by Trina M. Lee
“Do you guys want a third?” she asked with a raised brow and flirtatious smile. “I’m up for anything, and I’m incredibly flexible.”
Arys ate up the adoring attention. He’d most likely been fending women off all night. “I don’t doubt it, but I’m afraid we’ll have to decline. We’ve already got a third, and she’s all the woman we can handle.”
Heat crawled along my skin like a flame licking every line of the tattoo as he traced it. The extra pulse of erotic heat that accompanied his touch was not subtle enough to go unnoticed. He was begging for a fist in the face.
Arys’s admirer affected what was supposed to be a sexy pout, but it was contrived and unconvincing. After trying and failing to get him to change his mind, she gave up and blended back into the crowd from which she came.
I smacked Arys’s hand away and rounded on him with a snarl. “What the hell was that? Hands off, asshole. No Alexa. No touching.”
His laugh held a power of its own. It sent a tickle of sensation through the place he’d touched. I rubbed at my neck in an effort to make it stop.
“Oh, is that so? I don’t recall you needing Alexa’s presence to feel ok about it the last time you came to me begging for a fix.” His lip curled into a sneer, revealing fangs.
My face grew hot at the memory. What a bastard. “Well, that was then, and I’m sure as hell not begging you for a fix now.”
“I suppose not,” Arys agreed. “But maybe I’m the one who wants it this time. Or is it only ok when you want it?”
The small space between us felt even smaller when flooded with the sex-driven charge. It felt like electricity but stronger, hotter, and somehow able to reach inside my mind and body, making me react whether I wanted to or not.
Pissed off because my dick was hard and the asshole had a point, I stepped out of reach and threw him a glare. “If I just hit you and get it over with, can we get back to why I’m really here right now?”
“No need to be so touchy, pup.” In a heartbeat Arys dropped the arrogant seduction, donning a serious expression. He gestured for me to continue. “Go ahead. Tell me what’s got you in such a mood.”
There were no modern-day labels for Arys. He was just sex itself in the form of a vampire. However, he was also an extension of Alexa, and I was seeing it more and more these days. When Arys had first come to town he’d been the same egotistical jerk he was now. But that was all he’d been.
In recent months I’d witnessed great change in them both. Alexa was digging deeper, discovering what she was really capable of. It took her to some dark places that were hard to watch, but her confidence and strength had grown. It made me proud. Arys, he’d grown too. Lex’s compassionate nature and genuine need to connect was more evident in him all the time. I saw it there now, in the way he waited attentively for me to speak.
And of course I’d changed too. At Lex’s insistence that I was her anchor in the storm of her twin flame bond, I’d taken a step back and studied the roles we all played with one another. I’d come to the conclusion that in our trio I was indeed the mediator to their foil characteristics of light and dark. Evidence showed that, due to whatever powers-that-be were at work here, I indeed formed the anchor in their torrential relationship. They were one being somehow split into two, constantly rebroken by some force that wanted them to destroy each other. And somehow, I united both sides.
When the three of us were together, I felt it. It was something I’d been pondering since my time spent in the mountains as wolf. As hard as it had been to accept the discovery of Alexa’s twin flame bond with him, I was starting to get it.
I knew them both. In ways they couldn’t fathom. In ways I was still processing.
“Echo came to Doghead tonight and killed a wolf in the parking lot,” I said. “She brought two others. So that’s vampires: three, wolves: one. In case you’re counting.”
Eyes wide, feigning offense, Arys affected a dramatic expression, doing his best to look aghast. “Are you trying to say that the current kill count is somehow my fault? I beg to differ. It’s the circle of life or something like that.”
“You’re a real riot, Arys. Laugh it up.” I waited for the arrogant chuckle that followed before raising my voice again over the noise. “You couldn’t have just kept your mouth shut to Dayne about it, could you?” I ran a hand several times through my hair, stopping mid-motion when I caught him watching me do it. Goddamn stress tells. That vampire didn’t miss a thing.
