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Killian laughed. “Oh, I do. About myself. I learn everything I can about my prey. I don’t make rash decisions despite what you might think.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why so careful? Seems out of character for you.”
Killian ran a hand through his hair, slicking back the perfect strands. “When I went by Reid, in the human world, I had psychic ability. Once joined to my demon soul, it became more prominent. Our shadow abilities reflect our human ones, but mine was difficult to control. I went to a priestess, Alyssa, after I made my first kill, knowing I was days away from turning reaper. I turned to her for help. She changed me. Made me feel that anything was possible, including keeping my animal alive, and she did. My abilities strengthened, as did my love for Alyssa.”
“My mother,” Dannika whispered.
“Yes. She was so beautiful, so talented. Her powers made her immune to the madness most humans incur in our presence. We were together for fourteen years. Her family helped hide us, but the clan betrayed us. Lazelle, the reaper leader, attacked us, but someone had removed the wards on our home. No reaper could have accomplished that feat.”
Dannika’s eyes widened. “You think a shadow warrior betrayed you?”
“We created the wards with my blood. Only a shadow, one that shared my bloodline, could have broken the spell.”
She shook her head. “Steele would never have done that. He was searching for you.”
Killian shrugged. “His interference may not have been intentional, but the moment Alyssa died, my panther followed. My ability made it easy to foresee Lazelle’s death. Once I touched Julius, I saw myself as the reaper leader.”
Her breath wheezed in her chest. “While I believe you killed my mother, I don’t believe they betrayed you. You killed a human, an innocent, before you met my mother. You were destined to turn reaper.”
“I never said the human was innocent, but you’re right. I was destined for greatness, and Alyssa’s death was necessary for me to fulfill my destiny. I needed her, because I need you.”
Dannika swallowed dry air. “I won’t help you, and I doubt anything you told me is the truth. I’m too weak to use my abilities to know if you lie.”
“There is no reason for me to lie to you. I cannot fake time and I cannot alter the past. I must work with the events yet to occur, to maintain my timeline.”
The hand resting on her leg slipped to the ground. She fought to keep her head upright. “You say you can’t see your own future. When you met Alyssa, did you see hers?”
Killian’s eyes hardened. “You’re more like your mother than I thought. You possess her insight. Yes, I saw her future, and I attempted to change her destiny. In the end, it became a choice between her life and her children’s. It’s obvious she chose you.”
The realization was more painful than anything he had told her. “You didn’t turn reaper because she died. You turn reaper because she chose her children over you.”
Killian hissed. “I did everything to save her, to be with her, and when the time came, she chose her unborn children.” He regained his composure. “I knew the first time I met her she was destined to die. Still, it was an instinct I couldn’t ignore. Trust me, I tried. The moment I met Alyssa, I sealed her fate. Her death ensured my rule would come to pass. I gave up my mate to be king.”
Ice slithered over her skin. She’d assumed her demon was inert, but the oily feeling came from only one thing: a lie. There was some truth to his words. Killian was intelligent. He would divulge as much truth as possible, but she suspected he never would’ve given up Alyssa. He wasn’t lying when he described his gift.
Ferguson stepped from the rows of crushed cars. He held a small doe in his arms. Its misshapen body and torn fur exposed serrated bones as blood dripped from its neck. He laid the body on the ground. “This animal was hit by a car. It will suffer for hours before it dies. Will you end its misery? Or let it suffer at your feet?”
The sweet smell of blood was intoxicating. She reached out, placing her hand on the stomach of the struggling animal. “I can’t feed in human form, and I can’t shift.”
Ferguson put his fingers on her shoulder. Power infused her body, invigorating her animal. Her cougar. It opened its eyes, sniffing its surroundings.
Her bones cracked as her skin receded and fur rippled along her arms. She hissed as her incisors cut through her mouth like razors parting the flesh. Her eyes flickered with black smoke, reflecting the pain and madness of a starving animal.
She swayed on all fours, despite the infusion from the reaper inside her. Her eyes focused on her prey before she attacked.
CHAPTER5
Dannika resumed her human form after feeding, allowing the blood to course through her veins, infusing her tissue with strength and power. Her demon surged beneath her skin, tromping down the animals. It scented the predators surrounding her, focusing on her father.
Killian looked at the dead deer in disgust. “She feeds on weak blood. Why would you encourage such a thing?”
Ferguson cocked his head to the side. His limbs reformed, accenting a muscled physique. “You have watched Dannika her entire life, and yet you know nothing about her.”
Killian’s face hardened. “And you do? You barely take an interest in clan activities. Why the sudden interest in my daughter?”
Ferguson’s eyes flickered with red hatred. “You know why. Now stop playing with Dannika and show her the future.”
He dissolved into the night.
