cause major silver poisoning in us and kill you guys. This is what I want, so don ’ t worry about me.” Facing Ronan, she said, “Save your Mikko.” She shuffled back into the room, closing the door solidly behind her with her blanket covered hands.
Death by way of liver and kidney failure would take a hell of a lot longer than facing down a pack of rogue Lycans, but it was more appealing.
Hunters didn ’ t focus on death, probably because it seemed to happen so frequently, and likely the reason she wasn ’ t supposed to mourn her brother ’ s death. Death – like shit – happens, and fixating on it solved nothing. At least that was what she had always been told, because according to the Hunters, the only closure needed is a dead Lycan.
Alexis faced the wall and curled up on the bed. She knew it was pointless to feel sorry for herself, because of all of her shitty options, death by silver was the best outcome.
C HAPTER 12
KYRAN OPENED THE DOOR to Alexis ’ room and waited against the wall while Ronan and Jillian came in carrying in armloads of supplies.
“Alexis, this is Jillian. She ’ s a nurse. Ronan is going to lead the surgery with her as aide. I would help, but too much movement will undo my healing.”
Alexis glanced over her shoulder, giving Jillian a cursory inspection followed by a short nod before she leveled her gaze on him.
“Don’t bother, Kyran.”
As he pushed away from the wall, he motioned for the others to get prepped.
“I’m not letting you die, especially like this.”
She turned to fully face him. Her blue features – darker than the color of his eyes – gave her a weirdly appealing alien look.
“This death is better than the alternative.” She gasped and opened the blanket away from the dart.
Kyran smothered the growl building in his chest. “How is this better? Nothing could be worth this kind of agony.”
She closed her eyes but not before a haunted look passed through them.
“They sent me down to clean up the mess,” she whispered.
Kyran frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Torin. After they sent him on his last hunt – a punishment for dereliction of duty and what they believed to be treason – they called me into the command center.” She took a pained breath. “I’ve never heard him sound scared before that day. He’s older than me. He was the one who taught me that my size wasn’t a handicap, even though everyone else thought it was. He called command and asked where his back up was. They lied to him and told him it was en route. After he hung up, I met my parents’ eyes. God, their faces. They actually looked smug, like it was a practical joke waiting to happen, a lesson to be learned, and he would recover from it. I almost believed it.”
Kyran stared at her. She was so damn e motionall y solid, to the point it made him sad. No one should suffer and be afraid to cry. No one.
She played with her hands before she continued. “Until he called back. He was b reathing hard, and it sounded like he was running around in the house they sent him to. He kept saying ‘back up isn’t here yet. Where the fuck are they? ’ , but before he got an answer, likely another lie, glass broke in the background…”
Her voice trailed off, and she trailed those haunted eyes to each one of them, ending with a piercing look at Kyran. She had no anger in her brown eyes, just sadness.
For some reason, her lack of anger bothered him. He would be angry. No, anger wasn ’ t sufficient enough to describe how he would feel if he was staring down the person r esponsible for Ronan ’ s hypothetical death .
She cleared her throat and stared at the wall behind him. “The next thing we heard was the screams. God, he screamed so long, and yet he still managed to push his locator, as if no one knew where his body would be.” She ran her hands through her hair. “They hung up, and then everyone in the room turned to me. They didn ’ t say anything, but the
Death by way of liver and kidney failure would take a hell of a lot longer than facing down a pack of rogue Lycans, but it was more appealing.
Hunters didn ’ t focus on death, probably because it seemed to happen so frequently, and likely the reason she wasn ’ t supposed to mourn her brother ’ s death. Death – like shit – happens, and fixating on it solved nothing. At least that was what she had always been told, because according to the Hunters, the only closure needed is a dead Lycan.
Alexis faced the wall and curled up on the bed. She knew it was pointless to feel sorry for herself, because of all of her shitty options, death by silver was the best outcome.
C HAPTER 12
KYRAN OPENED THE DOOR to Alexis ’ room and waited against the wall while Ronan and Jillian came in carrying in armloads of supplies.
“Alexis, this is Jillian. She ’ s a nurse. Ronan is going to lead the surgery with her as aide. I would help, but too much movement will undo my healing.”
Alexis glanced over her shoulder, giving Jillian a cursory inspection followed by a short nod before she leveled her gaze on him.
“Don’t bother, Kyran.”
As he pushed away from the wall, he motioned for the others to get prepped.
“I’m not letting you die, especially like this.”
She turned to fully face him. Her blue features – darker than the color of his eyes – gave her a weirdly appealing alien look.
“This death is better than the alternative.” She gasped and opened the blanket away from the dart.
Kyran smothered the growl building in his chest. “How is this better? Nothing could be worth this kind of agony.”
She closed her eyes but not before a haunted look passed through them.
“They sent me down to clean up the mess,” she whispered.
Kyran frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Torin. After they sent him on his last hunt – a punishment for dereliction of duty and what they believed to be treason – they called me into the command center.” She took a pained breath. “I’ve never heard him sound scared before that day. He’s older than me. He was the one who taught me that my size wasn’t a handicap, even though everyone else thought it was. He called command and asked where his back up was. They lied to him and told him it was en route. After he hung up, I met my parents’ eyes. God, their faces. They actually looked smug, like it was a practical joke waiting to happen, a lesson to be learned, and he would recover from it. I almost believed it.”
Kyran stared at her. She was so damn e motionall y solid, to the point it made him sad. No one should suffer and be afraid to cry. No one.
She played with her hands before she continued. “Until he called back. He was b reathing hard, and it sounded like he was running around in the house they sent him to. He kept saying ‘back up isn’t here yet. Where the fuck are they? ’ , but before he got an answer, likely another lie, glass broke in the background…”
Her voice trailed off, and she trailed those haunted eyes to each one of them, ending with a piercing look at Kyran. She had no anger in her brown eyes, just sadness.
For some reason, her lack of anger bothered him. He would be angry. No, anger wasn ’ t sufficient enough to describe how he would feel if he was staring down the person r esponsible for Ronan ’ s hypothetical death .
She cleared her throat and stared at the wall behind him. “The next thing we heard was the screams. God, he screamed so long, and yet he still managed to push his locator, as if no one knew where his body would be.” She ran her hands through her hair. “They hung up, and then everyone in the room turned to me. They didn ’ t say anything, but the
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