Page 71 of Fangs
My powers kept changing, and I didn’t like it. Or maybe they were just getting stronger now that I used them more often. I remembered that wild, raw power flowing through me and shivered. I never would’ve imagined I’d be able to heal ten fatal injuries at once. And now mind powers?
What the fuck were we going to do about this?
“I’m not tryin’ to hear your thoughts, I swear,” he said. “And I haven’t told anyone about it.”
My eyebrows raised, unable to hide my surprise.
“I wasn’t gonna tell anyone else until I figured out how to tellyou,” he frowned.
“You are…waytoo calm about this.”
“Well, I’ve also had some time to think about it.”
“Don’t tell anyone,” I blurted out.
He frowned. “Why?”
“I just…I need some time.”
His frown deepened, and I wondered if he could tell it was only a half-truth. The truth was, I wasn’t sure time would makemefeel any better about this development. I tried to picture my powers forming walls like a golden vault around my mind. If I could keep them behind thick walls and a locked door, maybe I could keep my thoughts in my own head. What if I started sharing my thoughts with others?—
“How’d you do that?” Mac asked sharply.
I startled. “Do what?”
“You got real quiet, and then I couldn’t hear you for a second.”
A flicker of hope stirred in my chest, and I focused again on picturing the golden light of my powers forming thick walls around my mind. I watched him, and all the muscles in his face seemed to tense at once.
“How are you doin’ that?” he asked.
“I just pictured my powers like a…a wall around my mind.”
His frown deepened.
“Does…does that upset you?” I asked hesitantly.
His eyes flashed to mine for a moment before looking away again. “No, it doesn’t upset me.” He paused. “But I won’t lie, hearing some of what you’re thinkin’ makes me a lot less worried.”
I blinked, taken aback. “Worried about what?”
“You.” He fixed me with a pointed look.
“You don’t have to worry about me.”
He closed his eyes briefly, exhaling heavily through his nose. “You’ve been a ghost for months, and I had no idea what you were thinkin’ or how to help. Of course, I’m gonna worry, Em.”
I clutched his jacket tighter around myself, unsure what to say, but then he continued.
“And then, after I finally got you to open up a little andtalkto me, you fuckin’ vanished.” He dragged a hand through his hair, leaving it even more disheveled. “When I returned to the clinic, and it was empty, I knew somethin’ wasn’t right. I tried to chalk it up to bein’ paranoid, but then Apple found me, and I almost took off into the woods after you with no weapons or anything.”
My chest constricted painfully. “The whole time they were draggin’ me away, the only thing I could think was—” I tried to swallow the emotion creeping up my throat, “—you’d probably never know w-what happened. I thought Wolf was gonna kill me, and I?—”
My voice broke off as I struggled to keep my composure. Mac offered a hand again, palm up. I took it without hesitation, and he gripped my cold fingers tightly.
I’m not gonna stop. Not until you realize you’re worth fightin’ for.
“I tried to run.” I needed him to know I didn’t immediately give up. “I tried to get back here, I promise.”
