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Chapter fifty-one

Forest

I t thrashes violently through the crowd, its ghostly face the same one from my backyard. Its long, talon-like fingers swipe violently at anyone within its line of sight. The Shifter is tall, with sharp teeth and sunken eyes that are enough to bring anyone nightmares. It tears into the figure of a flailing woman, her blood spilling out onto the street as she falls to the ground. In a flash of movement, the Shifter grabs the woman’s lifeless body, sinking its fangs into her neck, violently devouring her blood and leaving her an empty husk. Panicking, I search the crowd for familiar faces.

I see Mark and Jolie, a slight sense of relief passing over me as I see them standing behind Valerie and Aaron. Kai and Hunter are huddled together. Kai’s blade is unsheathed, held with a shaky grasp. Xavier quickly yanks his pistol free from its holster, pulling it out from under his coat, taking note of how many rounds he has left. Fallan is already grabbing his blade from his side, nudging Xavier’s gun down toward the ground.

“Bullets won’t kill it,” Fallan growls.

Xavier’s gaze is cold as he considers Fallan's words.

Sensing a growing danger, I grab them both, forcing them to step back as the body of the woman flies past us and into the nearest wall of one of the adjacent buildings. Freeing my blade from my side, I force it open, moving into the defensive stance Fallan had taught me. My eyes meet the unsettling gaze of the haunting creature.

Tapping the ground with its long finger, it cocks its head in our direction, smiling wickedly the longer it watches us.

“I smell Marked blood,” It hisses, both me and Fallan tensing up.

Giving it little thought, Kai surges forward, my body rigid while his blade slices the leg of the creature. Thrashing its arm, it narrowly misses his front. Fallan is quick to seize the opportunity to move forward.

In a whirlwind of blades and fury, Fallan swings his arm toward the creature, his aim calculated, delivering as much damage as he can with each swipe. I ready myself to join him. Xavier’s hand wraps around my arm, stopping me from taking another step.

“We need to go-”

“Let go of me,” I hiss angrily, forcing my arm away from him, letting my rage take over.

Moving towards the creature, I swipe my blade across its front, watching it recoil in pain. It tried to get away from us, only to meet the metal of Valerie’s weapon a few seconds later. Looking around the open area, I spot a group of Officials. They stand by, watching the scene unfold, some even holding drinks, sipping casually, as if nothing unusual is happening. Unfortunates beg for them to intervene, some getting kicked to the ground as they cry out for help. Shaking his head in frustration, Xavier finally joins us, grabbing my blade from my hand and swiping at the Shifter the next chance he gets.

Taking a step back, I observe the creature, feeling Fallan’s focus shift toward its mind, his hands clenched in concentration. The creature screams, clutching its head in pain. It stumbles back, doing its best to keep Fallan out. Narrowing his eyes, Fallan pushes harder, swarming the creature's mind with thoughts of ending its own life. Its claw rises to its neck.

“Die, you fucking monster!” Fallan yells. The creature seethes with rage.

“They want the girl!” It screams, pushing past Fallan’s broad frame, nearly slamming its hand down on Xavier.

Valerie rolls over the drink table, grabbing Mark and Jolie, urging them to follow her. They begin to back away together, relief passing over me as I watch them leave.

Holding my ground, I motion Kai to move, my focus set on connecting to his mind.

“Get him out of here,” I whisper into my brother’s mind. His eyes grow wide with confusion, his mouth hanging open. Forcing my brother back with a wave of my hand, his feet move, following my command.

He whispers to Hunter, motioning him to follow behind Valerie. I expect him to go along, to follow the crowd and get away from all of this, but he stays behind.

This is no longer the Kai I once knew.

This is no longer the Kai who runs in fear.

“I can try and force it-” Fallan starts, cut off by some unknown attack.

Clutching his head, he falls to his knees. Xavier and I panic as we ambush the creature. Rushing toward Fallan, I feel another presence in our mind space, its assault directed toward Fallan. His thoughts are consumed with nothing but a painful noise. It drowns out my ability to speak to him, my knees joining his on the ground. Xavier stands in front of us, shielding us from the creature. Grasping Fallan’s face, I see the pain in his expression, my fingers trailing over his cheeks.

“Someone else is here,” he says through the pain. My focus is on getting him back on his feet.

“Xavier,” I begin, grabbing Fallan’s blade. “Help him up,” I push, no longer giving him an option as I step into the blonde’s mind to deliver the order.

Xavier grabs Fallan’s arm, lifting him to his feet. The creature eyes me with surprise, my arm extended out, ready to engage.

“It's me you want, right?” I question, looking back to Fallan. “You can let him go,” I whisper, my panic growing at the feeling of Fallan’s energy draining. His nose is blee ding, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

“I am many things, child,” the creature whispers in my mind. “But I am no coward when it comes to a fight,” it continues. “This hold is not my own… although I can assure you, his death will be savored.”

I snap.

Slamming my blade into the ground, I force my hand up, focusing on its thin legs, feeling the way its bones shatter beneath my touch.

Crack.

