The clock ticked close to midday when Charlotte walked back into the lab, her thoughts thunderously loud and cutting through the rest of them. I shot up from the bench as I latched on to the main one. The stool tipped backwards, clattering to the floor and drawing attention. Holden instantly moved to place himself between us.
“Are you serious?” I demanded, left eye twitching as I spoke. The sentence came out as a growl, and Charlotte looked a little taken aback.
“What did Gareth say?” Holden asked her.
“Gareth reassigned her,” Charlotte broke the news with a shrug.
“To whom?” I asked shortly, but I could make an educated guess.
“Hunter.”
The anger swept through me like a tsunami, clearing away any other emotion. Dark shadows of my aura curled around my hands as I struggled to control my temper. My brother had the upper hand in everything since we’d been born, but I’d grown increasingly tired of it. Complacency spread like an untreated disease as Hunter dictated to all of us what needed to be done, and everyone agreed blindly. But I had my own thoughts, and I’d long stopped looking at my big brother through rose-tinted glasses.
“Why would he reassign her?” Holden asked, frowning.
“She asked for it,” Charlotte explained.
Holden spun around to face me and eyed my hands, where the pools of black had grown larger. “What did you do to her?”
I thought back to the conversation we had last night. Scott thought she could still dismiss me. She was yet again attempting to walk away.
“Watch your tone with me, Holden,” I warned, calculating my next play. “Don’t make me regret not snapping your neck last night.”
Holden backed down immediately, not wanting to be in the same position as the day before with a bigger audience.
“You have my cooperation if I work with her, otherwise, I refuse to comply,” I told them. The tone of my voice dared any of them to question the decision I just made. “I want to speak to her.”
Charlotte looked at me curiously, quickly averting her gaze when I caught her eye.
“It can’t hurt,” she said, glancing at Holden.
He seemed less eager about my demand. There was a protective streak in him that revealed itself when matters regarding Scott came into light. Holden wanted to see her alone and get a handle on the situation, proving he was in control.
“I don’t know,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw.
“Matt,” Charlotte said. “We’re going to be the only team who hasn’t started. He just wants to talk to her.”
I bit the insides of my cheeks, ready to erupt if he refused my request.
“We’ll take him up to Hunter’s lab,” Holden said eventually, agreeing with her.
Holden, Charlotte, and two other security personnel escorted me through the halls, up to the floor above us. Eventually, we stopped outside the lab, and through the glass, I could see Hunter, arm exposed as Scott drew blood from him. She spoke animatedly to those around her, looking completely at ease as she worked, and a fresh flood of fury cascaded over me.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. She was a mortal. Of course, she’d pick the easiest path she could.
“Let me go in and speak to her first,” Charlotte said as she knocked on the glass door and someone allowed her in.
It took all my restraint not to follow her and cause a scene.
Scott would have liked that, for me to seek her out.
No.
She could come to me.
After a restless night’s sleep, I left for work early, without a word. Holden could deal with Grayson. I’d done more than my fair share of babysitting last night. Plus, Holden was probably itching for the chance to show him he hadn’t left a lasting impression after the incident in the lab yesterday.
The same couldn’t be said for me.
