“You’re not just a pretty boy, are you?”
“I’m screaming inside,” he said, gripping Trin’s limp hand, seeing the nicks and scars of an outdoor life. “Help him.” His tone said, or else.
Calhoun gave him a smile, twisted because of the scarring thatran like a bolt of lightning down his face. “Damn,” he said, admiration in his tone. Then his voice chilled. “I’m going to cut you and you’re going to hold your palm over his eye so your blood will mingle.”
“But what about infection? Is that really a good idea?”
“He’s not human, or did you miss the whole King Kong thing he pulled?”
“I got the news flash, thanks.” Chace pushed the hair out of Trin’s eyes. “What is he? He told me he could shift into a wolf but that…creature was a very big wolf.”
“He’s a shadow shifter,” Calhoun said absently as he held a knife blade as long as Chace’s forearm over the flames. “They’re shaman shifters, shifters who have walked other worlds. They can project their shadow side in extreme situations, when they or especially their loved ones are threatened.”
“Marcello didn’t know what he is.” Chace couldn’t imagine the alpha shifter would have been dumb enough to tangle with that.
Calhoun shook his head. “Probably just fighting with Marcello wouldn’t have triggered the creature to come out, but Marcello also threatened you. Bad idea.”
“Bad for Marcello.”
Calhoun nodded. “Hope he’s not dead.”
Chace was surprised.
“He has a safe house in Siena. I’m going to head there soon and check it out.”
“So the kids aren’t here? Trin thought…” Chace swallowed as Calhoun removed the blade from the fire and waved it, letting it cool. He guessed heating it had been Calhoun’s form of rough and ready sterilisation.
“No, some of them are definitely here. As soon as I do what I can for Trin, I’ll go looking,” Calhoun said. “The kids were set to be sold to some buyers from South America. Shifter kids are really attractive in the sex slave trade. You can beat them up, deprive them of food, all kinds of fucking abuse and they go on living… If you can call it that.”
“When we first arrived, Trin thought Sage was here. He sensed him.”
But if he thought the news would electrify Calhoun he was wrong. “When Sage first went missing Trin frequently thought he was close by. He was pretty messed up.”
“I don’t know. It felt pretty real.”
“You caught it too?” Calhoun looked surprised. “Good. If your bond with Trin is that strong, you might have a shot in healing him.”
Chace pretended the hand Calhoun took wasn’t his. He couldn’t look away as the blade pressed into his palm, sliced fast. Blood welled up like dark jewels. “I don’t understand what bleeding all over him will do.” Chace panted. Damn, that hurt. Only on TV could someone cut himself without pain.
“Mate’s blood. Only blood stronger is the blood of family, but we don’t have that.”
Dizzy. Not from blood loss, but from looking at the cut on his palm and then at Trin’s missing eye…
Calhoun held Chace’s palm over Trin’s wound. Chace focused on the rest of Trin’s face, seeing dirt and bruises. Trin just looked tired that way, not maimed.
“Marcello’s still alive. Aberto’s with him,” Sabin said in a weary voice. He knelt beside Calhoun. “You sure that will help Trin, blood from a human?” He made it sound like Chace’s blood was a bad vintage or something, but he let it go.
A weird sliding sensation was pushing behind his eyes and rushing through the top of his head. The fire blurred, became gold, red and amethyst snakes, then slowed. It was very strange, like seeing each individual flap of a hummingbird’s wings.
He focused on Calhoun and Sabin, saw them looking at each other. Talking, they were still talking, but Chace couldn’t hear them anymore. They were drowned out by the huge drum of a heartbeat. It got louder and louder, so Chace
“I’m screaming inside,” he said, gripping Trin’s limp hand, seeing the nicks and scars of an outdoor life. “Help him.” His tone said, or else.
Calhoun gave him a smile, twisted because of the scarring thatran like a bolt of lightning down his face. “Damn,” he said, admiration in his tone. Then his voice chilled. “I’m going to cut you and you’re going to hold your palm over his eye so your blood will mingle.”
“But what about infection? Is that really a good idea?”
“He’s not human, or did you miss the whole King Kong thing he pulled?”
“I got the news flash, thanks.” Chace pushed the hair out of Trin’s eyes. “What is he? He told me he could shift into a wolf but that…creature was a very big wolf.”
“He’s a shadow shifter,” Calhoun said absently as he held a knife blade as long as Chace’s forearm over the flames. “They’re shaman shifters, shifters who have walked other worlds. They can project their shadow side in extreme situations, when they or especially their loved ones are threatened.”
“Marcello didn’t know what he is.” Chace couldn’t imagine the alpha shifter would have been dumb enough to tangle with that.
Calhoun shook his head. “Probably just fighting with Marcello wouldn’t have triggered the creature to come out, but Marcello also threatened you. Bad idea.”
“Bad for Marcello.”
Calhoun nodded. “Hope he’s not dead.”
Chace was surprised.
“He has a safe house in Siena. I’m going to head there soon and check it out.”
“So the kids aren’t here? Trin thought…” Chace swallowed as Calhoun removed the blade from the fire and waved it, letting it cool. He guessed heating it had been Calhoun’s form of rough and ready sterilisation.
“No, some of them are definitely here. As soon as I do what I can for Trin, I’ll go looking,” Calhoun said. “The kids were set to be sold to some buyers from South America. Shifter kids are really attractive in the sex slave trade. You can beat them up, deprive them of food, all kinds of fucking abuse and they go on living… If you can call it that.”
“When we first arrived, Trin thought Sage was here. He sensed him.”
But if he thought the news would electrify Calhoun he was wrong. “When Sage first went missing Trin frequently thought he was close by. He was pretty messed up.”
“I don’t know. It felt pretty real.”
“You caught it too?” Calhoun looked surprised. “Good. If your bond with Trin is that strong, you might have a shot in healing him.”
Chace pretended the hand Calhoun took wasn’t his. He couldn’t look away as the blade pressed into his palm, sliced fast. Blood welled up like dark jewels. “I don’t understand what bleeding all over him will do.” Chace panted. Damn, that hurt. Only on TV could someone cut himself without pain.
“Mate’s blood. Only blood stronger is the blood of family, but we don’t have that.”
Dizzy. Not from blood loss, but from looking at the cut on his palm and then at Trin’s missing eye…
Calhoun held Chace’s palm over Trin’s wound. Chace focused on the rest of Trin’s face, seeing dirt and bruises. Trin just looked tired that way, not maimed.
“Marcello’s still alive. Aberto’s with him,” Sabin said in a weary voice. He knelt beside Calhoun. “You sure that will help Trin, blood from a human?” He made it sound like Chace’s blood was a bad vintage or something, but he let it go.
A weird sliding sensation was pushing behind his eyes and rushing through the top of his head. The fire blurred, became gold, red and amethyst snakes, then slowed. It was very strange, like seeing each individual flap of a hummingbird’s wings.
He focused on Calhoun and Sabin, saw them looking at each other. Talking, they were still talking, but Chace couldn’t hear them anymore. They were drowned out by the huge drum of a heartbeat. It got louder and louder, so Chace
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