“Dayne wanted to know who did it so I told him.” Remorse remained something Arys didn’t show much of. No sign of it now either. “There’s nothing to worry about, Shaz, I’m telling you. The wolves are fucked without Dayne, and they know it. So they made a move to try to save face. It failed. What Echo did probably guaranteed they won’t try that shit again.”
With my back against the wall, I crossed my arms and diverted my attention to two drunk chicks grinding with each other on the dance floor. From the looks of it, they’d captured the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Arys’s gaze followed mine.
“I didn’t join the pack so you could take it over, and I know Lex doesn’t want that either. So whatever you’re angling at with this, just don’t.” It was all I wanted to say about it. Doghead was my pack now. I had to care about their wellbeing, and despite a few assholes, they didn’t all deserve to suffer because of the shit Arys started.
He was quiet for too long. It made me suspicious. He watched the dancing ladies as they dragged a third into their group. Standing there, not doing a damn thing, Arys managed to make me hyperaware of his overwhelming presence.
Since the night in Shya’s house of horrors, I’d been edgier around him. Considering all that he’d done to me in that place, I felt justified in my edge. It wasn’t something I liked to think about, and I sure as hell never talked about it. Against my will the vampire had tormented me to the brink of orgasm repeatedly before finally giving me some relief with a teasing bite on the wrist. All so he could feed on the rush of my tortured desire. So fucked up. It might not sound like such a bad thing, but under the calculated manipulation of an incubus vampire, it was a special kind of hell. Payback would be sweet when it came.
“Look, Shaz, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Alexa,” Arys said, testing the space I’d put between us by leaning in closer. “I’m not going to make a move on Doghead. Yet. However, if Hanna can’t control the pack, we will. Simple as that.”
“Give her a chance, ok?” I suggested, willing to stand up for Hanna. If Arys took it upon himself to do something about the wolves, I would be the only one with a hope in hell of stopping him.
“Of course.” His curt nod was paired with a smirk. Typical.
I was about to ask him what he was doing at The Wicked Kiss anyway. It wasn’t like him to be here, although it probably had something to do with sending a message with his presence. A reminder to those who saw him as a problem that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Most people didn’t fuck with Arys. It was easy to see why. He was powerful, deadly, and pretty much always got what he wanted. Lucky for me, I wasn’t most people.
Justin was halfway across the room when I saw him headed right for us. He moved fast, shoving people aside as he made a path. I tensed and pushed away from the wall. What now?
“Shaz, there’s a wolf outside asking for you,” Justin said. “He tried to get in, but Alexa said she didn’t want any wolves in here for a while other than you. When I told him he had to wait outside, he threw me some attitude. Figured I’d just let you deal with him.”
I followed Justin back to the door, noting how the crowd parted to let him through. Nobody wanted to be shoved aside by a dude that big and burly. Arys was right behind me. There was no point trying to make him stay inside. If the vampire wanted to be involved, he would be.
After zigzagging my way through the packed lobby, I emerged outside to find Bastian cussing out one of the door guys. His gaze landed on me, and the door guy was forgotten.
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br /> “I knew it,” he shouted at me, lunging toward me with an accusing finger pointing in my face. “I knew this was the first place you’d go. Right back to your hybrid bitch.”
My face flamed as my temper soared. I liked to think I was a pretty easy-going guy. Few things set me off with little effort. Talking shit about Lex was one of them.
“So fucking what? I have nothing to hide. Being a member of Doghead doesn’t mean my previous relationships cease to exist. Deal with it.” I was all too aware of Arys’s menacing presence as he stepped up beside me.
Without an aggressive gesture at all other than the glower he fixed Bastian with, Arys snarled, “Better watch your mouth, wolf, or that hybrid bitch and I will be having you for dinner.”
Great. That was helpful.
Bastian was aghast. Without acknowledging Arys’s threat, he flung a hand toward the vampire. “Really, Shaz? Nothing to hide? You’re standing here with the one who killed two of our pack. I’m not the only one who thinks you’re working both sides here.”
“There doesn’t have to be two sides,” I insisted. “Why do you think Alexa wants an alliance? Wolves and vampires need to work together right now. Why is that so hard for everyone to accept?”
