Trina M. Lee

by Alexa O'Brien Huntress Series Book 1-4 Box Set (Retail)

  “Why are we both here?” I hissed beneath my breath when I heard footsteps inside. “Is it really going to take two of us to kill one human?”

  “Why not? It’s fun to share.”

  I pinned Kale with a wide-eyed stare. The sound of the deadbolt turning was deafening compared to the silence. I sucked in my breath, waiting like a kid on Christmas as the door cracked open an inch. She peered out at us through that tiny space, her brown eyes narrowing. I had to hold myself back, let the moment play out. The scent of candles and incense wafted out to greet us. I wrinkled my nose in distaste as my wolf recoiled against the assault on my senses.

  Before either of us could make a move, she blasted me with enough juice to throw me backwards, skidding on my ass. It hurt and I cursed myself for not being ready for an attack. Kale forced his way into the house, and I scrambled to follow him.

  The door vibrated on its hinges. I was drawn to her sudden panic. Nothing smelled quite the way fear did. It teased my control, taunting not only my wolf but also the vampire hunger that I now possessed. When I hunted, I was all about the kill. Hunting a human brought out another side, the vampiric one I didn’t trust. Bloodlust stirred in me like the forbidden, unnatural hunger that it was.

  Abigail didn’t act like a victim for a moment. She rushed at Kale with a kitchen knife raised above her head. I reacted without thought. Instinct guided me as I grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. The knife hit the floor with a clatter. Abigail let out a howl and swung at me with her free hand.

  Kale was careful not to touch her, and it took me a moment to realize why. She mumbled a series of words in a language I didn’t understand. She smacked me in the forehead, saying one final word. The pain that spread through my head was instant. I went down on my knees hard with an anguished cry.

  Abigail shrieked as Kale threw a blast her way. She was alarmingly skilled in black magic. I had to give Kale a little credit, Abigail Irving had proven to be anything but a helpless victim.

  “I’ll kill you, bloodsuckers!” Abigail’s high-pitched shriek hurt my ears.

  Seconds later I felt the atmosphere in the room grow hot as she attempted a metaphysical attack. I felt something burn low inside me, and I tensed, waiting for the pain. Whatever she was trying, it fizzled. She turned to me with eyes wide with horror. She head-butted me right in the face; my own damn fault, I’d hesitated.

  I stumbled back a few feet, dazed from the blow. Blood trickled from my nose, and my eyes watered in response. It didn’t matter how fast it would heal, a hit in the nose always hurt like a mother fucker. A snarl erupted from me, and I lashed out in anger. My backhand took her off her feet, and she hit the floor hard.

  “Not a vampire,” she muttered repeatedly as she struggled to get up. “What are you?”

  I stood over her, placing a boot on her chest so she remained on the floor. I was shaking with the need to kill her. My eyes strayed to her throat as my wolf encouraged me to tear it out. She was prey. What was I waiting for?

  I looked to Kale for some kind of support. I was close to losing control.

  Abigail tried again to use her magic. I felt it low inside, trying to take hold of me. I pushed back against her with my own power, forcing hers away from me. She was impressively strong, able to really make me have to work to hold off her attack.

  “You were warned, Abigail. What did you think was going to happen?” Kale asked, gazing down at her.

  “I did what I had to do. You’re filthy, nasty creatures from the bowels of hell!” Abigail stared up at me, venom in her gaze and a litany of curse words poured from her lips. “And whatever you are, you’re as tainted as he is.”

  “Lady, I’m not so different a creature than you are. I think the pot’s calling the kettle black here.” I tried to get a read on her power, but I couldn’t determine if it was more than incredibly strong witch magic. I was sure it had to be.

  She was seething. Her fear had faded quickly once the adrenaline kicked in. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be able to take on both of us.

  “You’re nothing like me. Hurry up and kill me, you heathen! God has a special place for whores like you.”

  Nothing like being called a whore by a mad woman. The vacancy deep in her eyes screamed ‘crazy.’ It wasn’t worth letting her get under my skin. Regardless, I struggled not to tear her head from her shoulders.

