“It’d be my pleasure. Thank you again so much,” he says, nodding in respect to my mate before heading back to close up his trailer.
I flip the lock on the front door and stride back to an empty exam room, setting her down on the table and inspecting the damage to her hands that she hasn’t reacted to. Which leads meto believe this isnormal.And that I had no idea just how badly my mate’s been suffering in silence.
“Explain.”
Chapter 36
Havoc
Despite my insistence she take some of the white stag powder, it had no effect on her hands. Which helps narrow down that it’s not a physical problem, but a magic-based one.
So now I just need to find a magically equivalent miracle before she does permanent damage, because my infuriating, reckless mate refuses to quit working while I search for a cure.
I swear, if my son hadn’t already turned me grey, my mate would have.
“Hey, babe, how was work?” Stryker asks, letting himself into the back room Kiara and I are reorganizing.
She leans in to kiss him, and he hands over a bouquet of roses. “Found these on the doorstep. Thought about burning them on principle, but figured I’d double check you hadn’t met someone and hadn’t had a chance to fill me in yet first.”
She frowns, searching for a card. She finds it wedged down amidst the thorns, plucking it out and grimacing before dumping the whole thing directly in the trash.
I meet Stryker’s curious gaze, irrationally thrilled at her rejecting some asshole’s courting gift so easily, yet keptmine. “Who were they from?”
She hesitates to answer, so I stride over and pluck the card from the trash. “Sebastian Thorn? I take it we don’t like him?”
At least there’s finally someone she hates more than me.
When I glance up, Stryker isn’t smiling anymore. He’s positivelypissed.“No, he’s my piece of shit brother. Set me up so our father would choose him over me to take over the family business, and now is trying to steal Kiara from me out of spite. He can rot in a ditch for all I care,” he spits, turning to Kiara. “Has he left you anything else before now?”
She runs a hand through her amethyst hair with an exhausted sigh. “If so, it’s the first I’ve heard about it. He’s just trying to get under your skin, don’t give him the satisfaction. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
We pile into Stryker's truck, and while he silently fumes, I call in an order at a local restaurant. The tension in the air is offset by the radio, and a small, awkward eternity later, we’ve got the food and are pulling up outside of Kiara’s old house.
It’s stressing me out that I don’t know where she’s living, but that’ll be remedied tonight. I fully respect the fact that she’s not comfortable inviting me there yet, and I can’t blame this Devlin guy for not wanting strange men over to court his mate in his own home. But I damn well am going to know where my mate is staying whether I step foot inside or not so I can keep an eye on the situation. With Carnage loose in Mercy Ridge, and now Stryker’s brother sniffing around? Someone needs to have eyes on her at all times. Kiara attracts trouble, simply by being her beautiful, kind self.
Darkness will always try to snuff out the light, but I refuse to let that happen to her.
Stryker checks his phone while Kiara lets us in. “Looks like Dev and Z are running a little behind, but are almost here. Zayd forced him to drive so he could actually stomach dinner.”
We set up the table while we wait, passing out plates and unbagging dinner. I’m anxious to see what sort of state the shifter is in. Last I saw him he spoke, and that’s damn near unheard of after someone is driven feral. The fact that Kiara’s brought him back this much? I worry how much damage she’s done to herself to accomplish it.
The front door creaks open. “Honey, I'm hooooooooome! Sorry I'm late, the dog didn't want to go outside.”
There’s a snarled, “You tried to drag me out of the shower straight to the car! I'm not about to freeze my dick off because you’re too impatient to let me get dressed.” But the first voice still has me frozen in place.
Two men come around the corner, one with a heart shaped box of chocolates, and my chair crashes to the ground as I jump to my feet. Conversation screeches to a halt and the tension in the air rises to suffocating levels. My knife is in my hand before I even registered grabbing it, muscle memory and instinct driving my actions. I have to actively concentrate on slowing my breathing as ice crystalizes across the blade, the temperature in the room plummeting.
“What happened to ‘family is safe’?”
Across the room, he narrows his eyes. “Was just about to ask the same thing.” Without breaking eye contact, he hands Kiara the box of chocolates. “I thought I made myself clear; she’s off limits.”
Ice has spread to the table, and I war between rage, and panic. “Stryker, take Kiara and get out of here.Now.”
The King of Carnage smiles a cruel grin of bloodthirsty excitement that has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “Great idea. I'll meet you at home, sunshine.”
Kiara rises to her feet. “What the heck is going on? You two know each other?”
“Remember the serial killer I warned you about?”
