He winced and rubbed at his arm. ‘Sorry, just thought I’d let you know that there’s no sign of them yet. We could be here for a while.’
‘Well that’s just lovely,’ I mumbled, closing the car door behind me and leaning against it. ‘I was worried I wasn’t going to have enough time to finish being bored.’
He grimaced. ‘I’m sorry you’re stuck out here by yourself. Hopefully mum and dad will let you join in on the next hunt.’
‘We’re you trying to cheer me up?’
He nodded.
‘Well, stop it. You’re doing a crappy job.’
He smiled and tugged at my ponytail. ‘If it makes you feel any better, it’s twelve degrees out here this evening and Sarah is sitting in the bus stop over the street covered in wet blood. She has to be close to freezing by now.’
‘You’re right,’ I said with a dazzling answering smile. ‘That does make me feel better.’
‘I’ve got to get back. I just thought I’d keep you in the loop. Do you have your knife on you?’
‘Always,’ I answered and patted my pants pocket. ‘Why?’
He shrugged. ‘Just in case. Mum and dad might not believe the Vampires when they say that the Vânâtors are getting smarter, but I’m not taking any chances and neither should you. Just be careful, yeah?’
‘Ah-huh. I’ll keep an eye on those shadows over there. They look a little sinister.’
He tilted his head to the side and frowned. ‘Don’t be a smart ass, E, I’m being serious. You just never know.’
I waved him off and opened the car door again. ‘You better get back. The excitement is going to be over there, not here at the car. There’s no point both of us missing it.’ I kicked at a loose stone and sent it sailing against the brick wall on the other side of the alley, trying not to let him see my disappointment.
‘Sorry, E,’ he said again before patting me on the shoulder and jogging back down the other end of the alley. He darted around a corner, disappearing from sight.
I let out a short sigh of frustration and leant back against the opening of the door, searching the end of the alley where Lucas had just disappeared, and the rest, just to be certain that I was still miserably alone. I was. Even the darkest of shadows looked devoid of danger and as harmless as a fluffy bunny.
And then a set of cold white hands circled tightly around my waist, tugging me back hard inside the vehicle. My head banged viciously against the metal door frame as my body flew backwards like a rag doll into the rear passenger seat of the Forrester.
I let out a strangled cry of surprise before one of the cold, hard hands left my waist and clamped down firmly over my mouth. Instinctively I reached up with shaking hands to protect my head. It was throbbing dully.
What the hell?
I took a deep breath in through my nose to steady my racing heart, my mouth still kept mute by the cold, white hand. Spice and sandalwood slowly suffused the cabin, overwhelming the scent of blood that was still hanging in the air.
William.
I let go of my head, briefly rubbing at the spot that had hurt not less than ten seconds ago, and turned around as best as I could to stare at William.
He placed a finger to his lips to tell me to keep quiet and then slowly released the hand that he had over my mouth. ‘Sorry about your head,’ he whispered, gently brushing his fingers across my crown.
‘Are you stalking me?’ I hissed, slapping his hand away.
‘Shh. Keep your voice down. There’s a vân
â
tor just outside.’
I pulled my dangling feet inside the car and then turned around to glance into the alley. I couldn’t see anything, just brick walls, concrete, trash dumpsters, and more concrete. I listened. I couldn’t hear anything either. When I sniffed at the air again all I got was the heavy scent of blood and the more pronounced scent of William’s essence circling around me.
I wish I could smell vân
â
tors.
I gave up the search and spun around again. ‘What are you doing here?’ I whispered. He was still wearing the same clothes I had seen him in earlier today but his sunglasses were nowhere in sight. ‘I’m hunting, the same as you.’
I managed an indignant snort. ‘Hunting? I wish. I’m the designated driver for this evening.’
He smiled in reply and then shuffled closer, his thigh resting against my own. My breath caught in my throat as he leaned across me slowly, washing me with another bout of his essence.
His head dipped past my face and peered out into the alley beyond. All I could see was the smooth, pale skin of his neck and his profile—the long, dark lashes that fanned his eyes and the tufts of soft hair that curved sinuously around his ears. The depth of his beauty was alarming.
I sank back into the seat as far as I could go, creating as great a distance between our skin as possible. Even if my eyes were closed I still would have known he was there, that he was only a heartbeat away from me. His skin may have been cold, but his body appeared to emit heat and pheromones that were just as powerful as if he had been touching me with his bare hands.
I mentally slapped myself and then concentrated on where he was looking. He appeared to be transfixed by something down the far end of the alley. I looked but couldn’t see anything except the well lit buildings surrounding the car—fluorescent bulbs hung in sporadic locations from the brick walls outside the shop’s back entrances. Even the shadows that clung to some of the walls and corners of the alley held no secret hiding places for the beasts to hide.
He stayed like that, only for a couple of seconds, his head only a short distance away from mine. After more silent seconds passed, he leaned back in again, turning to look at me and caught me gawking at him. ‘He’s close.’