  “Alexa? Do you want her?”

  I met Kale’s eyes, finding my bloodlust mirrored in his gaze. Conflict tore at me, taunting me. If I hadn’t been turned by Raoul, if I hadn’t become a werewolf, would I have believed my natural abilities to be a tool against the supernatural? Would I have been so different from Abigail Irving?

  I shook my head ‘no,’ but it was a lie.

  The bloodlust clawed at my insides. The two predatory natures inside me embraced in an unlikely pairing, sending me spiraling into the black abyss where I always went when I killed.

  I stepped back, releasing my hold on the screeching woman on the floor. Kale didn’t hesitate. He dragged her to her feet, fighting to bare her throat. She fought hard as I watched, frozen in place. The hum of their power in combat was loud, almost deafening in my ears.

  My heart raced in eager anticipation. I waited for that moment when Kale’s fangs would pierce her flesh and spill her blood. I could feel her scrambling to re-focus her power, but it was too late. Kale bit deep into her, and I groaned.

  I was flushed with excitement. Blood spilled from beneath Kale’s lips as he fed, and I stared, transfixed. A frustrated growl spilled from me. I felt myself slipping during that last moment of clarity before the bloodlust claimed me. I moved without thought, crossing the space between me and Kale. I needed to taste her.

  Kale surrendered her to me, anticipation gleaming in his eerie gaze. The fight had gone out of Abigail. Kale had drained her quickly. She hung limp in my grasp. Her heart was slowing. Without hesitation, I ran my tongue over the bleeding punctures in her throat. A roar of thunder echoed inside my head, and fireworks danced in my vision. Blood coated my lips and tongue, but it wasn’t enough.

  I bit deep, my top fangs slid through her flesh with an ease that made me groan. The wound was ragged, and the blood pumped faster. My wolf fangs didn’t pierce as neat and clean as vampire fangs. Right then, all I cared about was the intoxicating crimson nectar and taking everything our victim had left to give.

  I could feel Kale’s eyes on me. He lingered, close without crossing into my personal space. I knew he wanted to touch me.

  Abigail was lifeless when I let her slide to the floor. The urge to howl and drop to all fours was strong. My body vibrated with the rush of the power and the pleasure of the kill. There was nothing like that final moment, when my victim became mine.

  “If you kiss me, I’ll knock your ass out.” I uttered the warning through fangs.

  Kale regarded me with a neutral expression. I couldn’t read his face, but I didn’t need to. I knew what he was thinking because I was thinking it, too. Every time we were in a situation like this, we pushed the limits. How many times could I dance this close to the flames before I set myself ablaze?

  “Alexa, just go. I’ll deal with this.”

  “What?” I was flustered, trying to see clearly through the haze in my head.

  “You heard me. Take off. It’s probably best if you do anyway.” Kale gave me a long, lingering look. “Unless you really want to stay.”

  “Why do you give up so easy?” I snarled. “You don’t even pretend to resist anymore! If I lost control, nothing would keep us from doing something we’d regret. Why should I have to always be the one saying no for the both of us?”

  Kale stepped in close, forcing me to look up to meet his eyes. “Then say yes, and end the hunger that torments us both.”

  Staring at the blood that stained his lower lip, wanting desperately to run my tongue over it, logic quickly failed me. It physically hurt to resist the urge. I had to get out of the house. It brimmed with too much
power, which exerted far too much influence.

  “You know it’s not that simple.”

  I hurried outside to gulp in the fresh night air. The energy that had built up in my core burned like a fire just getting started. But, escaping the strange concoction of power inside the house instantly lifted a weight from me.

  “It is that simple.” Kale followed me outside but kept a safe distance. “I have done nothing but hold back for months. It’s liberating to finally have you know how I feel. You can hide behind the power and blame that if you want to, but you want me, too. It’s not always about the power. Eventually, you’re going to have to admit it.”

  I cringed inwardly. Did it show on my face? God, I hoped not. “I’m not ready to do that.”

  He nodded knowingly, but something remained unsettled in his eyes. It unnerved me. “Go home, Alexa.”

