Different.

Chapter 15: Close Call

Chapter 15

Close Call

The light of the ever-punctual early morning sun brushed against my face, turning the insides of my lids a muted red.

Peeling my eyes open despite the dried tears that had all but glued them shut, I squinted into the early morning sky.

Something sharp poked into the soft skin at my side, making me wince and lean away.

"Where am I?" I groaned, sitting up slowly.

Almost immediately, an annoyingly familiar voice replied, "You fell asleep in the McGurrins' witch hazel."

I snapped up straight, eyes fighting the suns glare to see Alexander looking back down at me with a smug smile.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, wobbling a little as I stood up and shoved my way past him.

He followed behind, hands in his pockets and the smile still rooted in his stupid face.

"What are you doing here in your pajamas?" He shot back, infuriatingly calm.

Despite myself, I blushed angrily and stomped away faster, but Alexander's legs were so much longer than mine that he kept up without much strain.

"It's none of your god damn business," I snarled, flipping my hair-which I'm sure was quite the sight-impatiently over my shoulder. "Don't you have something better to do than follow me around?"

By now, he had caught up with me and was making a show of just how much he enjoyed getting under my skin.

"Actually yes, plenty of things, but Akshana sent me to get you."

At that I stopped on the corner of the roughly paved sidewalk and turned to look up at him hesitantly.

I still hadn't quite decided how I felt about Akshana, let alone how she felt about me, but she probably wouldn't have been too happy about having to send Alexander after me. Besides, she'd made it abundantly clear how she felt about our little arangement with her favorite prisoner. I had a feeling she still wasn't too happy about that, so why was she looking for me?

"How did you find me?" I asked instead.

In all honesty that was the last thing on my mind. But when I did take the time to think about it, it didn't quite add up.

For a minute a flash of impatience crossed over Alexanders angular face, making him look even more intimidating than he already did, and I had to restrain myself from taking a cautionary step back.

"Kaylee, there are a lot of things you don't understand about people like us and the world we belong to." He leaned down close to me, his hot breath blowing on my face. "It's not all fun and games, shifters and spell Binders and training sessions. It's a whole world of shit you think you know all about, but really you don't know the half of it."

With that, he stood straight and turned away from me, walking away briskly but casually, as if he hadn't said any of that and sent chills down my skin thick enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"What does that mean? And what does it have to do with finding me?" I called after him, jogging to catch up and wincing when a rock hit my instep at the wrong angle.

I should've worn shoes.

"I found you because you have magick in your blood."

"Magic? As in bippity boppity boo? Pumpkin into a majestic carriage?" It would've been funny if Alexander didn't look like he wanted to gut me and stuff me like a dead dog.