Page 5

This was certifiably insane. Perhaps he should allow the Butcher to crack open his skull and take a peek at his brain.

Or Pavel’s, more like.

Yes, that was it. Something had gotten into the other Retinue member. Clearly he needed a medical evaluation and some serious help. Not for killing Samuel—that prick had more than deserved whatever he had coming to him—but for this .

Zane raced through the forest gracefully, keeping the noise to a minimum as he mindlessly went. There was no specific path he could think of since he didn’t really spend much of his time wandering around the woods, especially at night, but the only real worry was getting caught.

If he had to, he could keep this pace up well until morning. Zane was a seasoned swimmer who could have gone pro if he wanted. The only thing keeping him from it was his goal to graduate from Vail with his medical degree. It’d been at least fifteen minutes since he’d left Pavel behind, and he hadn’t even broken into a sweat yet.

This seriously was crazy.

He slowed in a particularly dense area, using the trees to help shield him as he listened to his surroundings. What if this was all a game and Pavel wasn’t even chasing after him?

Honestly…that seemed more likely than the other guy suddenly confessing an interest. Pavel had an entire kink club where he could easily find someone willing to engage in his proclivities. There was no reason for him to choose Zane other than it just happened this way.

He’d either had a problem with Samuel, or he’d gotten an itch to kill and had chosen the wrong target on a whim—No. No, that couldn’t be right either. If it’d been random, Pavel wouldn’t have shapeshifted into Zane prior to dicing the man up.

Which was another major shocker.

Shapeshifting wasn’t a common trait, and those who were a member of species capable of it had to declare themselves to the International Conference, the group in charge of intergalactic peace. While that didn’t mean they had to walk around with flashing neon signs on their foreheads letting everyone know what they were, surely Zane and the others would have known if Pavel were…

Well, that wasn’t quite right either, since Pavel was and Zane had witnessed it, yet hadn’t known.

He needed to talk to Kelevra. Needed to get the hell out of this forest and—

There was a sharp snap to his left and his head whipped in that direction. His eyes had adjusted enough that he wasn’t overly concerned with tripping on something unseen, but not nearly enough to be able to make details out of the shadows.

Zane turned right and started to sprint, not wanting to risk sticking around, trying not to focus too hard on how this whole thing was pointless.

They’d never established any clear rules. Did he have until morning to evade Pavel? If he did, then what? Would Pavel delete the footage? It hadn’t sounded like that was an option on the table.

What it’d sounded like was the other man planned on keeping it forever, lording it over Zane no matter what outcome came of tonight.

He slowed to another stop, brow furrowing. How had that just occurred to him?

What was the point of running at all if there was nothing for him to gain by it?

His hand reached back to slip the star crystal blade from the hidden sheath he kept on his left side and he rotated the handle, the familiar feel of it against his palm helping to form clarity. He’d allowed his surprise to get the best of him and had almost become a fool because of it.

There was another sound, this time to his right, and instead of running away like before, Zane found himself turning to it. He tipped his head and waited, but when it didn’t come again, he let out an annoyed breath.

“I know you’re there,” he said, voice cutting through the silent forest like a gunshot. When there came no immediate response, he sighed. “Weren’t you just going on and on about wanting to be seen?”

For a tense moment, it didn’t seem like Pavel would take the bait, but then Zane’s multi-slate buzzed. He’d smartly turned the flashlight function off and had been gripping it tightly in his right hand, but now he glanced down at it, keeping his ears peeled in case this was a distraction and Pavel planned on lunging from the darkness while he wasn’t looking.

Pavel Hart: Put the knife away, gorgeous. You’re only going to hurt yourself.

“Bullshit,” he said out loud. “Sounds a lot like you’re afraid. What happened to the guy who cut out a man’s heart less than an hour ago? Come out.”

He’d done a good job removing the organ too, not clean, per se, but definitely impressive for someone who wasn’t a professional. Not that Zane was praising him or anything…If he were a better person, he’d care that Samuel was dead and had most likely been tortured right to the end.

But Zane had never claimed to be a saint.

Pavel Hart: This isn’t the game.

“Fuck your game.”

Pavel Hart: That’s not what’s getting fucked tonight.