  It bothered me that he was trying to get rid of me though I knew why. “We’ll talk tomorrow?”

  He gave me a tight-lipped smile and a brief nod, then turned to re-enter the house. I stood there in the backyard for a minute, wrestling with myself. Conflicted and wired on my kill, I abandoned the notion of picking apart what had just transpired and headed for my car.

  Chapter Seven

  It was starting to feel like I’d never left The Wicked Kiss. The moment I walked through the door, I asked myself why I bothered. Would things be any different whether I was there or not? Judging by Kale’s dead whores the other night, the answer to that was ‘no.’

  I could feel Arys’s presence. I hated that he’d been hanging around so much. It made me think he knew something that I didn’t. Knowing him, he did. I assumed he was there because of the Vegas vampires, but I still wasn’t sure how concerned I should be about them. Everything Arys had to say about them scared the shit out of me. However, I’d been hit with a lot in recent days, and I could only handle one thing at a time, as it occurred.

  It was early yet, barely midnight. The club was busy but not yet crowded. I could still make my way through without having to toss people out of my path. Nothing was amiss, yet. My senses were blazing as I tried to take in everything and everyone. The overwhelming sensation was incredibly uncomfortable at times, but it was better than being caught off guard by the wrong person.

  I headed for the back hall with unabashed intentions. The hallway was deadly quiet. I hated that. The silence was unnerving because I knew several of those rooms were occupied. Kale’s however, was not. I didn’t know where he was, but he wasn’t at The Kiss, and that was a good enough excuse for me to snoop around. The door was locked. Just as well. I didn’t need or want to go inside. I could sense that nobody was inside, corpses included. That was all I needed to know.

  The sound of metal grinding on metal drew my gaze to the parking lot exit at the end of the hall. Arys strolled through the door looking pleased with himself. His energy was running hot, and I gasped when it mingled with mine, merging together the way two separate bodies of water become one.

  “I told you not to hunt here, Arys.” My glare was wasted on him.

  “You told me not to kill here. I followed the rules. Although nobody else seems to have to.” With a smirk, he pulled me close for a bruising kiss.

  The taste of blood was fresh and strong when he slipped his tongue between my lips. A series of images flashed through my mind, ending with the lifeless body of Abigail Irving. The bloodlust was sharp and sudden. I jerked away from Arys, fighting to clear my head.

  “Please tell me you’re not feeding from the willing victims here.”

  He frowned as if I’d suggested something vile. “Hell no. I grabbed a guy in the alley out back. It was just a taste. I didn’t kill anybody.”

  I did my best to roll my eyes, but I ended up giving him a pained look instead. “Kill whoever you want to. Just don’t do it in here, and I don’t care.” As an afterthought I added, “Ok, well not whoever you want to. You know what I mean.”

  “Are you alright, love?” The humor fled from his expression as he regarded my discomfort. “That’s what happens when you feed the bloodlust at first. Rather than feel satisfied, you just want more.”

  “You knew?” Of course he knew, the same way I’d known the moment he walked in. Hiding it from Arys was impossible.

  “Well yeah. You and Sinclair bagged yourselves a human. Nice change. Can’t say I mind. Although I’m not too keen on him being your tag team partner.”

  “I don’t want to hear it.” I flashed him a vicious warning look, one that he didn’t ignore.

  Arys held his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, if you and Kale want to use a job as your excuse to kill shit without a guilty conscience, feel free. But, I can see where this is going even if you choose not to.”

  “No, you can’t. It was one human kill. One.” I argued for the sake of refusing to allow Arys to be right. It was useless.

  “Just one? Come on, Alexa. You’re not that naive, just incredibly stubborn. It’s never just one. Not for us.” He reached to stroke a lock of my hair back from my face, and I leaned into his touch. “Already it’s burning inside you, the hunger for more. I can feel it.”

  I shook my head vehemently. “I’m not going to be a slave to the bloodlust, not while I still live and breathe.”

