Predator Girl (A Paranormal Romance) (10 page)

“Hey.” I leaned away as Althea came forward, getting in my face. She sniffed me, nose just inches from mine.

Her pupils dilated. “Wow. He smells really good.”

Heat filled my cheeks. “Um. Thanks?”

A loud bark sent her leaping away. “Don’t, Althea,” Ilume ordered, jamming a spatula under my fish and turning it over. “He’s not on the dinner menu. Not tonight.”

Hunger raged through Althea’s eyes. Her lip twitched, and for a moment I was sure she was going to snarl at Ilume. I remained still on my stool, back pressed against the counter’s edge.

The screen door opened again. “Hey, hey.” A boy with mousy hair came in. A diamond stud glittered in his left ear, a scar down his ribcage. “What’s with all the aggression, ladies? Are we fighting over who’s going to eat Snoop Dogg again?”

“No.” Althea’s pupils returned to proper size. “The alpha doesn’t want to share her new toy. Fair enough.” She shot me a look that could freeze lava. “You’ll be dead soon anyway. No human has ever left the Rooks alive.”

Ilume scowled. “Get out.”

“Humph.” Sticking her tongue out, Althea strutted toward the stairs, Daisy glaring backward as she followed.

The shaggy-haired kid rolled his eyes, heading to the fridge. “Omegas.”

A gang of Latinos came into the house next. They were all shorter than me and older, with sideburns or five o’clock shadows. A narrow-framed girl moved among them, her hair gnarled with brambles. They spared me a glance as they passed by, and then muttered to each other in Spanish.

Several men came in, ranging from age twenty to fifty. No greetings, just glances. Among them I recognized Fox, and I flinched as he walked by particularly close to my seat.

Last came Rex gliding through the door. He was running around shirtless again, a gleaming layer of sweat on his chest. His hair was all jagged and messed up in that women-think-it’s-sexy way, and he was chewing on some thin white stick. No, wait; it wasn’t a stick it was—

I cringed. It was a small bone, probably from a rabbit.

The whole kitchen creaked as he set foot on the tile. He spat the bone toothpick into the sink before quietly sliding up behind Ilume. Aspen gave Holly a gentle push, and the two vacated, going up the stairs.

Ilume didn’t turn or acknowledge his presence, but her shoulders tensed. “Rex,” she said, suddenly very focused on cooking.

He smiled that creepy, cynical smile of his. “Lume.”

“How was hunting?”

“Pleasant, although we didn’t bring anything back like this morning. We’ll go again tomorrow evening.”

“Hmm. Good.” Flicking the burner off, she turned to move to the cupboard. Rex didn’t budge as her chest hit his. “Um. Can I help you?” she said.

Rex’s eyes flicked in my direction. Suddenly he leaned in and kissed her. Shock registered on Ilume’s face, and I inhaled sharply. This wasn’t one of those honey-I’m-home kisses. Oh no. This one was deep, hungry.

The kind that says
she belongs to me.

“Rex,” Ilume sputtered, tearing away.

My hands curled into fists below the table. What an arrogant ass wipe, smothering her like that. My moral compass didn’t always point north, but I would never corner a girl and jam my tongue down her throat. Not unless she told me to.

“Ah, come on, Lume,” Rex chuckled as she shoved her way around him. “What’s wrong with two mates showing each other some love, huh?”

I’ll tell you what’s wrong, mumbo,
I thought to myself,
your head is jammed up your werewolf ass.

“That wasn’t a kiss asking for love, Rex,” Ilume spoke my unsaid words. Snatching a plate out of the top cupboard, she threw my piece of fish on it. “Not my idea of love, at least. Jared,”—she turned toward me—“do you want to eat upstairs?”

Rex’s smug expression morphed. The alpha male gave me the glare of all glares. A chill went down my back, but I held his gaze, trying to return the look.

“Wipe that glare off your face, scum,” he sneered.

