Twenty Two

I watched Aiden from the couch and I could barely keep focus. My eyes kept threatening to close and every time they did, Nathan's hand tightened against my neck and his voice cut through the fog — stay with me, stay awake — and I'd drag myself back.

Somehow, I was confused about why the people I had called the bad guys were trying so hard to save my life. Nathan was still pressing the makeshift bandage against my neck and holding it firmly in place, stopping the bleeding and making sure I didn't lose consciousness.

That was the dangerous part — falling asleep now could kill me faster than the venom.

The blood wasn't stopping. I could feel it, warm and continuous, soaking through the bandage.

It was running down my collarbone, soaking into my clothes, and I couldn't tell anymore if I was cold because of blood loss or because the venom was still spreading or both.

It was probably both.

But I could still see what was happening across the room.

I could still see Aiden holding Joshua in place after such beating he had given him.

His hand was now buried in Joshua's chest.

Not metaphorically. He had driven his fist through skin and bone and muscle like they were nothing, aimed directly for the heart, with full force. I had assumed Joshua was dead — that it was over.

But he hadn't stopped moving, not even for a second. Then Aiden pulled his hand back out.

It was empty.

He hadn't taken the heart.

Not that I was particularly concerned about whether Joshua lived or died. Honestly, I would have been glad if he did.

I promised myself if he ends up alive If I somehow survive this all, I will kill that bastard myself.

What shocked me was how fast Aiden had moved — no hesitation, no thinking twice, no pause. This was someone Nathan had told me Aiden once saved a few years ago, someone he had pulled back from the edge, and Aiden had gone for his heart without blinking.

Aiden stood there with his fist dripping blood, staring at Joshua like he was looking at something that didn't add up.

Joshua hung there, blood running from his lips, somehow still conscious, still upright, held in place only by Aiden's other hand gripping his collar. And he wasn't afraid.

There was no remorse on his face, no fear in his eyes. Just something empty and fixed and deeply wrong, like a mask stretched over the wrong face.

Aiden was still trying to make sense of it.

I had seen him angry before. I had seen him cold. I had seen him commanding and dangerous and completely terrifying. But right now, for the first time, he looked confused.

"Josh," he said, and his voice sounded quiet in rage "Since when did you stop being afraid of me?"

Joshua said nothing for a long moment

Then he spoke, and what he said made no sense.

"I…have to…kill her."

Aiden's expression darkened completely.

“You still dare speak back?”

He slammed Joshua back down to his knees that his bones snapped and then he moved — faster than I could follow, a dark blur appearing behind Joshua before I could even track the motion. Joshua hit the concrete hard, making only a small, hollow sound on impact.

"Aiden…Aiden, no don't do it!" Nathan said sharply, noticing what was about to happen.

But Aiden ignored him.

His hand came up and his claws extended — long, sharp, fully shifted. Then he pressed them against the back of Joshua's neck, not slashing but pressing *into* it, carefully depending inside, like he was turning a key inside a lock.

All of a sudden Joshua convulsed once. Then his head fell back, his whole body going rigid and still.

Aiden's eyes stayed locked on him.

I watched from the couch, not fully understanding what I was seeing. "What's happening?" I managed, turning my eyes to Nathan. "What…what is he doing?"

Nathan exhaled slowly. "Something is wrong with Joshua," he said quietly. "And Aiden is digging through his memories to find out."