To bribe me?
No, that wasn’t it. If she’d wanted to use it as a favor, she’d have explained why she did it, how they were important, would have wanted to capitalize on the gift for her own ends. Instead, she’d said nothing. She’d accepted that I might not understand it, that I might not care, but she’d gotten them because she’d wanted to.
I rubbed my head, frustration eating away at me as I realized again that she wasn’t Layla, that I’d snapped at her for no good reason, that’d I’d made an already difficult situation even harder on her.
Which meant I had to make it up to her yet again…
Chapter Four
Hera
I pulled my shirt over my head, then styled my hair into a ponytail. Today was the day—my appointment with Medical—and I’d gotten no closer to my idea of blocking the drugs. I’d asked Wade again, but neither he, Knox nor Brax knew anything.
And I hadn’t spoken to Deacon since our fight.
His words still stung, digging in even though I’d told myself to stop thinking about it. I hadn’t been kidding when I’d said that he needed to deal with his own issues, that he couldn’t take them out on me, but that didn’t stop the pain in my chest at the way he’d looked at me.
He’d stared at me as if I were some creature trying to drag him down to hell.
He hadn’t even realized why the animal crackers were important. I’d taken on extra shifts from another shade to get those crackers, and he hadn’t given a damn.
A knock on the door made me turn that way, frowning. Was it time already? I’d thought my schedule had Medical near noon, but maybe they’d moved it up?
I went to the door and pulled it open, startled to find Kit standing there.
“Are you going to invite me in?” Kit asked as if showing up without notice were the most normal thing in the world.
I nodded, the reaction probably based more on my upbringing than my actual desires. Inviting someone in was normal, it was expected of me, and my mother’s voice in my head told me to be gracious.
Of course, it wasn’t until he was actually inside my apartment that I realized just how uncomfortable it was.
Kit didn’t match with the rest of my space. He was perfectly dressed and proper, whereas my place was tiny and messy. I suddenly wished I’d taken time to pick up the water bottles from the table, to straighten it all.
Which was stupid.
I wasn’t trying to impress him.
Wait, why is he here at all?
Kit turned back toward me and folded his hands at the small of his back. His black eyes were as unnerving as they always were, especially because I couldn’t read him well. “Deacon sent me.”
Deacon? I frowned as I tried to piece together what he meant.
Kit nodded as if he’d read it on my face. “I understand you’re wanting a resistance to the drugs Medical uses.”
It felt like a trap, so I didn’t nod right away. Trusting Deacon was one thing—trusting Kit was another. Even with Deacon, I never told him the entire truth, so the idea of letting Kit in on anything felt way too dangerous.
“You can do that?”I asked to be safe.
He nodded with one quick jerk of his head. “Yes.”
“How?”
“Wendigos are immune to most powers and nearly all medications and drugs. We can’t even get drunk.”
“And you can lend me that ability?”
“Yes and no. I can’t just hand it over, and it won’t work the way it does for me. The medications they give will still affect you, just to a much lesser degree. It means you will likely feel what they do in addition to remembering it all.”