Cade (13 page)

Patterson curled his lip in disdain. A look was exchanged with the man who had come along and was sitting quietly to the side simply observing. A curt nod from him and Patterson abruptly turned back to Malcolm. “You will do as I say …”

Malcolm took a step forward and brought himself nose to nose with Patterson, towering at least half a foot above the
Human
. The guns came up high and all aimed at Malcolm’s head. “Or what?”

Stephen moved forward, standing side to side with his father. Half the guards turned their weapons onto him, but he could smell the stench of their fear nonetheless. They knew that if he decided to act, he’d take down nearly all of them before any of the further-away guards even had time to fire their gun.
Others
in the room had got to their feet, all in a state of readiness. Even Aaron had moved to flank Malcolm on the opposite side, a sign of protection of his leader, and one which surprised Stephen—though he was pretty sure it was more a dislike of the
Humans
than actual protection of Malcolm.

Patterson stepped back into his crowd, white as a sheet. Malcolm stayed put, but his gaze never wavered from the
Human’s
. Patterson nodded to one of his faithful lackeys, and the man came forward with what looked like nothing more than a child’s pea-shooter. He raised it towards Malcolm’s temple, but he never made it farther than that. Stephen lunged with feline speed. He grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted his arm around his back so that the gun was aimed at the
Human’s
spine. It wouldn’t kill him, but it sure as shit would do some damage where it was. “One twitch and your hand is broken,” Stephen growled. His other hand grabbed the man in a chokehold, holding his head back and unable to move. Stephen knew that his eyes had shifted, the green now flecked with gold. His canines had extended and he could feel the tips dig into his lip. He snarled, making no effort to hide them.

“Call him off,” Patterson shouted. “This whole room is armed and ready. Do you think I won’t give the command?” Despite the threat, the underlying panic in his voice was clear as day.

“Go for it,” Stephen sneered as he swivelled around with the
Human
. “I haven’t hunted today.”

Patterson turned to Malcolm, anger intertwined with trepidation. “This is what you call control? That … your … your …” He waved his hand in the air as if looking for the right word. “Your
pet
here has one of my men, and you do nothing.”

“Your man was about to threaten me. Had I done the same to you, I have no doubt that you would have attempted to end my life.”

“You’re monsters.
All
of you,” Patterson yelled. “How do we know that you can control yourselves? Probably why this boy was killed.”

Malcolm took another step forward and Patterson stepped back, eyes widening. The armed guards didn’t know where to aim their weapons, going between Malcolm and the rest of the
Others
, who were equally as dangerous. Malcolm stopped when Patterson had nowhere else to go. “If there was no control, then my son would have killed your man by now. It takes a great deal of control to hang between the balance of man and
wolf
. If there was no control, your man would be dead.”

Everyone in the room fell silent. Nervous fingers on triggers, the slightest sound or move ready to set them off. 

“We will search for this …
person
,” said Malcolm, choosing his words. “We will bring them to justice, and then we will give them to you so that you may verify that it is the one responsible. We will take a month to do it. Think, Mr Patterson. Do you really want war when this could be dealt with in a more pleasing manner?”

Patterson glared at Malcolm but said nothing. He was like the school yard bully who’d just got his ass handed to him by the skinny kid. “One month and then …”

“One month, and we will meet again—if nothing is resolved.” Malcolm turned to Stephen. “Release him now.”

Stephen bent close to the
Human’s
ear. “We don’t get to play,” he scowled. He applied just enough pressure to the man’s hand so that the delicate bones beneath his skin cracked just a fraction. The man yelped in pain, and Stephen let go of him with a shove.

“Always a pleasure,” he smiled derisively at Patterson as they turned to leave.

Chapter Sixteen

It was like waiting for death and knowing that it was around the corner—just waiting for the right moment to jump out. Cade paced up and down his kitchen, stopping occasionally to stare unseeingly out the back door, then went right back to pacing again. He stared at the phone on the counter each time he passed it willing it to ring.

