I looked at Ky, expecting a motherly scolding. When she saw my defeated expression, she shrugged and went back in the house. Shaz remained where he was, and I went to him, dropping to my knees and taking his face gently in my hands.
He tried to resist at first but gave up when I wouldn’t be deterred. The gash in his eyebrow was ugly and looked like it might actually scar. It should heal quickly though it continued to ooze slowly. The blood from his nose was drying and flaky. Looking into his battered face was gut wrenching, and the guilt ate at me like a disease.
“Don’t baby me, Alexa.” He swiped half-heartedly at me but allowed me to look closely at the ugly facial injuries.
“What were you thinking you were going to do to him?” I asked gently, hoping he didn’t take offense. “I mean, what if he had fought dirty and bled you dry?”
He looked up suddenly as if I’d slapped him. A slow smile spread across his youthful face, chilling me in its intensity with those razor sharp fangs. The length and ferocity of them looked so wrong in Shaz’ twenty-three-year-old face.
“There are a lot of viable possibilities when it comes to how I may bite it. But, it will never be by the hand of that goddamn vampire.” His tone ended on a low growl. “Mark my words.”
The energy he exuded was extremely aggressive, especially for Shaz. It tantalized my wild side, sending a shot of adrenaline through me. At the same time, when paired with his glazed predator’s eyes blinking at me, I was also a little anxious.
“You scared the hell out of me.” I searched him for a sign that he wasn’t out of his mind. “Don’t ever call him out like that again. I can’t watch you two kill each other.
Please, don’t make me.”
His touch was soft when he reached to brush the hair out of my face. I leaned in to the warmth of his fingers as he stroked the outline of my lower lip.
“Don’t worry about it. We just needed to blow off steam. I doubt either of us is really intent on killing the other. Yet.” The way he said it did nothing to fool me. I was starting to think that if he had the opportunity to see Arys in ashes, he wouldn’t hesitate to make it happen.
“So, how about that run, hmm?” There was a glint of the wolf within Shaz when he grinned and winked a bruised eye at me. The true beast inside was so much more than the soft, sensitive Shaz that I was used to. It was strong in him now, pressing the surface.
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Looking at his injuries was more painful to me than they were to him. He seemed oblivious.
His t-shirt hit the ground, quickly followed by his jeans. “I’ve never felt the wolf in my blood as deliciously as I do right this moment. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
He stood against the night sky and stretched. I allowed myself a moment to take in his hard, nude body before accepting his offered hand.
My pulse raced and my face felt flush when he pulled me against him, biting my bottom lip. That act of dominance sent an excited thrill to the tips of my toes.
Shaz certainly had a tendency to get a little extra attitude going on when Arys had been around. But, this cocky edge was new. Though I found it intriguing, I also found it frightening.
“You’re all pumped up from that fight. Which I’m sorry about, by the way. It shouldn’t have come to that.” I motioned for him to unlace the back of my corset, which he was more than happy to do.
“Don’t apologize. I’m looking forward to next time.” His breath came hot against the back of my neck, and I trembled slightly as the corset slipped free. The night air was soothing despite the fall chill.
Shaz made as if to cup my br**sts, but I turned swiftly, capturing his hands in my own.
“Now, now,” I said, stepping back to shimmy out of my pants. “Don’t let the testosterone make all of your decisions. Do me a favor and don’t let Arys get to you so much. I think it just empowers him.”
Shaz made a sound low in his throat but didn’t respond. His eyes followed my naked silhouette, hungrily and possessively. Even as he reached for me again, his fingers lengthened into massive claws. The change continued until his body was a mass of fur. In less time than it takes to blink, he was the most beautiful, white wolf.
“I’ll give you a head start.” I nodded to the stretch of field behind the house. A kilometer beyond that, the forest began, and with it, the tree that we always raced to. I was nearly undefeated every time.
His tongue lolled out, and he wore a look of serious contemplation. No sooner had I embraced the change and gone to my knees than Shaz shot past me, through the back gate and into the field beyond.
As the Were energy rolled over me, there was the briefest moment of agonizing pain as bones shifted and reformed, then sudden splendor on four feet. I gave a great shake and a stretch before bounding after the flash of white in the distance.
Chapter Four