Authors: Trina M Lee
Kale touched the faded bruise outlining my left eye. With a shuddery breath, I drank in the comfort of his soothing touch.
“Sometimes fighting so hard to make everything right is what brings you down in the end.” Pulling me against him, Kale murmured into my hair. “Some things have to happen, and you have to learn to let them.”
Breathing in his heady scent of leather and soap, I found the solace he always promised me. I longed to believe that there would be meaning in all of this. It was hard to think that such horror as the bliss I knew when I killed and the indiscretions of both myself and Shaz could have any kind of purpose.
“I just want to be free from it all.” The burning in my veins was driving me crazy. Kale was as much of a drug to me as the bloodlust was.
Slipping a hand into my hair, his voice dropped to a whisper. “Let me love you the way I should have when I had the chance.”
I gazed up at him, smitten and conflicted. I wanted to say yes. It was on the tip of my tongue, but what came out was, “I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want to…”
“It’s that you never let yourself feel anything other than pain and agony. Really, Alexa. That’s getting old.” In a brazen move, he claimed my lips in a tender kiss that left me dizzy.
I groaned and pulled away, but he held tight to my hand. “Why do you always have to be right? Maybe that’s what’s getting old.”
I shook my head and stared at our joined hands. How did I make it clear to him what I felt when I didn’t really know? From moment to moment it changed. Overwhelming desire became mind racking guilt, and somewhere in between was what I really wanted.
Before I could utter another word, I gasped as the cold undead power of Arys rose up with an icy blast inside me. He strode through the door with eyes blazing in anger.
I jerked my hand from Kale’s and immediately felt like an ass. Kale merely regarded Arys’ approach with indifference while I quaked with tension and fear.
My dark vampire was fuming. As he drew closer I felt it burning inside me, hot and bitter. I drew myself up and faced him, ready for the fit of temper I could tell was coming.
Arys cast a furious glare Kale’s way before turning it on me. “What the hell are you doing here? Last night’s torture session wasn’t enough for you. Fuck, Alexa! When did your death wish get so bad?”
“Excuse me?” I looked up into Arys’ gorgeous face, finding myself torn between defensive anger and nervous laughter. “I’m not a child, Arys. Don’t talk to me like I’m incapable of taking care of myself.”
“You mean like you did last night?”
Kale regarded us both before his pensive gaze settled on me. “You were tortured?”
“Not really.” I shrugged as if it was no big deal. I didn’t want the both of them all over me with the scolding. To Arys I said, “I don’t have a death wish.”
“Like hell you don’t,” he scoffed. Turning his midnight blues on Kale, he scowled. “Funny how you weren’t around last night when she could have used you, but when there’s a chance of getting some tail you show up.”
My stomach dropped. I opened my mouth to spit out a panicked reply, but Kale beat me to it. He was more prepared for this moment than I was.
“Ah yes, here we go. Say what you will, Arys. I don’t owe you an explanation, and if it’s an apology you’re expecting, you’ll be disappointed.”
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. You’ve been after Alexa for a while now. So now that you’ve gotten a taste, I know you’ll be backing off.” The threat was there, spoken in low tones. Arys’ menacing calm was more frightening than his temper tantrums.
Kale reclined against the bar, fixing Arys with a disaffected stare. “Alexa can make her own decisions. Sounds to me like you have bigger worries right now than whether or not I have a thing for your girl.”
“Yes!” I interjected quickly, angling my body so I stood between them but could see them both. “We do have other things to worry about. Things that I plan to take care of after sunrise.”
“What?” Arys’ attention was quickly diverted as I’d hoped it would be. “Oh, hell no. You are not taking them on without me.”
“Yes, I am. I’m going in with four wolves as well as the dagger Shya gave me. I’ll be fine. Let me draw on your power if I need it, and they won’t stand a chance. Give me some credit. These aren’t the first vampires I’ve hunted.”
The atmosphere grew stifling. Arys was seething. “You took something from Shya? A demon? See, I told you. Death wish. If Maxwell overpowers you…”
“I killed Harley just fine without you. I think I can handle this.” It was a low blow, and I immediately felt bad.
Harley’s death hurt Arys more than he would ever admit. I understood well the love/hate relationship he’d had with his maker. I’d had my own with Raoul.
Arys eyed me with an unreadable expression. He hid it well, but I’d hurt him. “So you did. A night hasn’t gone by when I haven’t thought about what it felt like to feel him die. Forgive me if I don’t care to relive it with you.”
I cringed inwardly and gave myself a mental bitch slap. How did I even begin to back-pedal on this one? “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just don’t get yourself killed. Unless you’re ready to join the fang club.”
“I have no intention of that happening. Not yet.” Did my tone sound too rushed? I hoped not.
I didn’t want either of them to know just how much the thought of turning terrified me lately.
I felt Kale’s scrutiny. If anyone would figure me out, it would be him. He crossed his arms over his chest and studied me. “I know you can kick-ass like nobody’s business, but are you sure you want to take a risk like this?”
Despite the fact that Kale was backing his opinion, Arys shot him a dirty look. I couldn’t look either of them in the eyes. The interior of the club was sweltering from the heat of so many bodies, along with my own growing discomfort. I needed some air.
“I’m sure neither of you would be saying this if you were able to come with me. Four wolves backing me are more than enough to kick some vampire ass. Would either of you really want to face that?” I challenged. Neither of them responded, leaving me feeling validated. I knew what I was doing, and they would just have to trust me on this.