My temper reared up. “I will when you get your head out of your ass—”

The kitchen shuddered. Rex spun my way, fangs flashing, a snarl ripping through his teeth. He strode away from the oven, gliding around the counter. I braced myself, nearly falling off my chair.

Fear streaked Ilume’s face. Dropping the plate, she swung herself over the countertop, landing in front of me before Rex could grab my throat. “Stop it, Rex, he’s just a human! And I’ve had enough crap tonight!”

Rex growled at her, snapped his jaws. When she didn’t back down, he finally took a step away. “Fine, Ilume,” he said, then jammed a finger over her shoulder. “But you teach that little shit a lesson in respecting his superiors, or I’m getting him a leash and a shock collar—”

I interrupted. “Oh, go muzzle yourself!”

“Jared!”

Rex snorted, moving away. Sliding back in the kitchen, he picked up my plate and smashed it into the sink. I jumped as bits of porcelain shot into the air. The salmon squished apart.

“No dinner for him tonight,” Rex declared.

Ilume’s nails raked her skull, probably two seconds from gouging someone’s eyes out. “What is wrong with you?” she bellowed.

“Nothing.” Rex brushed pieces of porcelain off his hands, not even bleeding. “Food is a privilege in this household. We earn what we eat. When he learns to appreciate that fact—”

“Good
God
! You’re a real piece of work, you know that—”

“Ilume,” I butted in. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not hungry anyway.”

Rex huffed. Ilume stared at me, fury written on her face. Collecting herself, she motioned toward the stairs. “Go,” she said, like I was her pet. “Now. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Fine.” I stood up.

Rex hawk-eyed me. The way he fidgeted as I went by, I knew his claws were itching to come out and slice me open. I didn’t look at him because, seriously, another word out of that waste of fur and somebody was meeting God tonight.

I slammed Ilume’s bedroom door shut, giving my bed a good kick. The dog pads spun across the floor. I was sick of this place and the freak that owned it. It might’ve been day one, but I was ready to go home.

Time and place.
I slumped against the wall.
You’ve got to wait. Wait for this weekend when the workers come home.
During my cleaning spree in the bathroom, I had discovered the roof outside the window was flat. I’d go to the bathroom in the night and slide outside.

Soon.
I picked up the dog pads, pushing them back against the wall.
Soon you’ll be home.

Swift footsteps moved down the hall. I lay sprawled on the floor as Ilume came swarming in like a pissed off queen bee. Slamming the door, she marched to her bed, not sparing me a glance. I stared at the ceiling. Two could play at the silent-treatment game. I would’ve won, too.

If she hadn’t have started tearing her clothes off.

What the—?
Ilume stood by her bed, yanking her jean shorts off. Her t-shirt lay crumpled on the mattress, splattered with grease and cooking stains.

I stared. I couldn’t help it. The girl had more curves than a coke bottle, only slimmer, like the girls who are modeled beside the Hollister boys.
No wonder Rex picked her.
Her underwear only covered half her behind, with a matching bra that gave her the boobs of a Victoria Secret model.

Seeing my eyes glued to her, Ilume bared her teeth and snarled. Wadding her shorts up, she launched them through the air. They slapped me in the face. “You are such an
idiot
!” she raged. “Ugh! Do you realize how much crap I’m taking for protecting you?”

“You know,” I started, pulling the shorts off my face. I looked at them, her otherworldly smell clinging to every thread. “Rex aside, can I say something?”

Her nostrils flared as she strode to the dresser. Pulling on a tank top dress, she dared, “Go ahead. Be my guest.”

“Okay. Well, if I didn’t know you could turn into a ravenous animal and tear my intestines out with your teeth,” I paused, suppressing a smirk, “your temper would be totally kinky right now.”

I imagined her in a pool of Jell-O. Strawberry Jell-O, my favorite.

She blinked at me.

The last thing I remember was getting booted into the hall, all thoughts of Jell-O and lingerie shoveled from my mind.

