened?”
“He was outside. We’re not sure what he was doing, but his wife said she saw something black and furry taking her husband and dragging him into the forest. She called us right away, but no one was able to find him.”
Kameron looked grim. “The only thing we found was some blood and torn clothes.”
Eli leaned his head against Blake’s shoulder and Blake rubbed his back.
“What were you doing out there all alone?” his dad asked, his voice hard.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I talked with Zane, and it was fucking awkward. I just wanted to leave as soon as possible.”
“You know that thing is out there, Eli.”
“I know. I won’t do it again.”
“Damn right you won’t.”
“Dad...”
His dad sighed. “Sorry. I was just scared.”
Blake’s arms tightened around Eli’s waist and he rubbed his cheek over Eli’s hair.
“I’m sorry,” Eli said again, this time to Blake. He hooked his arms around Blake’s neck and buried his face there. He took in Blake’s scent, and it was more calming than anything else could be.
* * * *
The kitchen was a flurry of activity—people walking in and out, phones ringing, yells and whispers—and Blake sat there the entire time, holding Elias to his chest.
He’d been scared to death when Thomas had barreled in the kitchen and told them Elias hadn’t come home and that he wasn’t in the communal area the teens used, either. They’d tried his phone but it’d been out of service, and Kameron had sent Corbin to look for him before Blake and Thomas could freak out too much. Blake had been puzzled when Corbin had called Kameron master, but he hadn’t cared, as long as he could bring Elias back. And he had.
Corbin was sitting on the counter, his legs crossed and peeling an apple with a wicked knife he’d taken out of his boot. Blake had noticed Elias peeking at Corbin more than once, and the flare of jealousy in his chest didn’t bode well. He’d been the one to tell Elias that he could be with other men if he wanted to, yet now he was jealous.
He couldn’t deny Corbin was nice to look at, even though he looked cold around the edges. He was also close to Elias’ age, and Blake could see the appeal. Yet Elias hadn’t left his lap, much to Thomas’ dismay. Blake had caught his friend glowering at them a few times, but right now, he didn’t care, not after the scare he’d just had.
His eyes nearly popped out of his skull when a guy with a blue tail and horns sauntered into the kitchen. Elias must have felt him go tense because he softly laughed and patted his chest. “That’s Noah.”
“What is he?”
“A demon.”
“Demons exist?” Blake asked, incredulity tingeing his words. Noah obviously heard him, because he turned their way, and Blake gaped at the sight of his eyes. They were blue, but not a normal blue. Instead of having the color surrounding the pupil, they both swirled around each other. It was stunning, and it creeped Blake out more than a little bit. The fact that the blue was dark almost made Noah’s eyes look like black pools.
Noah came their way and sat on the kitchen table since there weren’t any free chairs. He held his hand out and Blake noticed blue swirls on his skin, too. “I’m Noah. I’m Duncan’s mate, in case you were wondering what I was doing here.”
Blake shook the offered hand. “I wasn’t, and I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Noah waved Blake’s words away. “You didn’t. I guess you’re new here, though.” He looked at the way Elias was snuggled against Blake and smirked.
“Not exactly. I just came back, though, so I don’t know most of the pack’s recent additions.”
“You sound like there’s a story I can’t wait to hear, but I’m afraid I’ll have to.” He sighed and looked at his hands. “Not that I liked Ronald, but he was still Duncan’s father.”
Elias straightened in Blake’s arms. “How is he taking it?”
Noah shrugged. “As well as you’d think. He tried to talk to his mother, to support her, but she won’t even see him and she keeps saying she doesn’t have children. At least Derick’s here.”
“I didn’t see him.”
“They’re together in one of the free rooms down here. I left them alone for a bit.”
“Do you know what happened?”
“Just that Ronald was outside and was attacked. He yelled and his wife looked out the window just in time to see something dark, furry, and way too fast to be a normal animal grab him and drag him away in the forest. But she’s not at her best right now, so we could be missing things.”
“Did they find him?” Elias asked.
Blake heard the slight trembling in Elias’ voice and tightened his hold around his mate. Elias looked at him briefly and smiled before turning back to Noah. The man’s tail was flicking behind his back, and it was weird as fuck. Not that Blake wasn’t used to tails and fangs, but he and everyone else he knew usually had them when they were in their animal forms, not in their human ones.
“Not yet. Kameron sent all the available enforcers that are already here to look for him, but so far the only things they did find were some blood and pieces of Ronald’s clothes.”