Reaching for my hand, Arys regarded me with an unsettling darkness. His gaze strayed to Kale, and he grinned. “I would much rather be at your side, as I should be, but if you insist on going during daylight, I understand. I will eagerly await your return.”
Turning that sexy smirk on me, Arys gripped my hand tight and bit deep into my wrist. I gasped and gave a small cry of pain and surprise. In a dramatic move that stirred our shared power, he swirled his tongue leisurely over the bloody wound. A shock of heat pooled between my legs, and a blush stole across my cheeks.
Despite the way my body reacted to him, I was mad. That was nothing but a territorial show, marking me in front of Kale. It made me feel like a possession to be claimed, and I was livid. It was in Arys’ nature to claim me as it was in mine to refuse to allow it. As much as I wanted to pummel him right then for such a cheap move, I had responded the way he’d known I would. Though my conscious will defied the idea of belonging to him, the rest of me responded in full. We were bound and, like it or not, I was his.
With a low growl, I broke his hold on me and stepped away. Glancing furiously from Arys to Kale, I was mortified. Kale’s eyes widened as he reacted to my spilled blood, but there was pain in their depths. Instead of smacking Arys, I shoved past him and stormed outside.
Blood dripped down my hand as I fumbled with my cell phone. I scrolled through my contact list for Brogan’s number. Pain shot up my arm from my bleeding wrist, and the urge to throw my phone in a fit of anger was strong. Before I could either throw it or hit send, Arys was there, pulling it from my hand.
“I’m not going to apologize for marking you. I have every right.”
I glowered up at him from beneath lowered lashes. “Everyone’s doing whatever they want and clearly feeling little remorse. That’s fine. Let’s all just run amok. We can self destruct together.”
Arys grabbed me by the shoulders before I could turn away and searched my eyes. “That wasn’t really a reply to me. What’s going on with you?” When I pursed my lips and shook my head, he persisted. “Is this about Shaz?”
“You know about that?” My accusatory tone was thick with suspicion.
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“A few days. And, don’t look at me like that. It was the pup’s place to tell you, not mine. Just like I didn’t inform him about your recent indiscretions. It wasn’t life or death, Alexa. It was personal. Therefore, not my place.”
I wanted to argue with that but couldn’t. His logic was sound. Sticking Arys in the middle wasn’t going to change anything. The Shaz incident was eating at me, lurking in the back of my mind. I just kept seeing him with her, and I felt sick.
The crimson droplets staining the concrete at my feet brought my attention back to the immediate issue. “This,” I held my injured wrist before me, “was not necessary. It’s the vampire equivalent to pissing on me, and I’m not cool with that shit. I’m already part of you. Permanently. There isn’t a damn supernatural being in this city that doesn’t know it. Rubbing it in Kale’s face is low, Arys. Even for you.”
His dark gaze held no hint of repentance. “It was nothing compared to what I’d really like to do to him. Live with it, Alexa. It could have been worse.”
This territorial vampire nonsense with Kale was heads and tails beyond the tension Arys shared with Shaz at times. Arys enjoyed the conflict with Shaz, and ultimately, he always conceded to my wolf, acknowledging Shaz’ place as my Alpha mate. It was different with Kale. It scared me because I didn’t really know if I could trust Arys not to take it to the next level.
Slipping an arm around my waist, Arys pressed close and brushed his lips across mine. I couldn’t stay mad when the touch of his tongue to mine had me melting. The burning heat of my power mingled with the icy cold of his to encase me in a rousing warmth. This man would always be my kryptonite. Dammit.
I bit his lower lip aggressively. “You’re a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know that?”
“I do what I can.” His soft murmur was accompanied by a mischievous smirk. “If Sinclair was just a toy to you, I
might
feel differently. But, I know what he wants from you, and I can’t help but remind him that I got here first.”
I’d done the same thing with the snooty chick that lived in Shaz’ apartment building. “Yeah, yeah. That’d better be all you do.”
I tensed when Arys brought my bleeding wrist to his lips. Placing a soft kiss to my injured flesh, he breathed in the scent of my blood and sighed. “You’ve been killing.”
“Yes.” It wasn’t something I’d want to freely admit to anyone else. “Fighting it makes it so much worse.”
His shoulders slumped, and when he looked at me, there was guilt in his eyes. “I can’t watch the bloodlust drive you mad. Because it will, and you will grow to hate yourself.”
“What choice do I have? Fighting it breaks me down until I lose control. I’m already hating myself.” Turning off my emotions during the kill didn’t make them cease to exist. It simply locked them away in a place where I could pretend to forget. For now.
Arys shook his head. “No more of this. We deal with it, you and I. You can’t be killing humans. Not while you’re still mortal. It will take away the last of your humanity, and as selfish as this sounds, I’m not ready for that yet.”
I slipped a hand into his glossy black hair and nuzzled him. “Neither am I.”
His lips were warm against my face as he kissed the side of my nose. His concern meant the world to me. I wouldn’t have to fight this battle alone. I could have wept with relief.
My reassurance was short-lived. A chill crept through me when Arys said, “Then it’s settled. We hunt together.”
Chapter Eighteen
I sipped from a Tim Horton’s coffee, watching Brogan form a salt circle on the pavement. It was just past dawn. The Wicked Kiss’ parking lot was almost empty save for a few vehicles, one of them being Kale’s Camaro. Any vampire who hadn’t left yet would be trapped in one of the back rooms for the day.
I knew Kale was alone in his room. His lingering presence spoke louder than his earlier invitation. As I watched Brogan prepare to cast a locator spell, I tried not to think about Kale’s admission of love. My focus had to be on finding Claire and Maxwell. Everything else could wait.