Ripper (Hunter #1)(33)

Maybe Gray should be more afraid of me than I was of him. Gray wasn’t the only one with pieces of himself he wanted to hide.

That was when I knew something was distinctly wrong with this whole scenario. The four men holding Gray were the problem. They held him down, but their faces were expressionless. It didn’t make sense. There should have been something in their eyes; rage, blood lust, anything. Packs are close-knit. I’d killed most of their pack, but they did their jobs with blank looks and bland eyes.

Definitely wrong. I looked down at the wolf at my feet with rebar sticking out of his chest. He lay there and while everything seemed right on the surface, something was off. I pulled the rebar out and it felt weird. It came out too easily. It slid out like a hot knife cutting through butter, but this was flesh. I should have had to use force to get that weapon back out.

There was another roar from the far side of the alley. A second wave had gathered. Another ten wolves moved toward me, but I wasn’t buying it.

I held the bloody rebar at my side and relaxed, letting the night air rush across my senses. It told me everything I needed to know. No smell. I couldn’t smell blood or wolves or anything but the faintest whiff of whatever aftershave Gray used.

The wolves were big, their claws enormous, and yet they didn’t scratch along the concrete. I could only hear Gray breathing and then yelling.

“Kelsey! Look out!”

I opened my eyes and there was a huge brown wolf leaping through the air to attack me. His mouth was open and it was full of snapping, snarling teeth, waiting to rip me apart. His claws were long and they would sink into my flesh as he started to eat me. Or they would if he was real.

The wolf attacked and I walked straight through the illusion.

“Shit.” I heard a new voice curse from the back of the alley. Now we were getting somewhere. Whoever was pulling the strings knew I wasn’t going to play anymore.

Gray still struggled hard against his illusionary captors. Whoever was pulling this magic was damn good. Gray really believed they were stronger than him. He held his own body in a very awkward position, with all four limbs off the ground because he truly believed there were men restraining him.

“It’s an illusion, babe,” I said matter of factly. “You can get up.”

He fought his captors, still captured by the magic. He stared at the men holding him, pulling his own limbs in a desperate attempt to get away. “What are you talking about? Kelsey, they’re going to get you. Please!”

Another two wolves were attacking, but I could see how insubstantial they were. As they bore down, I swiped a hand through them and they disappeared like a wisp of a cloud.

“They’re not real, Gray,” I said calmly as I sensed something that was. I smiled as I pointed my little staff down to the end of the alley where a man stood. I hadn’t seen him before and maybe I wasn’t supposed to see him, but he was there all the same. He was a Goth god in leather and denim. His long black hair hung around his face. He really was a lovely man. A bit pale, but he had potential. Note, I said had potential because I was about to kill the son of a bitch, though not until he answered a few questions. I raised my voice so Gray could hear me, but I didn’t take my eyes off the man behind the curtain. “Nothing has been real since we stepped into this alley. Nothing except him.”

The Goth god’s mouth turned down and his hands were on his hips. “How the hell can you see me?”

I shrugged. “Dude, you’re just standing there. I’m not sure how you expect me not to see you.”

I noted he had black polish on his nails as he pointed back at Gray. “He can’t see me.”

“Then he needs glasses,” I shot back. “Now, whatever the hell you are, we’re going to have a talk.”

“Not on your life, sister. I think we have what we need.” He winked and took off running.

Not happening. Gray continued to plead with me, but I was confident he would be all right. I took off after the witch, or whatever could pull that kind of magic. I wasn’t really thinking too much about his species as I chased him up the street. He was fast, really fast, but I turned it on. I didn’t question the fact that I’d never run so fast or that I wasn’t even breathing hard as I continued my chase. I sidestepped pedestrians without even thinking. If they even realized I was there, I didn’t notice. All I saw was that black leather jacket trying to get away from me, and I thrilled at the fact that it was getting closer. I was going to catch him.

He crossed a street and I registered in my peripheral vision that a car was coming. I jumped, landed on the hood and sprang forward, not missing a beat. The Goth boy had caught that move and he stopped, his mouth hanging open. He’d finally realized he could run, but I would catch him in the end.

“What are you?” He stood there in the middle of the sidewalk. He didn’t seem to care that people were walking all around him. They didn’t see him there. They altered their paths to avoid him, not one meeting his eyes.

“I was about to ask you the same question.” I steeled myself. I was going to get answers out of him one way or another. “Who are you and why are you testing me? What do you want from me?”

He shook his head, black hair moving around his pale face. He kept his hands at his sides, but I saw a glint of metal. “Damn it. My master’s gonna kill me.”

Then he lifted a gun and shot me. I registered the bullet hitting my chest, but it was weird. It didn’t go completely in and there was a strange hissing sound. I pulled it out and threw it to the ground as a fog started to develop in my head. Even with the fuzziness, I moved forward. I needed to get my hands around him. He was my prey and he was right there. All I had to do was reach out and grab him.