Blake grimaced. He also felt guilty, because he was an enforcer and he wasn’t out there with everyone else. Maybe he should go talk to Kameron and ask him if he could help, even though the thought of having Elias out of sight scared him.
Elias was safe where he was. He’d be fine even without Blake holding him. Thomas was there, as well as Kameron and several other men and women who looked like they could protect him. He’d be fine.
Blake patted Elias’ leg. “I’m going to go see if Kameron can use me.” Elias arched a brow and Blake blushed at the double meaning of his words. “I am an enforcer, after all. I shouldn’t be here sitting on my ass, no matter how much I want to protect you.”
Elias scrambled down from Blake’s lap and put his hands on his hips. “I don’t need you to protect me.”
“But—”
“I don’t. I might be smaller and not have your muscles, but I’ve survived until now. I can deal with a lot.�
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“You aren’t trained,” Blake pointed out as he rose from his chair.
Elias scoffed. “You really think Dad would have let me skip along without training me at least a bit?”
“I’ll stay with him,” Corbin said from the counter.
Blake looked at him and wasn’t exactly reassured by his words, but he still nodded. “Thank you.”
“How many times do I have to say I don’t need a babysitter?” Elias groused.
Corbin shrugged. “They don’t want me out of their sight anyway, so I have to stay here. Might as well keep you safe.”
“Why don’t they, whoever they are, want you out of their sight?” Blake inquired.
“Because they don’t trust me,” Corbin said, like it was something obvious Blake should’ve understood by himself. He seemed so used not to being trusted that it made Blake both sad and worried.
“Why don’t they trust you?”
Corbin shrugged. “I killed a bunch of people.”
Blake opened his mouth to ask just how many and why, but a group of people entered the kitchen, snow still melting on their jackets and hair. He recognized Angelo and Sue among them, and the room fell silent as they all faced Kameron.
The alpha finished his phone call and looked at them. “News?”
“We found a body,” Angelo said. He looked around like he wasn’t sure whether all these people should hear it, but Kameron waved at him to continue. He nodded and went on. “I didn’t know Ronald Teague, but from the description I think it’s him.”
“How was he killed?”
“The creature got him with its claws.”
“Even with the venom, he shouldn’t have died so fast.”
“It cut his throat.”
Kameron nodded. “Any trace of the creature?”
“No. We couldn’t even find a scent trail for it. It’s like it disappeared.”
“Like a Nix,” Corbin said from the counter. Everyone turned to look at him, but he didn’t seem fazed by it.
“What do you mean?” Kameron asked.
“What I said. That it disappeared like a Nix.”
Kameron looked at Noah. “From what we were able to find out, the creature looks like a mix of humanoid and animal. If it also disappears like a Nix... do you think the labs could have anything to do with it?”
Noah’s tail swished behind him. “My father is having a hard time with the board members. He fired all of them, but we found out one of them entered a lab we hadn’t got to yet, then disappeared. No one has seen him after that.”
“But they could be involved.”
“Definitely. We all know they experimented and mixed various DNAs. The kids are an example of that, and Corbin here is another.”
That explained a lot of things, like why Corbin had been going around killing people and was so cool about it.
“I’m going to ask my father what he found in that lab. You should probably be there for that conversation.”
Damn, Blake was glad he wasn’t in Kameron’s shoes right now. A lot of shit was being dumped on the alpha, and he looked like he might explode at any moment. Hopefully he would wait until when the creature was gone.
Chapter Four
Eli was doing his homework—again—when his father knocked on his door. “Kameron is here to see you.”
Eli had no idea why their alpha would want to talk to him, and he couldn’t read his dad’s expression. He was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything that would make either man angry. He hadn’t even left the house on his own ever since the attack a week before, and it was a pain in the ass, but he’d promised. Besides, he was freaked out by whatever was out there in the woods.
He put his pen down and followed his father into the living room. Kameron was quietly chatting with Craig, and Eli was surprised to see that Corbin was there too. He hadn’t seen the other man ever since that day in the woods, but he’d had time to think about him and to ask questions about him.
What he’d found had horrified him, and not because of what Corbin had done.
“Uh, hi.”
Kameron smiled and Eli relaxed. Maybe he wasn’t in trouble after all. “Eli. How are you?”
“Fine. Busy with school.”
“Have you looked into your college options?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
Eli hadn’t even talked about it with his parents yet, but what the hell. “I want to do Paramedic Technology.” He’d been thinking about it for a while, but he’d really made his decision that week, after the attack. He knew no one could have done anything for Ronald, but he wanted to be able to help if something similar happened again.
