He’d witness unspeakable violence, experienced firsthand extraordinary depths of brutality. The paranormals he’d encountered didn’t represent the group as a whole, but that wasn’t to say they were the exception, either.
For years, there had been growing discourse among the Gemini, with more and more arguing that they shouldn’t be hiding from humans. They should be ruling them. It wasn’t difficult to see how the sentiment had spread like wildfire given the first opportunity.
“So, what changed your mind?”
Cade paused. Not the way people did when they were buying time because they didn’t want to answer. His hesitation felt more like he was trying to find the right words to explain something he didn’t quite understand. Almost as if he wasn’t sure of the answer himself.
“I didn’t change my mind. Not really. My natural instinct is to distrust the Gemini, but truthfully, I feel the same way about humans.” He stroked her hair as he spoke, an absent gesture that was somehow sweeter because of the lack of awareness. “Maybe that’s not fair, but it’s the world we live in now.”
“But you trust the people here, don’t you?” Her gaze flickered toward the door. “You trust the Revenant?”
He considered her for a moment before nodding. “I do.”
When he didn’t elaborate, she hesitated to push him for more. In the end, though, she couldn’t help herself. “But?”
“Trust is earned. Some have earned my loyalty. Others, I don’t know well enough, and I’m still reserving judgment. Is that fair?” He shrugged. “Maybe not, but it’s how I feel.”
It hadn’t been the clearest explanation, but Mackenna thought she understood. “You won’t blindly trust someone just because they claim to be Revenant, but you trust your friends.”
His left eye twitched at the word “friends,” but he didn’t dispute it. “That’s basically it.”
“And you automatically distrust everyone from the ARC.” That didn’t really seem fair, but maybe she was missing something.
“Mack, the ARC is what makes these slave auctions possible. They’re the ones who enforce the will of people like the Abraxas coven.”
Tension built in her temples as her eyebrows drew together. “What you described in Trinity Grove didn’t sound bad.”
“Some places are better than others, I’ll give you that. Even in Trinity Grove, humans were seen as commodities, though. They owned humans. Then, of course, there was the little matter of the vampire king sacrificing humans to Ravagers.”
Mackenna jerked back, her eyes going wide. “No.”
“Yes.” He stroked his fingers through her hair as he studied her, his gaze almost pitying. “They don’t react well to human sympathizers, either.”
“But…you’re my mate!” It was the first time she’d actually said the words out loud, and she wished it could have been in a different context. “That’s important. It’s…it…”
“It means nothing,” he stated flatly. “Unions have to be approved now. Mates have about as much protection as a human pet, which is to say, very little.”
“No.” That couldn’t be right. It was the one unwritten rule that all the races agreed on, the one covenant that was never broken. “No, I don’t believe you.”
Even as she said it, she knew in her heart he was telling her the truth. She’d escaped one hell only to be thrust into another.
Overwhelmed with information, frightened by a world she didn’t recognize, Mackenna couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. Burying her face against Cade’s shoulder, she wept for all the lives that had been lost. She cried for all the families that had been destroyed. She cried for those still hurting, for every injustice they faced. She cried for herself, for the naïve girl on the side of the highway, and the broken one she was now.
Through it all, Cade just held her, letting her soak the collar of his shirt as he stroked her back and petted her hair. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t tell her to calm down. He didn’t offer her hollow promises that things would get better, nor did he make meaningless comparisons about how it could be worse.
He sat there until she had no more tears to cry, until exhaustion eventually lulled her into numbness. When her sobs had quieted to occasional sniffles, he pulled the blanket up over her and tucked her head under his chin.
Still, he said nothing.
As the silence stretched on, Mackenna’s pulse steadied, and her breathing slowed as the knot in her chest loosened. Nothing had been solved. Nothing was better. She was just too tired to think about it anymore.
Surrounded by her mate’s warmth and strength, she closed her eyes and prayed for the sweet relief of sleep.
Chapter Seven
Pandemonium.
There was no other word that accurately described the scene unfolding before him. Lynk had fought his share of battles. He’d watched cities burn to the ground. Never had he witnessed anything like what was happening in the camp.
Realistically, they couldn’t have prepared for the entire perimeter of the settlement to be rigged with underground explosives. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel responsible. He should have known. He should have anticipated, if not that exact scenario, something similar. It had just seemed so unlikely, too dangerous, especially with children running around the settlement.
Instead of approaching with caution, they’d charged in blindly, and because of their ignorance, they’d lost two strong fighters.
Two friends.
The first explosion had surprised them all. The loss of Miles had been devastating, but there had been no time to react, let alone grieve. Within seconds, the entire place had been crawling with shifters. Lions darted through the night, their pale coats making them easy to track in the moonlight. But knowing where they were didn’t make them any less deadly.
Outnumbered
