J. Tyler: Black Moon

Oh, but Kalen had shared so much more than that. Her footsteps faltered and she halted, remembering.

Breathy moans and tangled sheets. Messy black hair falling over his kohl-rimmed green eyes as he moved over her. Thrusting, possessing.

Making love.

And then it was over and he’d pulled into his isolated shell, claiming there could be nothing between them. He’d given her the pendant, made her promise never to remove it, and then put miles of emotional distance between them. They might as well be living on different planets, the chasm was so great.

Why?

A loud crack startled Mac, making her jump. The noise echoed down the corridor and, as it faded, she realized what the sound had been.

A gunshot.

Heart thundering, she took off in the direction of the noise. Kalen had used his Sorcerer’s power to ward the compound against intruders, but perhaps a Sluagh or some other creature had gotten inside? Or maybe one of the creatures from Block R had become feral?

But no, the sound took her past Rehab, past the wings where the staff living quarters were located. Men from the Pack bolted from their rooms, came from every direction, rushed past her. She ran, at last realizing they were heading for Nick’s office. She couldn’t imagine what terrible thing could have happened.

Until she saw Nick standing like a statue over Kalen’s prone body, a smoking gun in his hand.

Then Mac’s eyes rolled up in her head and she saw nothing more.

I’m not shot. Holy fuck, I’m alive.

Kalen stared at the burned spot in the carpet right next to his leg for about five seconds before he slumped to the floor. His body simply refused to cooperate any longer, and he lay there in shock, hardly believing he was breathing.

“I had to know if you’d go through with it,” Nick said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Fucking hell,” he croaked.

“Your last thought was for the safety of others, not yourself. You were willing to die for the greater good of everyone else, and that means Malik hasn’t won. You’re a good man at the core, and so there’s hope.”

“Nick, am I fighting this battle just to die anyway?” It was a question he’d asked before, and he received the same answer.

“I don’t know.”

“And you wouldn’t tell me even if you could.”

“That’s right.”

God, what a screwed-up mess. He wasn’t sure how he would’ve responded, but the sound of footsteps, voices raised in concern, floated from the corridor. Kalen let out a deep sigh, humiliated that the guys, plus Rowan, were here to witness this and learn about Nick’s little “test” of his worthiness.

“Shit, catch her!”

Her? Kalen sat up quickly, just in time to see Zander scoop Mackenzie into his arms and lift her against his chest. Kalen shot to his feet and, before he thought about what he was doing, grabbed the doctor from Zan with a snarl, holding her close. He glared at the man, warning him back.

Zan raised his hands, palms out. “Chill, man. Would you rather I had let her hit the floor?”

With an effort, he calmed himself. Zan was only trying to help. But inside, his panther raged at seeing Mac— their woman —in the arms of another male. He’d never felt anything like it in his life. It was confusing as hell.

“No. Sorry,” he managed. “I’ll just—”

“You can put me down.”

Anxiously, he looked down into Mac’s beautiful face. Large blue eyes fringed with dark lashes stared up at him, blinking away tears. His gut tightened, knowing he’d been the cause, in more ways than one.

“It wasn’t what it looked like, exactly.”

“Put me down. Please,” she entreated softly.

Reluctantly, he did as she asked, but that didn’t stop him from checking her from head to toe. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.” She glanced around at the guys who’d assembled there, cheeks pale as milk. Swallowing hard, she said, “I’m fine. Now tell me what the hell was going on in there.”

“Nick gave me a test. I passed. The end.”

She scowled at Nick. “What sort of test involves firing a gun at one of your men?”

Nick addressed the group, keeping the explanation to the point. “Kalen was willing to be executed rather than risk bringing harm to his team. That means there’s still hope that he can be saved from Malik’s control, so we’ll see this through to the end. Anybody disagree?”

No one did. One by one each man plus their lone female swore his loyalty to the team. And that loyalty included Kalen. As he looked to each of them, he couldn’t breathe. Never had anyone stood up for him. Stood by him. Not even his own parents, the people who should have sheltered him and loved him the most. The idea that these people who’d come into his life so recently would have his back, even in the wake of him letting them down, overwhelmed him.

He could hardly speak. “I swear I’ll do my best not to fail all of you again.”

Or he’d die trying. Suddenly the chaos inside him seemed to settle and his purpose became clear—he’d fight Malik with everything in him. And when the time came, he’d make the right choice.

Whatever that proved to be.

“Excuse me,” Mackenzie said tightly. “But I think I’m going to be sick.”

Spinning around, she dashed to a woman’s restroom down the hall from Nick’s office and disappeared inside. He would’ve gone after her, but Nick blocked his way.

“You should probably let her be right now.”

It wasn’t a suggestion. Quelling his pissed-off panther again, he nodded curtly and strode in the opposite direction, putting as much distance between himself and everyone else as fast as possible.

Just as he’d done all his life.

“Mac?”

“In here.” Bent over the sink, Mac finished rinsing her mouth, then turned off the water. Glancing at Melina, she grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser, dried her face, and tossed them in the trash. “See? I’m fine.”

“I don’t think so.” Melina’s sharp scrutiny roamed over Mac’s face, and she apparently didn’t like what she saw. “To the infirmary with you. I’m going to give you a checkup.”

“I don’t need—”

“I didn’t ask . I’m telling you. Doctors make the worst patients,” she grumbled. “Let’s go.”

There was no arguing with her friend when she had a bug up her ass, so Mac relented. Though Melina was slight of frame and sort of resembled an elf with her short cap of dark hair, she was fully capable of making the toughest Pack member cringe in fear. She was a tough, militant bitch.

And that was when she was in a good mood.

Her friend hadn’t always been that way, but that was before her mate, Terry, the Alpha Pack’s former commander, had been killed in an ambush several months ago. Accepting Nick as the new leader in her mate’s place had been hard on the woman, and she and Nick didn’t always see eye to eye. But they’d found some peace between them, based on mutual respect.

Melina led Mac into an exam room and gestured to the table covered with the hated crinkly white paper. “Sit.”

Dutifully, Mac did, and proceeded to subject herself to a complete physical. Melina checked her eyes, ears, nose, and throat. Checked her reflexes. All seemed clear, but the woman still wasn’t satisfied.

“I don’t like it one bit that you fainted,” she said with a frown.

“For God’s sake, I thought Nick had killed Kalen! Give me a break.”

“How long have you been queasy? Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

She had? Mac blinked at her friend, hedging. “I don’t know. A few days, maybe.”

“How often have you been throwing up?”