For a moment it seemed Bastian might haul off and smoke me one. I was ready. Instead he just gaped at me like I was a few crayons short of a full set.
Jerking his head toward Arys but carefully avoiding full eye contact, Bastian said, “Tell that to this guy. He’s the one who started this shit. As long as you’re just hanging out here being his fucking buddy, we can’t trust you.”
I knew what it looked like. If I were in Bastian’s shoes, I’d be thinking the same damn thing. Which made it pretty much impossible to convince him otherwise. So I didn’t bother trying.
“I get it, man. Really, I do. You don’t have to trust me, but you can’t treat me like a traitor either. I haven’t done shit to deserve that.” In my peripheral vision I could see Arys giving Bastian a nice, slow once over, like he was deciding which vein to open first.
Bastian saw it too. He bared fangs in a silent snarl, daring Arys to make a move. I shouldered my way in front of Arys, shoving him back. He let me but didn’t break eye contact with the defensive wolf.
“I’m not going to let you fuck us over, Shaz,” Bastian declared. “Better watch your back.” Bastian backed away, toward a dark pickup truck. Having found me right where he wanted to, he was done now.
Arys wasn’t having any of that. “Wait a minute.” Hands in his pockets, moving in a slow but threatening amble, Arys was casual but deadly. “That’s it? You came here to mouth off and then retreat? This isn’t a game, asshole. If you want to fling accusations around, then you damn well better be ready to back them up.”
“Arys.” I spoke his name in a calm but firm tone.
He ignored me.
Bastian gripped the truck door handle tight, knuckles straining. “What are you going to do? Kill me? It’ll just prove Shaz can’t be trusted.”
“I don’t have to kill you to make my point. In fact, I’d prefer to leave you with the memory of the hard on you get with my fangs in your throat. You seem like the kind of guy who’d be quite distraught by that.” Arys caught the truck door when Bastian opened it, slamming it closed before he could get in. “Word of advice, friend. Don’t come here again.”
“Arys.” I wasn’t going to repeat myself a third time. Tense, I was ready to jump in if he went for Bastian.
He didn’t. He simply stood there and stared Bastian down, then watched the uneasy wolf get into the truck and drive away.
“Dude, what the fuck?” I demanded, throwing both hands in the air. “You don’t even have to try to make things worse than they are, do you? It’s just you being you.”
Arys regarded me thoughtfully. He wasn’t listening. Tapping a finger on his bottom lip in contemplation, he said, “He’s right, pup. The pack needs to be able to trust you. So let’s make that happen.”
CHAPTER THREE
I ran. As fast as four legs would carry me, I ran.
My nose filled with the scent of falling snow, the earth buried beneath it, and the wolf who ran at my side. Every muscle in my body worked together to propel me forward so fast my paws spent more time in the air than on the ground. I was more wolf than man, alert to the night and running on instinct.
After having such a shit show of an evening in the city, I ditched Arys at The Wicked Kiss and vacated to small town Stony Plain where I went straight to Kylarai’s house on the southwest side of town. I left a voicemail for Lex to meet me there before stripping down in the backyard and hot tailing it through the field out back.
It was the only way I could unwind. Unclench. Being wolf, feeling the power of the predator in every cell, that was what kept me sane. It was how I coped with the fucked up and ridiculous.
Becoming a werewolf had been a teenage nightmare. At first. Once I got past the horror movie ideas traipsing through my head and realized how different it was from what I’d expected, I enjoyed it. No part of me would change it now.
Growing up in Vancouver, I’d been the fourth kid out of six. It was easy to blend in and go overlooked. Not to say that us kids weren’t loved. We were, although we didn’t always make it easy on our folks to keep up with six kids only a year or two apart in age.
Even though my parents had a hard time noticing what each of us kids were up to, they never stopped noticing each other. And that was one of the many reasons why I wouldn’t give up on Alexa. Despite how twisted the whole situation was, I’d seen her look at me the way my mother looked at my father, and that was all I really ever wanted.