He lost count of the number of times he had gone back and forth, but the nervous energy in him just wouldn’t let him relax. A thud echoed through the house, bringing him up short. He was out in the hallway in the space of a heartbeat, taking the stairs two at a time to get to the boy’s room. He paused at the door, listening to sounds in the room. The boy was mumbling incoherently. This was the first time in days Cade had heard him utter anything. He cracked open the door and peered in. The boy was up and awake—properly awake this time.

Cade slowly backed out of the room and sprinted down the stairs to the kitchen. He had been waiting for Stephen to call him in connection to the samples they had taken of the boy’s blood for the tracer. The DSA had a database so perhaps they could find out who had bitten him. It was new and not even at beta tests, but maybe they could get a lead that way and bring the culprit to justice. It was the only way to save the child. They didn’t have access to everything, however, but Stephen was going to “procure” the master keys that gave them access to the labs from his father.

Cade yanked the phone from its cradle and dialled the Davies’ house. Gemma answered after one ring.

“He’s woken up,” Cade breathed down the line.

“Are you sure?” she whispered anxiously.

Cade leaned back and eyed the hallway, making sure the boy hadn’t come wandering down. “Yeah. He’s been mumbling something”

“Shit. What?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t make out a word.”

“Cade, why didn’t you call earlier?”

“He’s been out of it till now. He only just woke—like properly. I’m going to take him some food. See if I can make him stay awake.”

“Do you want me to come over?” she said softly. “You shouldn’t be there on your own.”

Did he want her to come over? God damn it, he wanted that more than anything in the world. He wanted to touch her, smell her, and fill his senses with her. But was it wise? He could barely keep his wits about him when she was around. And he really needed to be able to focus right now.

“Cade?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be there soon. Okay?”

Despite his better judgement, Cade found himself agreeing. Upstairs, he could perceive movement. “Shit. I can hear him,” he muttered. “I need to go.”

“Okay. I’ll set off now. I’ll be there as fast as I can.” Gemma hung up before Cade could change his mind.

It had been five days since they had got the boy to the house. Five days of Stephen and Gemma popping in and dropping off live food. Cade didn’t dare risk leaving to go and hunt. What if the boy felt the hunt through the link? Cade had called in sick, but he had started to worry that somebody at the DSA would start to get suspicious. He had never called to miss a day at work, let alone five. Time was running out, fast—the boy had needed to wake up. It was a damn relief he was at last conscious. Anticipation bubbled through Cade, the clarity of a new day that holds promise of good things to come.

Snatching up a small rabbit from the darkened pantry, Cade wasted no time in killing it today. A quick twist of its head, and the rabbit died a quick, painless death. Working swiftly, he soon had the animal skinned, gutted and chopped into small pieces. At the back of his mind, the thought niggled that he didn’t have much fresh food left—fresh as in live. Maybe he’d be able to go hunting tonight, or tomorrow, if all was well with the kid. If the boy was still awake, he was going to eat like a wolf now. Cade poured him a glass of water, too, then stopped and stood staring at it. The boy had been
Human
; he drank
Human
things like juice and over-sugared carbonated crap. Maybe he still enjoyed those things. Cade didn’t have any of that in his house—all he had was coffee, beer and water. He could ask the boy later for his preference, Cade decided. For now, it would have to be water.

As he carried the plate and glass upstairs on a tray, he could hear the boy moving around in his room. Cade hoped that he’d remain conscious. It had been five days of cleaning him up, feeding him, and setting animals loose in his room when the
wolf
was awake, allowing him to sate his need for the hunt, as well as his hunger. But was it possible that the
wolf
could go too far—take complete control? Could a half-breed live in the balance like pure-bloods did?
Please come through the other side
, Cade prayed. He wouldn’t be able to hide the boy if he remained incapacitated in this way.

