Bane of My Existence

Chapter 22

"Anything else?"

"Judging from his build and some of the scar tissue, I'd bet he was military."

So they were weaponizing them.

"There's one more thing, sir." Marcus lifted the body's left arm, exposing the inside of his wrist. "He has 'Golf' tattooed on his wrist."

"Interesting tattoo choice," Kalem muttered to himself.

Damon had no explanation for it either.

"Thank you, Marcus. Keep me posted." Damon left the doctor to finish his examination. Kalem and Dayton were fast to follow him out of the hospital. They stood in the parking lot, just in front of Damon's truck.

Kalem was the first to speak. "This isn't good."

Dayton fixed him with a sardonic glare. "No shit."

It was one thing for Damon's people to have to defend themselves from humans with military training; it was something else to have to fight against these Mutants. Humans were weak and even an untrained shifter could defend themselves, but if these Mutants were as fast and as strong as them, only a trained shifter would stand a chance. Maybe even a fae would have a hard time dealing with one.

"Shifters aren't their only targets anymore. They're going to go after Night Folklings." That could be the only reason why they would make them stronger.

"Fuck them," Dayton spat. "They didn't help us when we asked for it. They watched and did nothing while our people were killed."

Unfortunately, as an Alpha, Damon wasn't allowed to think that way. He had relationships with the witch covens, vampire nests, and the fae in the area. If he didn't warn them, he could consider his favors void.

"We have to do something, Damon," Dayton pressed. "Let me send Lone Wolf. We'll-"

"No," Damon cut him off. "We still don't know enough. They could have a hundred of those Mutants. You're good, Dayton, but your men can't take on a hundred."

"Says you. You don't train with them everyday. We can end this."

"Damon's right," Kalem butted in, peering around the parking lot. There were a few people coming and going, and they were all looking at the three of them like they were going to tear up the hospital. "We need to be smart about this. If you go charging in, our strongest fighters, and die, that'll severely impact the pack and our image to other shifters."

Dayton crossed his arms, pinning his glare on Damon. "You better talk to your little girlfriend and get her to help us. She can give us the numbers we need."

"No. Absolutely not. I'm not bringing her into this."

For a beat Kalem and Dayton stared at him as if he'd lost his head. Then Dayton's face went red.

"What was the fucking point in getting involved with her if we're not going to use her?"

"This is about last night, isn't it?" Kalem guessed.

Dayton glared at Kalem. "What the fuck happened last night?"

"Damon threatened Cory."

"He threatened Kinsey," Damon growled in defense. Even just thinking of someone hurting her had his beast roiling under his skin, ready to shift at a moment's notice.

"You can't control your wolf." It wasn't a question anymore. It was plain for either of them to see.

"I almost Bonded with her last night," he confessed quietly. He still wanted to Bond with her, but Kinsey had been right to put it off. He hadn't explained any of the risks, and if he did Bond with her without taking any of the necessary precautions, she would be an easy target for anyone who wanted to hurt him. He had to be smart about it--as Kalem was always telling him.

The other two fell silent.

"Almost?" Kalem pried when Damon didn't elaborate.

"She stopped me. Didn't want me to do anything I would regret."

"At least one of you has their head on straight," Dayton muttered, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"I intend to take her as my mate, Dayton. I won't put her in danger."

Dayton bit his lip so hard he might actually tear it off. He looked like he wanted to curse him up the wall, but when he opened his mouth, all he said was, "You're an idiot."

"Maybe." All he knew was that he wanted to do right by Kinsey. He wanted to give her everything, share his wealth and power, his soul.

Dayton raked a hand through his cropped hair and blew out a mouthful of air. "Damn, you must be serious if you're going to let me call you an idiot. But are you sure, brother?"

He had known from the moment he first laid eyes on her. His wolf had told him countless times. She was his.

Damon brushed some leftover sulphur off his shoulder. "I was late because I've made arrangements for Kinsey to work for James. I don't want her anywhere near the Corporation."

Dayton's face twisted. "James? The Warlock of Wensworth, James? And you think that's safer?"

"He will protect her."

"Yeah, from others--but what about himself? He doesn't understand how delicate humans are."

"Kinsey can handle James." Damon would make sure of it before he let her agree to anything. She needed to absolutely know what working with James was like.

"All right," Kalem moved on, "So if we don't have Kinsey, what do we do now?"

"I'll make a few phone calls tonight, see if I can get someone to make me a Mimic potion." He might not want Kinsey there, but with a strand of her hair, a witch could make a potion that would make anyone look exactly like her.

Kalem nodded in agreement. "I'll take the potion."

"No. It's my idea. I will be the one to do it."

"No offense to either of you," Dayton interrupted, "but neither of you are trained in the art of infiltration and recon. You get the potion and I'll drink it."

Damon wasn't in love with the idea of his brother going behind enemy lines, but he was right. Dayton had been in the military for twenty years, was trained for this. If anyone was going to walk amongst the people at the Bane Corporation and get the information they needed, it was Dayton.

He relented with a reluctant sigh.

Dayton flashed him a victorious smile then strode over to his motorcycle. Come rain or thunder, Dayton wouldn't pick any other mode of transportation.

The roar of his brother's obnoxious bike was replaced by Damon's phone. An unknown number lit up the screen. Glaring at it, he answered. "Damon here."

"Hey. I don't suppose Kinsey is with you?"

Damon stood stiff. Kalem's eyes locked on to him, overhearing the voice on the line. They were entirely harmless, slightly tired, but her words rocked through him and set off all kinds of alarms in his head.

Before he panicked, he needed to get a few things straight: "Who is this?"

"Sabrina! Kinsey's friend. You remember me? She left your number on the fridge in case I needed to contact you."

He did remember, yet she continued to blather on. He cut her off, "Kinsey's not with me. She hasn't returned home?"

He was going to give her a couple hours at home before he offered to whisk her away for the night. He glanced at his watch. She was supposed to be off work an hour ago. Plenty of time for her to have driven home safely, even in heavy traffic.

"No," Sabrina answered, "but I'm sure she's just stuck in traffic. Sorry to bother you-"

"Don't you dare hang up on me." He marched over to his truck. "I'm coming over."

There was no such thing as "stuck in traffic" in his world. If she was late, something was wrong. He needed to find Kinsey before it was too late.