  I knew he was thinking that I was living in denial. Thankfully, he was sweet enough not to say so. It had been a while since I’d killed a human, almost a year, and it felt better than I remembered. I had to shake myself out of that frame of thought. Remembering was not going to help crush the hunger taking root in my core.

  I turned to head back into the heart of the club. The Kiss was already busier than it had been just minutes before. Damn blood junkies.

  Arys gave the club interior an intense once over. “Do you get a lot of demons in here?”

  “What? No. Never.” I followed Arys’s gaze to the front entry.

  “Well, there’s one.”

  I’d had little experience with demons, and all of it was bad. I didn’t know why one would come to The Wicked Kiss, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

  It hit me all at once. The sinister power that crept towards us was stifling. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. It was strong, like cold bitter coffee. Black. It was just so black. I had no better word for it.

  The humans were none the wiser, but the vampires in the club quickly withdrew to the farthest corners of the building when the demon entered. Like all of the demons I’d seen, he looked human, Japanese to be precise. Average height with shining blue-black hair, he was quite attractive. I found that most demons presented a handsome façade, but it wasn’t their true face.

  Even from where I stood I could make out how inhuman his intense red eyes were. That gaze landed on me, and he smiled. Adrenaline crashed through me. Oh, shit. He made his way across the room, and I watched him, my mouth as dry as cotton.

  Arys stood calmly next to me. His expression revealed that he wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with this demon.

  The demon stopped a few feet away. I was relieved that he stayed out of my personal space. His power was so unbearably strong that I fought to shield against it.

  “Alexa O’Brien.” He greeted me with a nod. “I believe we have a mutual acquaintance, Veryl Armstrong.” His voice was like a dark, somber melody, immediately mesmerizing. He didn’t offer me a hand so much as he helped himself to mine. “My name is Shya. I’d like a few minutes of your time if that’s alright.”

  We all knew the uber polite act was for show. He fully expected me to cooperate. He was one of the people Veryl had said I didn’t want to deal with. So much for that. I had no intention of pissing the guy off if I could help it.

  His hand on mine was warm as his power slithered up my arm like a snake. I wanted to jerk my hand from his but resisted. “Sure. There are a few tables behind the bar where it’s a bit quieter.”

  Shya shocked me by holding up a hand before Arys. “Sorry, Mr. Knight. I’m afraid this is a private matter. And, since you’ve t
urned down our offer, you’ll have to sit this one out.”

  I held my breath and waited for Arys’s response. He never told me that demons had asked him to work with them. Why would he choose not to mention that?

  Shya never gave him the opportunity to reply. He turned his back on Arys without a second glance and indicated that I should lead the way. I hesitated just long enough to see the fury flash through Arys’s midnight blue eyes. Hoping to avoid trouble, I quickly led the way to an empty table behind the bar. I almost laughed with relief when Arys stayed put. It wasn’t like him, which told me more about Shya than I wanted to know.

  I sat down across from the demon, uncomfortable with the way he looked me over with those creepy red eyes. The snake-like pupils betrayed the lie that his human form projected. I met his gaze directly and concentrated on staying calm but alert. As far as eyes go, this guy had the eeriest I’d seen, including Kale’s and my own. I fought hard to keep from falling into their crimson depths.

  “I apologize, Alexa. This meeting is long overdue.” Shya beamed a pearly white smile at me. “I think it’s time we get acquainted.”

  “Alright.” I smiled, hoping it didn’t look as wary as it felt.

  “I’m going to cut to the chase. I’d like to give you the chance to rise up in the ranks of our organization.” He spoke with authority, easily holding my attention with his charming manner. “What we do isn’t about good and evil, human or otherwise. It’s about power and maintaining an order that was established over thousands of years. I’m sure you understand why a mass public exposure of the supernatural world would be horrific. However, you must know that many beings out there are dedicated to just that: full exposure.” He paused, giving me the opportunity to form a response.

  My tongue felt like a useless slab of meat. He’d just thrown a lot at me. It took me a moment to put a response together. “I’m very aware of how ugly things could get. The last thing I want is to end up on the wrong end of a worldwide witch hunt. I can’t imagine why any supernaturals would willingly expose themselves.”