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Catalyst HM Ward 45190K 2023-08-31

Kahli felt Will pull away, and the smallto his soul that had slipped open, closed She felt it sla whatever secrets he had hidden His suggestion to let him bite her was so outlandish that she couldn&039;t fathohtened she beca that Kahli was used to Sure she felt it, but she didn&039;t let it do about it, Kahli picked through Will&039;s suggestion trying to figure out what part she was reacting to the worst It wasn&039;t a stupid idea, in fact it was brilliant, but Kahli couldn&039;t fatho could feel her and sense her thoughts to some extent The ideaout of her mind, was it worth it?

Kahli rested in theShe didn&039;t bother airing out the cot s to keep theher hair and lay down Will was across the room, hunched over the table, in the dark He found a lantern and a brittle old book that he was reading, slowly turning one page at a tie cracked and fell out of the spine, he looked so boyish The paper dangled in his fingers for a moment, and when he tried to press it back into the book, but the page cru shell

Kahli turned her face back toward the concrete ceiling, wondering what tomorroould look like Ever since she was little, there was no to, as long as they hunted her, she had no life of her own It was theirs The va she had and twisted her existence to suit their needs Kahli was prey being hunted, not a hu onto her side, she pondered these things - ould her life would look like if she didn&039;t have to run? What would she do every day? Where would she live? Did she want to keep hunting Trackers and spilling h to satisfy her thirst for vengeance?

There is no such thing as peace, she thought to herself Peace is for the dead and since I breathe, that is soaze lifted to Will, taking in his fors up under hiht curve of his shoulders when no one was looking, the way his ring finger tapped his tes that made him seem human If she had her days to fill as she chose, would he be a part of the hi as he lived It was a e of sorts, one that could not be broken

Kahli&039;s heart ached She didn&039;t realize it until that moment There was no amount of preparation that could have saved her froid, lonely place Did it matter that she found solace in a vampire? Did it matter that he was Bane? She wasn&039;t sure anymore It wouldn&039;t have made a difference to her parents A vale, and that sort of logic

God she ers over her side where her runes covered her skin There was supposed to be a man, a man to protect her, and share her life Her parent&039;s selected hi this relationship with Will to continue defied everything she&039;d been taught, andher betrothed was gone Whoever he was, he vanished like everyone else who&039;d been important to her

__

Hours passed, but Kahli wasn&039;t able to sleep She just laid there staring at the ceiling The thought of agreeing to Will&039;s request set her nerves on end She had to do it Kahli knew that, but she still didn&039;t want to When she couldn&039;t lay there another second, she sat up Will was still reading, hunched close to the lantern

She sat down next to him and said, "There&039;s no other choice, is there?"

Will set the book down and looked up at her She couldn&039;t read his thoughts, but she could feel a nervous jolt rush through hiht she should have waited until , after she slept, but Kahli couldn&039;t sleep as long as the question continued to bounce around in her head The uncertainty was driving her crazy

"I don&039;t see another option, Kahli I wish there was" Will sed hard, like his throat was dry

Kahli looked down at her hands on the table top "What will it do?" She glanced up at him slowly "How much will you feel? How ," he breathed "There will be no secrets, for either of us"

Kahli&039;s eyes drifted to the spot where his runes started under his shirt She&039;d wanted to knohere they caave them to him If he bit her, she&039;d know, but that didn&039;t make her happy She didn&039;t want to learn about him like this She wanted him to tell her, but Will couldn&039;t She breathed deeply and leaned forward, resting her face in her hands

"What secrets do you have left to hide, Kahlahandra?" Will said softly, his hand touching the top of her head There was no compulsion in his voice, but Kahli still shifted like there was Her na fro you won&039;t pry out of , but it wasn&039;t It was the crux of the proble

Will took her hand when it flopped down on the table "You don&039;t have to do this now We can wait"

"No, we can&039;t I left a trail of blood behind et out of there so badly that I didn&039;t think of what I left behind Will, I have to go back and get Cassie and Cole And - "

He cut her off, "And the rest of them I know"

"There&039;s only one way to do that" She looked up into his eyes

He shook his head "Not tonight Sleep If you still want to - "

"I don&039;t want to, Will I&039;ll never want to I have to There&039;s no other way to undo what the King has done, and after this, there&039;ll be no way to undo what you&039;ve done It&039;s a necessary evil"

"I see," Will flinched and withdrew his hand