Wild Hunt - Kali Argent Page 0,56

his head told her Cade didn’t agree.

Her pulse raced, making her heart hammer against her ribs. She knew Deke and Deidra heard it since they were both staring at her with concern, but even Roux seemed to have cottoned on that something wasn’t right.

Putting it off wouldn’t make it any easier. She nodded.

Cade turned to the others. “Get everyone together and meet us out back. We have something we need to show you.”

“That sounds ominous.” Deidra jerked her shoulder toward her ear. “I like it.” Then, she hurried off, presumably to round up the rest of the Revenant.

Five minutes later, everyone had gathered on the back patio. Mackenna was surprised to see Dr. Lancaster among them. She had assumed the female would have moved on with the rest of the human refugees, either to another safe house or to the haven in Washington. Clearly, the rest of her staff had.

Standing a little apart from the rest of the group, she offered Mackenna a warm smile, appearing nothing more than mildly curious about the proceedings. Other expressions ranged from confused to plain out disinterested. Luca just looked annoyed.

“What the hell is going on, O’Malley?”

The she-wolf pointed to Cade and Mackenna where they stood in front of the group. “Ask them. Apparently, they have something to show us.”

Lynk rubbed his eyes and yawned. “This better be good. I haven’t slept in three days.”

The only one in the group who didn’t look at all surprised about the impromptu meeting was Abby. Wrapped in one of the hospital’s blue, cotton blankets, she leaned into Luca’s side and gave Mackenna an encouraging nod.

The chick was weird, but right then, Mackenna would take all the support she could get. “Thank you,” she said, raising her voice loud enough to be heard over the drone of conversation. “I promise this won’t take long.” Silence fell over the group as their focus on her intensified. “Just…maybe back up a little.”

“Mack, you’re starting to worry me,” Roux said. “What’s going on?”

Retreating off the patio, she made sure to stay within the glow cast by the porch lights. She received a few raised eyebrows when she began stripping out of her clothes, but even the humans were accustomed to nudity at that point in their new lives. Cade cursed under his breath and stepped sideways to try to shield her from their view. Then, he must have realized that defeated the purpose, because he cursed even louder as he shuffled back out of the way.

Crouching on the ground, Mackenna looked into the small crowd, searching each of their faces until her gaze landed on Roux again. “Don’t freak out, okay?”

Growing and changing into a beast eight times her normal size was no easy feat. It didn’t hurt exactly, but she’d always hated the pressure it created in her ears that blocked out all sounds except for the roaring of her own blood.

It wasn’t the cracking, popping, and contorting mess she’d witnessed from virus-riddled shifters. Her transition flowed over her like water, realigning bones, lengthening muscles, and redesigning the very fabric of her being. The entire process took only seconds, and when she’d completed the change, she rose to her full height and shook her massive shoulders to settle her fur just the way she liked it.

And everyone freaked right the fuck out.

Expressions were harder to read in her wolf form, but thankfully, she could still rely on her other senses. She lowered her head and sniffed the air, relieved when she didn’t detect anger in their scents.

They also didn’t appear afraid as they rushed off the patio toward her, their voices rising and coalescing into a barely intelligible din of noise.

“Oh, my god.”

“Holy crap!”

“She’s immune?”

“She’s a wolf.”

“She’s a huge wolf.”

“You can shift? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“What does this mean?”

On and on, it went, every word tumbling over the last and into the next. Too many sounds. Too many smells. Too many feelings.

“This is incredible,” Rhys breathed.

There was so much pain in his voice, so much longing. He was close now, closer than anyone else, his hand reaching out toward her face.

Mackenna held perfectly still. She didn’t exactly want him to touch her, but she didn’t want to frighten him, either. Besides, he honestly didn’t seem to have any idea what he was doing. His gaze held hers, but his eyes were dazed and unfocused, and he seemed to be moving on complete instinct.

Cade, on the other hand, had no such reservations. Catching the male by the wrist, he placed