So I was free to do my own thing as a teen. I did a lot of partying, drinking mainly. At a buddy’s house party I met the girl who would change my life as I knew it. Ginger was as wild as they came. A redhead, though the carpet didn’t match the drapes, she was a real party girl. She was always the first one to jump in the pool naked, the first to take a hit of a new drug and the last to stumble out as the sun rose.
I was the third one in my group of friends to sleep with her. Lucky me, it was a wolf night. Maybe Ginger was new and ignorant or maybe she didn’t give a damn, but she picked me out at my buddy’s party, and we banged like bunnies in the guest room. She was my first.
Needless to say, she wolfed out on me. At first I was dumb and naïve enough to think the bloody scratches on my back were a sign of her enthusiasm. Until I saw her fangs. I freaked. She laughed, too partied out and high on the moon to care.
I didn’t see her again until a month later, after I experienced my first turn. I sniffed her out, literally, and found her cozying up to her latest conquest in a back alley afterhours club. She laughed me off, shot me down, and more or less told me to get over it. I think a giggled “oops” might have been involved.
Scared, pissed off, and alone in this new world of wolf, I packed up and moved. I picked a small town, hoping it would be safer for my new identity. By chance, or maybe not by chance, I ran into Raoul Roberts at the grocery store, and the rest, as they say, was history.
I grunted as a blur of ash blonde streaked through the night, plowing head on into me. My feet went out from under me, and I went down hard and rolled. Alexa followed, snarling and snapping playfully at my hide.
We didn’t do this as much as we used to. I missed it.
Having tackled me to the ground, Lex leaped up and took off toward the tree at the edge of the field, the big one we used to race to. I pushed to my feet and went after her, laughing to myself when she let me overtake her. I used to let her win… sometimes. Now that she had vampire speed, she let me win.
When I’d had enough we headed back to Ky’s. Alexa could’ve run for hours yet without tiring. She slapped me with her tail before nuzzling her face against mine. We trotted side by side, and I did my best to fully feel the moment. At times like this, I didn’t share her with another. She was all mine.
It wasn’t all bad. Sharing
her. Not anymore. I’d seen her look at Arys with lust, wonder, love, fear, and outright hate. But not once when she’s looked at me have I ever seen hatred in her eyes. And that was where I had him beat.
“Hey guys,” Kylarai called from the back deck as we loped into her backyard. “Come inside for a bit. I made coffee.”
Heading into winter, the days were shorter and the nights longer, so the sun wouldn’t rise for a few hours yet. We had plenty of time to hang out before dawn would force Lex home.
Our clothes were stiff with cold from hanging over the deck railing while we were gone. It took a lot for the winter chill to bother me, but I still shivered as I yanked my t-shirt over my head.
I reached for Lex, grabbing for the bare expanse of her midriff before it disappeared beneath her top. Her skin was warm, a sure sign that someone had become acquainted with the business end of her fangs tonight. She leaned into my touch, letting me pull her close.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” I said, tipping her face up to mine so I could kiss her. She tasted faintly of blood.
“Uh oh. What happened?” She just knew. Brown eyes filled with concern, she searched my face for answers. “Please tell me it wasn’t Arys.”
I let my gaze linger on those brown eyes. I saw them less than I’d like these days. The first night I ever saw her with Arys’s eyes, it was like being dropkicked in the balls. Pain followed by denial followed by the agonizing need to vomit while struggling for breath.
“It was Echo. She came to Doghead.” I edited the rest down, keeping it short. With a hand on her waist, I guided her up the stairs to the kitchen door. Her sudden and deep frown was exactly the reaction I wanted to avoid. “We’ll take care of it though, Lex. Just wanted to give you a heads up. Don’t stress it.”
“How’s Hanna?” she asked, stressing it anyway.
“She’s got her hands full. I don’t think she knows how to function without Dayne.” The sudden influx of heat enveloped me as we slipped inside. I happily accepted the steaming mug Ky held out to me, chuckling at Lex’s adorable freakin’ pout. Catching hold of her arm, I kissed the side of her face before we took a seat at the kitchen table.
