Kallen's Atonement (3 page)

Drake lunged at him again, but was held back by several soldiers. Damn them for being so noble and wanting to keep the peace when he wanted to rip off all of James’ limbs and beat him with them.

“The only thing that’s slimy and disgusting around here is you,” Drake snapped.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best of comebacks, but it was all he had for the moment.

“You want to fuck a Hyena, but I’m the disgusting one,” James snorted.

So it would seem the bad comebacks were coming from both sides.

Drake jerked free from the soldiers holding him. “I need to get out of here before I do something stupid like shoot this bastard.”

He quickly turned in his weapons and left the area. His feet seemed to work of their own accord, and he soon found himself walking toward the infirmary. He stood just outside the door, so he was in the shadows and those inside couldn’t see him.

Kallen was in his dark blue scrubs. While they should have made him look less attractive, if anything they made him sexier than ever. Maybe that was because he’d been wearing them first time Drake had seen him.

Kallen was hard at work, helping to wrap a patient’s leg in a cast. His amber eyes were narrowed in concentration, and, for once, the look of vulnerability wasn’t there. Kallen was in his element, and he looked completely at ease.

He appeared so at peace, all the worry lines gone from his face. He even laughed at a joke one of staff members, Jayce, made. It was such a beautiful sound, too. Light and airy. Drake briefly closed his eyes and let it wash over him, savoring it. Wishing it was he who had elicited the reaction.

Not wanting to be too much of a stalker, he turned away but not before burning that image in his head. No matter what it took, he would get Kallen to learn to trust him, and when he did, Kallen would do more than laugh. He would give Drake his complete and utter trust.

Chapter Three

By the time Kallen’s shift was over, he was tired, grumpy, and more than a little sore. They’d had to treat a Lion shifter who had refused to transform to human. So they’d been forced to tie him down in his animal form, and it’d been a bitch. Kallen had suffered more than his fair share of scratches in the process.

All he wanted to do was go back to his living quarters, take a shower, go to his bed, shift in order to heal, then fall asleep. So when he walked out and found Drake waiting for him, Kallen was less than pleased.

Giving Drake a sour look, Kallen walked past him. “What are you here for now? To offer a marriage proposal?”

Drake appeared undaunted, and he just pushed himself from the wall and said, “No, I came to see if you wanted to catch some breakfast together at the cafeteria.”

Kallen shook his head. “I’m too tired to eat. I’m going straight to bed.”

“Come on, everybody has to eat breakfast.”

“Why is that?” Kallen asked, walking away.

“Because they say it’s the most important meal of the day.”

“I don’t care what they say.”

Drake continued to follow. “I’ll even pay for it.”

That comment actually made Kallen stop and look back at Drake. “All the meals in the cafeteria are free, you dope.”

Drake gave such a cute smile—one that had dimples in it—that Kallen felt his resolve dissolving.

“I’ll pay in spirit,” Drake said.

Kallen let out a sigh. What harm could come from one small meal? Besides, he was hungry. He could eat quickly and then leave to go home, no harm done.

He nodded. “Fine, but just this one time.”

Drake grinned like a kid who’d just been given the best Christmas present ever, and damned if it didn’t bolster Kallen’s battered ego. Kallen just prayed that Drake really meant it, and it wasn’t all some cruel joke.

“Okay, then let’s get going while the coffee is still fresh,” Drake said.

Drake reached out and took Kallen’s hand. At first, Kallen tried to pull away, but he soon gave up and let the Tiger take the lead. They received more than a few odd looks thrown their way, but Drake didn’t seem to care, so Kallen chose to ignore them, too.

Once they arrived, Drake relinquished his hold on Kallen’s hand so they could grab their trays and load them up. Since Kallen loved anything sweet, he chose pancakes loaded with plenty of syrup. Drake loaded his plate with just about everything else they had to offer. Kallen’s eyes went wide. He’d heard Tigers had mega appetites, but dayam!

Drake led the way to an empty table, and they sat down. All of a sudden, Kallen felt awkward. He’d never been on a date before. If what they were on even qualified as a date. He sucked at small talk and was shy when it came to being around others. So he didn’t know how to act.

