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Chapter thirty-six

Forest

M y hands press to his chest, ready to force him away. Instantly, I feel the adrenaline in both of our bodies spike, pulling us free from our dispute. We both turn around, content to avoid unspoken words on the topic of what’s going on between us.

He grabs me tighter, both of us looking to the door. Hearing their loud thoughts consume my mind, my heart races in a much different way than it had been moments ago. Fallan clutches his temple, my thoughts filled with voices that aren’t mine. I lean my head into his chest, feeling his hands cup my head, rubbing his thumbs along the sides of my face.

“Who is that?’ I question silently, hearing the pain shroud my voice.

“There's Officials nearby…. I can't block you from my mind right now. We're too… close,” he whispers. “Focus on my heartbeat. Listen to their voices,” he continues, easing me as the voices become clearer. I stay straddled on his lap in a seated position, one of his arms wrapped around me.

“You can hear people's thoughts?” I question quietly, my mind racing to every single thought of him I’ve had.

“Among other things, although you've been a pain in the ass to navigate," he whispers, both of us still as the men's voices finally become close enough to hear completely.

“Shifter residue,” one of the men says, sounding almost thrilled to find his discovery. I can sense his partner's presence, both men observing the soot of the creature with differing reactions.

“Shifters don’t just spontaneously combust. Someone must have gotten a swipe at it.” the other man mutters.

Glass breaks as one of the men swings at a hallway light, angrily blowing off steam.

“What’s your issue?” one of the men questions the other, disgusted by the feeling of the ash on his fingers.

“My 'issue’, moron, is someone in this sector killed a Shifter and lived. Now, they walk around here knowing that the creatures exist and have breached the ward. The Commander will not be pleased knowing something like that slipped past us during our run of this shithole part of town,” the older of the two men say.

A jolt of power comes to life inside of me, faint whispers of something new creeping into the darker spaces of my mind. I feel something urging me to go out there and paint the ground with their blood.

“Easy there,” Fallan whispers, his breath brushing the side of my neck.

“I might struggle to read your thoughts, but I can feel your emotions. Now that your chip is gone, the more time that passes and the longer you spend around me, the more power that little scar on your torso gives you.” He keeps his eyes on the door. “Breathe,” he commands, slowly drawing in air, making me follow along with him.

“Start pounding on doors. I doubt they could have gotten too far. The only people we saw enter or leave were those two women,” one of the men says, my heart racing once I remembered I wasn’t alone on my walk into the building.

I drag myself off of Fallan, listening to the noise of the two Officials beginning their search. I can tell they are going unit to unit, feverishly knocking on doors before busting them wide open with no regard for any of the tenants inside. I hear women scream as the men yell for Unfortunate’s to get out of their way. Fallan quickly checks the locks on his door, tucking away anything that might look suspicious, including our blades that we’d tossed onto his coffee table. I move to the kitchen, grabbing the bloodied rags and pushing them down into the lowest part of his clothes hamper. Dragging the chair from the middle of the room, I put it back under the table, keeping the curtains drawn. We quickly scan the rest of the area.

His small fireplace crackles and cast shadows across the floor, keeping the space warm as we exchange looks. I try to find my words, hearing yet another person yell out in pain. Their thoughts of feeling the prod on their skin consume my mind.

“I hope you're prepared to break a few necks,” it taunts, my eyes panning to the glass of my framed drawing Fallan had placed on the side table earlier.

She looks at me with her bright eyes and a gray mane. All I can do is nod, returning my gaze to Fallan as his hands find me again.

“There's no scenario in which them seeing you in here is any good,” Fallan says, looking around for a quick way out.

“I can’t leave,” I whisper, touching his hand. “They will see me and know who I am because of my father.”

The unknown power within me begins to swell, scraping along my mind, begging to be released.

“Besides, I’m not leaving you with any other Officials, not that you want me sticking around right now,” I finish, hearing the thud from the wall closest to us.

“You’d think you’d be able to put in code quicker than that. They're supposed to forget, not cower in fear waiting on your ass for ten minutes,” one of the men says, and I realize they’ve got a Re-Regulation Device.

“I’m going out there,” Fallan says, moving closer to the door. “They won’t come snooping through here if I come to them,” he starts, my hand instinctively reaching out toward him.

“No,” I say, feeling a force push against my palm as Fallan goes still.

He looks down at the ground, trying to pry his feet from the spot in front of me. He looks up at me, watching my shaky hand slowly lower. The hold begins to dissipate.

“How long have you been able to do that?” Fallan questions, my eyes blankly staring down at my hand.

“Do what?” I question, slowly dropping my hand to my side.

“The Hold,” he says, touching his temple. “An ability to control force, similar to the way I can navigate and control people's thoughts.”

“T-The Hold?” I question with uncertainty.

“You truly don’t know anything about our power, do you?” Fallan looks at me incredulously, like he assumed I had any idea about what’s happening to me.

Three loud knocks pound on Fallan’s apartment door, rattling the locks. Fallan and I exchange a look before frantically searching the space around us, trying to come up with a way out of this. I reflect on what happened in the study with my father and my ability to take away his recollection of what he’s seen on the surveillance tapes. If I can get these men close enough to me, then maybe I have a chance of wiping their minds of what they saw-

“That nearly gave us an aneurysm. I suggest you slip under the bed,” it yells in my mind, breaking through my thoughts.

“We see your light. Open up!” the knocking turns to pounding as the Officials grow impatient.

“I can try and get you out the window,” Fallan whispers. I grab his arm, stopping him.

“I’m not running,” I whisper, backing away from him.

The pounding grows more frantic as I meet the floor, forcing my body under his bed, using what material I can from his sheets to hide myself. I cover my body, noticing a small hole in the sheet that I can use to see out of while staying fully concealed. Something familiar collides with my thigh. I feel the cover of my sketchbook brush my fingers, wondering at what point Fallan managed to grab it. Fallan gives me a stern look, only to turn away, pausing in front of his door.

“You’ve got two seconds before we break the door,” the man continues as his foot collides with the bottom of the doorframe.

“Whatever happens, stay under there,” Fallan whispers through our connection as he moves to undo the locks.

I draw deep breaths, clenching my nails to my palms in frustration.

“I wonder if he knows how much we’re looking forward to this,” it beckons, its voice filled with anticipation.

“Or how bloodthirsty his Little Dove really is,” it finishes, my heart racing as the door swings open on its hinges.

My fear clings to me like a mask, cracking when I see the two Officials standing in front of Fallan in the doorframe, nothing but malice written on their faces.