She slammed into the door, out into the night and took off at a dead run. She should’ve known better than to be seduced into entering a slave auction by some innocent needing her help. She had a hard enough time staying out of trouble without the need to borrow someone else’s. She just prayed no one could tie this whole, rotten evening back to her or there would be no end of trouble to land on her doorstep.
Chapter Two
“Wait. Please!” The boy’s urgent shout pierced the blind panic consuming her. Raven’s steps faltered. Logical thoughts returned in fits and starts. The charge that danced up and down her skin fizzled, soaked into her body and bit angrily along her bones in retaliation for not being allowed freedom.
The labs had discovered she’d been born a conduit pretty quick. After a slew of painful tests and shock treatments, she’d adapted and began storing large amounts of energy at her core. Could manipulate that energy. Now her body automatically absorbed whatever it could, whenever it could. The only blessing was that when the energy was in control, the beasts at her core were leashed. It’s the only thing that kept her safe all these years.
She couldn’t detect that anyone else had followed them, but she needed to know for sure. She sent out a pulse of electricity, deflecting the energy that sought shelter in her body and used it to boost the distance she could read. Like a ripple in a pond, the wave reached out, passing through buildings and people. Anything with a heartbeat registered on her scale. To others, it was invisible. To her, an eerie, light blue wave expand out from her.
Besides the boy, only the Ogre had followed so far.
She could hold off, control the itch to release all that lovely power long enough to set the boy straight.
“Go home, kid.” She sucked in much needed air, trying to stop siphoning electricity. Her chest burned with indecision. Instinct shouted to run. Not get involved further.
“Send him away, and they’ll kill him.” The Ogre stepped out of the shadows, anger and disgust radiating from him like some age old god from Olympus who had judged and found her lacking. Her hackles rose.
If she were closer, she didn’t doubt he’d take a swing at her. “He’s done nothing wrong.”
“You claimed him in front of witnesses. He’s under your protection and considered your pack now.” He stepped off the curb and stalked toward her, his muscular legs eating up the distance between them far too fast for her liking.
She stood her ground on shaky legs. ‘Never run from a shifter’ wasn’t just hype. They loved the chase. A person just didn’t always enjoy being caught.
“The others won’t take him now.”
“There was no ceremony, sponsors or proof of pack status to support my claim.” Proof she couldn’t provide. Status no one alive but her knew about. Her gaze flicked to the boy. The pleasant expression stamped on his face belied the tension in his lanky frame. Shit.
“Normally, but you walked into an auction. Durant allowed you to leave. His permission was all you needed. Shifters receive five years on the market. If not claimed at the end of that time, they must head to a new territory or die. It was a last chance for those men. If anyone spoke a claim, they have thirty days to prove legitimacy in order to keep him or proof of the rogues’ unsuitability and death.” He jerked his head at the boy. His too perceptive eyes still locked on hers, demanding she do right. “Taggert’s yours for thirty days.”
“That’s barbaric.” Raven was appalled. She couldn’t take him home. Hell, she couldn’t guarantee his safety if she did. She grasped at the first excuse. “Suitable or not, what’s to keep anyone from killing them once they leave then lying about it?”
“Me.” The growl in his voice bit into her skin. His teeth flashed, more a bearing of fangs than a smile.
“What?” All the blood drained from her head so fast the world tilted. For a second, her control snapped. Streetlights flickered, dimmed. Electricity hummed loudly, then the light flared bright. Energy coursed through everything, dancing closer, seeking freedom.
Seeking her.
She needed to calm down. She couldn’t absorb more, not here, not now, even if her body cried out for it, the craving so strong she ached. She could only hold so much before it seeped from her and infected others.
Fear blossomed, took root, and memories rose.
Some people had a natural talent to absorb a little energy. But with one little slip, she’d been known to blow pacemakers. Shifters were especially sensitive to her, transforming if they received an unexpected boost. Then there were the vampires. The extra hike gave them a delicious illusion of life. For them, it was like an exquisite brand of drug.