Shattered

Chapter 66: An Empath For A Mate

Kaden's POV:

Waking up without Violet next to me was bad enough. Xander sitting in the next room with his head hung low and a pained expression on his face was worse. I knew it before he said it. She was gone. The only thing she left behind with any communication was a piece of paper on the doorstep.

It was the list Xander and I came up with as teenagers, a list of traits we'd look for in someone we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with. Down in the bottom corner, Violet drew out a small box labeled Violet's dream person. Only one thing was written under it: Kaden.

On the back she wrote she was sorry, that she would return without a target on her back and don't worry. I wasn't sure what possessed her to think a note telling me 'don't worry' could possibly do anything to calm down the panic that surged through me. She was gone. On her own. Alone like she always was, going after a dangerous person who probably wouldn't hesitate to shoot her.

Don't worry? She had to be kidding.

But she wasn't. Several ignored phone calls and texts later, I was sitting in Cassie's house, waiting for yet another locator potion. I thought that was the worst of it, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Kane and Thaddeus showed up with Alana and Vanessa while I was out, claiming we all had a mental block. They cleared out everyone else's while I was asleep and I was the last one left. They wouldn't tell me anything about it. If it was anyone else coming to me asking if an empath could have full access to my mind, I would've said fuck no. But this was my ally pack, and I trusted them, even if I didn't get it. Even if it was driving me insane that so many people were at Cassie's house, staring and barely able to stand still while they watched as Alana had us sit facing each other.

"Seriously, nothing you can tell me?" I asked Xander, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head, his arms crossed. "Sorry. Nothing I can say will get to you until the block is down. This is the only way. Just... Be ready for a mild shock."

Sure, easy to prepare for a shock when I have no guesses what it could be.

"Take deep breaths," Alana said, leaning forward and taking my head in both her hands. "I fear yours will be harder to take down."

"Why?"

"Because you have a connection the rest of them didn't."

Alana leaned forward, pressing her forehead against mine and closing her eyes. I closed mine too. It was better than watching everyone staring.

I felt a scrape against my mind. Not exactly painful, not exactly pleasant. More just... Freaky. It was like something was actually crawling through my head. Like a spider somehow got inside and was skittering around on my brain. Not an image I wanted. Let's not visualize that.

"Oh dear," Alana breathed.

I opened my eyes, seeing her brows furrowed. "What?"

"She... Started a connection with you, but I don't think she realizes she did," Alana said, her fingers pressing harder into my scalp. "Breathe deeply, Kaden. It's not going to feel good."

"What do you mean, she?" I asked but then I gasped, my eyes squeezing shut as a long scrape went against my brain. "Fuck," I panted, shaking my head and pulling away. "Stop."

"Kaden, this is part of the process, just trust Alana," Xander said.

"No. Stop," I growled, pushing away, my chair scraping against the floor as I moved back.

"Kaden..." Addie said, frowning and stepping forward.

"I said fucking stop."

The way they all looked at each other bothered me. Alana looked to Kane, then Xander and Addie, then Thaddeus. It was like they were all communicating and it was bothering me I was left out of it.