I nodded, far from placated by the temporary reprieve, and headed toward the lodge—and toward Marc—with Dr. Carver a step behind. Just before I drew out of earshot, I heard one last line of the discussion now going on without me. “Wow,” Colin said, no doubt watching us walk away. “That kid’s almost as dangerous to be near as Faythe is. People around her drop like flies.”

A chill raced through me and I stumbled; I might have gone down if the doctor’s hand hadn’t steadied me. It wasn’t so much Colin’s words that had startled me, though. It was the truth resonating in them.

Kaci and I had a lot in common, in spite of the differences in our age and upbringing. And with any luck, that commonnality would help me get the whole story out of her without shattering her already fragile sanity. Because unfortunately, that seemed to be all she had left.

Her sanity, and me.

Poor kid.

Twenty-Six

Kaci smiled when I opened the door, whirling to show off the one skirt we’d picked out for her. But her joy wilted like a cut flower when Dr. Carver stepped into the room behind me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Yet I regretted my answer immediately, because though I hadn’t meant to lie to her, I certainly hadn’t been truthful. So much was wrong at the moment that I hardly knew where to begin. “Dr. Carver would like to run some tests, and he needs to draw a little blood.”

Cellophane crinkled as Carver pulled the prepackaged, sterile hypodermic from one front pocket. His other pocket contained two similarly packaged rubber-topped plastic vials.

Kaci’s gaze shifted past me and her eyes grew huge. “What tests? What for?”

“We need a little blood to prove to the men downstairs—the Alphas—that you’re a stray. That your parents weren’t…like us. Aren’t like us,” I corrected myself when I remembered that her father was still alive. “Kaci, why did you tell me your father was dead?”

She frowned in obvious confusion. “I never said that. Why?” Panic stole over her expression and her eyes flicked from me to the doctor, then back to me. “Did something happen to my dad?”

“No. He’s fine as far as I know.” I sat on the empty bed, patting a spot next to me, inviting her to sit. “I guess I just assumed your whole family was…gone.” Though I should have known better than to assume anything. Some enforcer I was.

“Do you want to…call him, or something?” Though I probably shouldn’t have made such an offer. If her father really was human, the council probably wouldn’t let her have any further contact with him, to protect the secret of our species.

But I needn’t have worried.