Page 131 of Smoke and Lure

~YH~

The other leaders and a couple of seconds gathered in the center of the two half-circle tables, but he ignored them.

Aodh found it hard at first to believe what he was seeing as he stared down at the mass at his feet.Not because he couldn’t categorize everything that was wrong with it, out of place, on the wrong side, disjointed, and fucking grotesque.

No, he could see that, but getting his brain to register that underneath all the lumps, masses, fur, scales, and fangs was a man.

Maybe the fact that he could see the humanness around one eye, an arm, and the thigh of one leg revealed through shredded jeans.Those areas where the skin was so beautifully dark that it seemed as if the Great Spirit had started with the absence of color and, instead of adding to it, making it paler, lighter, different...thought, ‘This is enough.’

However, that was the only good thing withstanding the horrible mutation.Aodh struggled to picture the Why of it in his mind.

“What am I looking at?”Iskah inquired.

“An abomination,” Chanin declared.

Aodh wanted to believe thethingwas dead, saved from such misery and torment, but—

“Is it still alive?”Turi questioned.As an Ursine, the answer to that question would have required him to lean in close to the odd beast and take a sniff, and neither the bears nor the wolves wanted to be that close.

Hell, it was apparent that none of the rest of them did, either.

“Barely,” Aodh confirmed; the whiff of the thing's breath floated up from its still form on the ground, but only a trace.It reminded Aodh of how close to death Morlie was when Kai begged him to save her.However, he would not be doing the same for this thing.Deatach glan heylcould heal and even mend the body, but it could not return such a physical state of mutation to its original form.

The best Aodh could do for it was swipe his broad sword to its neck and take it out of its misery.

“No.No!”Michaela, Amaros’s mate, began to scream.“It’s one of them.”

Aodh glanced over at the newly turned Vampire and saw Amaros holding her close to him where he still stood on the other side of the table.The female’s eyes were no longer crimson, glimmering with the dark beast's bloodlust.Her eyes were now luminous with water and fear.

She’s seen this before.Aodh was convinced of that fact by her visceral reaction.When he glanced in the other direction, he saw that his brother’s mate’s face was shrouded in concern and worry but not recognition.

Liekki remained by her side, keeping an arm of comfort around Avalore, as he observed the mass on the floor in the center across the distance.

“Who did this?”questioned Iskah, shaking her head, perplexed.

“The humans,” Amaros answered.

Everyone now glanced in his direction.

“What do you know?”Aodh’s demand rumbled out.The Mckenna didn’t care at this moment that it was talking to other leaders and should show temperance and respect for their mutual positions.His beast wanted answers so it was clear where to aim its stream of fire.

Everyone focused their attention on Amaros, who took the time to sit in his chair and pull his mate into his lap as if not wanting to create even the smallest space for her to worry.

Amaros lowered his gaze to his hand, the one holding Michaela’s.He silently contemplated the situation in his mind before returning his gaze to the other leaders.

“Presenting Michaela to the council and letting you all know about her escape from inside the Wall wasn’t the reason I requested the meeting be moved up as early as possible.”He chucked his chin to the center.“That was.My mate revealed to my Coven leaders that she’d laid eyes on a large mutated being while she was in the lab.Like this one.”

“But bigger,” Michaela asserted.

“What?Michaela, why didn’t you tell me?”Avalore started to move toward her friend, concern marred her pretty features.

Liekki quickly grasped Avalore’s arm, keeping her away.

Aodh watched as the fierce female snapped her head toward his brother and gave him a sharp look.

Liekki lifted a single brow and held Avalore’s gaze.

She sighed and stepped back beside him.

---