Winter Halo (Outcast 2)

“Which particular rumor are we talking about now?” The question came out clipped, and annoyance surged—at myself more than him. Why was emotional control so difficult around this shifter?

“The one that said déchet were capable of self-healing,” he said. “It was one of the few rumors I hadn’t actually believed until now.”

“Shifters heal themselves all the time, so why are you so surprised that we can do the same?” I thrust my guns onto their clips and then resolutely got to my feet.

He rose with me, one hand half-extended, as if to catch me. My legs threatened to buckle, but I determinedly locked my knees. I would not fall. I did not need his help.

Even if I was only alive because of it.

“Our healing is basically a side benefit of shifting from one form to another—it’s more muscle memory than anything else. But déchet don’t shift.”

“I can.” I might not be able take on an animal form—even though I did have tiger DNA—but I could alter my body into any other human form I desired. That ability was part of the reason why lures had been so successful during the war. There might have been only a relatively small number of us, but with the ability to totally transform our looks and our scent, huge numbers weren’t actually needed.

“Yes, you can.” He was still standing close enough to catch me, and his scent filled every breath, rekindling the ashes of desire. “What were you doing out here?”

His abrupt change of direction didn’t faze me. Jonas had a habit of doing that; he was always trying to trip me up, to make me whisper secrets.

Not that I had many of those left now.

I took my time to answer and studied him instead, knowing full well it would annoy him even as I acknowledged it was somewhat childish to want that. His face was still slightly gaunt—a result of whatever he’d been infected with when I first rescued both him and his niece, Penny, from the vampires—and it made his sharp nose look even more aristocratic. But even with that nose—or maybe because of it—I’d definitely class him as handsome, though not classically so. There was a roughness to his features that made them far more interesting than beautiful.

“That is a question I should be asking you,” I said eventually.

The smile that briefly flirted with his lips held little in the way of amusement. “Nuri sent me here.”

“Why? I told you all several days ago I was finished, Jonas. I meant it.”

“Nuri didn’t—doesn’t—believe you truly mean to walk away from those children. She says it’s simply not in your makeup.”

“I’m déchet, remember? We don’t think, we don’t feel, and we certainly don’t care.”

“The latter has been proven false—at least in your case.” His gaze swept me, and just for an instant, pheromones stung the air, his and mine, mixing enticingly. Desire sparked, fierce and bright, but its flame was all too brief and shut down the minute he stepped back. “We need your help, Tiger, and we’re not going to leave you alone until we get it.”

“Stalk me all you want. It won’t make a difference.”

Again that cool smile touched his lips. “You might be able to change your form, but that won’t stop me from tracking you.”

Good luck with that, I wanted to bite back, but somehow held the words inside. The last thing I needed right now was to make him suspect I could change my scent as well as my looks. “Then I believe you’re going to get mighty bored.”

“Oh, I doubt it.” He waved a hand toward the bloody mess of flesh, sinew, and bone—all that remained of the wraith. “Why was it chasing you?”

“Probably because I annoyed it by attempting to kill it.”

“Annoyance does seem to be a common emotion around you.” Amusement glinted in his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. “Where did you come across it?”

“Not it, them.” I motioned to the rear of the graveyard. “I was following a cloaked figure and he led me straight to an active rift.”

“Meaning the wraiths killed him?”

I hesitated. While I had no desire to be a part of any investigation involving him, Nuri, or the rest of them, I was also aware that I couldn’t chase every lead myself. Practicality had to win over stubbornness in this particular case. “No. He was meeting with them.”

“What?” The word exploded from him. “Why in Rhea would anyone want to do that?”

“Given I had no chance to ask, I can’t really say.” My voice was grim. “But as he came from Carleen, I could make a guess or two.”

“You think it was one of Sal’s partners?”

I nodded. “Who else could it be? No one else has any reason to be in that place, especially at night.”