"What caused LycanZ anyway?" Soren asked, latching his hand around mine as he helped me up onto the wall of an abandoned QZ. "I've heard so many stories I don't know what is true and what ain't."

I held onto the rough concrete of the crumbling wall as I pushed off from a wrecked military hummer and used Soren's hold to pull myself up to my feet. His question was random, but a good one, and I thought of the easiest way to explain it as I caught my breath. I held my side for a moment and let the dull ache subside, chewing my lip. "The real origin of LycanZ is found in a few scientists hired by the President. They were supposed to find a way to create supersoldiers, ones that would strike fear in our enemies."

"I guess in a way they did," he commented, watching me attentively as I told the story. "Revenants are all sorts of scary."

"They definitely are," I agreed, smiling ruefully. "So those scientists created a modified strain of rabies — called LycanZ — which promised the superhumans, and distributed it at military bases around the country. When they injected the first male army grunts, everything seemed perfect. Then those men turned and, well, you know the rest."

"I do." He nodded, shifting as he glanced at the setting sun peeking through dark rain clouds and the wreckage. He drew in a lungful of air before pushing it out slowly. "Think we'll make it to your safehouse before night falls?"

"Oh definitely," I replied, pointing to a fenced-in building in the distance. "Do you see that yellow light out there?"

He followed my finger. "I do. Let me guess, that's the safehouse?"

"Correct. Which means we'll be there in thirty minutes, give or take," I said in reply before leaning over the edge of the wall to calculate the distance to the bottom. Ugh. it was way farther than I wanted it to be, around seven feet, but I'd deal with it. I just hoped it wouldn't hurt so bad getting down there, but that would be a miracle.

Soren bumped my shoulder and captured my attention, a tiny smile growing ever larger on his lips. "Is the badass sergeant afraid of heights?"

"Pshhhh. As if!" I snorted, giving a playful roll of my eyes. "I just don't wanna break a leg, or something. So get your revenant ass down there and help a lady out."

He laughed at me, but obeyed like a member of my squad. Damn, I fucking missed them. They were my family, and Azrael. . . . Well, now wasn't the time to go there. Hell, there never was time for it, but whatever.

I had Soren to look after now, and I couldn't afford grief or anything else to get in the way of that.

A solid thump echoed up from below, and I chanced a peek down at the base of the wall. Soren waved back up at me, beaming brightly as I shook my head in amazement. Travelling with a physically enhanced person definitely had its perks. "Training for your modeling career?" I teased him, unable to resist the opportunity.

"Oh hush and come on down before I change my mind," he threatened, coming out of his shell more and more as the time wore on.

I didn't know how I felt about it, but I guessed it was a given. Oh well. It wasn't hurting anyone. Yet.

I lowered my backside to the hardness of the wall, dangling my feet over the top. My bottom lip pressed under my front teeth and I watched Soren stand with arms akimbo. "You wouldn't dare."

"Yup. You're right, I wouldn't," he agreed with yet another laugh. He held out his arms to me and stepped back just a tad. "Just jump. I've got you. Trust me."

Trusting him to catch me when I fell had to be one of the deepest levels of trust I could give anyone. Too many times I'd been dropped by the one supposed to make sure I didn't hit the ground, and I would be lying if I said a part of me didn't wonder if he would actually keep me from crashing. There was only one way to find out though. Scary, right? I sure as hell thought so.

"Okay. But if you drop me, I swear once I get up off the ground I'm gonna fucking murder you," I promised and bit my lip roughly, taking in as deep a breath as I could.

Here goes nothing. I pushed off in a leap toward the bottom. Gravity tugged me downward way too quickly for comfort, pelting me closer and closer to the ground. I screwed my eyes shut. Oh fuck. Soren better be sure he caught me, or I would—

Suddenly hands pulled me from the air and into strong arms, steadying me on my feet and solid ground. The deep laugh met my ears and I refused to smile at the sound.

Ah, hell. What could it hurt? I stopped fighting it and allowed myself to feel the emotion and smile. It was actually real, and it probably meant I was fucked.

"You can open your eyes now."

Oh right. Dumb me.

The moment I pushed my lashes open, Soren's grinning face took up my whole field of view. I feigned a gasp of shock, feeling my lips form an oval. "Wow, you actually caught me."

"Yes ma'am, I did," he confirmed before removing his grip from my body. He held up his hands a little as he turned from me to meet the barrenness of the old QZ. "What can I say? The idea of getting murdered didn't sit too well with me."

