Page 65 of Cruel Revenge
“Not the one that is possibly possessed,” Zuri countered.
“Davor has seen him, too, and we don’t know who he is!” I roared. “We’re always ten steps behind! We don’t even know how they got the original werecat we had to kill! And now they have Carey!”
That realization slapped me. I hadn’t even considered that part yet. If she survived the night, she would be a werecat, and she was with them. She was everything that werecat had been. Most importantly, she was young. Weaker and easier to magically control than a confident, adult werecat.
Unable to breathe anymore, I walked out.
24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Istumbled onto my porch, not hearing anything but a sharp ring in my ears. I gasped for air, holding my chest as the panic rose, my heart beating too fast. My vision was blurry as I gasped, trying to breathe, but it felt like nothing was reaching me. There was no oxygen in the air for me anymore. I fumbled into the grass, stumbling as I again tripped over my own feet. This time, I fell to my knees, unable to stay up.
There on the ground, I screamed, unable to control the panic and horror of what fate Carey would have if we couldn’t help her. I sank my fingers into the earth,myearth, desperate for the security it normally gave me, but it offered nothing.
Someone tried to grab me off the ground, pulling me up. With a snarl, I whirled around and shoved whoever it was. Their grip wasn’t strong enough to hold me, and my blurry vision didn’t give me any idea of who it was.
Desperate for air, but I couldn’t smell anything. I had no idea who was there. No idea who was trying to talk to me. No idea where I was anymore.
Then the world turned upside down, and the shock forced me to think clearly for a moment. I felt something cool on my back,and Subira was right in front of me. Behind her, I could see the night sky.
“Breathe,” she ordered, her werecat eyes staring me down. “You have to breathe.”
I inhaled, and finally, oxygen hit my lungs, and my vision cleared further. My fingers twitched, and I felt grass and dirt, even some forest floor debris, a bit of leaves and twigs. Still my territory, the land feeling like it welcomed my touch.
I was on my back, flat on the ground, and Subira was above me. Not only above me. Her weight was heavy. She was on top of me. I tried to sit up, and with little effort, she pushed me back into the ground.
“Keep breathing,” she snapped.
I made a point of inhaling and exhaling for her, unable to look away from her narrowed eyes. Now my sense of smell was starting to register things again.
The first thing I caught was blood. It was a rather pungent, pointed smell, no matter where it was. It took an extra second to register that it was Zuri’s blood. That made my hands shake.
The second smell I caught was Subira’s fear. She leaned very close, her forehead nearly touching mine.
“If you ever forget yourself like that again, I’m going to do what I must to make sure you don’t hurt anyone. It would destroy me to do it, but if one of my children needs to be put down, I am honorable enough to do it.” Subira’s pained and truthful words were so quiet, only for me to hear. Her hands moved from my chest to my cheeks. “You are panicking, and that is reasonable. You’ve been through so much so quickly. The world refuses to spare you even the smallest moment of rest. But you can’t forget yourself, Jacky. Out of everything, you cannot do that.”
I tried to nod.
“If you were human, the panic attack wouldn’t be a problem,” Hasan said, his voice closer than I expected. “If you were more in control naturally as a werecat, it wouldn’t be a problem. But you, Jacky, are dancing on a knife’s edge. I said it earlier tonight, and I’ll say it again. I do not like this. Nor do I like that it’s been going on for some time.”
“Tell me Carey’s chances,” I said, keeping my eyes on Subira, who seemed surprised by my words, her eyes going a little wider, but that was all I could see. It took a second, but then I could smell the truth, that I was right. I had taken her off guard.
“I don’t?—”
“Tell me,” I repeated.
Hasan growled, but Subira suddenly sat up on my stomach, her hands moving back to my shoulders to keep me down, and smiled.
“Tell her, Hasan,” she encouraged.
With her not blocking everything I could see, I was able to see him standing to our left. Behind him were Niko and Davor. I couldn’t see Zuri, but I could still smell her.
Hasan rubbed the back of his neck, looking at his mate, then at me.
“If she doesn’t survive the Change, I would wonder if my Talent was broken. If the magic stopped working at all. She’s one of the most likely scents I’ve encountered. Up there with Niko.”
I remembered a conversation I had with a teenager once. Stacy. Her enthusiasm for the topic had been notable, sticking with me for all these years.
