Chapter 57

And then suddenly there’s a gasp, and both men go still for a second. Graham staggers to his feet with the needle buried in his chest. The syringe’s plunger is down. Graham grabs at his chest clumsily, pulling it out and dropping it, and then he falls back against the kitchen counter, convulsing, collapsing quickly.

When he stops moving, no longer seizing, Evan goes over and checks for a pulse, and shakes his head.

“I killed him,” Evan says softly.

“Go back to the guesthouse, shower, and get dressed,” Rene orders.

“What?” Evan says confused.

“This was self-defense, but the elders will never accept a human killing a Felis. They’ll try their best to punish you. I’ll say it was me. I’ll say he came looking for you and attacked me, and I killed him in the struggle. Damon will never let them punish me.” Of that, Rene is sure.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to risk you getting into trouble. You don’t deserve that.” Evan looks scared.