“How did you get those scratches on your face?” Drake asked, his eyes darkening with concern.

“We had a Lion who was in too much pain to shift, and we had to tie him down in order to sedate him,” Kallen explained.

“Why haven’t you shifted to heal them?”

Kallen gave a shrug, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Most people freak out at the sight of a Hyena, so I thought I would just wait until I was alone in my room.”

“You mean your living quarters?”

“No, my room. I don’t think that Gage likes to be reminded that he’s part Hyena, so I try my best to not shift around him, either.”

For some reason, that seemed to tick Drake off. He let out a soft growl. “He’s your brother, so he should accept you more than anybody else.”

“Oh, he’s nice and all. It’s just…” Kallen trailed off before shaking his head. “Never mind.”

“You can tell me. I promise I won’t tell anybody else,” Drake urged.

For a moment, Kallen almost caved and told him everything. It would be so nice to have somebody besides Ash and Baxley to confide in. But in the end, his mistrust held him back. For all he knew, he and Gage could be good buddies, and Drake would go back and tell Gage everything.

“It’s nothing,” Kallen said, stabbing into his pancakes.

A pair of felines walked by, and Kallen braced himself, waiting for the usual cut-downs to be coming his way, but to his surprise they took one look at Drake and kept moving. As if they were afraid of the Tiger. As soon as they were gone, Kallen let out a sigh of relief.

“Not everybody here is an asshole,” Drake said.

“You could have fooled me,” Kallen said.

“They’re just so used to being at war with the Hyenas it’s hard to see one as a friend instead as an enemy.”

“But I’m part Hawk, too. So why do the Hawks hate me so much?”

That was what bothered Kallen the most. The Hawks were the ones who seemed to pick on him the most. It was as if they held a personal vendetta against him or something. Like it was his fault for fouling up their precious bloodline with his disgusting Hyena blood. Yet they continued to treat Gage like their golden boy. Hell, they did everything but build a shrine for the guy. Not that Kallen was jealous—much.

“I wish I could tell you why the Hawks act like they do, but I can’t,” Drake said, his eyes soft with understanding. “Hell, I’ve been trying to figure out those birds ever since they joined up with the coalition. But their ways still confuse the hell out of me.”

“Well, if you ever do learn to understand them, please share it with me.”

Drake reached across the table and grabbed Kallen’s hand. “You’ll be the first one I come to. I promise.”

Kallen looked down to where their fingers were linked. While the same part of him screamed that he should pull away, his body said
stay! stay!
Fissures of electricity traveled up his arm before going through the rest of his body.

It must be because nobody had ever touched him that way. He was used to only shoves, punches, or kicks. Yeah, that was it. Because there was no way in hell that he could be getting this turned on from a simple caress from Drake.

“If you tell me their names, I’ll go to them and make sure that they never bother you again,” Drake promised.

Kallen gave a dry laugh. “You would actually take on the entire cast?”

“I would for you.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because I like you.”

That confused Kallen most of all. “Why? You hardly know me.”

“I know enough.”

Kallen cocked a brow. “I could be a serial killer who wets the bed and talks in his sleep.”

Drake calmly took a drink of his coffee. “I could put up with all that but the bed wetting. That’s where I draw the line.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t wet the bed then. That was just a test to see how far you would go.”

Drake laughed. “I’m glad I passed then.”

Kallen scooped up a dollop of syrup and licked his fork clean. Drake watched him with some amusement in his eyes. “You sure like that, don’t you?”

Kallen paused mid-lick, his face burning with embarrassment. “I like sweets. It’s a Hyena thing. If it grosses you out, I can stop.”

Drake’s eyes darkened with desire. “Hell no. It’s turning me on like you wouldn’t believe.”

Kallen realized they were still holding hands and that Drake had begun to rub the pad of his thumb over the back of Kallen’s fingers.

“Really?” Kallen asked.

Just to test Drake again, he took another lick of his fork, watching as Drake tracked his motions. Kallen could hardly believe that he was flirting this way, especially when he wasn’t sure of Drake’s motives, but damn if it wasn’t fun to pull the tail of this particular Tiger.

