Page 137 of Mortal Shift
I exploded forward, the fury erupting from my body as I slammed my hands into his chest and he stumbled back a half dozen paces before crashing to the ground and staring up at me, shock and rage warring on his face.
I leaped forward without waiting to see which would win, because fuck that.Hedid this.Hewas the reason my mate was behind bars, suffering alone for something he hadn’t done. Kallan did that. And now I was going to make him pay.
An arm slammed into my chest, blocking me, and it took my eyes a split second longer to focus on Jax, rooted firmly in my path. His arm was still barring my way and for a split second I considered removing it at the shoulder, but his eyes were locked on Kallan and I could practically taste the animosity rolling off him as Jax scrambled to his feet.
“Don’t kill him just yet, Cali,” Jax said, his shoulder stiff. “He needs to take back his lies first.”
“Lies?” Kallan said, dusting himself down. “Who says anything about lies?”
“I do,” I snarled. “Cole is innocent, which means you’re full of shit. But don’t worry, I’ll gladly beat it out of you.”
“I’d like to see you try,” he blustered.
“She tossed you across the hallway easily enough,” Jax said.
Yeah, and I had no idea how I’d done that…but I wasn’t about to let Kallan know that. I bared my teeth at him in a feral smile.
Kallan looked me up and down and curled his lip. “Lucky shot. Come at me again and you’ll find the three of us are more than an even match for the three of you.”
Shit, he was right. Ididn’tknow how I’d tossed him so far, and I didn’t think Ling was going to be much use in a fight, either. Jax was the only one of us who was likely to fare well, and I didn’t like his chances if it was three on one. I hadnothingto back up my anger with, and Kallan knew it. Dammit!
“Did someone say even match?” a voice said from behind me. “I abhor even.”
I whirled round to see Thaden sauntering down the corridor, looking for all the world like he was out for a casual stroll. If he was still feeling the effects of his recent coma, no sign of it reached his face or affected any of his movements.
“Thaden.” Kallan’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t know you were awake.”
“That’s Prince Thaden to you, pup,” Thaden said, curling his upper lip in derision.
Kallan shrugged, and then send a quick glance over his shoulder at his backup. He wasn’t quite as nonchalant as he was trying to pretend.
“You should be thanking me,” he said. “I made sure the council locked up your attacker. I could’ve been lynched for that, you know. Betraying my own kind for a vampire. You owe me.”
“I owe you?” Thaden’s lip twisted into a smile that sent chills down my spine. “Yes, I suppose I do. You took a great risk for me, after all. Tell me, why was that?”
“What…what do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said, pup. Why did you betray one of your own? Like you said, that was dangerous. You could have been lynched. You could have been labeled a traitor. So whydidyou go running to the council?”
“Well… It was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? He broke the law.”
“You wouldn’t know the right thing if it jumped up and bit you,” I spat—and promptly found Jax’s arm barring my path again. I shook it off irritably. “Relax, I’m not going to touch him.”
Yet.
“The human has a point,” Thaden said. “Your morals are…Well, to say they’re gray would be a grave insult to gray, no?”
Kallan bristled, but Thaden ignored him.
“You’re a liar, Kallan, but you’re a smart liar. You would never have taken a risk like that if you didn’t stand to gain something. Say, for instance, a rival removed from your path. In fact, it seems to me you have benefitted rather well from telling tales.” He turned to me, his tone almost conversational. “I do so abhor a tittle-tattle.”
“I didn’t—” Kallan began, but Thaden raised a hand and his mouth snapped shut mid-sentence.
“I don’t care,” he said. “I have no interest in the council sniffing around in my business, and causing problems for my favorite little blood bag here. So let’s get one thing clear. You’re going to recant your statement, and you’renevergoing to report about me or mine to the council again, do you understand?”
Kallan sneered, which I thought was pretty ballsy given that Thaden had him beat and we all knew it. Then again, I was pretty sure Thaden had overdone the whole ‘smart’ thing—maybe Kallan was the only one here who didn’t know he was beat.
“And why would you think I’m going to do that, leech?”
