Free A Council of Betrayal by Kim Schubert Page B

Red did. He turned, reaching out his arms to catch
me. I felt the needle land home in my spine, my eyes widening
before she depressed the plunger, flooding my system in raw
fire.
    I didn’t recognize my own scream.
    A shifter threw Logan into a chokehold and we
all went down heavily, everyone on top of me. Logan used his arms
to keep the weight off of me, but it also meant he couldn’t break
the attack. Raw power sung through my veins. Slapping a hand on the
offending arm I pushed, trying to replicate my ability to kill with
touch.
    It worked, and it also lessened the anger and
angst rushing through me.
    “More,” I whispered, my hand falling
away.
    Logan looked down at me, confused. My back
arched off the pavement as a new wave of rage scoured my
insides.
    Rolling to my stomach, I army crawled toward
the shifter Hudson had on the ground, my leg wound picking up bits
of trash and pebbles.
    I could hear Logan talking, and I saw Hudson
look down at me with a face full of worry and shock before I
brushed my fingers against Logan’s victim, flooding his system with
raw emotions.
    Moving to my back, I panted heavily. “More,”
I whispered again, my vision failing me.
    “No!” screamed a voice. “Don’t let her touch
me. Kill me, but don’t let her do it.”
    I smiled, lifting my head to see Mark and
Alec dragging the shifter I hadn’t completely beheaded.
    “He has her blood on his fingers,” Alec
growled, looking at Logan.
    I reached out and Mark kicked him in the back
of his kneecaps, shoving his face into my fingers.
    “Die,” I whispered, watching the life snap
out of his eyes. With a contented sigh, I gave in to the waiting
darkness.

Chapter 3
    I was
fairly certain I hadn’t consumed an entire liquor store, but my
stomach and head were disagreeing.
    “Oww,” I whined, reaching up to cradle my
head, my eyes firmly shut against the light trying to pour in.
    “She’s up,” Mark said, way too close to my
head.
    “Shhh!” I scolded, batting him away.
    “Olie,” Logan said, his hands gently cradling
my head. “We need you to wake up and tell us what happened.”
    “The she bitch with red hair,” I started,
before my stomach churned.
    “Ugh, bathroom,” I demanded. Swiftly I was
carried, pressing a hand against my mouth. I was lowered just as
quickly.
    My eyes opened, seeing the toilet bowl before
I retched stomach bile aggressively into its depths. As I leaned my
forehead on the cool porcelain, Logan cleared his throat.
    I groaned in response, wanting to make a
smartass comment about not being able to handle a sick female.
Turned out I didn’t have the energy.
    “You done?” he asked, flushing the
toilet.
    “For now,” I slurred, lying down on the cool
tiles.
    “Olie, this isn’t the best place for this
conversation,” Logan scolded me.
    Pulling my knees into my chest, I huffed out
an answer.
    “Sweetie,” Jerry tried, the bathroom quickly
becoming crowded, “we need to know what happened to you.”
    “What about the redhead?” Logan hedged.
    “She was going to stick you with the drug,” I
slurred, nestling my head into my arms.
    “The drug that Bear was infected with while
patrolling Halfling, the same drug used on my opponents tonight,”
Alec clarified.
    “How the fuck is it here?” Logan asked. Was
that the first time I had heard him cuss? He was clearly hanging
around me way too often.
    “I don’t know,” Alec stated. “But if it’s
here, all the shifters are in trouble.”
    I grunted my agreement.
    “We need to figure out who is making and
distributing it,” Logan growled, leaving the bathroom.
    “Sweetie?” Jerry asked, resting a hand
against my head.
    I grunted.
    “Are you okay?”
    “I feel like I drank a liquor store.”
    He laughed softly. “Do you want something to
help?”
    I gave thought to denying his witchy, or
rather mage help, but I was in pain. “Yeah.”
    “Give me a minute.” He moved away and I
pulled my legs closer to my body.
    Logan walked back