Page 98 of Mortis

“Don’t fucking look at him.”

Something inside my chest tightened. “Teddy,” I murmured.

He ignored me. “I knew there was something wrong with you from the moment you knocked me over. I don’t know what you want with Kael, but you’re not fucking getting him.”

Finally, Sebastian lowered his gaze. His attention settled on Teddy. “Protective, aren’t you, little one?”

My jaw clenched at the patronising endearment. But Teddy merely lifted his chin. “You have no idea.”

“No.” Sebastian chuckled, his mismatched eyes flicked briefly towards me. “Perhaps I don’t.” Then he looked at Teddy again. “But dying for him would be rather pointless, wouldn’t it?”

A growl tore from my throat. Several mortals nearby turned towards the sound, but I didn’t care. A threat. He had threatened my treasure. Every rational thought disappeared beneath one overwhelming command.

Protect.

I caught the back of Teddy’s scrubs and pulled him away, pushing him towards Arlo. The two stumbled sideways, Arlo immediately wrapping both arms around him.

“Kael!”

I barely heard Teddy call my name. My attention belonged entirely to Sebastian. I stalked towards him, stopping only when our chests collided. The crumpled line of police tape hung uselessly between us. Sebastian didn’t retreat. Didn’t flinch. He didn’t display even the smallest trace of fear. Instead, his smile grew, as though he had been waiting for this. As though every moment since Mr Simpson disappeared had been designed to bring me precisely here.

The thought settled in my stomach like a lump of brimstone. My body trembled beneath the strain of maintaining its human shape. My eyes burned. My scalp prickled where my horns threatened to emerge. My fingertips ached for claws, while my teeth begged to sharpen and tear.

Kill him, the Beast snarled.

Just this once, I was inclined to agree.

“You will not hurt him,” I snarled.

Sebastian tilted his head. “Then perhaps you should come willingly.”

My growl deepened. “Come where?”

“Home.”

One word, spoken so casually. Yet it made something ancient and terrified recoil inside me. And Sebastian noticed, because of course he did.

“You’ve been away for quite some time,” he continued. “Surely you didn’t believe you could hide in this little town forever. Living in the woods like an animal? How ghastly.”

I grabbed the lapels of his expensive coat and dragged him closer. Stitches snapped beneath my fists. “I belong to no mortal.”

“No.” Sebastian’s gaze dropped briefly to my hands. “You belong to someone far greater.”

“My master resides in Hell,” I spat. “And that’s exactly where I will send you if you lay a hand on Teddy.”

Sebastian laughed. Not loudly, and that somehow made it worse. “They did say you were always rather difficult to control.”

I froze.

Always?

The sun emerged from behind the clouds, and light spilled across Sebastian’s face. Across his eyes. I’d noticed the first time we met that they didn’t match. One so pale it was almost colourless. The other darker, warmer. I’d thought it resembled whisky. But beneath the sunlight, I realised I had been wrong.

Not whisky.

Honey.

My grip on his coat loosened, and Sebastian’s smile disappeared behind another face. An older face with an average appearance. Greyness at the temples. One muddy brown eye, and the other glowing like honey beneath candlelight.