“That’s great. You know it’s not going to be easy, though.”
Eli shrugged. “I know. They only take twelve students and I have some prerequisites to fill, but I want to try.”
“You know that if you need anything...”
Eli slouched on the couch that faced Kameron and Corbin. “I know. So...”
“You want to know why I’m here.”
“Yeah.”
“I know you talked to Corbin when he found you in the forest the other day.”
“I did, yes.”
“So you know who he is and what he’s done.”
Eli straightened. “Not exactly, no, but I have a vague idea.”
“Does it scare you?”
Eli frowned. He wasn’t sure why Kameron was asking, but he knew he had to give an answer. “I’m not scared, really. Just... freaked out. I can’t wrap my mind around what happened to Corbin when he was a kid, and yeah, I’m a little afraid of what he can do, but I don’t think he’d hurt me.” Or at least Eli hoped so. He sneaked a glance at Corbin and his eyes widened when he saw Corbin was staring at him, but the man didn’t say anything.
“So you wouldn’t be opposed to spending time with him?”
“What do you mean by spending time?” his dad asked.
Kameron looked at Corbin and Corbin nodded. “Corbin never had a normal life. He was engineered by Glass’ scientists and born in one of their labs. He never knew his mother and was raised by someone he called master. He never had a childhood, never was able to play and be a kid. He was trained to fight and kill from the very beginning.”
“As sorry as I am for that, I don’t see what Eli has to do with it.”
Kameron grimaced. “I know you’re not going to like this, but I’d like Corbin and Eli to spend time together. I want him to have as normal a life as he can now that he’s free, and he needs to learn normal human behavior and relationships. He can’t do that if people shy from him because they’re scared, or if they treat him like a killing machine and nothing more.”
His dad scowled. “You’re right, I don’t like it. What’s to say he won’t snap and hurt Eli?”
“Dad!” Eli protested. “Why would he hurt me? We’ve been alone in the woods and he didn’t as much as touched me.”
“Look, Kameron was the one who said Corbin doesn’t know how to relate with other people. I don’t want to risk you.” His dad looked at Craig, probably for support.
Craig shook his head. “I get what you’re saying, but I don’t agree with it. I work with Amy and Luke, and I see how much it means for them to be treated normally. Corbin is much older than they are, but it would do him good.”
“But why can’t he spend time with someone else?” his dad protested.
“He could,” Kameron explained. “But he already knows Eli and seemed to like him.”
“What about Zach? He’s about their age too.”
“Yes, but Corbin sees him like an authoritative figure since he’s my mate, and Zach’s not used to someone depending on us that way.”
“Look, I want to do it,” Eli intervened. He saw his dad open his mouth and hurried to continue, “I’m not scared of him, and I think he has the right to have friends and a normal life.”
His dad huffed
, but Eli could see he was caving, so he pushed on. “He’s the same age as me, Dad. Imagine if he was me.” That was a sneaky move and he knew it, but he wanted it to work.
“Fine,” his dad said. “But I want to keep an eye on the two of you.”
Kameron grinned. “That’s good, because I think Corbin should move in with you guys.”
“What?”
“I think that having him live in the enforcers’ building wouldn’t help getting him out of his master vision of the world. He needs a family, a real family, and he likes Eli. I also know you have the space and a free room. You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to, but I’d be grateful if you did. I’m not going to use him as an enforcer, so I don’t think he should stay there.”
“What does Dominic think about not using him?”
“He’s angry as fuck with me, but Corbin doesn’t live there anymore. He’s my charge now, and I’m going to treat him like a normal eighteen-year-old kid.”
“But he’s not a normal kid.”
“Look, if he does want to be a part of the council’s enforcers or even just a guard for the pack, that’s fine with me. But he has to make that decision, and I want him to know there’s something more for him than this. I want him to take at least two weeks to think, if not more. Then we’ll talk about what he wants to do, but not before I’m sure he knows he doesn’t have to.”
Eli looked at Corbin. The man hadn’t said anything during their conversation, even though it was about him. Eli couldn’t read him, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He didn’t know what kind of thoughts lurked in Corbin’s mind, but it couldn’t be good for him to watch people fight over him staying in their house and spending time with Eli. Eli knew it would make him feel unwanted, and even if he couldn’t be sure it was what Corbin felt, he didn’t want to take the risk.
“Dad, please. Kameron told you Corbin looks at him and Zach like his masters, so if they tell him not to hurt me or you, it should be fine.” He looked at Kameron. “Right?”
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