Page 26 of Till Death

Chest heaving, I struggled to control myself against the vision of the creature he was becoming. Mid-transformation into a Halfling and almost unrecognizable.

Anger and sorrow roared for domination inside of me and I wasn’t sure which one to give into. “Cole.”

His name became a whisper on my lips and I gasped as his body seized. He still tried to fight off the change.

Shaking, I stalked over to the wall as fast as I could to press my hands against the shimmering surface. Solid. Breakable?

His muscles continued to bulge, his nails scratching against the ground as they slowly but surely grew into claws. When his gaze met mine, he stared through me, not able to see through the agony of his transformation.

“You can go ahead and talk to him,” Amon suggested softly. “A single thought and he’ll be able to see you. Hear you. Perhaps your voice will give him comfort. He’s been struggling for so long.”

“Don’t act like you actually care!” I shouted back to him over my shoulder.

“You mistake my actions for apathy, Jade. I’m not heartless to the suffering of my son. He’s fought for so long. I admire him. I give him credit for the daily struggle he’s had to endure.”

There’d be no more falling back into our normal witty banter. There’d be no more side-smiles. No more igniting from the inside out whenever he touched me. He had a way of turning me to fire with even the simplest of gestures. A look. A touch. A kiss.

I deeply regret the time I’d spent pushing him away, feeling only the crushing pain of losing him now.

I stared at Cole’s wide forehead and the anguish clearly written on his brutish brow. “I want to talk to him.”

“Then by all means…” Amon trailed off, waving a hand until the wall between us disappeared.

CHAPTERSEVEN

My heart stopped right there in my chest. The breath left me entirely when Cole turned to me, staring with unseeing eyes and his muscles twitching. Oh, damn. To have him here, this close, and not be able to reach him—

It was worse torture than I imagined.

Every piece of me cracked open at the sight of him and I bled from the wounds.

What could I do?

Feeling powerless and weak had pretty much become my MO these days but I’d never felt the sting more keenly than I did in this moment.

“Cole?” The word came out in a weak whisper at the pain contorting his body. “Cole, can you hear me? It’s Jade.”

Okay, I was going to cry, no question about it. It didn’t matter how I told myself not to, or how I hated knowing Amon would be there to witness the whole thing.

Those damn tears leaked right out when Cole finally met my gaze with his red eyes. They narrowed on me and the temperature around us took a sudden nose dive into freezing. His breath huffed out in great white gasps, but he wasn’t attacking. If anything, he’d tilted his head to stare at me. A predator’s stare. Assessing how easy it might be to take me down.

A growl echoed in the back of his throat and filled the entirety of the room with its echo.

Okay, not good.

I had to watch myself so I didn’t step right into a trap. He was alive. He was crouched down right in front of me and yet none of it made me feel better. I took a hesitant step toward him before Amon held up a hand to stop me.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” he warned. “Halflings are unpredictable creatures. They can’t control the raw power inside of them.”

I wanted to tell the demon to shut the fuck up because it was his blood, his demonic nature, that brought Cole to this point. But I did need to be careful otherwise I’d end up as lunch.

Couldn’t fulfill my promise if I was stuck between his fangs.

Crouching down until we were level and resisting the urge to reach out and touch him, I said, “Cole…I’m here.” My throat went bone dry and the rest of me shook enough to have me going down on my knees in front of him. I’m not sure how I knew, but he wouldn’t hurt me. Not now. “I’m here for you. To keep my promise. Do you remember me?”

I crept closer and held out my hand to him, afraid to touch him. Not because of him. But because ofme.

“I’m so sorry.” The words spilled out in a rush. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to you, Cole. I just didn’t want you to die…I wanted to find another way. I—”

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