I’d be the first to admit my life is somewhat…unbalanced. But there will never be another time to fight for what is ours. This is it. And I won’t lose by failing to give it all I’ve got. So yes I work around the clock some days. My position demands it. For the foreseeable future, this is how it’ll be.
Don’t get me wrong. I do fit in some fun, here and there. In intense spectacular bursts. We all have needs and I explore those within the confines of relationships between consenting adults. Not mates. On Rayner that distinction is implicitly understood. On Earth, with humans, the opposite is true. For right now, it suits me, because I’m not looking for anything more.
In the middle of all this, Blake insists that I go on a vacation. No, that’s the wrong word. He orders me to, giving me no choice in the matter. It’s ludicrous.
But I do. And I gotta tell you, it’s very odd to just…be. And the freedom I feel, well, I marvel at the simplicity of it. Blake might have a valid point buried in here somewhere.
I’m traveling with Clive—somewhat—who’s on a humanitarian mission at the clinic where Taryn used to work. And I’ll dig in and help where I can there, too.
While I’m relaxing on a beautiful stretch of beach, I start to get the local emergency notifications. Except it’s more along the lines of a public disaster. And when I see all this is unfolding at the clinic in San Francisco that we’re here to assist, I’m watching with rapt attention.
I waste no time getting on-site. The clinic is a war zone. Overrun with shifters in various stages of transformation. People are dying here. I’m surrounded by deepening chaos, by the police presence and their useless attempts to contain the rapidly deteriorating situation, while the maulings, the cries for help are ongoing. And on the outskirts of the parking lot, the reporters are gathering like vultures, hoping for the worst case scenario . Despite all that, one thing gains my entire attention.
She’s just transformed back into her human form, and she’s hurt. Her blond hair is streaked with blood that’s coming from a fresh wound, oozing from her neck. And yet she’s trying to assess. To act, as I am. One second I’m formulating a plan, the next I’m overcome with her presence and the fact that her life is in danger.
My eyes find hers.
My body jolts with awareness.
Time has skipped to a stop, and for a blur of a moment everything goes deathly quiet.
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