Page 40 of Runt's Haunted Ride
Fang snorted—a sharp and mocking laugh. "You're joking. You think the President is gonna let you keep—"
"Who else is going to do it, Fang?" I cut him off, my voice cold. "What would you feed her, French fries and pizza?" I turned to the guys. "Any of you know what temperature they need to grow? Water or milk? Sunlight or not until the ten-hour mark? Any of you know?" I finished by looking at our President.
He was studying me now, his expression calculating. I could see him weighing options, considering angles. Had he been Mortis, he certainly would have had his head tilted, listening to the skulls.
"The bird dies without proper care," I continued, pressing my advantage. "She's weak right now. Helpless. In twenty-four hours she'll be back to human form, but until then she needs specific food and the right conditions to grow. You gonna figure all that out?"
"He's got a point," Tank's voice came from behind me. "Let him take care of the thing."
I felt my gorilla instincts kicking in at the sound of Kai being called a thing.
"Birds are loud and messy," Bulldog stated. Several other guys spoke up, declaring they didn't want to take care of the bird either.
"Fine," Fang repeated, and his tone was mocking. But then he turned to the President with a shrug. "Guess we should have gotten the kid a pet when he was younger. Maybe now he wouldn't be so damn desperate."
The President was quiet for a long moment, his eyes moving from the gold to Kai to me and back again. Finally, he nodded.
"Alright, this is on you," he said, pointing a finger at me. "You keep the bird. You take care of her, make sure she stays healthy and can burn again. One thing goes wrong and I'll kick your ass." His expression hardened as he scanned the guys. "That bird," he pointed at Kai, "is club property. None of you get near her without Runt or my permission. You got that?"
Everyone said their various replies of understanding.
"And you," he pointed his gnarled finger back at me. "If she dies, or if you fuck this up, there will be consequences. Serious fucking consequences. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Good." The President clapped me on the shoulder and grabbed my hat. "Now let's get this gold weighed and locked up. Then we're heading to town for supplies and bitches 'cause we're having a party tonight! The Silverbacks just got rich!"
But I just sat there, watching Kai sleeping peacefully against one of the cinnamon sticks I had placed on the side of the nest.
We'd done it. Against all odds, against Mortis and his voodoo magic and three years of captivity.
"We did it, Kai," I leaned close and whispered.
She was free. Sort of. The club thought she was property, thought she was just a gold-producing bird they could exploit. They had no idea she was my mate and no idea that there was no way in hell we were staying here a moment longer than we needed to.
And I was going to keep it that way. For now.
"Just hold on a little longer. Soon you'll be yourself again. And then..." I touched my chest, feeling the phoenix mark burning warm over my heart. "Then we disappear. You and me. Together."
Chapter 13
Jack
I'd forgotten what real exhaustion felt like until I spent a night caring for a newborn phoenix chick.
Every two hours, before my alarm went off, Kai would chirp. Every two hours, I dragged myself out of the half-sleep I'd managed to fall into, stumbled to where Kai's makeshift nest sat on my dresser, and carefully fed her tiny pieces of berry while she chirped away.
She was insatiable. Hungry every single time, her little beak opening wide the moment she heard me moving. I'd read that phoenix chicks needed constant nutrition during the first twelve hours of regeneration—their bodies were literally rebuilding themselves cell by cell, and that took energy.
But reading about it and living it were two very different things. Had I not exerted myself physically a few hours ago, I would have stayed awake, but as it was, I was recovering too.
By the time weak October sunlight started filtering through my window, I was slumped in the chair I'd pulled next tothe dresser, watching Kai sleep off her latest feeding, trying to remember what it felt like to not be bone-tired.
The mate mark on my chest pulsed with warmth, reminding me why this was worth it.She's safe and she's growing.
A knock on my door made me jerk upright.
"It's just me." Swinger's voice came through the wood. "Can I come in?"
