Skin Deep (17 page)

Although my heart told me otherwise, the last thing I needed was any kind of serious involvement with Logan, but it was important he was included in our search for Evan. Logan and Omega had resources and contacts which I could only dream of.

I gave Logan the short, Walker-free version. Guilt festered, eternal damnation to my soul.

"So is there anything unusual about the boy?" Logan asked, his eyes wide awake and boring straight into mine.

"What do you mean?" I hesitated.

"I work with strange and unusual all the time, Kai. You didn’t call me because this kid is perfectly normal. Talk to me." I was distracted by him calling me Kai. What a fool. But I concentrated on Evan, wanting to tell Logan what he was but so afraid of bringing trouble to our species. What if Omega was an organization that eliminated our kind? I shuddered.

"Kai?" I looked up and met Logan's eyes. He had a strange look on his face. Worried yet determined. "Okay, look. I'm going to tell you something and I figure your reaction will tell me what I need to know."

"Okay," I answered carefully.

"Omega investigates the strange and unusual of the paranormal kind." When I raised my eyebrows he continued, "We were called in to the body dump in the garden because the victim was not normal. Not human. You understand what I mean?"

"Yeah, not normal. Not human. So what was he?" I asked, treading carefully, not wanting to give anything away. What if he was on a totally different track and she blurted out the truth?
No, slow and careful, Odel
.

"You've heard of werewolves, right?" he asked. And the blood drained from my body. Could he really know the truth? I blinked and nodded and he spoke again. "Well wolves aren't the only creatures that can transform into humans. There are cats that transform t- Kailin is there something you want to tell me?"

"What do you mean?" I tried to feign nonchalance.

"Your face tells me you know something. You look like a vampire just drained you."

I couldn’t take it anymore. He knew so much already. I'd have to cross my fingers and hope he'd be able to help us find Evan. Cross my fingers and hope I was doing the right thing. "Okay. Fine." I sighed and sank into the nearest sofa, running my hands through my hair. I hadn't realized how exhausted I was until now. "Evan is a Walker. He's a wolf."

"Do you know him?"

"Not directly. I know his father, Byron Teague. He's the clan Alpha."

"So Evan is an Alpha too."

I nodded. "A recently changed Alpha."

"Which makes him more dangerous."

"You know a lot about Walkers," I said.

"Like I said, I investigate the paranormal." He smiled. "So how do you know these Walkers?"

"I've been in the city for a while. You hear things. Meet people." I shrugged, hoping he wouldn't dig deeper. I stood up, felt a lot like pacing, but didn't. "So your agents...are they experienced with this type of thing?"

"Yes, don't worry about it. Omega will try and find out more. And Chief Murdoch will help as well."

"The police chief works for Omega? And he knows about Paranormals?"

"Murdoch's helped out a lot in the past. So yes, he knows." Logan paused, his brows furrowed as he played with the buttons on his phone.
"How long has he been gone?"

"Since last night. At Club Wylde." I ran through the details of Evans disappearance and our visit to Sully's club.

"Okay," Logan looked up and gave me an encouraging smile. "Thanks for being honest with me. I'll get the team rounded up. We'll help you find Evan. We'll put the word out on the street, get Omega on the case."

"Thank you." I spoke but it was almost a whisper. Logan looked up and met my gaze. My eyes burned with a mix of gratitude and regret.

He reached out and gave my arm a little squeeze. Whether it was just a gesture of comfort didn't matter because it became more in an instant. That's all it took for me to give in. Just the touch of his warm hands on my skin killed all resistance. He came to me, standing so close the heat of our bodies intertwined in the sliver of space between us. He held my arms gently, staring into my eyes, he frowned as if fighting himself the way I should be fighting myself against this madness. The air shimmered thick and heated between us and my breath came in short, sharp bursts.

Memories of our recent close encounter of the passionate kind flitted through my mind and also somewhere low in my stomach. My throat was dry and swallowing did nothing to help. I was never good at romance, rebuffing any and all advances from the guys at school who had thought me half-way attractive. Dating was something I had no experience with. Dating, along with any other lovey-dovey stuff.

He came closer and I leaned my head against his chest, listening as his heart thudded against my ear, as it began to increase its steady pace. He sighed and the sound made me pull away. Suddenly I needed the distance. Getting carried away now was a bad idea. His rejection still burned. His eyes may have been regretful, but he hadn't apologized.

I stepped away from his reach and shook my head. The tiniest of apologies. I turned from him, wishing he would leave and make things easy for me.

"Kailin?" I turned, my heartbeat increasing to fever pitch.

He was right there behind me. Perfect. Like the heat and tenderness of his kiss was perfect. He warmed my heart, and all I wanted was to get closer. Rumpled hair was more rumpled, the world fell away and all that was left
was Logan and me, and this amazing, fiery passion enveloping us.

Heat simmered where we touched. Lips. Hands. Bodies. But this time I wasn't afraid. And this time he didn't pull away. He tamed the fire before it burned too bright. And when, at last, we came up for air, and he smiled at me, it was the fiery passion that burned in his eyes which held my attention and took my breath away.

But I said nothing. Just smiled shyly at his flushed face.

He touched my cheek and smiled. "The way you make me feel
...it’s like nothing I've felt before. I don't understand it and yet I do. Do you know what I mean?"

I nodded, understanding exactly what he was trying to say.

"I shouldn't let my emotions mix with work." I nodded but inside I was smiling. "I'll see what I can find out and get back to you soon."

"Thanks, Logan. I guess we- Evan needs all the help he can get."

Logan nodded and headed for the door.

No more words.

