Page 21 of Mortal Blood
“People said the same thing about her being a human last year.”
“And they’d still be saying it now if they hadn’t found out she’s something worse.”
“Have they?” I asked, a shiver running through me. “Found out. The pack, I mean.”
“No,” Jax said grudgingly. “Not as far as I know. Alpha Cain will try to keep it under wraps until he can figure out what to do.”
“Do?” I demanded. “There’s nothing to bedone,I’m—”
Cole squeezed my hand and I fell silent, settling for directing a glare at no-one in particular.
“I need to know, Jax,” he said. “Are you with us?”
“It’s a big ask,” Jax said.
“I know.”
“But you’re still asking?”
“I am.”
Jax toed the dirt, avoiding looking at either of us for a moment.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the blood whore freak and her mate.”
Right. Just when I’d thought my day couldn’t get any worse.
“Watch your mouth, Kallan,” Cole snarled.
“Or what?” Kallan asked, swaggering our way with Harvey and Eva flanking him, as ever.
“Or I’ll let Cali finish what she started in our end of year assessments.”
Kallan scoffed. “A lucky shot. Now that I know what a freak of nature she is, she won’t get lucky again. But no, you’re right. I shouldn’t call her a blood whore.” His gaze snapped to me and he looked me up and down. “After all, I hear she’s somethingmuchworse than that.”
Cole tensed, and I planted my hand on his chest.
“Leave it, Cole. He’s not worth it. Besides, he already knows either of us could best him in a fight. Why else is he scared to go anywhere without his two little friends?”
Harvey surged forward, but Kallan lifted a hand and waved him back with a smirk.
“You’ve got a big mouth, Ellis.”
“So everyone keeps telling me. Seems to me they don’t have a problem with my mouth so much as hearing the truth coming out of it.”
“The truth?” He turned his head to one side and spat on the floor. “The truth is that no-one wanted you here last year, and now? Now they’d rather see you dead than sullying the academy.”
I applauded several times. “Oh, great speech, Kallan. Really insightful. But maybe try coming out with something original, because I’ve heard the same thing all morning.”
“Okay, well try this, then. It’s bad enough you being here where you don’t belong, instead of with your own kind.” He closed the gap between us. “But you’re dragging your mate down into the dirt with you. And really, I should be thanking you. By the time word of this gets out, Iron Shadow won’t have a single ally left in the country. And there’ll be no-one left to stop Black Wind destroying them all.”
“Back the fuck up,” Jax snapped, shoving Kallan back and putting himself between us. “It’ll take more than a yapping pup to bring down the Iron Shadows. But you’re welcome to try.”
Kallan curled his upper lip. “Your time is done. All of you. You’d best sleep with one eye open.”
“Keep walking,” Cole ground out, “while you still can.”
Kallan smirked and swaggered away, and we watched them go for a long moment.
