Page 28 of Between Imminent Fates

White-blonde eyebrows pulled together. “More than the highly dangerous mission today and helping us with your commander in a few weeks? Jax, you’ve already done so much.”

“I want to make a difference with the kennels, Key. Please,” he insisted. “I assume you’re pulling teams together to dismantle them. I know the layout of mine—and presumably, that’d be of help.”

She shook her head as if she couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. “Jax, you’re human. Letting you go would be like playing with fire—a risk we can’t take.”

“What’s the risk?”

“If a rabid wolf were to get loose when we were dismantling a facility, trained immortals could withstand an attack,” she walked forward, gently linking her fingers with his, “but you could die. We simply can’t take that risk.”

“I’ve been in the military for years, Key. I know my way around a weapon—and how to defend myself. I want to help you, and I need to make sure no one else is hurt by what theCitizensare doing. I see it every day, and I think you do, too. You can understand why I want to make a difference.”

“And you are,” she reiterated. “You getting this list is one of the final pieces that needs to fall into place. But Jax, if you go in those kennels, I can’t confirm you’d ever come out alive.”

Raising their interlinked hands, he kissed her knuckles. “I signed up for the military knowing the stakes. We write our wills knowing that any day could be our last. I don’t need a guarantee I’ll come out alive, just that I’m working toward the greater good.”

Key shuddered, her fingers tightening around his. “But you—you’re different to me.”

“How so?”

“Risking your life is,” she hesitated, unsure, before saying, “harderthan risking everything else. I dragged you into this war, and if you were to be injured—” Her voice caught. “Jax, you’re human. Fragile. One bullet, one bite, could kill you. I can’t risk it.”

Mind spinning, the path suddenly became clear. “And if I was an immortal?”

“You’re not.” The possibility seemed to shake her from her spiral. “This list is everything, Jax. With the full moon tomorrow, it means we can stop any other wolves from becoming rabid. We can spare so much suffering.”

“That’s a relief.”

The words were true, but Jax felt like there was a vice tightening around his chest. As a human, he could do very little to help keep people out of harm’s way. He’d taken an oath to protect the innocent, and being unable to assist chaffed against him.

“That also means,” Key added with a saucy smile, “that we’ll have to put a hold on our Hallmark movie marathon for the next few days.”

“That’s a shame.”

And it truly was. He’d grown accustomed to Key’s nightly visits and adored the time they spent together. But perhaps her absence over the next few days would be exactly what he needed.

When another vision briefly stole her attention, he gently wrapped her up in his arms. He loathed the fact that they took so much out of her. Every time the future played out, it seemed to snatch at her sanity. Jax could barely stand the faint tremble in her limbs as she weathered the storm.

A moment later, she was blinking back into awareness. “I have to go—but Jax, thank you for the list. You are appreciated more than you could ever know.”

She vanished.

He immediately headed for the door. Already, he knew his path forward. Being worthless in the fight for the future was unacceptable. If his humanity would keep him from saving those he wanted to protect, he’d renounce it.

The drive to the kennels was silent, but he wasn’t nervous. If anything, the quiet only reinforced his decision. His card clicked the entry system unlocked, and the sound reverberated through every corner of his mind, like a gong ringing the enormity of what he was about to do.

The smell greeted him first. It’d only been a few hours since he’d been inside, but it made him shudder every time. Only a stray yelp or growl pierced the silence. All of the humans had been tranquilized until the full moon, and the wolves seemed calmed by the darkness.

Jax approached the cage with the wolf who’d bitten the bearded man during the demonstration on his first day. It paced back and forth, teeth bared and a growl getting louder the closer he got. Knowing this wolf was a person—and one who’d been forcibly detained and turned—sickened him.

He stopped a foot shy of the cage. Staring at the massive werewolf fighting to escape, Jax contemplated what he was about to do. He had no family, no close friends. Finally, he’d found a cause to dedicate his life to—and then been found wanting. If this was what it took, he’d gladly step into the gap.

Jax’s forearm slid partially through the gap in the silver-lined cage. Teeth flashed, sinking into him and drawing blood without hesitation. His nerves lit up like lightning, burning through his arm as he quickly yanked it back to safety.

He couldn’t help the wolves in this facility, but he could ensure it never happened again.

***

Jax didn’t feel any different the following morning. The pain was minimal. He’d bandaged his arm the night before while watching a Hallmark movie that Key had recommended. Though Zeus kept him company, his apartment seemed surprisingly lonely.

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