Her Pact

Part 11

Chapter 11

Charlie watched his back as she followed and had to admit that it was a nice back. His shirt was tight, something she learned was wore out of necessity more than anything else, but it showed off the man's body. She might have only been watching his back, but every time he swung his arms with his walk, the shirt would tighten, showing just how cut he was. It was beautiful.

He stopped in front of her, making her slam into his back. Tilting his head to the side, allowing her to see his profile, he frowned at her. "You smell different."

"Smell different?" she chocked while scrambling away from him.

His face tilted up slightly as he smelled the air. "Yeah, different, better; it's very nice."

The man almost purred the words, making her blink in shock. Zeke did not purr, Zeke did not flirt, and he definitely didn't smile like that. So, what was going on? Shifting on her feet, she stepped around him, ready to lead the way since he wasn't going too. As she tried to pass him by though, he snagged her hand and pulled her back. Her chest slammed against his, but it was the look on his face that made her weary.

Zeke's eyes flashed with panic before he jerked his hand away from hers and took a step back. It was the first time Charlie had actually wished she wasn't a buffer, wished that she didn't negate other's powers. He cleared his throat while looking over her shoulder at nothing. "I'm going back to the site."

"Wait," she said, reaching out to grab his arm when he began walking away. He dodged her hand, and she wanted to smack herself for forgetting so soon. She couldn't touch him, but that didn't mean she couldn't care for him. "What is with this 'I'm' thing? I thought we were a team."

"We were, are. We are a team, but I think this will be better as a solo job. If there are any lingering shifters, it will be better if you aren't there."

"Because I can't fight?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

An amused expression briefly crossed his face as he shook his head at her. "No, you can fight when you must. I just don't want you there; you're a distraction."

"Distraction," she echoed.

He nodded his head, not noticing the disbelief in her voice. "Yes. Now, you can find Barron; ask him to help you with some blocking exercises."

Zeke tried dodging around her again, but she had had enough. The man wasn't leaving without a little bit of an explanation. In his head, however warped it was, he had gotten information from that crew of kids when there was no information. Her hand snapped out, and this time, it wrapped around his arm, effectively stopping him from going anywhere. Oh, she wasn't a fool; she knew that all he would have to do is pull free and run, but she knew he wouldn't.

"I want answers," she growled under her voice, trying to channel whatever hostile energies were in this place. It obviously didn't work though as he chuckled at her.

"That was cute."

"Zeke," she growled, putting her anger behind the word, "tell me now."

He nodded. "That was a little better, but still not good enough."

Dropping his arm, she stood on her toes to growl in his face. "I want answers, now."

"A little better," he mumbled with a shrug. He hesitated for a moment before taking a step back. "This is what I think and remember that it is all speculation. Until I can find proof, none of this leaves the hall."

She glanced around the hall, wincing slightly at her stupidity. She had completely forgotten where they were. "We can-"

"No," he cut her off, knowing what she was going to say, "we can talk here. There is no one around. Even if I can't read their minds, I can pick up on the fact that they are there." He shook his head as if clearing it. "Now, Owen didn't want me to know his plans, that much is obvious, but it was the little hint that he gave me, the little warning. We're lucky that, for some odd reason, people seem to like Ally. If Owen didn't, he wouldn't have given me a heads up."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, confusion overtaking any other emotions she may have been feeling at the moment.

He let out a sigh and scratched the back of his neck. "For normal leaders, the ones who are brought up knowing that they will lead, there is a certain code they learn. Owen, he has it down. The man knows when to say something without saying it. If he outright told me what Marcus was planning, he could be accountable for it later on. With the way he said it, he could honestly deny ever telling me what his plans were. Understand?"

"Yeah," she answered with a nod. "He told you something without telling you anything." Her eyebrows were still drawn down in concentration, but she was slowly understanding what he was saying. "Okay, I got that part. Now, tell me what it is that he told you without telling you."

Zeke laughed at her with a large smile on his face. "This is Marcus's plan." The smile dropped from his face, and she wanted to curse Marcus for making it go away. "He wants Ally to come in and kill them all. He wants them dead. I don't know why though. Maybe, it's a trap for her; he's trying to make her look ruthless and unfit for the throne. Maybe, he's trying to help her in some way by getting her people to kill them all. I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"How?"

His blue eyes blinked at her a couple times, and she knew he was coming back from his thoughts, snapping back from where ever his mind had taken him. "I'm going back to the scene." She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head at her. "You can't come. I'll be too worried about you getting hurt, and I would miss something. There won't be anyone there, and if there is, I'll kill them."

He said it with such ease that it worried her. She still had flashes of the man's eyes as the bullet lodged in his forehead. How could she do that to another person? No matter who it was that she killed, she didn't like the fact that their blood was on her hands.

"What will I do?"

Shrugging, he began stepping away from her, this time for good. "Whatever you want to," he stated, taking a step away.

"I want to go running," she blurted.

He froze before letting out a deep breath. "Go with Barron." She was already shaking her head at him before he could finish. Letting out another sigh, he said, "Fine, ask Adam, and that is final. The others wouldn't go with you for various reasons. Although, Anthony might." He paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Take Adam."

"Adam?"

Zeke nodded. "He's a flirt, but he doesn't mean anything that he says. Has a bad past and covers it with jokes. He's a damn good fighter, but doesn't initiate conversation. Has a bad habit of flirting with Ally when Seb is in the room just to annoy the King."

"Got it," she mumbled as he turned his back on her and began walking off. "Adam."

He disappeared from view, and she waited for a moment before beginning to walk after him. It was the only way to go, forward, and she had a leopard to find.

"At your service, hot stuff."

She jumped, before pivoting. Standing there, with a charming grin on his face, was a guy about her height. Narrowing her eyes at him, she straightened. "Adam?"

"Yep," he said with a smile before reaching out and running a thumb over the wrinkles between her eyebrows. "Don't frown; you're too cute to frown."

"Look," she started, but when a serious expression crossed his face, she snapped her mouth shut.

"Charlie," he said with a small smile, "you're beautiful, but I'm not interested. If the joking becomes too much, tell me to back off. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but this is how I am."

She nodded, but another thought flew through her mind. "How did you know where to find me? Zeke told you?" she guessed.

He just smiled at her and shook his head. "I can always tell when someone says my name," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

She froze, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You're not serious with this flirting thing?"

The same charming grin from earlier flew onto his face. With a wink, he strolled past her. "Nope. I have my eyes set on another, and let me tell you, my Queen is hot."

Her hand snapped over her mouth to keep the laughter at bay, but as she followed this man down the hall and out the door, she knew she was making a new friend. The idea couldn't make her happier.