“He’s collecting them,” I finish.
Evan curses loudly. “So that’s it? Foxx wants Jericho’s gift? But how does he know what it is when Jericho…” He cuts himself off, his expression changing in an instant as he snaps his attention to me. His face crumples as the realization sets in. “Oh, fuck. That’s what he was doing, wasn’t it?”
My fangs descend, the need to defend myself burning deep and uncontrollable. “I think so.”
“What are you talking about?” Forest asks. “Doing what?”
I fist my hand against the table. “Two days after I was turned, Foxx cornered me in an alley. He grabbed my face to strangle me, but when he did, his expression changed. He seemed as if he’d found something priceless. Right after that, Rip and another man tried to grab me, but I got away. I’ve been running ever since.”
Murmurs float around the room, but all I can do is picture Foxx’s sickening grin when he touched me. Like I was a new toy to be used.
Jasmine sighs. “Sasha was on the phone with us a few days after she was turned. She screamed when Foxx approached her. We heard the whole thing.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Taren turn into her mate, stifling a sob.
“If only we could have gotten to her,” Ivy mumbles.
“How do we figure out what your gift is?” Evan says. “It has to be something good, right, if he wants it? Something he can use in some way?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Trust me, Ev, if I knew, I’d be using it. If there’sanythingthat can get that guy off my ass, I want to know about it.”
“How long does it take for a vampire’s gift to show up?”
I swallow hard. “Weeks, months, even years. There’s no way of knowing.”
His eyes widen. “Years?”
“Were there any talents you had as a human?” Rowen asks. “Or unique abilities, maybe? Something we can assume would become stronger?”
I shake my head. “Nothing special.”
Evan is still looking at me, an intensity in his eyes I’ve never seen before. “Jer is an amazing artist,” he says easily. “And he has an outstanding memory. Like, he hardly studied in college because he could remember pages from the textbooks after only reading them once. It was so unfair.”
I snort. “Is that why you buddied up with me? To pass the tests?”
He cracks a smile. “Maybe.”
“Wait, you went to college together?”
We both nod. “We both graduated from ComSci a year ago, in Comstead.”
Evan reaches out to squeeze my arm, his voice soft but determined. “I’m sure it’s something great. We’ll figure it out together, okay?”
I pull away. “You don’t know that. I could be running from him my entire life.”And still not even know why. What gift could Foxx possibly want from me? I’m nothing special.
“Then I’ll run with you,” he says as a matter-of-fact.
“You don’t need to run at all,” Forest cuts in. “I stand by what I said earlier. You can take refuge here, so long as you help us fight them. We want justice for our pack sister.”
Grant, Rowen, and Ivy all nod, though Grant seems less pleased about partnering up with a vampire. But even Neal and Taren seem more accepting of the idea. Still wary, but less so.
I hesitate, uncomfortable with spending even another minute with the wolves. It wasn’t even thirty minutes ago that one of them had their teeth around my throat ready to kill me. My arm still stings where the skin is stitching itself back together.
But if they can help free me from my sire…
I turn to Evan, who shrugs like he’s leaving the ball in my court.
“Can you give us time to talk about it?” I ask.
