Kyle backed away from the bed. This wasnotnormal. “What the fuck is going on, Laina?”
ChapterTwenty-Four
As Kyle backed away from the bed, Laina thought of one thing and one thing only: she loved him, and if their relationship had any hope of working out, she had to find a way to tell him the truth. It was forbidden for a werewolf to reveal his or her true nature to a human. She couldn’t tell him the entire truth, and she doubted he was ready for it anyway. But she could give him enough information to allow him to make a choice.
“Remember what I told you in the tree house? My family is not like other families. My community is not like other communities.”
He nodded.
“My body is not like other bodies either. It’s why I couldn’t let you take me to the hospital. The doctors would see I was different, and everyone would know, and then Jonah would find me.”
He scrutinized her face. “We did a story inHunt Clubmagazine about a guy whose bones can’t break. A freak genetic mutation makes them the density of marble. Is that what we’re talking about here?”
She nodded. It was true; she was a medical miracle. Of course, she was also magic, but that was something he wasn’t ready for. That was something she’d have to reveal slowly, over time, and with special permission from the pack if she could get it. “You can’t catch it or anything. I’m just different.”
He gave a quick, curt nod. “And your brother?”
“Also like me.”
“This murderer who’s after you, he knows your secret?”
“Yes. Silas will find Jonah and he will bring him to justice, but until then, I have to be careful. No one can know who I am or where I am. He’s deadly and dangerous. That’s why I was so worried about the cell phones today.”
“The shooting is all over the news, but your face isn’t in any of the footage. My security team interrogated most of the picketers and threatened legal action. Some shared the videos despite our efforts, but as far as we can tell, the only part of you visible in any of them is your feet. You’re completely concealed behind my chest.” He took a step closer to the bed but didn’t sit down beside her.
The generic buzz of Laina’s cell phone broke through the tension in the room. She bounded from under the covers and snatched it from the bedside table. “Hold on,” she said to Silas before he had a chance to speak. She held the phone to her chest before turning back to Kyle. “It’s my brother. Would you…?” She glanced toward the door.
Eyebrows pinched over his nose, he nodded once and left, closing the door behind him.
“Okay. I’m alone.”
“We need to get you out of there.” Silas’s tone was urgent.
“Why? What happened?”
“I got a call from a friend working at the Sable Creek PD. The man who shot you disappeared, Laina.”
“What do you mean, disappeared? Did he get away?”
“No, sister. He vanished from the back of a police cruiser. Left behind a set of still-locked handcuffs on the seat.”
“You don’t think…”
“Jonah has found you. You’ve got to get out of there.”
“No, Silas. The shooter was trying to hit Kyle, not me. The protesters were here well before I was. And if this guy is powerful enough to beam himself somewhere from the back of a moving car, he is certainly powerful enough to blip in here and carve me to bits. I’ve been passed out for the last twelve hours. Jason is asleep right next door. Believe me, if Jonah was targeting me, I’d already be dead.”
“Something’s wrong here. I’ve got red flags flying in my head like you wouldn’t believe. Did you test Kyle?”
“Yes. He passed all three. I saw him in direct sunlight and through water. I saw his reflection in the water by moonlight. No aura. Nothing strange.”
“What about the mirror? Did you view his reflection in a mirror by moonlight?”
“Well…no. It was in the water. But there’s no way it’s him. He’s not Jonah. I don’t want to move, Silas. I feel safe here.”
A growl of frustration rumbled in her ear. “The shift is this weekend. I’ll join you and Jason at Monty’s Saturday morning to discuss this. That will give me time to investigate further.”
“I understand.”