I believed him too. Believed he would do whatever it took to protect me. And more important than this intense heat we had between us, was the trust. This crazy kid, who had somehow become a paranormal lawman, who'd weaseled his way into my stupid affections, had just forced me to trust him.

Things were getting too complicated.

***

Niko bent over the boys arm, tapping the vein with an expression bordering on tender. He was often enthralled by the bodies of his fellow Walkers, brought to his knees by the sheer beauty of the physical and biological make-up of his species. During his self-imposed exile he studied both, formally and informally, everything he could to understand the physiology and biology of a Skinwalker.

Niko grabbed the hand of the unconscious boy, gripping the wrist with a strength he drew from his untapped rage.

Flesh pressed against bone and bone began to bend to the pressure. Then he withdrew his hand. Perhaps it was fear he may destroy the vial of precious adapted strain, or perhaps some minute part of his human side bade him pause before he caused permanent damage to the boy. In a few hours the boy's arm would show a purpled bruise and swollen flesh and muscle from Niko's ministrations. Even if the bruises took longer, the four gashes in the tender skin of his arm, where four broken claws had sliced open skin and drawn blood, would be a silent, if not painful reminder.

The copper spice of blood rode the air, and Niko had a second overpowering wave of need douse him. This time it was the rage of hunger and not envy. The Blood Call was infinitely stronger to Walkers like him - the ones who were not
.... Normal.

Niko strove to check his blood desire. The task at hand was to test the drug and pray it worked.

He pressed the needle against the young skin until it slid through into the vein, butter smooth. A bead of red slipped out the edge of the wound and Niko was transfixed. But only for a moment. He pressed the plunger down until the entire content of the vial was emptied.

Now he had to wait the requisite time before he administered the inciters. Niko's own blood had contributed to developing the drug; had been the very reason he'd begun to work on the drug in the first place. He studied the digits of his right hand, each one ending in a sharply curved claw; ignoring his left hand which held the mangled, damaged claws.

It was far as he was able to get the transformation to go, for him or any of the other Unchanged. If this drug worked he may be able to use the results to develop his special blend a little further.

For now he waited.

Niko checked the boy's vitals. Evan was the name of the youth. A Wolf-Walker. It didn't matter too much the species he used. He'd discovered years ago that the fundamentals in the DNA strands were the same. The blends with the Human genes were the same too, irrespective of the animal a Skinwalker housed within him. He knew by now the drug had filtered deep into the boy's bloodstream, dulling synapses, axons and dendrites. Administering a sedative-like hold onto the hormones linked directly to the inherent process of the Change.

The room was stark and lifeless despite its two very alive occupants. The bright fluorescent light cast an unflattering glare on the ugly peeling walls, the faded green sheets and blankets, turned steel handles and bars into shiny glowing metal. Stark.

He watched the bars on the monitor as each one lit a bright green, rising slowly like a growing tower until the machine beeped a triple warning. Ready for use again.

Niko held the paddles of the Defibrillator in his hands, watching until each bar lit one after the other, until the indicator light glowed green and the machine was ready. Without hesitation he held the paddles to the center of the youth
's bared chest and watched as the supine form was electrified into life. Evan's body jerked off the bed in a perfect curve, feet and shoulders still touching the mattress.

***

Evan jerked into full consciousness, pain splicing through his skull. And then the pure warmth of the Change slinked through his veins, taking hold of his body and mind. The wolf within him pushed for control. It was a living thing, almost a parasite owning a part of his body and mind. A permanent room-mate who sometimes wanted his own way with things. The change was a primal need and he was unable to deny himself the ecstasy of the invitation.

His muscles burned, a simmering fire stretching and twisting while Human bones and tissue warred with the conquering wolf. Fingers sprouted claws, shortened, thickened, furred. Evan's back curved and realigned until the restrained became painfully uncomfortable. The wolf struggled in his ungainly position, forelegs bent and tied at each side, bent to almost breaking point.

***

Niko growled his rage and slammed his fist into the tray on the trolley at his side. It flipped in mid-air, tossing its contents across the floor. Shiny silver scalpels and scissors and syringes spattered the white linoleum floor, landing with high plinking notes
, so musical and so out of place. He growled again, the pure sounds of an enraged feline. At times like this, when his rage controlled him, he could feel the Panther inside, desperate to be released from its prison. As desperate as he was to release the cat. He tasted the ecstasy in the partial release he achieved with his claws and ears. But it teased and tantalized him.

Some Pariah were luckier than Niko. Like Brand, his Synthe distributor. He knew the streets, peddled Niko's special strain of his drug to the Walkers in the city. He even brought Niko a satisfactory subject or two. Brands goons, though, were more than a tad inefficient. Look at what they did with the last skinned corpse he'd worked on. Dumped in a garden of all places. And now they had a bunch of Walkers sniffing around. And one of them was an Alpha. Not that he couldn’t handle an Alpha – he was one himself of course – but he could’ve done without the distraction.

Niko studied the vials of the drug. It promised release, much like Brand had promised release. But Brand's methods of release were unsavory to say the least— Niko knew he'd never be able to partake of a Human meal the way Brand and his followers did. Maybe he'd left his clan, and maybe he was Pariah but that didn't mean he was no longer a Walker. And the Walkers lived by certain tenets. Without those rules who knew what would happen?

At least
the drug had given him strength. If only temporary. But the benefits outweighed the discomforts. It made his body stronger. Stronger so he could find the perfect way to transform himself fully to his Panther form and back again.

For the Wolf-boy, the trauma had brought on a full change. Niko needed to force him to change back. He had to get this right. The throbbing at his temples slowly receded as he calmed himself. Calmed his beast.