Tempting Evil

Panic rose, swift and hard, but I forced myself to ignore it. If he'd been intending to report me, he would have done so by now. I clung to that belief, to the feeling that he wanted something more than sex, and said, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

His smile grew. As did his cock. A tremor ran down my spine. God help me, part of me wanted what he was offering. Wanted to feel his dangerous flesh inside.

Damn Merle and his selfishness.

"They can see, but not hear us, you know."

Like I was going to trust his word. I merely smiled.

"As long as this elevator is moving, they ca

I still wasn't trusting him, so I simply asked, "And why arc you telling me this?"

"Because I can taste the use of psychic power, as much as you might taste the scents carried by the wind. I know what you were up to."

Oh, fuck. I should have done as Jack asked, and scouted things out before going full steam ahead. What the hell was I going to do now? I glanced down at his cock. The thick spines lining it. Not fuck him, that was for sure.

"Yes," he continued, obviously catching my look if not the actual direction of my thoughts, "I can taste auras as well as telepathy."

My gaze rose to his. "You bring that near me, and I will kill you."

He raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think you could get close enough to kill me before I rendered you unconscious?"

The mere fact I'd killed his like before—but that wasn't exactly something I could admit.

He glanced up at the floor indicator. "We have ten seconds left. I want you to meet me near the front of the zoo in half an hour. If you don't, I shall report your activities and you will be killed." His dark gaze met mine. "Deal?"

"I have a choice?"

He merely smiled and stepped away as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. I walked out and headed back to my room. Berna and Nerida weren't in their beds, which given the ratio of men to women in the arena didn't entirely surprise me. And some men did prefer their bedmates at least willing rather than simply paid vessels of satisfaction. Though I guess that's exactly what those of us who were here as fighters were anyway—we just had a little more choice in the matter.

I hesitated near the foot of my bed, briefly consumed by the ache of tiredness. I wanted to sleep, to just lay down and forget Merle and Starr and every other weirdo in this godforsaken place. But sleep wasn't an option just yet, because I had a lizard to meet, a brother to find, and an ache to ease. I grabbed my toiletries bag and headed for the shower. A good scrub washed the smell and feel of Merle from my skin, but did nothing for the trepidation curling through my gut. I needed to talk to someone now, not later, and the only choice I had was Jack.

I headed outside, ensured no one was within listening distance, then lightly pressed the com-link. "Hey, boss, you awake?"

"About time you reported in," he growled. "I was starting to worry."

Yeah, he was so worried he'd sent in the rescue troops. Not. "You're the one who insisted on sending in the amateur. Don't whine at me if I don't do things the way you want them done."

He grunted. What that meant was anyone's guess. "What's happening?"

I headed up the small path that snaked around the building and onto the zoo. "Several things. Some good, some bad."

He sighed. "Tell me."

"Well, I've rubbed groins with Merle and made him a happy, happy man. And I've discovered that, with a little effort, I can slip through his thoughts, though I didn't dare go too deep tonight."

"Glad caution won out for a change." He paused. "So there weren't psi-deadeners in the lower areas?"

I hesitated, but the fact was, sooner or later he was going to have to know about my apparent ability to override the force of the deadeners. It might as well be sooner. And at least he couldn't rip me into the Directorate for more tests. "There are. My talents are apparently slipping under them."

"We noted a slight increase last time we tested, but it wouldn't have been powerful enough to slide past deadeners."

"Would it have been powerful enough to breach Qui

He didn't say anything for a moment, then, "When did that happen?"

"Yesterday. I did catch him by surprise, mind."

"It shouldn't have mattered." Again the silence stretched a little, and if I didn't know better, I would have thought he was worried. "It's six months since you were given the ARC1-23. This could be the first sign that it is changing you."

"Or it could simply mean that Dia is right, and my talents are maturing thanks to the fact I'm finally menstruating." There was nothing like clinging to a forlorn hope until the very last moment, but what other choice did I have? I wanted to be normal—wanted to have a normal life. Well, as normal as a half-werewolf, half-vampire guardian could, anyway. I didn't want to be some freak monitored by the labs for every little outlandish change the drugs made. "Wolves do mature slower than humans. And remember, neither Rhoan and I have any idea what our father was, besides a vampire. He could have been a hawk-shifter with massive psi-talents before his undeath, for all we know."

"There were indications of latent talents in all previous tests, I've told you that. But latent doesn't always mean those talents will develop."

"Maybe it's a result of the training you've been giving me."

"Two weeks ago you couldn't have broken through my full shields, let alone Qui

I closed my eyes, blew out a breath. It did nothing to ease the deep rush of hatred and anger. The end of my life as I knew it was one step closer, and I had Starr and his fucking desire to not only build the perfect killing machine but take over the world—or at least the Melbourne section of it—to thank for it. If he'd been near me right then, I would have killed the bastard and been done with it, no matter what the consequences.

"I never wanted to be a guardian, Jack. You know that."

"There's only two places that can give you the sort of help you need to control the power you seem to be getting—us, or the military."

"I don't want anything to do with the military."

"Then my option is the lesser of two evils."

Which wasn't really saying much.

"What else happened?" he said.

I rubbed a hand across my eyes. "I've met Starr. He's not living on the same planet as you and me. You know that, don't you?"

"He may be insane, but he's also extremely clever. Remember that."

"I will." I hesitated. "He asked me if I was from the red pack. He seems to think he knows me."

Jack swore. "That's not good."

"Oh, it gets worse."

"How much worse?"

"I'm about to find out." I rounded the corner of the building and walked onto the soft grass. The night breeze stirred around me, filled with the scent of animals and captivity. Up until that moment, I would have sworn that captivity didn't have a smell, but there it was, filling the night with an odd sense of frustration, desperation, and hopelessness.

Odd that such things had aromas.

Odder still that I could smell them. I might have the nose of a wolf, but until that moment, fear, lust, and death were the strongest emotions I'd caught.

Though technically, death wasn't an emotion, fust a passing that lingered, a sadness staining the air.

"Merle and Moss have a spirit lizard houseboy. He's apparently sensitive to the use of psychic power."

"I take it he knows you were reading Merle and didn't report it?"