‘Who, the Vânâtor?’
He nodded. ‘He’s about one hundred metres away, sitting on the roof of that bakery.’ He pointed.
‘Well then what are you doing in the car with me? Shouldn’t you be out there hunting him down with everyone else?’
‘I can’t,’ he said quietly.
‘And why is that?’
‘Because he’s hunting you.’
I snorted quietly. ‘And why exactly would he be bothered doing that when there’s a buffet of blood just over there?’ I pointed in Sarah’s general direction.
‘You can smell that?’ he said, amazed.
I frowned. ‘How can you not?’
He grinned. ‘That’s true enough for vampires and vânâtors, but you’re still clearly human, Elena, a fact which has not escaped the werewolf that is scenting your blood at this moment, and is now hunting you.’
The trap isn’t working.’ I whispered.
He shook his head and leaned forward, his eyes muddying slightly in colour. ‘It was never going to work. I tried to tell your parents that these ones are too smart.’ His breath was sweet and incredibly enticing, sweet like chocolate, apples, cinnamon, and every other yummy thing I could think of.
Whoa, cut it out, Elena.
My fingers started to shake slightly as a sudden image of them running through the thicket of his hair flashed through my mind. Only I kept imagining him in that different way for some reason, with the shoulder-length hair stylishly framing his face.
I sat on my quaking fingers to prevent me from doing something stupid. ‘Are you trying to compel me again?’ I breathed.
‘I am.’
‘Why?’ I murmured, glancing at him from under my lashes. ‘Why would you need to?’
‘Because I need you to stay in the car and I don’t think that you would if I simply asked you to.’
‘So your answer is hypnotism?’ I said drowsily.
‘If that’s what it takes to keep you safe.’
I laughed lightly. ‘You, protect
me
?’ I laughed again. ‘I don’t need protecting. I’m more than capable of looking after myself.’
‘I believe you,’ he said quietly. ‘But I don’t want to test the theory with an alpha.’
The fog that had been circling around inside my head vanished the second my interest in the conversation piqued. ‘Alpha? There’s an alpha hunting me?’
So much for his compulsion. Looks like I’m not fully susceptible after all.
I stuck my head out the door again and glanced into the distance. I could see it now, perched quietly on the edge of the bakery rooftop, looking down at me with black, beady eyes.
William sighed and touched my hand. ‘Please, Elena, stay in the car.’
‘Nah-uh. Not while there’s an alpha just outside. I haven’t seen one before.’
‘You’re quite impossible,’ he murmured under his breath, shaking his head. ‘Ever heard of curiosity killing the cat?’
I nodded and glanced out the window again. ‘Yep, but I still have nine lives left so no probs.’
The Vânâtor was gone. I automatically reached for my knife, pulling it from my pockets. I had a feeling I was going to need it.
‘You’re not invincible, Elena. Please try to be smart and let me handle this. I have aeons of experience in these matters.’ He hesitated. ‘You’re still just a child in a lot of ways.’
I snorted. ‘You sound exactly like George, and that’s not
an attractive trait, believe you me.’
I started to slide out of the car. William grabbed at my hand and pulled me back inside. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Let go,’ I hissed, pulling my hand free. ‘He knows I’m in the car. In or out, it doesn’t make much difference, does it? At least if I’m out of the car I can see him coming.’
‘You can’t go up against an alpha, Elena. You’ll be no match for him. He’ll snap you like a twig.’
‘Good thing this twig can grow new branches then, huh?’
‘Are you always this stubborn and pigheaded?’ he said angrily.
I smiled. ‘You say that like it’s a bad thing.’
He growled and then leant across to slam the door shut again. ‘No wonder you’re
his
mate. You’re exactly the same.’
‘What?’
‘Nothing,’ he grumbled as he tried to grab at the seatbelt next to me.
‘What are you doing? If there is an alpha out there then we need to hunt it. We can’t let it just wander around.’
‘Elena—’
I grabbed the handle and swung the car door open again. ‘Don’t Elena me. You and I don’t know each other well enough for you to tell me what to do. Besides, even if we did, I’d still do what I want to do anyway, so just deal with it. Everyone else has to.’ I got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me, twirling the blade around in my hand as I did so.
He stood at my side a second later, his arms crossed angrily in front of his chest.
Geez, he’s fast.
‘So what’s your big plan then? I’m assuming you have one?’ he said sardonically.
I shook my head. ‘Don’t be an ass. I don’t have one. I’m more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, if you know what I mean.’
He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, something that sounded a lot like what I’d been writing on the window of the car earlier. He pointed behind him. ‘He’s on the shoe shop roof now, about twenty paces above us. If you were planning on doing something, then now would be the time. I’m just
dying
to see what you have buried in that little bag of tricks of yours.’
‘Aren’t you already dead?’ I answered just as sarcastically in return. ‘So you can’t be dying.’