Page 30 of Branded By Shadow
“Just retrieving some research materials.” I kept my tone neutral despite the unease creeping up my spine. “Nothing that should interfere with your schedule.”
“Actually, I have a facility tour scheduled in five minutes.” She glanced at her tablet. For the first time since I’d known her, her professional mask slipped. “I coordinated it through the grants office as a follow-up.”
It wouldn’t be the first time she organized such meetings, often barreling over my schedule and Theo’s. But she’d never looked so nervous before. “A tour? For whom?”
Alexander Stormwright appeared from behind Sarah, and his storm-gray eyes found me immediately. “Dr. Ellis, thank the gods. It’s such a relief to see you safe and sound.”
He turned toward Theo and offered him a smile. “Dr. Caldwell, it’s a pleasure to see you again. This time, in much better circumstances.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. It was the exact same tone from the recording, the one that had played on Theo’s raw desperation. His voice was a masterpiece of feigned relief, pitched to sound like an ally arriving at a rescue. And it was working.
Theo’s shoulders relaxed, and he smiled back. “Mr. Stormwright, the pleasure is all mine. I must admit you’ve arrived at precisely the right moment.”
He moved to stand slightly between me and Damon. Now that he had Olympian backup, he no doubt intended to try to free me from Damon.
Damon took a single, deliberate step forward. He ignored my mentor completely, his entire focus locked on Alexander.
“You’re not welcome here, Stormwright,” he snapped. “This facility is off-limits to House Zeus.”
Alexander’s gaze shifted from Damon’s hostility to Theo, and he spread his hands in a gesture of placation. “Is that a fact? Last I checked, this wasn’t the Blackwood estate.”
Theo glared at Damon, his face flushed with indignation. “That’s right. If anyone’s not welcome here, it’s you. Unlike you, Mr. Stormwright has never tried to hurt Cora. He’s only ever tried to help.”
“His ‘helpfulness’ is a lie,” Damon snarled, finally acknowledging Theo with a dismissive glance. “And there’splenty of harm involved when an Alpha forces heat cycles for claiming opportunities.”
Theo turned white and covered his mouth, as if he was about to throw up. “What? What do you mean?”
But Damon wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. “Did you think we wouldn’t figure it out, Stormwright? That I wouldn’t be able to tell what you’d done.”
The smile vanished from Alexander’s face. The warmth in his eyes died, replaced by something cold and flat. “That’s a serious and frankly insane accusation, Blackwood. One you can’t possibly prove.”
“A medical examination found unusual energy patterns in Cora’s body,” Damon countered. “External interference consistent with forced biological manipulation.”
“And you immediately assumed House Zeus was responsible?” Alexander sneered. “How convenient for your narrative. If anything, if unusual patterns are involved, they must be a result of your own claiming methods. I barely even touched Dr. Ellis.”
“Not for lack of trying.” Wisps of darkness coiled at Damon’s feet, reaching for Alexander. “You wanted her genetics, her abilities, and her formulas. When she saw through your lies, you forced her heat to make her vulnerable.”
“I did no such thing.” Alexander shook his head, every word thick with disgust. “Whatever complications she experiencedwere not the result of House Zeus interference. But I’m not surprised you’d make baseless accusations to justify abducting an Omega from a professional conference in broad daylight.”
Damon bared his teeth like a feral animal. “Just like I’m not surprised you’re such a coward you’d cheat your way into a claim.”
A brilliant arc of lightning leaped from Alexander’s hands and struck the metal leg of the desk between them with a sharpcrack. “I’m getting tired of your insults, Blackwood. You’re the one who ran away from a fight last time, not me.”
That was the spark. The challenge. Damon’s shadows exploded from him, no longer just wisps but a roiling tide of darkness that surged toward Alexander. Electricity danced at Alexander’s fingertips, lighting up the lab. The battle was on.
Glass beakers on nearby shelves cracked from the sudden temperature stress. My carefully organized notes were scattered across the floor as the elemental forces battled for dominance. The lab I had built with such care was rapidly becoming collateral damage.
“Stop this!” Theo’s voice was tight with panic and disbelief, his brain struggling to process the raw power erupting in front of him. His face was a mask of betrayal as he looked at Alexander. “You said you wanted to help her! What is this?”
“Stay out of this, Caldwell.” Alexander didn’t take his eyes off Damon. “This is between House Hades and House Zeus.”
A rack of centrifuges toppled over with a deafening crash as the supernatural forces spread across the ceiling. Sarah screamed as her tablet sparked and died in her hand. The security guard who had escorted Alexander was calling for backup, his radio crackling with interference.
“Everyone needs to evacuate!” Theo shouted. “Now!”
Lab staff fled toward the exits. Fire alarms began to shriek as the temperature sensors registered the wild fluctuations. The emergency lighting flickered on as the shadows consumed the overhead fixtures.
And neither Alpha noticed. They were too focused on each other, on dominance and territory and accusations.