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of my face and I wiped it away, following him through the rusted gates of the quarantine area. "Smart choice," I quipped before falling silent as memories of my arrival at the Boston QZ surfaced.

The containment area we walked through held newcomers who would be tested for any presence of infection. If you were clear, you got to leave the quarantine cage. If not, it was an instant bullet to the brain. No questions asked, and no remorse.

My stay in one of these held a lot of adjectives, but hospitable and comforting weren't a part of the list. I watched as a pregnant woman was put down like a dog because the sensor alerted her as infected. Having to sit by and watch the person you helped get to safety get lead in the forehead scarred you. I still remembered her screams for mercy, and the way her lifeless eyes stared blankly up at me when I cradled her in my lap and mourned for not only her life, but the life of her unborn.

"What's wrong?" Soren's gentle voice broke through my thoughts.

"Nothing," I assured, but I could hear the difference in my tone. Anyone with ears would notice the difference, and he definitely had. I cleared my throat and jogged toward the exit to this hellhole. Forcing back a sigh, I glanced up to see the worry etching his face while he stood by the bent steel door. "Containment cages like these don't hold the fondest of memories for me."

"I'm sorry," he empathized, shooting me an apologetic look. He placed his hands on the horizontal bars of the door, his long fingers wrapping around the metal. He shook it, but it only rattled and creaked in protest. He frowned a little. "Locked?"

I chewed on my lip for a moment, crossing my arms. "Seems like it. Might have to go out and get on top to get past this thing."

He pressed his shoulder against the bars, stepping into it with his full weight. A soft grunt left his chest and a smirk of triumph graced his face when the gate popped open with a rusty squeal of protest. "Might have to do what now?"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Show-off," I muttered, shoulder checking him on my way past his position and out of the cage.

"Jealous," he returned, but I just snorted.

Soren's personality bloomed before my eyes. With every hour that passed, the more comfortable and open he became toward me. A sense of happiness warmed my heart at the realization, but with his openness came a greater responsibility.

His emotions, and mine.

For the first time in years, a carefree attitude burst forth from my chest and kept my demons at bay. I joked and laughed so much during the hours of hiking through the wasteland almost like I'd never experienced all the loss and agony. Even though I hated to admit it, I could only trace it down to one thing, one person. Soren.

Not only had I slowly started bringing it the best in him, but he unknowingly unlocked a part of me I thought was long dead. It both thrilled and distrubed me, but I couldn't let my guard down very much. Too many bottled up feelings lay beneath the walls I'd built around what parts of my old self I had left, and I didn't need them coming loose. I had too much to lose if that shit happened, and I had no plans on giving up any more than what I already had.

"Daytona, over here!" Soren called, and I snapped from my musings to find him pointing up to the opposite wall of the QZ a few yards away. "There's a ladder up there. Think you could reach it if I boosted you up?"

"Hell yeah. It totally beats searching this damn place for a code to the main gate," I replied with a soft, barklike laugh.

This QZ had to be one of the smallest ones I'd ever been in, but I liked it that way. It meant I didn't have to fight my way through a sea of grass almost as tall as me. Did I have to trudge through thick grass? Yes, but at least I didn't have to battle the blades for as long as I would in a bigger QZ.

By the time I reached the wall, Soren had already assumed a partial squat with his hands held together to form a big enough space for me to step up on. He watched me with soft interest as I braced on his shoulder with one hand and placed my foot into his hands. "Ready?"

I nodded, preparing myself to grab a hold of the ladder hanging a handful of feet above my head. The moment I pushed against his hands, he launched me up and I caught the ladder rungs with a jolt that brought a pained gasp to my lips. Grunts soon followed as I pulled myself up rung by rung, kicking at the latch holding the rest of the ladder up and sending it unhinging down to Soren.

"Thank ya ma'am," he drawled up at me as I pulled myself up onto the top of this side of the wall.

I didn't reply, my attention zeroing in on the darkening clouds trying to swallow up what little sunlight we had left. A crack of lightning split the sky with a dazzling white streak and the sudden clap of thunder sent a flinch through my body. The cooling wind tugged at my hair, pulling strands from the messy bun on my head and making them dance across my face.

One huge ass storm was brewing out there, and I hoped like hell the rain would wait until we reached the safehouse.

Soren stood up beside me, taking in the sights for himself. "Aw, hell. That doesn't look so good."

"Not a bit." I crossed my arms, my eyes narrowing as I watched the clouds thicken even more. Another round of thunder blasted through the chilly air and I gritted my teeth against the noise. "Not a fucking bit."