“How did you know?”
The vampire fixed me with a dark blue stare. The intensity that burned there sparked a fire low in my core, and my breath caught when he said, “I could feel it.”
His hand went to his still heart, but his eyes never left me. “Right here. I can’t even begin to tell you the last time that I felt anything that didn’t include blood, sex, or death.”
When he descended the last stair and stood before me, I didn’t shrink away. His soft kiss spoke to a side of me that Raoul had long ignored and Shaz just didn’t yet understand. Arys had lived brutality, as both a giver and a receiver, and so had I. I responded to him in full, and our power swirled around us in a dizzying embrace. I drank in his sweet taste and smell hungrily.
With great reluctance, I pulled away, all too aware of the spectacular view of us from Raoul’s big picture window. I really wanted to cast the world aside and enjoy the forbidden pleasures that joined me to this lovely, dark creature. The need to shift was a poignant ache in the pit of my stomach as I turned to lead the way to the Charger.
“So am I correct in assuming this hybrid is your Alpha’s offspring gone wrong?” Arys asked when we were in the quiet confines of the car.
I looked at him sharply. “You could hear us.”
“I’ve merely been putting the pieces together myself. That seemed to be the most logical assumption.”
“He’s completely adamant that nobody kill her unless it’s more than necessary. He’s carrying around a lot of guilt regarding her childhood.”
I started the car and headed for Lucy’s Lounge. I didn’t want to part ways with Arys at his house. I didn’t trust myself to say no to him tonight.
I really wanted to see Shaz. Tomorrow night was our official date, but at this rate, I could see it being postponed. I was a jumble of nerves, and I needed the quiet solace that I only found with my muzzle buried in Shaz’s thick, white fur.
“So, no hybrid fun for the vampire?”
I shot him a scowl, and Arys laughed. A pleasurable thrill tingled in places that simply should not respond so strongly to something so miniscule. Damn him.
“Keep your hands off of her. And, anything else that may come to mind, too. Seriously.” I narrowed my brow in my best no nonsense face. “Grab her if you see her, but don’t do anything but detain her. Capiche?”
“Relax, Alexa. I won’t bleed the half breed, promise.”
When people tell me to relax, it only serves to tick me off more, but I stifled a yawn and blinked through watery vision. I hadn’t been getting enough sleep. The digital clock on the dash read 2:17am, and I knew today would be another long one.
“It’s not you bleeding her that concerns me.”
I smiled upon noticing that the rain had stopped. I already knew how fresh and inviting the forest would smell after a warm summer shower. I wanted so badly to be there with Shaz.
Arys squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. “The heavy presence of your wolf is like a weight inside my head. You need to shift.” The way he said it was so casual, as if our fates were not inextricably entwined, as if his perception of my wolf were perfectly normal.
“I know. That’s my next move. I can’t focus on anything else until I clear my head with a run.”
“Why don’t you let me out at the 7/11?” He said suddenly. “You can go to your wolf pup, and I’ll do a little scouting around before I head home.”
I felt a little strange that he could sense my intentions so clearly.
Before I could form a response, he continued with a grimace. “My fingers are itching. Get your ass out of that skin and turn furry before I lose my mind. I swear I’ll keep a better rein on the bloodlust from now on.”
Sharing our power was hard, but sharing our weaknesses was a new kind of hell.
“If you kill that puppy you just got for Mrs. Olson, I will personally kick your ass.” I teased. The 7/11 was right on the corner up ahead, near the main thoroughfare.
“Oh God, Alexa, don’t even joke about that. Did you see how damn cute he was?”
I chuckled and shook my head at the big, bad vampire who melted over puppies. “What I did see was that poor old Mrs. Olson didn’t have a clue that you tore the head off of her little Benny.” I made a tsking sound, and Arys gave my thigh a playful pinch that had some sting to it.
“Up here is fine.” He pointed to a crosswalk a good block or so before the twenty-four hour convenience store. The crosswalk was flanked by nothing but the darkness and only led to the Brown Street walking path, a ten minute walk from where I’d killed David. I was suddenly stricken with anxiety.
I pulled over. My heart began to pound as I stared out the window into the dark. My chest tightened, and my breath seemed to come short. Somebody had to have found the grisly remains of David by now.