Her eyes pleaded with me to hurry.
“Alexa?” Shaz caught my elbow, and I met his eyes. “Please be careful.”
I reached up to tousle his hair gently. “I will. I promise.” There was nothing else that I could say. “I’ll see you soon.”
Because I couldn’t sink into his arms the way I wanted to, I grabbed my phone from the Charger and gestured to Arys to lead the way.
Chapter Nineteen
We started in the parking lot of the sports bar. Zoey’s blood hung on the still, muggy night air. With Arys’s bloodlust, I easily picked out the scent of human amid Kylarai’s pure Were aroma. With no rain or wind to interfere, tracking Zoey was almost too easy, barely a challenge.
She most certainly headed towards Raoul’s end of town. I dialed his number as we went and hailed his voicemail with a litany of my favorite curses. A sick sensation of dread settled in my stomach.
��There’s no answer.” I was hot and itchy in my skin. The instincts that drove me commanded me to ditch the restrictions of a human form and go as wolf, but I had to wait until the time was right. As great as the advantages were, pulling fur in the middle of town wasn’t something I wanted to add to my list of stupid moves.
“Maybe she’s already there,” Arys mused with his head cocked to one side as he studied the stars.
I hesitated for just a moment when her trail led across the golf course. It was the fastest way to Raoul’s. The well-maintained green was soft and springy beneath my boots. It felt good enough to roll in.
Though Zoey ran only ten to fifteen minutes ahead, she was long gone. She was faster than the average human, but she was injured. That didn’t seem to be slowing her down though.
I suspected that she’d already made it to Raoul. I considered letting them battle it out. Raoul was impossible to talk to, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she killed him before we arrived out of sheer frustration.
On any other night a trek through the dark, deserted golf course would have been nice, maybe even a little sexy. The silver moon shone brightly against the dark backdrop of the sky. No one was in sight.
As if reading my mind, Arys nudged me playfully. “Do you think Raoul can take care of himself if we take a five minute time out?” When I raised my eyebrows and shook my head he added, “Alright, alright, a ten minute time out.”
“Very funny.”
“Would you do it with the wolf pup?”
His question nearly brought me to a halt as I stumbled in the grass. “What’s it to you? Don’t tell me you’re going to get all jealous male on me, too.”
“He was jealous?” I heard only amusement in his tone. I didn’t have to look to know he wore that amazing grin of his.
“That’s not the point. You told me to go to him. Don’t start playing the territorial card or so help me, I’ll knock out a few of those perfect teeth.”
He laughed loudly, and I jumped. I was a real ball of nerves tonight.
“Don’t get me wrong, my love, a part of me is a little envious, but we have something that extends well beyond sex, deep into the power of our metaphysical make up. Something that so many will never know.” In a motion so swift I barely saw him move, he caught me up in a kiss. It was brief but sweet, leaving me breathless. “But, I also know that I must be realistic.”
He turned away, walking ahead, but I’d already caught the somber note in his dramatic words and action. Drawn to him, I took a hurried step to catch up.
“Wait. What do you mean by that? Realistic.”
When he stopped, I got the feeling that he didn’t want to look at me, but he did anyway. I think he was afraid that I’d see the emotions lurking behind his eyes, waiting to betray him.
“You’re an incredibly complex creature, Alexa. A strange combination of the compassionate human heart and the ruthless leadership of one of the finest animals on earth. Our journey together is far from over, but I know that you will never long for me at the end of the day.”
I found no trace of regret or anger in his voice, merely acceptance of the fact. I was tongue-tied and unsure of what to say. I looked eagerly to the street ahead as we neared the end of the golf course.
“Shit, Arys,” I poked him lightly in the side. “Why are you getting all sentimental on me? Is it because you think she’s going to kick my ass?” I forced a laugh in a lame attempt to sound like I was kidding.
We came out in a gated community just a few blocks from Raoul’s street. We hopped a wall. Dogs started a chain of barking, which had me hauling ass over the stone wall onto the street beyond before the ruckus brought people out on their doorsteps.
When we stood at the end of Raoul’s street, I called him one more time. A shiver raced up my spine when somebody picked up.