Zane tried to listen as closely as he could, but he couldn’t make out even a soft clicking anywhere around him. Pavel was typing these messages but making no sound as he did. Maybe he wasn’t as close as Zane thought.

He took a single step back and waited.

Pavel Hart: There you go. Run for me, Doctor.

He was close. Watching.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said instead. “It might be better for me to kill you after all. The video? Sure, it’ll get out if you’re dead, but you know what else will?” Zane waited, but when it became clear Pavel wasn’t going to text him asking what, continued. “You. What you really are. Because here’s the thing, gorgeous ,” he sneered, “DNA exists, and all I need to get yours and prove you’re a shapeshifting psychopath is your cooling corpse.”

There was another charged pause where he held his breath, thinking maybe the other man had gone or was going to silently mess with him all night, but then he got another text.

Pavel: Do you really think that, Doctor?

Before Zane could feel a sense of triumph, his multi-slate dinged again.

Pavel: Do you really think I’m pretty?

Zane scrunched his nose in distaste and hissed practically under his breath, “You can’t be serious right now.”

Pavel: As serious as a serial killer hunting his lover down in a forest.

He, admittedly, wasted a lot of time staring at his screen when that one came in. Partly because the quick response meant Pavel was close enough to hear him even when he was whispering, and partly because…

“Serial killer?” He wracked his brain for any recollections about recent murders or whether or not there’d been any known deaths with connections. But of course, if Pavel really was a repeat offender, he wouldn’t have left a trail for the police to find. “Does Kelevra know this about you as well?”

Kel wouldn’t bat an eye about murder, but multiple killings that could lead back to a member of the Retinue? The Imperial family had ruled the planet for centuries, but that didn’t mean some appeasement of the people wasn’t necessary time and again to keep things that way. His sisters, while extremely lenient toward him, also wouldn’t be okay with him allowing a known problem to roam the streets.

Pavel: Interesting that that’s the part you got hung up on.

Zane frowned for the millionth time that night, certain that his face was going to get tired before the rest of him did. He wasn’t used to…emoting. Especially not like this. But it was too hard to try and hide his reactions and, frankly, weren’t they sort of past that point anyway?

Pavel: Does this mean you’re warming up to the idea?

“What idea?” Shit. He was the one being reeled in now wasn’t he. Again too, because despite being used to being the puppet master pulling the strings, this entire night had shown him what having the shoe on the opposite foot felt like.

He wasn’t a fan.

Pavel: The idea of being mine.

How had—

Pavel: Lover.

Zane reread the earlier message and inwardly cursed at himself. He’d skimmed right over that part in lieu of the more pressing information.

Apparently, he should not have.

“Quit messaging me and just speak,” he demanded, a twinge of frustration seeping out of him. “I already know you’re there, and if this chase is really as important to you as you say it is, you’re going to have to give me something more to get me to cooperate.”

“Something more?” He really was close. Too close.

Zane’s head snapped to the right and he angled his body toward the sound, even though he still couldn’t see any signs of the other man. The other man whose voice had come from less than ten feet away.

“What should I offer you, gorgeous? Hmm?” Pavel practically purred, sounding way too sure of himself.

Zane’s brow furrowed. “You think you’re placating me.”

“Aren’t I?”

“No.” He needed to think. Usually he was great at that, at staying several steps ahead of everyone else even as he sat quietly in the background unnoticed. But Pavel…Pavel was acting strange, and this had all come so suddenly that Zane was having a very difficult time wrapping his head around it.

“Have you stalled enough?” Pavel asked then. “I think you have. Run.”

Zane shook his head. “That’s not a game I like to play.”

“Are you certain?” He grunted. “You’ve kept me waiting a long time.”

“I have not,” Zane corrected, suddenly reminded of that night a few months ago when he’d caught Pavel outside Kazimir’s apartment. He’d been suspicious then, but he’d assumed the other Retinue was there for Kaz for one reason or another. Had he really been so off the mark? “You were lurking in the shadows. I had no idea you were even interested. I can’t be blamed for—”

“My benevolent patience?”

He scowled. “Your ego is bigger than Kazimir’s.”

“I assure you, that’s not the only part of me that is.”

Zane shuddered, and the worst part?

Not even he could tell if it was out of disgust…or something else.

