But we get to her first. Grabbing her, I nearly choke on the relief that fills my throat.
“You’re all right,” I breathe, cupping her face. My voice trembles. “God, Ken.”
She twists. There’s no regret in her face. But her eyes are wide. “He was going to hurt you. It just… happened.”
I scan her eyes, looking for any hint of scarlet. Her hands reach up to cover mine. “It’s gone, Max. This time it felt… different. Like it was a conscious decision. I needed to help you, and it just…happened.”
Theo yanks a length of rope from my backpack. “Max. Help me.”
I’m better at knots. I use it to focus on his hands, securing him to the tree. “Might not hold.”
“I’ll call for help,” he says grimly. “Take Kenny home. I don’t want you connected with this, Ken.”
We don’t want any questions over the marks in his skin.
Theo’s fist slams into his dad’s face when Charles stirs. He slumps again, out cold. “There’s a cell waiting for him at the Center. Nothing less than he deserves.”
Kenny hesitates. “What about an anonymous call? Can we do that? Get someone to just… pick him up?”
Theo stares at us both. “He… I thought he’d left town. But this – something else we should have known. But I never saw his paperwork.”
She looks down at her fingers. Taking them for myself, I examine them. Nothing but dark red smears and her normal, trimmed nails. No claws. Kenny looks at Theo. “I’m sorry. He was still your dad.”
His smile is soft. “I promise you, Ken. I’m fine. He hasn’t been my dad for a long time. I knew there was something. But I need you away from here, okay? I’ll make the call. Just… I need you away from him.”
His hands are shaking.
“Come on,” I say softly. I turn her away from Charles Rivers, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. “Let’s go home. The others will be panicking.”
And with every step, I feel nothing but relief.
Kenny
Oscarrunshishandsover mine again, as if he’s searching for any clue. He’s done the same thing a dozen times since he burst through the door of my nest, Jake behind him. His eyes are wide behind his glasses. “I’ve never heard of this. Didn’t even know it was a possibility.”
My heartbeat still feels a little fast. Behind me, Jake has his head buried in my neck. His voice sounds muffled. “Could you do it now? If you wanted to?”
Frowning, I try to find it. To reach for that feeling that overtook me in the clearing. “No. It was…. I was soangry. And Max was in between us. But – I was still there. I knew everything that was happening. I was still in control.”
Max’s voice floats to me from where he’s laying on his back, on the other side of Jake. “You thought he was going to hurt me.”
My guy clenches again at the memory. Of Charles, his razor-sharp teeth, and his twisted, red face. So close to Max. “I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
Jakes shifts back, making space for Theo. He crawls in and presses his lips to my hair. “Nobody can know about this.”
I blink, still looking at Oscar. He scans my face. And then he nods. “I agree with him. They… they would want to research this, Kenny. They’d use you. You wouldn’t be able to have a normal life.”
The ability to turn feral to protect those around me. And to turn it back off. Oscar is right. I’d become a lab rat for real. And this time, I don’t think they would let me out. “Is that man still at the Center? Parker?”
I shiver at the memory. Theo’s warmth presses into me, but his voice is hard. “No. He resigned. But… I don’t think my mom will pay for a space there anyway. She’s pretty angry with him.”
My mouth forms a smallo. “He’ll go to the public Center?”
“Don’t think about him.” Theo’s lips press into my hair again. My shoulder. “He deserves everything he gets, Ken. He’s not a victim here. Look at everything he didbefore. He could have tried to stop this. Stop Brett. He knew, but he didn’t do anything.”
“Agreed,” Jake says firmly. “We need to focus on you.”
Shifting, I settle onto my back, staring up at the drapes that line my nest. Shades of jewelled green, and blue, and purple. “I have to hide.”
