between different species that could take a lifetime for you to really understand.” I sighed. “Let’s just figure out where you stand first. The rest can come over time, naturally, as you’re exposed.” I wondered if I needed to find a werewolf or werecat who was once human to help. Or Carter. Carter would be perfect at this discussion. He used to be human before he was turned into a vampire without his permission. He and Raphael could have a great chit chat about the whole thing. I couldn’t relate. This was my world, had always been my world.
“What are we doing out here?” he asked, looking over the same view as me.
“See those rocks?” I asked, pointing toward a little outcropping. “We’re going to test your strength and see how much you can do. Any information at this point is good information.”
“Yeah, sure,” he mumbled, walking past me toward the rocks.
I stayed where I was because if there was one thing that could kill me, it was being crushed under four thousand pounds of stone. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be able to throw it very far.
“Aren’t you coming down?” he called out.
“Nope. Come on, monster boy. Go all scary for me, pick up some rocks, and try to throw them.”
14
Chapter Fourteen
His eyes shifted from warm brown to blazing red.
“I’m not liking the nickname,” he growled. “Old lady.”
I hissed in return. “Just get started. I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just trying to lighten the damn mood.”
I watched as the whites of his eyes turned black, and the lines began to spread from his face. His muscles bulged as he went for the biggest rock in the stack and began to lift. His fingers dug into the stone like it was clay.
My heart raced. There was no one that strong.
The rock began to lift as he got a solid grip on it, since he hade his own handholds. The black ink spreading through his veins from his eyes grew as he lifted it higher. Once he had it about three feet off the ground, I got to witness him toss it ten feet. When it hit the ground, everything shook and the stone split into several large chunks. He walked up to the large piece remaining and put his hand on top of it. I watched him shove down, and the stone began to crumble and sink into the dirt. Once it was nearly half buried again, he stopped and looked at me.
I sat down, my mouth gaping. Apparently, seeing it the second time didn’t make it any more believable.
“How was that?” he asked, walking back to me. “I don’t think I need to do the smaller rocks.”
“Nope, you really don’t,” I agreed, looking at the massive rock pieces in their new home. “We can work with this. Let’s get back to training with the sword and getting you prepared for any real fights.”
“Kaliya…why are you helping me?” he asked suddenly, as I stood up and brushed the dirt off my ass.
“Why did you accept my help?” I answered back, looking up at his face. He still had red eyes, but the black was leaving. I knew if I caught his scent, it would be turning back to human as we spoke.
“I…” He looked away.
“Yeah. Same.” I couldn’t tell him too much. There were things I wasn’t comfortable with—like how I looked at him, and my fangs ached. How could I begin to tell him about my species and the problems with it when we didn’t even know what he was? It seemed unfair, to both of us.
He frowned, and I wondered what was going through his mind.
“I knew I was going to need help one day. Eventually, my luck would run out,” he said softly. “And there you were, trying to talk to me like no one else had. I took a chance. Running is tiring, and you started giving me answers, something I’d wanted for years.”
“I wish I could give you more,” I said, crossing my arms. “But in a lot of ways, I’m more blind than you are.”
“Yeah, but even if you can’t stop them from getting me, you’re giving me a heads up on this thing I’ve been in for a decade but didn’t know about. All this supernatural shit. That’s something. If I have to keep running, at least I’ll know more now than I did.”
I blinked several times, letting what he said sink in.
“Well, I’m glad I could help in some way,” I finally