Another boom jerked my body aside.
She screamed this time, 'Do it now!'
And then it happened. I gasped as my own power swirled in a vacuum. A tornado formed inside of me and everything went around and around. I swallowed thickly, my hands were shaking from the effort, but I imagined a blanket. I saw it happening in my mind. The immortal was snarling, but I kept it in the swirl and the blanket wrapped around it. Then it was forced down, down, further down into a box. As it got there, the lid shook. It couldn't contain it, but I gritted my teeth and I snapped the lid in place. It shut with a violent force, but then I pushed it all the way deep in me, further than I could reach.
Then my eyes opened again and I was trembling in place.
"Davy!" Kates screamed at me. She twisted her hand free from my hold and hissed as she examined it. "I'm bleeding! Holy cow!"
"What?" I couldn't stop shaking. "What happened?"
"You went crazy. That's what happened." She shook her hand as she watched me with weary eyes. "What happened to you?"
And then a guy rounded the corner.
He was tall, built lean, and soft in the face. He had the face of a little boy who'd grown into a pretty boy, but his eyes made me pause. They were old, had seen too much for being so young. Then he stopped altogether, his nostrils flared and I felt him sniffing around me. He started low, around my feet, but his eyes held mine. I slipped into him without realizing it. Images of him as a young wolf came back at me. His fur was a golden bronze with white eyes. He was running and playing with Pippa when she had been a pup. The two nipped at each other, licking each others' toes at the end. And then an image of a woman flew at me. Her hand was outstretched to me, her red hair streamed behind her. She w
ore a similar dress to what I'd seen on Talia. When her eyes found mine, I sucked in a breath. I was horrified. She was Talia's mother, or the essence of her. There was no soul within her. This was only her residue, left in him. This was Emily's boyfriend. This was the Alpha.
I shut it down. I shut the last bit of power down and got out of him before he knew I was there. He wanted to know why I smelled familiar to him, but Kates' scent distracted him. The booze and sex pulled at him like a drug.
When she winked at me, I knew she'd done it on purpose. Then she drawled, "Got a good enough whiff? Are you a horny puppy now? Gonna go hump something?"
He snapped back and bared his teeth.
Kates rolled her eyes. "Please. Unlike vampires, I can kill your kind. There's no decree saying I can't."
He composed himself and stood at his fullest height. Then he smirked."You couldn't handle me, slayer."
"Maybe not alone, but I've got a few friends. You can't hurt me and I've got no such rule. If an animal's attacking me, I have every right to protect myself."
His lip curled upwards in a heated snarl.
I felt his anger start. It was low, but strong. As it rose in him, it grew even more powerful. Then it got to his eyes. The dark brown color had grown black with a silver haze that clouded over the white in his eyes. His eyes had been white as a pup. I was waiting for the full change now. He was within seconds of transforming in the hallway, but then his mate called him.
"Pete?" Emily was walking towards us.
He turned back and held out a hand. "I'm fine. No worries, hon."
Her eyes skimmed past him and fell on me. Her mouth fell open and she paled. "Oh my god."
My eyes widened too. "Don't faint!"
"Davy?" Her voice had grown weak. She wavered on her feet and then leaned against the wall. "What are you? Are you real? Oh my god."
"You already said that." Kates brushed past them to walk into our room.
My feet were still frozen, but I felt Pete's curiosity double.
"Davy? Is that really you?" Emily seemed to be on the brink of tears, but then Pete took her hand and she pushed them down. He steadied her. I saw the connection between them and it was remarkable. Before, she'd been more neurotic and almost hysterical at times. Now she was strong and calm. He did that for her. I could see his strength flow into her. It tripled when their hands touched.
I wasn't the only one who had changed.
"It's me."
"Davy?" A squeal came from behind me before two arms wound themselves around me. Her voice was muffled into my back. "Thank god you're home. I was so worried."
Only one person would react like that. I laughed. "It's nice to see you too, Brown."