That didn’t matter. He had to get to the skating rink. He had to stop the paladins from using those stones on the demons there.
He grabbed his shirts, pulling the T-shirt on over the blood drying to his chest. The long-sleeved flannelwould hide most of the blood on his arms. If he ran, no one would be able to see his hands well enough to suss out what he’d done. The grounds were usually quiet at this hour, so it was unlikely he would even cross paths with anyone. They probably wouldn’t find Hawley’s body until morning. By then, he would be long gone. He didn’t know exactly where yet, but… he hoped.
Chapter 13
Shadrach
Shadrach knew the others—namely,Talon—would lose their shit if they knew Isaac had told Sloan about the Rink, so he did them all a favor and kept the information to himself. No one was making a move on the Sentinels right now, anyway. The last they’d heard was that Sloan couldn’t get council approval to attack, and he doubted that would change any time soon.
Still, he lingered there, just in case. Luke and Alex had gone out on patrol for the night, and the rest of them were milling about the Rink as usual. The air smelled like the tacos they’d had for dinner. Zachary and Angela, the teens they’d all but adopted, were halfheartedly practicing with wooden swords out in the training area. Shadrach watched them absentmindedly, lost in the memory of a cemetery with a pretty ginger pressed up against a blurry headstone.
A large presence leaned against the half-wall beside him. “You’ve been here a lot,” Wolf said, tapping his beer bottle to Shadrach’s.
He shrugged one shoulder. “Where else am I going to go?”
Wolf’s pale brows rose slightly, and his blond braid fell to dangle over his shoulder. “Hell if I know. You always seem to be off doingsomething, though.”
He couldn’t explain without sounding like a jackass.Nothing else matters now, he wanted to say, and he was angry with himself that it was both pathetically melodramatic and yettrue. Meeting Isaac had rearranged his entire world. If all he had was fleeting moments in Isaac’s dreams from now on, he would take it, but it would never be enough to satisfy him. He wanted to own the man. Wrap his fingers around his throat and sink his teeth beneath his skin. It would never fucking be enough, but if he said any of it aloud he’d sound unhinged.
He braced his hands on the wall and shook his head.
Wolf clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ve all been there, y’know.”
“Been where?” He couldn’t hide the exasperation in his tone. He was getting a little tired of everyone here assuming they knew exactly what he was going through. None of their humans had run away from them.
“That frantic ‘can’t get enough of them’ feeling you’re going through. We’ve all been there.”
A low growl tripped out of him. “Really? You know what it feels like to have your human run away from you?”
Wolf smiled patiently. “Me, no. Ira knew beforemethat we belonged together. But he was taken from me, remember? You’re the one who helped bring him back to me.”
“Mine almost died,” Malachi said, strolling over to join them. “The paladins tried to kill him. I didn’t even know myblood could heal him until Talon told me. Luke probably wouldn’t have made it if he hadn’t.”
“You’re welcome,” Talon called from the snack bar, where he was mixing himself a drink.
Shadrach carded one hand roughly through his hair. “He’s just… He’s toofar. I need to see him. I need to…” He stopped. He needed to touch him. Smell him. Taste him. With a growl, he exclaimed, “Why is itlike this? Why do we feel this way? I’ve been with countless humans. None of them have ever mattered. Why is this one different?”
Wolf shook his head, as zen as ever. “We don’t know. But I promise, you’ll be glad for it eventually.”
“I’ll begladthat I feel so—so—” He couldn’t even think of the right word for it.
“In love?” Wolf suggested.
“Enchanted?” Malachi offered, pulling himself up to sit on the wall.
Shadrach glared at them. “Stupid,” he decided. “It makes me feel stupid.”
Wolf gestured at the Rink around them. “Look at us, Shadrach. Look at what we’re building here. All of us have found our humans and wound up with them here. And before you ask, no, Ira hasn’t told me anything about your future with him. But there’s a pattern taking place here. Can’t you see it?”
Shadrach sighed. He was right. Four times now, a demon had found his human and wound up working here. It would be just his luck that he would be the odd one out, though.
“The difference,” he said, “is that your humans wanted to be with you, too.”
Malachi chuckled. “Not at first.”
“Hell no,” Storm agreed from beside the air hockey table. “Nate put up a huge fight.”
“He wore me down eventually,” Nathan said, casting Storm a fond smile. “And they’re right. It’s a good thing he did. I wouldn’t change a thing that led me here. This is where I’m meant to be.”
