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I opened my mouth to argue. Closed it. His gaze dropped to my gloved hand. My fingers trembled, though I only caught the edge of tingling numbness.
He wasn’t wrong. My vision kept swimming. The dead arm throbbed in time with my heartbeat, the black lines spreading slow and steady toward my shoulder. I’d been running on adrenaline for days.
The puzzle pieces kept piling up. Jude’s parents, the Thayersons, and a whole slew of semi-elite individuals from different walks of life made the connections dizzying. It should have been obvious. They all wanted to create some sort of eugenics nightmare of perfect kids. Or at least that’s how it looked on the outside. The more I dug, the more this whole thing seemed darker. Not about perfection, but control.
“Fine.” The word tasted like defeat. “But if anyone makes a connection…”
“You’re the first call,” Wade agreed. “Let me take you home.”
I grunted at him, thinking none of us should be driving this tired, but Wade shoved me into the back of the vehicle anyway. Before I even realized it, we were pulling up to the building, and I was surprised by the activity in the area. Shifters everywhere.
“Shit.” I’d forgotten Xavier was still searching for Ivan.
“I sent him a text earlier,” Wade said, getting out of the vehicle. “Told him Jude was with Ivan.” He glanced my way. “Right?”
“That’s the impression I got.” Though I hadn’t heard from anyone in hours. My phone on silent likely didn’t help. I thumbed open the screen as I made my way upstairs, finding a couple dozen messages from Xavier, the twins, Jude’s grandfather, and even Nikki.
“It’s Xavier’s choice that he still has people out here searching,” Wade said, following me up the stairs. “He wants to see it for himself.”
For someone who claimed he didn’t want the bond, he was sure acting like he already had it.
Wade stopped at my door, keys already in his hand for his own apartment across the hall. “Get some sleep. Real sleep. I’ll check in on you in a few hours.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I know.” He unlocked his door. “But I will anyway.”
He slipped inside and closed the door behind him.
Standing in front of my door, I knew they weren’t there even before I unlocked the door. Everything was too still.
Inside, Peanut Butter merped at me, weaving between my feet in greeting.
“Sorry, buddy.” I closed the door and headed to the kitchen to refill his bowl. “I don’t know where everyone is.”
The stillness added a layer of tired to my bones I hadn’t felt since my military years. Like the noise of having others in my space gave me energy, or some reason to keep moving.
I sank onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. Peanut Butter leapt onto my lap, kneading my thigh, likely as thanks for the food.
I closed my eyes, trying to will myself to get up, find my ghostly boyfriend and his kid brother, or calm the raging demigod still tearing the district apart.
Instead, I just sat there.
Too tired to move. Too worried to sleep. Arm throbbing with that strange mix of pain and numbness that I couldn’t quite define.
The door exploded inward.
I was on my feet before the splinters hit the floor. Peanut Butter scrambled off my lap as Xavier filled the doorway, fury rolling off him in waves, his fist still raised from the blow that had shattered the lock. The twins stood behind him in the hall, both looking more worried than I’d ever seen them, but neither attempted to hold the demigod back.
“Where is he?” Xavier demanded.
“I thought you didn’t care?” I threw back. “Denying the bond and all that. Wade told you, he’s fine. He’s with Jude.”
Xavier crossed the room in two long strides—the guy was a giant, after all—and grabbed the front of my jacket, shoving me against the wall before I could react. My head cracked against the drywall, leaving a dent.
“I took over your bargain,” he snarled. “Allowed you to keep a human mate. You owe me.”
“I never asked you to take on my debt. But I can’t repay you if I’m dead too.” I gripped his hands as he held me off the floor, pinned against the wall, but it was like trying to move a boulder.
