Page 62 of Mortal Shift
“What do you mean, for now?” I asked, wariness finally catching up to me.
“You’ll see, don’t you worry about that. After all, how strong can his pack truly be if its alpha heir is mated to a mewling human? It’s only a matter of time until my pack overthrows them and takes what’s rightfully ours. Our world will have new leaders before we graduate, and you’re aligned with the wrong pack.”
He took a step towards me and his voice dropped an octave.
“Normally, when one pack overthrows another, they kill the mates of the alpha bloods. Helps teach them their place, weakens their next generation. But in your case, maybe I’ll take you back to my pack and keep you as a trophy. A little reminder of exactlywhatmade the Iron Shadows so weak. Ask me nicely, and maybe I’ll make you cage comfortable.”
I canted my head, and took one step closer to him, moistening my lips with a brief flick of my tongue.
“If you do,” I said, my voice low and husky, “I’ll slit your throat while you sleep.”
“Psycho bitch,” he said, taking a quick step back and pasting a sneer on his face, but not before I caught the look of surprise that passed over it. And if he really thought I could be cowed that easily, then he had more surprises coming.
“Yes, I am,” I said. “It’d do you good to remember that. So maybe you should go running back to your loser wolf friends before I decide to pay you back for sending me to the feeding den.”
“Aw, what’s the matter, little omega? Didn’t like being reminded of your place? That’s all humans are good for, and if I had my way, you’d all be locked in cages ready for feeding time.”
“There’s just one little problem with that, Kallan.”
“And what’s that?”
“We might not be able to beat you in a one-on-one fight, but we don’t need to. Mykindoutnumbers yours. We’re smart, and we’re organized, and the moment word gets out about what you are, they’d destroy you. But me? Well, I’m just a human. One of them. So maybe you better get out of my face before I decide I have nothing to lose by finding a computer and sharing your photo with the whole world.”
“There’s no internet at Darkveil, you naïve little human,” he sneered, but uncertainty undermined his harsh words.
I shrugged. “Maybe not, but I’m not going to be in here forever. You should try to remember that. Goodbye, Kallan.”
“This isn’t through,” he said, then stalked from the room.
“Guess he changed his mind about that book,” I said with a shrug. “By the way, thanks for the back up there, Ling.”
She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. “I, um, I wasn’t sure I could.”
I exhaled heavily. “Yeah, I get it. Being shy’s a bitch. Don’t sweat it.”
“That wasn’t what I—Never mind. At least that helps your alibi.”
“Don’t count on it,” I grumbled. “I doubt he’ll be in a rush to tell anyone that I scared him off.”
“I guess not. Well, if you want an alibi…”
I flicked a screwed up piece of notepaper at her. “I’m not hooking up with Cole. Not even for a minute. Besides, pretty sure he still wants to kill me for the whole moon hunt thing. He’s barely done more than grunt in my direction—once he finished with the ten-minute tirade on how reckless and irresponsible I am.” I winced at the memory. That guy could be intimidating when he wanted to be. Worse, he’d probably been right. Especially if Kallan really was telling the truth about trying to overthrow him. He couldn’t afford to look weak right now, and that was exactly how I’d made him appear. Dumb wolves with their dumb hierarchies.
Ling was right, too. I should go and find him, but not for the reason she was thinking. I needed to tell him what Kallan had told me, so he could warn the rest of his pack. I owed him that much.
…Well, okay, maybeowedwas putting it a bit strongly, since he was the reason I was in this whole mess in the first place. Still, his family didn’t deserve to be torn apart by power-hungry sadists, and if I could do something to prevent it, I would.
I stood, gave Ling one last hug, and a sad smile.
“Take care of yourself,” I said. “And thanks. For everything.”
And with that, I slipped out of the door and headed for my dorm. As predicted, I caught more than one set of eyes along the way, and more than one snide remark about dressing up for the vamps followed me as I went. I grit my teeth and kept moving, because getting my ass kicked in a fight was not going to help me get out of here any faster.
It was almost a relief to make it back to my dorm…until I saw Cole standing there, dressed in smart jeans and a shirt rolled up to his elbows, showing off his impressive forearms that radiated strength, and part of me yearned to fall into them, and lose myself to his touch.
Wait,yearned?Ugh, no thanks. I didn’tyearnfor anyone, and my internal monologue could do one if it thought I did. I’d come to deliver a message, that was all.
And the message fled my mind as Cole glanced up at me and then caught his breath. His pupils dilated a fraction as he drank me in and his lips pressed together tightly, like he was fighting some internal battle of his own.
