“The very one.” He tilted his head. “You seem relieved.”
“I am.” I guessed there was no point in not telling him now. Maybe he could help me. “I was instructed to come to Shadow City, so all I need to do is get there.”
“You do realize you can’t go into the city without permission, right?” He wrung the hem of his shirt as if getting the excess water out would improve his situation.
“Atticus Bodle will see me.” That had to be why Dad had mentioned the alpha’s name. He’d be my ticket inside.
“Uh.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Atticus won’t be able to help you.”
My stomach dropped. “Why?” Something bad must have happened. That must have been why Dad hadn’t heard from him the past couple of years. “Is he in trouble?”
“That’s one way of putting it.” Killian cleared his throat. “He died almost two years ago.”‘
This day kept getting worse and worse. “No.” That was my entire plan. I’d banked everything on getting into the city and seeing Atticus. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that Dad’s instructions would have a flaw. He always knew what to do, but as of today, that officially had changed. The worst part was I didn’t have him here to counsel me. “That’s not possible.”
“I assure you it is.” He nibbled on his bottom lip. “Shadow City residents that attended his funeral saw his dead body. It was open casket.”
“You didn’t attend?” My stomach tightened even more.
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not allowed inside yet. They’re slowly opening the city.” “How did he die?” I asked, even though the answer wouldn’t help my situation.
He huffed. “Heart attack.”
I must have misheard him. There was no way. “Wasn’t he young?” Shifters lived to be well over a hundred, and Dad had made it sound like Atticus was only a couple of years his senior. A heart attack was very unusual.
“That’s what made it so shocking.” Killian took a few steps. “But being the alpha in Shadow City is a tough job. From what I’ve been told, navigating pack politics and trying to represent all the shifter races fairly while working with the council members is more stressful than anyone can imagine. The extreme stress made his heart give out.”
I stopped in my tracks as my stomach dropped. I had nowhere to go. No plan to execute.
Nothing.
My heart pounded. My head spun, and my throat closed.
“Hey!” Killian said. “What’s wrong?”
Not able to respond, I tried to focus on filling my lungs, but it was like my body had frozen.
“Girl.” He grumbled to himself, “I don’t even know her name.”
I bent my knees, not able to stand upright any longer. I had to get control of this panic attack or I’d pass out again, but I didn’t know how to. I’d never felt this pathetic before.
“This is going to hurt me more than it’ll hurt you,” he said.
A hard slap hit the side of my face. The sting broke through the suffocating haze. I sucked in a breath, filling my lungs.
“Are you okay?” He leaned over me as he examined my face.
“No, I’m not.” The severity of the truth blasted like a bomb. I shouldn’t have admitted it, but he would’ve known if I had lied. “Atticus was my only hope. I don’t have any money or even clothing to my name. I don’t know what to do.” Here I was, pouring my heart out to a stranger, but it somehow felt right.
“Well, then I guess it’s a damn good thing I found you.” He brushed my cheek where he’d slapped me. His fingers were rough and warm.
I’d never been touched like that by anyone except my parents, but the different sensations I’d expected to feel didn’t come. “What do you mean?”
“My best friend might be able to help you.” He winked at me. “And I have a huge house all to myself.”
“You own a house?” I asked with disbelief. He couldn’t be that much older than me, but that didn’t mean anything. Since I’d lived in such a small, close-knit community where generations of families lived together in the same house, anyone getting their own house was a big deal. Living situations were probably quite different outside of our hidden little world.
His face creased. “I inherited it when my family died three years ago.”
Tears burned my eyes. “I’m so sorry. I lost my family too.” And if I didn’t start moving, I’d break down. The poor guy had already seen me ridden with anxiety and weak from almost drowning. I didn’t need to add emotionally broken to that. Maybe I could push my breakdown out another hour.
He easily kept pace with me as the backside of a neighborhood came into sight through the trees. The houses appeared to be craftsman style, and one of them had a large pool in the backyard.
He frowned. “How long ago?”
“Earlier today.” My voice ached with sadness. “The men chasing me-they killed everyone. My dad told me to run and find Atticus. That’s why I came all the way here and why I thought you wanted to catch me.”
“Well, that settles it.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ll be staying with me.”
“I couldn’t.” I didn’t want to be a burden. “That’s asking way too much.”
“First off, you didn’t ask.” He held up one finger then added a second. “And second, you have nowhere to go. You’re not in the best of health since you almost drowned, and you have no money to your name. Not to mention, people are hunting you.” He touched my arm. “And honestly, it gets lonely in the house, but I can’t seem to get myself to move. You’d be keeping me company.”
The word yes was on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t want to take advantage of him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” He waved a hand in front of me. “Besides, you’re soaking wet. You won’t be able to go anywhere without raising some eyebrows.”
He was right. I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere unnoticed, not that I had money anyway. “Okay, but I don’t want anyone to know about me or what happened to my family.” If word of that got out, it could help whoever was hunting me locate me.