It wasn’t his fault, really. He had an addiction to being wanted. Something that was starting to become painfully obvious Pavel had somehow discovered.

“How long?” the words were practically torn from him, an internal struggle to keep himself from giving more of himself away. But it was clear he wasn’t going to be able to escape unless he really did make good on his threats to stab the other Retinue member, and despite his earlier bravado, he was starting to think there was more here he was missing.

Pavel had to be unhinged, if tonight was any indicator, but he didn’t seem particularly concerned about the knife still clutched in Zane’s left hand. The one strong enough to cut through bone with a single sweeping motion.

Why?

Did he have that much faith that Zane was bluffing?

Or was there another secret he was withholding from the group?

“How long have you been—”

“Stalking you?” Pavel finished for him, chuckling when that caused Zane to suck in a sharp breath. “How badly do you want to know?”

Part of him didn’t at all, but the other part…the part that craved attention…

“Keep running, gorgeous,” he urged, the excitement in his tone ringing loud and clear. “After I’ve caught you and taught you a few lessons, I’ll answer that question. Promise.”

Lessons?

“Oh, didn’t like that?” Pavel must have seen it written across his face. “Too bad. I’ve allowed your freedom to choose all this time—as I’ve said, I’ve been benevolent—but that’s now come to an end.”

“I think you’re forgetting who I am,” he growled. Zane wasn’t a weak or easy target. He wasn’t only a member of the Retinue, but Kelevra’s third. He was favored by the Imperial Heir. In regards to hierarchy, he towered over Pavel. But even taking that into consideration, he didn’t need to involve the Diar siblings; he was more than capable of protecting himself.

Moonlight glinted off the teardrop-shaped blade in his hold as if to second that thought.

“I could never,” Pavel corrected. “You’re mine.”

“Yeah,” he drawled defiantly, “you’re definitely forgetting who I am.”

“I’ll prove it to you, right here, if you insist. If you’re not going to run then we can—”

Light help him, Zane turned and did just that.

He ran, having little to no understanding why he was playing along with this asinine game. Why he was allowing Pavel to yank his chain so effectively? The only explanation he could come up with was that if he weren’t here, he’d be in the lab at school studying. This…well, at least this was a more exciting use of his time, if nothing else.

And he refused to allow it to be anything else.

He weaved through the trees, not even bothering to pay close attention to the sounds behind him any longer. Obviously Pavel was better at this than he’d given the other man credit for. Better at navigating the dark forest without making a sound. He was also toying with him. Considering how close he’d been, the other Retinue member could have taken Zane down at any moment. Instead, he’d waited it out and had a conversation with him.

Maybe the guy was just bored.

That seemed like the more logical theory. Hadn’t Ledger recently gotten involved with someone? Perhaps Pavel was feeling neglected in his home life, so he’d come up with this plan to spice things up, so to speak. He’d chosen Zane as his target because Madden was dating the Butcher—not even a psychopath would risk getting on Berga’s wrathful side—Kelevra had a Royal Consort—Rin’s wrathful side was also worth noting—and Lake had returned to his home planet.

That pretty much just left Zane. He was the only Retinue member currently unattached and probably the only one with any sort of time on his hands to waste. Once this little game came to an end, Pavel would most likely pat him on the back and thank him for a good time.

A one-time good time.

That…wasn’t awful. It could be worse.

It could be Lyra—or gods forbid, Samuel —chasing him through the woods with the intention of sexually assaulting him.

A rickety bridge appeared before him and Zane darted across it, his momentum too great to turn away. There were gaps and missing boards, and unfortunately, halfway across his foot got stuck and he tripped.

He hit the bridge hard, another full plank falling away beneath him, and cursed when the star crystal blade slipped from his grasp. Forgetting all about his assailant, he hastily reactivated his flashlight app and rushed to the edge in search of the blade. Zane let out a sigh of relief when he saw that not only was the bridge not that far off the ground, but his knife had also stuck between two rocks in the stream running beneath him.

He was in the process of reaching for it when the sound of footsteps approaching reminded him what he was doing and he froze for half of a second, mind struggling to make a decision.

The knife was a gift from Kelevra and meant a lot to Zane but…

It didn’t seem like it was going anywhere.

He’d come back for it.

Sending one last longing glance down at the hilt, he shot back to his feet and ran.