On a Razor's Edge (Darkness #3)(32)

“I’m supposed to help with that.”

“And you will,” Tim said softly, his eyes losing their alpha strength. I marveled at their soft depth, their color a deep auburn.

“What animal do you change into?” I asked, entranced by those eyes.

“A Kodiak,” he whispered.

I noticed for the first time his face, broad and defined, with a strong jaw and straight nose. He was a handsome man, if no Stefan, with strength and power tempered by a slow way about him. “Are there many grizzlies?”

“No, just one. We have quite a few wolves, a few large cats, some smaller animals; an all-around mix.”

“So if you bite me, I won’t turn into an animal?” I smiled, hiding the gulp when his eyes traveled my face.

“You will, but only until cl**ax.” He chuckled, prompting an edge of uncertainty to crawl into my awareness.

I turned my face away, suddenly hyper-aware of our proximity. “Anyway,” I said, “I should probably go and find Charles. He gets in trouble when left to his own devices for too long.”

“He said the same thing about you yesterday evening.”

I snorted. Figured.

As I stood and headed for the door, my book forgotten, Tim said, “And Sasha…”

I turned back, seeing Tim stand, his large shoulders straining the cotton of his t-shirt, currently molding to his defined pecks like spray paint. “Yeah?”

“Watch out for Jonas, okay? He’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t trust humans.”

The only reminder I needed on that score seemed to come from Jonas himself whenever we were in the same room. That hard stare was not easy to forget. Neither were the warning tingles up my back.

A stocky man with giant arms stepped in front of me as I tried to exit the room, his eyes, a weird shade of light hazel, almost gold, rooted me in place and had my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth.

“Something is happening, where are your guards?”

Tim was there in a flash, bristling behind me. “What is it?”

“Alpha.” The man bowed his head quickly. “A large group is coming. The sentries sense a large amount of mag—ˮ

The messenger was cut off as a wolf song broke through the walls. Sorrowful and haunting, it caused me to shiver, my familiar warning butt tingle making me wrap my magic around me like a cloak. I needed to get the hell out of there. I didn’t know how to use my magic well enough, and I didn’t have Stefan to protect me. Tim and his crowd were great fighters, but they couldn’t balance my potentially fatal draw of magic.

“Get her to safety and then meet me in the front!” Tim pushed past us, moving down the hall with massive, lumbering steps. The bear side of him wasn’t far from breaking free.

“Sasha!” I froze at that nightmarish growl.

Jonas stalked up on liquid joints, his tattoos glowing a furious orange. His fierce gaze took in the were-tiger Tim had ordered to escort me to safety. “Run along kitty-cat, I’ve got her.”

A deep growl rumbled out of the man’s chest, shaking my bones and making me step to the side, out from between these two wild men. Jonas struck out with his hand, grabbed my arm and dragged me near. The intensity in his eyes shocked into me a second later.

“They’re here for you. We gotta get you outta here.”

“But… I should fight…” I started, much rather facing a horde of unknowns than this one man alone.

“You fight, you die. The Boss trusted you to my care. You’re coming with me.”

I stared at the burly man, unsure. He stared back, no expression, turning my bones to liquid. Jonas was right, though, Stefan trusted Jonas for some reason.

I hadn’t told Stefan about that first battle. About Jonas leaving me to die in that first battle.

But still, he trusted Jonas, and not the Mata. I trusted Stefan. I didn’t have much to go off of, so I had to trust the lesser of two evils.

I started to jog next to Jonas, his long, hurried steps nearly impossible for me to keep up with. “Where’s Charles?” I asked in as close to a normal voice as I could muster. It sounded like a wobbling, squeaky bicycle.

“Charles can look after himself.”

I opened my mouth to push the issue, ducking into the twilight under Jonas’s arm. The evening was just falling, creating that strange gloom that hid things even in plain sight. A light breeze ruffled my hair as a surge of magic pounded in my chest. Freezing cold trickled down from the top of my head, a sure sign that those Dulcha monsters were near.

“Hurry!” Jonas urged, grabbing me by the arm and yanking.

“Why are we going toward the woods?” I asked, trying to avoid branches that thwapped me in the face.

In answer, Jonas turned to me, a vicious glint in his eye. Without uttering a word, he ducked down and scooped me up, immediately starting to jog deep into the trees, the first blast of battle sounding behind us.

Panic welled up, his harsh grip and haste sending pain and uncertainty into my core. I could shock him and get out of his hold, but then what? My power could beat his, but my use of it was truly lacking. Then where would I go? To the front line, where the Dulcha would chase and hound me? I couldn’t hide. Already I could feel them, seeking me, drawn to my power.

I wiggled, still uncertain, hearing all the warnings over the last few weeks. Everyone had cited Jonas as someone to watch. Someone to steer clear from. Stefan trusted him, yes, but friendship could disillusion a person. And didn’t Stefan say he trusted me? That he had faith in me?