Page 2 of Lower World

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“ I can learn a few new tricks …” I kept my tone conversational as he stepped out from behind me, aiming for the third and only other armchair in the room. “… occasionally.”

“Mhhh …” The rumble came from deep in his chest as he lowered himself, a heavy sigh falling from his lips. Goosebumps appeared on my arms when I took in his muscular form and tousled hair.

“Well?” Alice was frowning at the shifter. “Are you going to tell us, or do I have to pull the words out of your mouth every time. What is wrong with you guys? We all know what’s happening, so telling without waiting to be asked is what normal people do.”

“For one, we are not people, human.” There was no fire in Dominic’s tone, but it made Alice cringe anyway. My hand clenched in a fist seeing her reaction, but I didn’t think punching the shifter would solve any problems. We were all tired and snappy. “As for the scum, he hasn’t woken yet.”

The intensity of his green eyes when they landed on my face took my breath away. It was almost a physical sensation, as if he reached inside me to grab hold of my lungs and squeezed. His animal stared at me through his irises with a primal, predatory glint, as if he was challenging me. Daring me to even twitch so I would become his hunted prey. Something that should’ve fired up my instincts and made me lunge for his throat, but it didn’t.

“That is unusual. It was only a broken neck.” Realizing my hand had moved to reach for my pendant, I lowered it immediately.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Dominic, but he was kind enough not to say anything about it. Veronica’s voice floated through my mind “You’re slipping. Pay attention.”And with it, a fist squeezed around my lungs and cut off all the oxygen from passing my airways.

“Which would make any normal person meet his maker,” Alice muttered under her breath, but I ignored the comment. My human friend, although very open-minded, still struggled with the concept of creatures like us existing outside of fiction books.

“I wouldn’t insult you by asking if you are sure, and he is not pretending,” I told Dominic as an offhanded compliment, which earned me a twitch of his mouth.

“Is there a way he could prolong the healing knowing there is an interrogation waiting for him the moment he is awake?” Although his tone was even, I couldn’t help noticing the dark smudges under the shifter’s eyes. He’s been at it day and night ever since we got here.

Me? I’ve tried my best to pretend we didn’t have an unconscious male tied to a chair in the basement. My past and my present threatened to crash on top of my head, and I was determined to ignore it until the bitter end.

“We can control our healing, to a point.” Searching his gaze, I debated how much to tell him. Airing out our weaknesses would do me no good if he decided he didn’t want to play nice anymore and start his revenge on the Syndicate with me. Nothing in his behavior so far said he would do that, but better be safe than sorry. “I think we should all get some rest first. I’m too tired to deal with the likes of him, and I might end up killing the one person that could give us the answers we need. I will check on Johnathan after I wake up. Now we sleep. Including you, Alice.”

“I don’t feel like sleeping. I’m not tired,” was her immediate rebuke a second before a big yawn made her jaw crack. Like a young child, my friend was afraid she would miss something if she didn’t keep an eye on us at all times.

“You were saying, human?” Dominic glowered at her.

“I’m not a toddler, and you are not my father, cat,” Alice snarked, folding her arms across her chest stubbornly. If I wasn’t forcing my eyes to stay open, I would’ve laughed at the expression on Dominic’s face. “You can’t send me to bed.”

“But I can.” I should’ve thought better of it before kneeling in front of her chair and locking her in my gaze. “Sleep.” Alice slumped in the recliner, her features softening immediately as her breathing evened out.

I froze, my heart lodging in my throat.

Swallowing thickly, my head turned slowly to the side, and my gaze locked on Dominic’s. The shifter was as tense as I was, while his green irises burned all the way to my core. I could see the emotions playing on his features when he realized I had the power of mind control. It all played out from shock, to rage and finally settled on suspicion. What little headway I made with him to build trust between us shattered like a house made of glass under a giant’s foot. Tears prickled the back of my eyes as I called myself stupid many times in my head. Knowing that Alice would force herself to stay awake, I didn’t think about what I was doing. All I wanted was for my human friend to get some rest, and by idiotically acting on impulse, I showed Dominic something that not even Veronica knew.

Panic clawed my insides.

A muscle ticked in Dominic’s jaw before his lips parted. I braced myself for whatever accusations he was about to throw at me, but he thought better of it. Clamping his lips shut in a firm line, he shook his head and uncurled from the armchair, fists clenched at his sides. Since I was still kneeling in front of Alice, I had to crane my neck to keep eye contact with him. A flutter in my chest told me I expected him to attack. My entire body was poised in preparation for it. He stood looming over me for a few long moments before turning on his heel and stomping out of the small room.

“Take the human to her bed. She will be useless if we need to run tomorrow if she sleeps in that chair.” He snarled over his shoulder before closing the door.

I released the breath I was holding after he was gone. Just because he walked away didn’t mean he wouldn’t attack. Clenching my jaw, I lifted Alice in my arms. There would be no sleeping for me this day.

At last, I’d be alert if we were discovered during the daytime. There was a silver lining in everything.

2

“What the fuck did you do to me, Brooklyn?”

Something hard jabbed me in the forehead as my brain jerked to alertness a second later. On instinct, my hand shot out, and I wrapped my fingers around a soft neck. When Alice’s face came into focus, I recoiled, jumping away from her as if burned. My heart galloped in my chest when I realized what I had done and that I almost killed my friend. Alice, on the other hand, didn’t look disturbed at all by what just happened. Her delicate features twisted in a snarl, and she bared her teeth at me.

“What did you do?” She got agitated when her glasses slid down her nose, so she shoved them up none too gently.

Darting my gaze around, I scanned the room—Alice’s room, where I took her in the morning so she could sleep in her bed. I kept vigil perched on a chair close to the end of her bed, but I must’ve drifted off at some point during the day. The fact I was the subject of the human’s anger said the shifter didn’t attack while I was at my weakest. I wasn’t sure if I was happy or mad about that.

“Stayed by your side to keep you safe?” Arching an eyebrow, I watched in fascination as everything she was thinking was clearly displayed on her face.

Dust still coated the furniture in the small bedroom, sticking to the surface of the light-colored wood despite the sheets covering it when we arrived. The chips in the metal frame of the bed made me assume it was from use, until Alice explained the place was furnished with stuff humans left on the side of the road when they didn’t need it anymore. Neither her parents or Alice had stayed in the house longer than a day or two when they were stocking up supplies. Knowing that didn’t prevent the ping in my chest when I looked at everything. It spoke of a family. Crazy or not, her father did everything he could to assure their safety.