“The truth is… uh... those guys were rivals. Last summer, I joined a gang,” Marcus spat out.
“You WHAT?!” Kallie cried.
“Ancestors!” Ava gasped at the same time.
“Do you have any idea how stupid that is?” Kallie screamed.
“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Marcus shot back. “You just think I’m a stupid, pathetic loser!”
“I don’t think that—” Kallie started, but Marcus cut her off.
“Yes, you do!” Marcus yelled. “You tell me that all the time.”
“Because youarestupid!” she screamed. “Joining a gangisstupid, and you can’t argue that!”
Marcus shot to his feet. “I joined the Dead Men Walking because I had no one else! You all stopped caring about me, and I hadnowhere else to go! I don’t need your fucking lecture, Kallie. I need your support!”
A small bout of silence stretched through the room. Kallie hiccupped, before she broke out into sobs. I nearly stumbled backward in shock. Kallie wasn’t the kind of person to let other people see her cry. It made the tears that much more surprising.
“I care!” Kallie cried. “I’vealwayscared! I’m a shifter, and shifters are supposed to defend their mates, regardless of whether we’re together or not. You joined a gang because I wasn’t there, and I— I—”
Kallie gasped, and ancestors, the tension was unbearable. Kallie never brought up that she and Marcus were bonded. Marcus didn’t, either. They never talked about it, since they’d both agreed not to date.
But what she’d just said was everything. Kallie still saw Marcus as her mate, whether she admitted it or not. And it was killing her that they weren’t together.
What she’d said was so similar to how I felt about Ava, and hell, it ached.
Marcus sighed heavily. It was obvious he felt really bad about upsetting her. His tone softened. “I know it was dumb to join a gang, and I’m sorry. I wish I could go back and change it, but I can’t.”
“It doesn’t matter. We need to get you out,” Kallie said.
“It hasn’t been a total waste,” he offered. “The Dead Men Walking know how to get through wards. I’ve been trying to learn how to break wards myself. With my Curse Breaker powers, I should be able to do it, but I haven’t figured it out yet. And my mind-reading powers are getting me nowhere. I’ve been trying to use them on the Warden to uncover his secrets, but he must have some sort of protection spell blocking his mind, because I haven’t heard anything from him. I have to rely on the Dead Men to get into the Warden’s office if I want to uncover anything. Bones developed a potion to get past his barriers.”
Sothat’show Marcus was getting into the Warden’s office. I knew the Dead Men had something to do with it, but I didn’t know Bones had created a potion.
“I thought Bones was an idiot,” I said.
“He’s smarter than you think,” Marcus replied.
“The Warden’s office!” Kallie exploded. “Don’t tell me you went in there!”
“So what if I did?” Marcus challenged.
“Gods, Marcus!” Kallie cried. “The Warden is the most dangerous man in the world, and you’re just strolling into his office like it’s your grandma’s house.”
“My grandma’s house is—” Marcus started, but Kallie cut him off.
“I thought we agreed to lie low,” she continued. “This is a far cry from lying low. If you get caught, it jeopardizes everything.”
“Well, I haven’t been caught yet,” Marcus snapped.
“How does this potion work?” Ava asked, steering the conversation away from their argument. Kallie sniffled in the corner.
Marcus sank back down onto the piano bench. “I’m not sure, exactly. Bones is an Alchemist. He developed it himself. When I drink it, it confuses the ward. It thinks I’m the Warden, so the alarm doesn’t go off.”
“It makes you look like the Warden?” Ava asked, sounding intrigued.
“No,” Marcus said. “It must change something energetically so the ward doesn’t know the difference between him and me. It only lasts a few minutes, though, and it’s not very strong. I don’t think it would work on a ward bigger than one room. I have to be really quick when I go in.”
