Page 44 of Catalyst

When Kane’s gaze flicked to mine, his eyes were almost unrecognizable. Normally, they were a deep, soulful brown, but now even the whites had gone black. He looked back at the struggling heroes, his jaw tightening.

The shadows lingered around Jack’s throat, squeezing him tighter as his face took on a sickly pallor. Trent was frozen in terror. I knew that if Kane didn’t stop, Jack would die—and Kane would either be arrested orneutralized.

Andthiswas exactly the kind of situation suppressant technology was supposed to prevent. But I didn’t have time to point that out. Instead, I was going to have to do the one thing I wasn’t supposed to.

I took a deep breath and reached into the darkest corners of my mind, to the places that had been dimmed by the chemicals suppressing my abilities. A dull ache blossomed behind my eyes, warning me to stop, but I couldn’t. As Kane’s shadows coiled tighter, I didn’t have another choice.

“Kane, stop,” I commanded.

The dull ache exploded into a mind-shattering pain, but as the shadows began to recede, I knew it was worth it. Kane blinked, taking a step back as his eyes faded back to their normal brown.

He looked back at me, his brows knit together like heknewI did something, but I paid him no mind. Right now, my attention was on my brother.

Jack slumped to the ground, clutching his throat as he gasped for air. Trent looked absolutely terrified. It was a shame that I didn’t get to enjoy his reaction. As soon as the tension broke, my vision blurred and my face flushed with unbearable heat. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the overwhelming feeling, but I couldn’t escape it.

“Callie.” Jace’s voice was frantic, and I felt his hands on my shoulders.

But the harder I fought to stay conscious, the more I could feel myself slipping away. No matter how hard I tried, there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Chapter 14

Kane

Ishifted around in the stiff-backed chairs of my mom’s dining room, trying to pretend she wasn’t staring daggers at me. I tugged at the collar of my shirt as I focused my attention across the table to Shin and Jace.

Normally, Jace’s place was right beside me. After all, someone needed to keep him in line. But, Shin was our cobbled family’s patriarch, and he was sad that Callie didn’t come. I figured Mom would pull Shin to the side andtalk some senseinto him, but Jace jumped at the opportunity to comfort Shin. His plan? Tell Shin all about the doctor’s appointment and how the baby apparently moved. I think Jace just wanted a chance to gush about Callie and the baby. I swear to God–that man fell in love quicker than anyone I’d ever met, which was impressive because I’d known Sulien.

Jace was practically glowing as he babbled on about our new lover. Realistically, I probably should have been a little jealous,but I loved seeing him happy. It was hard to tell by just talking to him, but Jace had a rough go at life, and having Callie bring him so muchjoyonly made me love her more–even if I would never be able to express it like my boyfriend did.

“I think I have a video of Sawyer kicking… somewhere,” Jace muttered as he tapped through his all-but shattered phone. “We were laying in bed last night, and he just kept moving–and I could see it! I didn’t know babies could do that!”

“That’s how Sulien was.” A rare warmth crossed Shin’s face, causing creases to form near his eyes. “He was always moving, even before he was born.”

Shin audibly swallowed as an all-too-familiar sadness filled his eyes. Talking about Sulien was one of Shin’s favorite pastimes, but it was also hard. I couldn’t imagine the grief that came with losing your child. All I knew was the anguish was strong enough to dash any joy brought on by being cancer-free.

Jace glanced up from his phone and shot Shin an award-winning smile before sliding his phone over.

“Look right there–” Jace pointed to the screen. “You can see her shirt move a little.”

Shin’s eyes softened as he took the device, holding it with the kind of care usually reserved for something priceless. He leaned in, squinting a bit as he focused on the video. Jace had shown it to me last night while we were trying to go to sleep.

And honestly, this whole situation was amazing.

Sulien had never really been great at thinking things through, but we’d thought he was smart enough to wear a condom when having sex. The dude got a full-ride scholarship. He was bright. But book smarts could never make up for a lack of common sense. This whole thing could have ruined Sulien’s life if he was still here, but seeing as he wasn’t, I silently thanked the universe for his carelessness. Especially because Iknewour chosen family could never replace blood, not in Shin’s eyes.

His face lit up, lips quivering into a smile as he watched the video over and over again. His expression was strange, almost like he thought he was dreaming, and I wondered if the slight shake in his hand came from the fear of potentially losing everythingagain.

He’d known Callie was pregnant. We’d warned him before coming to dinner last night. But Shin didn’t want to believe his son would do that to anyone. Not the part where Sulien randomly got someone pregnant–that seemed to be the easiest bit to swallow. But that Sulien wouldleavehis partner to clean uphismess. This week, Shin sang a slightly different tune.

“I have a grandson.” He swallowed the words as he slid Jace’s phone back. “I didn’t scare Callie away, did I?”

Shin watched me as he spoke, and I felt the weight of the last week fall onto my shoulders. Shinterrifiedher, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he already knew that. The guy didn’t want the truth; he wanted someone to give him hope that he’d be allowed in the kid’s life.

“She’s sick,” I mumbled, reaching for my glass of wine.

My mom’s eyes flicked to me, her mouth twisting in a way that made me uncomfortable. Last week, she’d been practically begging to meet Callie. Something about being excited that I wasn’t settling for Jace. But seeing her now made me wonder how pure her intentions were.

“Such a shame.” My mom clicked her tongue in disapproval. “I wasreallyhoping that Sulien’s plaything would be a good addition to our family… I guess heroes and villains just aren’t meant to mix.”

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