Kamon felt his claws slide free.His tiger raged, but he forced himself to listen, to take in every word.Klarissa’s pen moved faster, scratching lines across paper.His mate’s brilliance burned even now, even under threat.
Caruso staggered suddenly, coughing.He pressed a hand to his chest, his face mottling red.Sweat poured down his temples.A guard near him doubled over as well, hacking violently.Blood flecked his lips.
Kamon’s eyes snapped to Klarissa.“Was this you,waan jai?”
Her lips twisted in a fierce grin.“Hell, yes.I told you I’d be the one to take his ass out.”
Caruso’s eyes bulged.“How?”he rasped, spit flying.His gun trembled as he pointed it wildly between her and Kamon.
Klarissa lifted the pen, her hand steady despite the sweat glistening on her brow.“This.I perfected the formula, turned it into a concentrate.Every stroke of this pen releases it into the air.Invisible.Fast.The more I wrote, the more it spread.”She tapped the page.“And these compounds on the paper?Common in confectionery.Just part of the ruse.I needed a delivery system.”She shot him and Rune a grin.“They do say that the pen is mightier than the sword.”
Caruso’s knees buckled.He gurgled, blood streaming from his mouth, his nostrils, his eyes.“You—mutated it—”
“I did,” Klarissa said, her voice steel.“But this time it only affects humans.Not shifters.”
Kamon’s heart slammed against his ribs.He saw her hands tremble, saw the pallor of her skin, the sheen of sweat across her forehead.She was swaying in her chair.
“No.”He lunged toward her just as Rune did the same.“No,waan jai, tell me you didn’t—”
She slumped forward.They caught her together, lowering her gently to the floor.Her breath came shallow, each exhale weaker than the last.
“Klarissa, stay with us,” Rune begged, his voice raw.“Stay here.Don’t you leave us again.”
Kamon’s throat tightened, his vision blurring.He pressed his forehead to hers, whispering hoarsely.“If you go, we follow.Into the arms of our ancestors.Don’t ask us to live without you.”
Her lashes fluttered, her lips curving faintly.“I’ll be fine...I took the antidote.Just ...mild exposure.I’ll wake ...promise...”Her voice trailed off.
Her eyes rolled back, her body going limp in their arms.
Panic tore through Kamon, sharp and unrelenting.He pressed a hand against her chest, feeling the faint but steady beat of her heart.Rune’s grip tightened around her hand, his face a mask of fury and fear.
Caruso’s last curses gurgled into silence as his body became still.The air stank of blood and chemical rot.But Kamon had no eyes for him.Only for their mate, their anchor, lying pale and unconscious between them.
“Klarissa,” he whispered, his voice breaking.“Please ...come back to us.”
And as her head lolled against his chest, he prayed to the fates with everything left inside him that this was not the end.
****
“So, this is reallythe end, huh?”Violet’s dry voice carried from the couch, cutting through the thick silence of the Pride House common room.“No more immediate threats to the Pride?”
Klarissa sat upright between Rune and Kamon on the couch, the lingering ache from her father’s blows still humming through her body but the effects of the toxin were gone.Their warmth flanked her on both sides, Rune’s hand resting against her knee, Kamon’s arm draped protectively along the back of the couch.She was sore, bruised, but alive—and with them.
Klarissa swallowed and answered Violet.“It feels like it.For now.”
The room was crowded.Pride warriors leaned against walls, weapons still strapped across their shoulders.The Holt brothers stood near the doorway, battle-scarred but grinning faintly.Ivan and Victor loomed in one corner, silent as carved stone.The Drake brothers stationed themselves by the exit, and Josie sat curled in Kieran’s lap, his arms wrapped tight around her, Liam braced protectively at her side.Violet sprawled like a queen between her two leopards, Jacob and Mason, her sharp eyes softer than usual.
The tally came next.The number of Caruso’s men taken down, the losses among their own, and the collateral damage to the human population.Too many, though fewer than it could have been.The children from the warehouse were safe, though still shaken.The elementary school had been cleared with minimal casualties other than Caruso’s men.The hospital held.But the traitor in the council remained at large, a shadow over all their victories.
“We’ll find him,” Victor rumbled, his voice carrying the promise of retribution.Ivan nodded, eyes dark.“Leave it with us.This is now priority one for ESE.”
The Holt brothers approached Klarissa then, their smiles edged with mischief.Caleb tipped his chin at her.“Congratulations, sweetheart.Did you really have to make him bleed from every orifice?”
Klarissa arched a brow.“Yep.Don’t mess with a virologist.”
Wyatt let out a low whistle, Jackson shaking his head.“Remind me never to piss you off.”
They turned then to Kieran, clasping his hand firmly.
