“I was waiting for this to happen,” Arys declared with a grim expression. “You two had to realize eventually that you are exactly what the other is craving in a fix. But, I’m not going to let it go down this way. You’ll just kill each other.”
“You won’t let it go down this way?” Shaz spat scathingly. “I’m not a f**king charity case for you to step in and save, you condescending bastard.”
His immediate fury alarmed me. Shaz wasn’t known for his temper; he never lost it without good reason.
“Settle down, pup. I don’t mean to step on your pride.” Arys was unaffected. He merely regarded Shaz as if waiting for him to get it out of his system. “My concern is for Alexa. Would you prefer me to allow her to do something she’d regret for the rest of her life?”
The muscles in Shaz’s clenched jaw twitched. Crossing his arms over his chest, he shook his head but didn’t speak. He was pissed at himself, not Arys. I could relate.
I jumped in before Shaz decided to get snappy again. “Can we not do this right now guys? I’m not in the mood for the macho bullshit. Although, maybe if you were both shirtless and lightly oiled, I could warm up to it.”
I did not succeed in getting the tight smile from Shaz I’d been hoping for. Arys raised a dark brow as if considering my idea. “It’s not a bad plan,” he said with a wink. “Something to consider.”
Shaz looked from Arys to me, his gaze trained on my neck. I swallowed hard. I knew what was coming. Instead of directing his inquiry to me, he spoke to Arys.
“Those bites, they’re not from you, are they?”
“No. We’ve had a bit of an interesting night ourselves, pup.” Arys made a sweeping gesture, indicating that I should take over.
“We’ve had a hell of a night, Shaz.” I showed him the dragon burnt into my flesh and recounted the earlier events of the evening.
Shaz listened patiently while I spoke. While describing the demon sacrifice I’d witnessed, Coby shuddered and muttered, “Sweet Jesus.” It was a scary new world for him, for me as well, as far as demon sacrifices go. I wouldn’t forget this night any time soon.
“So you allowed this to happen, Lex?” Holding my wrist, Shaz examined the ugly demon brand. His disgust was thinly veiled. “You accepted it for Kale. I don’t even know what to say to that. Frankly, the only word that comes to mind is stupid.”
The bitterness that dripped from his words was alarming. I jerked my hand from his grasp, recoiling in shock. His judgment stung.
“That’s harsh, Shaz. But, thanks for letting me know what you really think.” I turned to leave, calling back over my shoulder. “It wasn’t so long ago that you were begging me to spare the life of your forbidden lover, or have you forgotten already?”
I had fully expected Arys to read me the riot act about my decision to save Kale. I had not expected Shaz to be so ruthless and hypocritical. They acted like abandoning Kale to Shya’s personal punishment was the obvious, easy choice to make. Kale and I may have crossed the line in our friendship, but he didn’t deserve to die because of it. And, I would not allow either of them to make me out to be the bad guy for sparing him.
* * * *
The scent of burgers on the barbecue was mouthwatering. The sun dipped low over the horizon in a burst of pink and orange decorating the western sky. It was gorgeous, and I marveled at the myriad colors. I savored every sunrise and sunset these days.
The low murmur of male voices came from the deck where Shaz and Coby manned the barbecue. After the insanity of the previous night, I was in great need of a normal evening. Things had been strained between Shaz and me since I had stormed off last night. Despite the obvious awkward tension, we were doing our best to fake smiles in all the right places and pretend that we weren’t falling apart.
“He’s cute.” Kylarai leaned in close to breathe the words, her grey eyes on Coby. “But, does he ever talk?”
We sat side by side in lounge chairs on the lawn below the patio where Shaz and Coby stood. Watching the sunset, we sipped strawberry daiquiris and anticipated Shaz’s amazing burgers.
“Not really. Although, we didn’t have much of a chance to talk the night my house burned down. He wolfed out in town last night. It’s been hard for him.”
“Aw, how tragic.” The little smile playing about Kylarai’s lips was nice to see. Since Julian’s death about a month back, she’d been slowly overcoming her grief. She needed time to heal, of course, but seeing her smile was both a gift and a relief.
Tonight was the perfect night for a barbecue and a run. I couldn’t wait to shed my human skin and be wolf. After spending the majority of my time surrounded by vampires, it was heavenly to be here with my wolves. It felt like home.