Wailing out in pain, it falls to the ground, my mind finally able to fully latch on and fill it with images of its own death. Watching it shakily raise its hand to its throat, I take another step, focusing all my energy on ending the creature. I’m jarred from concentration by that familiar voice again as it screams to life.

"The Apparatus will ruin this wretched world!” it screams, repeatedly yelling the phrase.

Using all that I have, I put up a barrier around my and Fallan's minds, readying to snap the creature's neck. It watches me fearfully, its mouth downturned as its expression turns despondent.

“This wasn't my choice,” it hisses, my eyes staring into the two dark pits where eyes should have been.

“Who sent you?” I question, watching it cower.

Fallan and Xavier slice their blades through the Shifter’s head. I watch as its life force is drained from its body, a regretful expression on its face. Panting heavily, Fallan forces the blade deeper, the creature’s blood spewing streaks of red across his face. His eyes are wild with feral rage. Drawing in several deep breaths, he lingers by the creature to make sure it’s dead. Xavier’s hands shake with adrenaline.

The two men stand in front of me, both in need of comfort.

I stand by my choice.

The connection between Fallan and me is now unbreakable.

Moving closer to him, I wrap him in a hug, feeling him bury his head in my shoulder. His arms wrap around my middle loosely, unable to find the strength to tighten his grip. Surprisingly, my hand reaches for Xavier instinctively, the other part of me still drawn to his presence. His eyes are cold as he watches me and Fallan, his hand still grasping the blade as if ready to use it on a new target. Pressing my head to Fallan’s, I hold his face in my hands, his eyes panning back to Xavier, before placing a small, tender kiss on my forehead.

“Someone sent that creature here… to hunt,” I whisper, looking at the two men. Xavier lowers his weapon, letting it clatter to the ground. His focus is fixed on Fallan.

“Let me speak to him,” I whisper in Fallan’s mind, releasing him from my embrace.

I move to Xavier. He looks down at me, his eyes filled with defeat.

“There's more here than we realize, Xavier,” I say, reaching for his hands. Before I can touch him, he lifts my hands up instead, looking over the faint red marks surrounding my wrists. I hadn’t noticed the marks earlier, and in the moment, Fallan’s grip gave me nothing but pleasure.

“You’ve been together.”

It’s not a question.

All I can do is swallow. My throat is dry, and my breath is hard to catch.

Xavier’s eyes lower, fixating on Fallan.

“Did you touch her?” Xavier questions, grasping my wrists tightly.

I try to pull away, his hold stronger than I expected. Fallan shoves him back before pulling me into him. He lets out an aggressive snarl, baring his teeth at Xavier.

“Couldn’t keep my hands off her. Like I’ve told you, she was never yours,” Fallan urges. Xavier’s jaw clenches, a promise of violence in his expression.

People start to pull themselves up off the ground, some emerging from the half-assed hiding spots they’d found. Meeting my gaze, my brother pulls away from his own hidden position, begging Hunter to stay back, only to grow more frustrated when he realizes Hunter is already trailing closely behind him. My brother looks around, his pace quickening the closer he got to me. It doesn't take a mind reader to know how scared he is, questioning whether or not my voice in his mind was a spout of insanity or something much more. Xavier lingers nearby, his eyes on the ground.

“More Officials are coming. We saw them when we came out of our hiding spot. You all need to leave,” Hunter says, his foot kicking the motionless creature.

“They are guaranteed to try and use your chips. Best case scenario, no one else is murdered,” Xavier says, finally breaking his silence.

“Go,” Fallan starts, his hands touching the sides of my face. “Before things get worse. I promise I will find you soon.”.

Ignoring our audience, he leans into me, his lips pressing to mine, giving me a moment of peace amongst all this chaos. My mark burns with pleasure, his thoughts of concern and admiration coming together to form something safe that encapsulates my heart. I hear Kai and Hunter gasp, both caught off guard by us. Xavier is nothing short of rageful.

The kiss doesn't feel long enough, my desire to be with him and no one else is unbearable. Pulling away from him, I step back, following Xavier and Kai towards the path we need to take to get out of the sector.

“Stay alive,” I whisper, his mouth curling into a smirk.

“Always do, Dove,” he says, his eyes panning back to Xavier. “Always will.”

Xavier grabs the bottom of my shirt, pulling me to follow him, his eyes set forward. Keeping up with his fast pace, I allow him to move me along, shuddering as his hand passes over the rough skin of my mark. Kai moves quickly, his mouth shut, processing the attack and, I'm sure, what he saw between me and Fallan. Xavier’s pace is punishing, but we don’t let up.

“Do you hate me?” I question, startling him as though it was the last question he expected.

He says nothing at first, his hand running along the wall, helping him retrace his steps.

“I wish I did,” he starts, finally looking back at me. “Maybe then I’d have the strength to kill him and never have to look at you again,” he spits hatefully. A fissure opens in my chest at his response, stopping my feet from moving forward. I was in pain because I'd hurt him.

And nothing has hurt me more than the way he looks at me now.

“And so, things just get more complicated,” It whispers.