Kallen suddenly noticed a group of Hawks giving them dirty looks, and he came to his senses. What was he thinking? Even if Drake really did like him, the last thing Kallen wanted was to drag the Tiger into his world of hate. Dropping his fork, Kallen pulled his hand away.

“I’m not hungry anymore. I should be going.”

Drake got a hurt expression on his face, and it made Kallen’s stomach clench with guilt.

“Wait? Why?”

“I’m really tired and sore. I just want to take a shower and shift.”

Kallen stood up, grabbed his tray and, before Drake could argue any further, he ran from the cafeteria, the laughs from the Hawks following him all the way out.

Kallen didn’t stop until he was back at the living quarters he shared with Gage. When he found that his brother was awake, Kallen tried not to let out a curse of disappointment.

Damn it, it wasn’t as if he didn’t love Gage. Kallen really, really did. It was just he always felt as if he didn’t live up to his brother’s expectations. Plus, he knew for a fact that Gage didn’t trust him. Not after the less than stellar start they had gotten off to. You try to blackmail somebody once, and they hold a grudge on you for a lifetime.

“How was work?” Gage asked.

Kallen gave a slight shrug. “Pretty uneventful.”

“Going by the scratches on you face, I’d say otherwise.”

“You know how it goes. Sometimes we get some bad kitties who don’t want to cooperate. So we have to tie them down and give them a dart in the ass.”

“I worry about you working in there. First, you get stabbed and nearly killed, and now this.” Gage came over and examined the wounds more closely.

“I could say the same about you. You go out and fight the Ravens every day. I always worry that you’re going to end up in my infirmary or worse,” Kallen countered.

“Do you really?” Gage shot back.

Kallen gave him a what-the-fuck look. “Of course I do, you’re my brother.”

“I know, but sometimes I wonder if you even care about me. You always seem to be trying to avoid me.”

Maybe it’s because you act like you can barely stand having me around you.

“I’m just trying to stay out of your space. I know having me here must be a big adjustment for you,” Kallen said.

“I’ll admit it was at first, but you’ve been here for months. Yet we’re no closer to knowing each other than when you first came here.”

“I thought you wanted it that way,” Kallen admitted.

Gage gave him a hurt look. “Whatever made you think that?”

“I’ve seen the looks you’ve given me when you didn’t think I was watching. I know you still don’t trust me.”

The guilt that was stamped on Gage’s face was enough to confirm that Kallen had been right on that one. Gage reached out and pulled Kallen into a hug.

“I am so sorry I made you feel that way. Especially with the way the others have been treating you. You should have at least been able to feel love and acceptance in your own home. I was an asshole,” Gage said.

Kallen stiffened at first, but soon allowed himself to melt in the embrace. He’d wanted his brother’s love for so long it was too hard to deny it once he was finally getting it.

“I’m sorry I hurt you in the first place,” Kallen said in a thick voice.

“And I should have been able to let it go,” Gage said in return.

“Yes, you should have,” Kallen teased.

They both laughed as they pulled away from each other.

“So do you think we can put this behind us and start acting like real brothers?” Gage said.

“I don’t know,” Kallen answered honestly. “But we can try.”

“That’s all I ask for.”

“I just have one question. Did you put Drake up to acting nice toward me?”

Gage got a confused look on his face. “No, I hardly know the guy. Why?”

“Because, for some reason, he’s been pursuing me like crazy, and I don’t get it.”

“Have you ever stopped to think that it may be because you’re a good looking guy?” Gage asked.

“One who happens to be a Hyena,” Kallen reminded him.

“Not everybody cares about that.”

“Maybe not with you, but with me, that’s all they see. So why should Drake be any different?”

Gage frowned. “I think maybe I should have a talk with Drake. See what his intentions are.”

Kallen laughed. “
See what his intentions are
? Now you sound like a worried father or something.”

“Well, somebody has to play the role. God knows our own dad never did. It’s a tossup between who was worse, him or Mom.”

“Well, at least we have each other now.”

Gage patted Kallen on the back. “Yes, we do. I won’t let you down again, either. That’s a promise.”

“And I won’t blackmail you again.”