He was right. I knew that without a doubt. I craved more wolf time and likely needed it if I wanted to keep the vampire-locked-within controllable. Shaz was here often. He was keeping clothes and personal supplies here already. Would it be a mistake to suggest that he just move in?
The house had belonged to Raoul. He'd welcomed both Shaz and I into his little town pack. Shaz had every right to move back in here, too. He'd once called it home. Why not?
While it seemed like the perfect plan, I feared rushing it. Those types of life changes should be considered carefully, and right before he had to walk out the door to work was clearly a shitty time to bring it up. I would though, when we had the right moment. It was a big house with more than enough room for both of us.
“I totally agree with you. I feel like I don't get enough of you. Having you by my side at that motel the other night felt so right. Natural.” It thrilled me to hear Shaz say he needed more of me. It was much needed reassurance to my battered ego.
The conflict with Arys had left me raw in places. Focusing my attention on what I was first and foremost, a werewolf, was important right now. Sure, I'd been born gifted as a human but nothing compared to the things I could do now. Turning my attention to the original predator in me felt good, just thinking about it. I was suddenly dying to go for a run.
“You and me both, baby.” Shaz slid the black t-shirt over his body, hiding his firm abs from view. His platinum hair was amazingly white in contrast. “I'll always have your back. And, with those jackasses at the motel sniffing around, more than ever I feel like it's time to make a change.”
“I adore you,” I said softly. Watching his eyes light up in response filled me with a warm glow.
Rising from the bed, I went to him wearing nothing but the silk sheet wrapped around me. He groaned, but it was accompanied by his sexy grin that I loved so much.
“You're making it really hard for me to care about getting to work on time. I'm supposed to open tonight.” He accepted me into his warm embrace, and I snuggled in close. Every time he held me like this, I wanted time to stop.
Before Shaz made it out the door to his car, he had a series of battles between his desire and the ticking clock. Promising that, on his first night away from Lucy's, we would shut the world out and just be, he kissed me with longing. When I shoved him out the door to work, he was already running five minutes late.
It was still early, barely suppertime. The sun had almost finished its descent in the western sky. A pale orange glow was all that remained along the horizon.
I couldn't shake the need to see Arys, to make him listen to me. After the way he'd spent his night, I was hoping he'd gotten it out of his system. Maybe he'd be more open to discussion. I had this nauseous twinge in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away until we dealt with this. The thought of ongoing conflict with him held a heaviness that weighed on my mind and my soul.
After hitting up a shower, I rushed around to get ready in the hopes that I would catch Arys before he left his house for the night. I didn't bother with any makeup other than some lip-gloss and a stroke of blush. Since forming the blood bond with Arys, I'd grown considerably pale. It made me a little self-conscious.
My hair was damp, and I left it loose. Slipping into a pair of black leggings with a matching halter-top, I felt both comfortable and practical. The slightest bit of snow fell outside the window so I brought a jacket that was a combination of faux leather and fur.
The moment my butt hit the seat of my car, I was wracked with nerves.
Doubt plagued me as I drove, and more than once I was tempted to change my course. No. We had to get to the bottom of this. In the privacy of Arys' house was better than a parking lot outside The Wicked Kiss.
The radio captured my attention when the DJ gave a news update about bodies that had been found near downtown in the city. The details were minimal but the word
“massacred” was enough for me. I’d bet money that Arys had something to do with it. It wasn’t like him to leave a body where it could be so easily found. This was all kinds of bad.
Arys lived in a quiet neighborhood that was primarily populated by older citizens.
He felt that it allowed him to stay low key and be left alone. His neighbors didn't pay him much attention other than Mrs. Olson, whom he was strangely protective over. I attributed that to the fact that he'd slaughtered her dog in a fit of werewolf rage he'd acquired from me. He still felt guilty about the whole thing.
The moment I drove up in front of his house, I knew that he wasn't inside. It made no sense. The sun had just disappeared from the sky. He couldn't have left already, not without being fried to ashes, and I would have felt that. No. He hadn't even come home.
That realization was startling. If Arys hadn't come home in time for sunrise, then where the hell was he?