I blinked back tears, surprised by their unfamiliar sting. The world blurred, then sharpened into a breathtaking web of interconnecting lines.
Threads.
Holy fuck.I was using Jude’s power.
Ivan’s web was nearly blinding, an array of color rivaling the spectrum of light itself. A thick, vibrant cord tied him to me and the team—Jude’s final weave. But there was another, a thin, vibrant strand of pale gold, snagged in a few places, but stubbornly persistent. It wove him directly to Xavier.
I blinked, my breath freezing in my lungs. Had Jude known?
No. He couldn’t have. His grasp of this ability had been too new. He would have freaked out seeing Xavier’s tapestry, a gnarled weave of immense power, ancient trauma, and frayed edges stretching into timeless distance. But to see his baby brother bound to a demigod by a future mate bond?
It explained everything. Xavier’s uncharacteristic protectiveness. The decision to parade Ivan under his wing instead of hiding him. Both a declaration and a warning to any who could see.This one is mine.
I swallowed hard. What would Jude want me to do? Protect Ivan, always. But in this? Xavier was the ultimate shield.
Xavier shifted, placing his body squarely between Ivan and me. “If you can control this, we can talk,” Xavier said. “If not…”
The warning hung in the air unspoken. It was clear he still held some sway even with the human authorities, but whatever had happened to me and the team had rattled him. Xavier was expecting a monster, and an attack. This was a test for the unseen eyes I knew were watching, and failure meant we all stayed in our cages, or worse.
“Is my team safe?” I had to know.
“For now,” Xavier agreed.
“Then open the door.” My tone sounded like a challenge, and while I glared at Xavier through the window in the door, I knew he heard it, though his expression remained unchanged. He insisted Ivan be removed from the hall before the door was unlocked, and the kitsune twins escorted him out. The lock disengaged with a heavy clunk. We stood face-to-face, the air thickening with the pressure of his restrained power.
“Did I hurt anyone?” I asked.
“Brandon Cassidy is dead,” Xavier offered.
“Yeah? But did I do that?” I’d have liked to kill him, but somehow I didn’t think I’d had the pleasure.
“That is a topic for the interrogation room.” Xavier took two measured steps back, gesturing down the hall. “Last door on the left. You’ll find a jumpsuit inside.”
I knew the drill. I’d been on the other side of it a couple dozen times, questioning some poor shifter who’d lost control after one too many drinks. But I hadn’t been drinking. My mate had been torn from me. The grief hit me with a fresh wave of agony, and I had to clamp my jaw to keep from screaming. My fingertips throbbed, the bones aching with the warning of an imminent shift.Fuck.I’d never had to work this hard to keep the leopard in its cage. This new thing inside me was a raw, restless storm, and my control was paper-thin.
A flicker of warmth trailed up my spine. I closed my eyes, sinking into the familiar weight of Nox’s presence. Would he manifest as a tattoo on my skin, like he had for Jude? The heat of him soothed the jagged edges of my grief, muting the rising storm just enough to let me breathe.
When I opened my eyes, Xavier was no longer looking at me, but at a point just above my head, bland expression replaced by an unsettling sadness. The realization hit me, I’d never asked if he’d lost mates before. It was a horror no one ever gave voice to. And I’d never imagined I’d find my own, only to lose him in the brutal span of a few weeks. Was Ivan the first? And one he couldn’t yet have? Or simply another in a long line of losses he’d have to hope to cherish in the short, mortal span of Ivan’s life?
The questions burned in my chest, but I ground my teeth to keep from snapping at him, a restrained mix of anger, sadness, and hopelessness filling my gut. Had he known how little time Jude and I would have?
Xavier’s gaze flipped back to me. “Ready?”
No.I gave a single, sharp nod. “As I’ll ever be.”
Without another word, I turned and started down the hall, feeling the weight of his stare between my shoulder blades withevery step. Each door I passed, my team stared out through the windows, all looking as heartbroken and worried as I felt. Could I get them out of this? I might not have any hope to save myself, but at least my team had a chance, right?
The moment I crossed the threshold into the interrogation room, the door hissed shut behind me, the lock engaging with a sound of finality. The room was exactly as I remembered; sterile and cold. A gray jumpsuit was folded neatly on the bolted-down table.
A wall of windows gave me no privacy, though the other side remained dark, the two-way mirror hiding who watched as I tugged on the coarse fabric. Once dressed, I pulled out the chair facing the windows and sat, staring at the glass, waiting. My skin ached as if the change had left it oversensitive. Or maybe it was the loss of my mate, adding a layer of pain as my soul began to unravel. Fated mates came with heavy warnings for a reason. I stared at the darkness, wondering how long it would take for my sanity to vanish, and hoped my team wouldn’t be dragged with me.
After the war, I’d gone a little feral. A death wish will do that. Playing the compliant human might help my case, but I wasn’t sure it mattered. They needed a scapegoat. And nothing makes a better target than a supernatural creature you can’t control. Better me than my team, and without Jude, I was living on borrowed time anyway.
The wall of glass shimmered, opaque surface turning into a video feed from the holding cells. A grid with myself and the team, side by side.
Wade’s bear was a hulking giant, nearly twice the size I knew his other form to be, and his fur a deep smoky charcoal, like some sort of obsidian polar bear. Ezra’s wolf, already one of legend as he was a dire wolf, paced the room, dripping drool and reflecting shadows as if he were made of darkness himself.Victor appeared lost to his vampire half, glowing eyes, elongated fangs, and dagger-like claws.
And I should have been the easiest to identify as I was the only felid on our team, but what paced my cell was something easily three times the size of my leopard. A beast of sharp angles, teeth like a sabertooth tiger, with claws that looked like shards of polished onyx. It was the thing I had felt writhing under my skin, given form.