The door to the bedroom was still open when he reached it, and he wondered if it was fear or ill strength that had kept the boy from venturing out. Balancing the tray in one hand, Cade opened the door further, not wanting to cause the child any undue distress or upset. His heart lightened at the sight of the boy sitting up. He sat huddled in the corner of the bed, eyes wide open as he stared at Cade. 

“You’re awake,” Cade said, unable to keep the relieved smile from his face. “I brought you something to eat. It’ll be easier now you can feed yourself.” The words sounded stupid, even to Cade, but he didn’t know what to say to the frightened-looking boy who stared at him with terror in his eyes.

“Feed myself?” His voice was hoarse, and he coughed as he spoke.

Cade stepped into the room, but was cautious to keep himself at the door. “You were half-starved,” he said. “You can’t go that long without food. You are
wolf
.” Cade moved forward, but the boy tensed up, prepared to fight to protect himself. The sight tore at Cade’s chest. What he must have been through to get here—to have made it this far and not to have been caught and killed already. “I’m just giving you this. I'm not going to hurt you. You’ve been here almost a week now.” Cade placed the tray on the end of the bed, making sure to maintain his distance so as not to spook the kid.

The boy’s eyes remained fixed on Cade—untrusting, wary and ever-ready. But, in spite of his distrust, he reached for the food. He hooked his finger over the edge of the tray to slide it towards himself. “I've been here a week?” he whispered.

“Pretty much,” said Cade, offering him a warm smile to help him calm. “Eat, though. Then we can talk. Eat slowly.”

The boy pulled the tray onto his lap. With each passing moment, Cade felt a little more hopeful than the last. Maybe the boy had come out to the other side just fine after all. Maybe this was it—maybe he had survived the change in his body. God, he hoped so.

“It’s just rabbit,” Cade said after a moment. “It’s what we’re allowed to hunt here.” He wasn’t sure what the boy knew about the laws and ways of
Others
. He wasn’t sure what the
Humans
taught their children. He could take a guess and would assume that it was nothing flattering by any means. It didn’t matter, though. The boy just stared at the food, making no move to eat it. Cade had brought a fork this time in the hope that he could feed himself. “You can eat it. You need to.”

The boy glanced at the food warily and then back at Cade. He was watching, cautious, and that was good. Cade made sure to keep far enough away from him so that he knew there was no threat.

After a while, the boy picked the meat up and brought it slowly to his mouth. He didn’t take his untrusting eyes from Cade as he did. Cade moved toward the chair and removed the boy’s belongings, placing them where he had placed the tray. Perhaps knowing his things were there would make him feel more at ease. Maybe he would know he wasn’t stuck or a prisoner. Cade sat on the chair in the corner and watched as the boy bit down on the meat. His eyes flared with the same bright white Cade had seen before. His
wolf
was there, and he was fully awake. He ate slowly at first, and then, when the taste rolled through him, he dug in until he had devoured the entire thing. He didn’t stop until it was all gone, but even then, Cade was careful to remain seated and let him grow comfortable with his presence there, realising he was not a threat to him.

“Better?” he asked.

The boy nodded eagerly this time, surprising and pleasing Cade.

“I’ll bring you some more in an hour or so. You have to let that settle first.” In truth, Cade wasn’t really sure. He didn’t want the boy to gorge himself and then end up bringing everything up. Nor did he want to give the boy so much meat that he just craved it until he went crazy. He had to learn that food was rationed and that hunger had to be controlled. “My name is Cade,” he said after a moment. “What’s yours?”

The boy blinked, keeping his eyes closed a little too long. Cade stiffened, ready to catch him if he were to pass out. But then he opened his eyes again, and Cade sagged with relief once more.

“My name?”

Cade nodded. “What is your name?”

The boy glanced around the room as if he were searching for something. His eyes fell on his notebook and he stared at it for a long minute. “Phoenix,” he finally whispered. “My name is Phoenix.”