“Ah, Ilume, come on!” I called, banging on the door. I twisted the knob. It was locked. “Seriously, how am I supposed to argue with you when you’re trotting around in lace and push-up pads? That’s not fair!”

No answer.

I groaned. Sliding down against the wall, I wondered which bedroom belonged to Rex.
Stupid, stupid, Jared.
So what if she had looked utterly delicious? My lack of self-control had just cost me my protection. I was open prey, a rabbit out of its hole. Rex would kill me for sure if I stayed out here.

“Ilume,” I called again, tone softer. “I’m sorry, okay? Will you open the door?”

“Go away, Jared.” Her voice sounded muffled, far away.

I tried to talk her into at least letting me grab my stuff. It was a lost cause—the lock never clicked, and the door never opened. I wondered if the house roof came close to her balcony. I could test my bathroom window theory and make sure the roof was safe to climb on in the first place. Maybe her French doors were open.

A shadow appeared in my peripheral vision. Aspen was shaking his head. “Man,” he said, laughing. “You have got to be the
stupidest
human I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you.” I grimaced. How many more reminders did I need?

He leaned against the wall, turning serious as he whispered, “You’re also the gutsiest. Nobody messes with Rex—we just do what we’re told.” He threw a glance around the hall. “Come on. When Ilume kicks someone out, she kicks them out. You can stay in my room tonight.”

I sat up. “Really?”

“Yeah, but let’s go before the demon sees you.” He flicked a finger, starting back toward the staircase. “Or anyone else for that matter.”

“Aspen,” I asked him. “Why are you being—uh—nice to me?”

I wasn’t sure
nice
was the right word. Nice is your friends buying you lunch, not a werewolf that keeps taking pity on you.

Aspen’s features tightened. He sat down on the edge of his mattress, staring at the carpet. “Because,” he answered. “I, um . . . I used to be one of you.”

I about dropped my pillow. “What do you mean?”

“I used to be human.”

That’s what I thought he meant. It had to be a joke. A human can’t become an Otherworlder! That’s more Hollywood crap: one bite from a nightling or a werewolf or even certain faeries, and you were “infected,” doomed to become like them.

It didn’t work that way. You don’t turn into a flea when one bites you, right? Same with an Otherworlder situation: you’re either born human or you’re born Otherworlder. The only exceptions were ghosts, which the government is still arguing about giving them their own category.

In Theories class, I read about human–Otherworlder hybrids, which are extremely uncommon. The offspring of a human and Otherworlder mating have such unstable genes that the children rarely live past age five.

I’d never heard of any case where a human becomes a werewolf.

“You’ve got to be joking,” I finally said. “That’s like saying a rabbit laid a chicken’s egg. It’s impossible for a human to become an Otherworlder. We’re two entirely different races!”

Aspen’s mouth tilted up at the corners. “Is that what Hunters High taught you?”

He knew about Hunters High?

“Don’t look so surprised.” He laid back, hands behind his head. “It’s near where Ilume went. I looked it up. The Finders are the only ones who know about us. If you followed Ilume—which it sounds like you did, from what I’ve heard—someone had clearly taught you the basics.”

I dropped my pillow on the floor and spread out the blanket while thinking up a response. No use in lying here; it might just lose me the only kind of guy-friend I had. “Yeah. I’m going on three years of training at Hunters High.” I shot him a look. “And they never taught us anything about humans becoming Otherworlders.”

“Politics.” He scoffed. “Don’t tell me you believe everything they and PIU taught you? That’s one of the reasons I left humanity. Humans think they’ve got it all right all the time.”

“Not true.” If I was all right all the time, a lot of things in my life would be different, including the fact that here I sat in the middle of the Canadian woods.

Silence settled in the room. As I crawled into my makeshift bed, Aspen asked, “What were you doing chasing a werewolf anyway?”

I told him the same thing I told Ilume, about my training at school and my working for PIU. “Only it’s not like I knew what she was when I saw her. I just knew she wasn’t tagged.”