Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(30)

A great span of field separated the forest from my backyard as it did with most of the houses in the outlying area. My house was a little better because it was beside a cemetery, where very few wanted to live. I had just one neighbor on the other side of the graveyard, hidden from sight.

Arys stood in the backyard with his arms crossed over his chest. He watched me approach with a haughty arrogance that quickly turned to appreciative wonder. I sat back on my haunches, staring up at him.

“You’re magnificent.” He moved closer, a flicker of vampire fire in his midnight blue eyes. “And, as much as I love to see you as wolf, we need to talk.”

I simply stared at him. He could talk; I would listen. That way this couldn’t blow up into a fight. I knew that look in his eyes. Arys was going to say something I wouldn’t like, and he was bracing for a clash of wills.

“Really?” He prompted after a few minutes of staring at one another. “Is this how you want to do this?” When I didn’t move, he nodded. “Alright, fine. Have it your way. I shouldn’t have to tell you how stupid it was to go back into the FPA building, but apparently I do. Briggs could have caught you. It’s bad enough that anyone caught you. And Sinclair… I don’t even know where to start.”

He paced the length of the yard, waving his hands in a grand gesture of ire. “He was going to f**k you and kill you, Alexa. You know why? Because you’re so deep in his system, it’s the only way he’ll ever be rid of you. If he gets out of there, you’ll never be safe from him.”

I wanted to argue, which was exactly why I’d stayed in wolf form. Being patient and allowing Arys to vent first would be better for both of us. Yet, the fire had already sparked within my belly. We shared the need for a good fight. Though my instinct was to tell Arys he was wrong, that Kale would never hurt me, I knew I could no longer believe that.

“He’s not going to get away with what he did tonight,” Arys declared. “I can’t let him.”

A muscle twitched in Arys’s jaw. He ran a hand haphazardly through his black hair, making it more of a sexy mess than usual. The mixed scent of cologne and hair products, an aroma that was solely his, reached me. It made me itch to bury my face in his neck and savor the many sensations of him.

“The last thing you need to deal with is a psychotic vampire with an incurable obsession. It will distract you from the real issue, Lilah. She’s going to do everything she can to force your hand. She’ll keep targeting those you’ve sworn to protect. Those you love.” He sat heavily on the small concrete wall encircling the fire pit in the center of the yard. “We have to stop her.”

We sure did. I agreed with him there, but I still didn’t believe playing nice with Shya was the way to do it. I considered shifting back to human form but decided to hold off a little longer. Arys was doing just fine spilling his thoughts and feelings with my silence.

“She won’t stop until you willingly surrender your blood to break her curse,” he continued with a shrug. “I don’t know what to do. I just know I have to protect you.”

His desperation was so tangible that I pawed the grass and whined. It was unusual for him to show such vulnerability. If Shya caught a whiff of it, he would use it as a weapon against Arys.

Our eyes locked, and I peered into my vampire with hope that he would see how much his concern meant to me. Arys had always put my safety first. Unfortunately, that often meant hiding things from me or doing things without my knowledge. I did my share of things without making him aware, like I had tonight, but it was going to catch up to us eventually.

“I know you think I’m wrong about this, but Shya knows things that could help us. He has abilities we don’t. And, he wants the same thing we do.” The hardness was back in Arys’s enchanting gaze. “I made a deal with him, Alexa.”

That did it. That was all I had to hear; I couldn’t keep quiet anymore. I shifted so fast it hurt. In a fluid, smooth motion, I was standing there naked before him. Crossing my arms, I fixed him with my best take no shit expression.

“Are you out of your damn mind?” I asked in disbelief. “Please tell me that was just a ploy to get me to shift.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Arys’s gaze travelled over me, taking in my nudity with appraising interest. “I told him we’d co-operate with him until Lilah can be dealt with. We all play nice until we get rid of her. That’s it.”

“Too easy. There’s no way that’s it.” I shook my head vigorously. “He’s a demon, Arys. He can twist your words, take them literally or figuratively. Whatever. He can’t be trusted. Bottom line.”

“He offered protection for you, Alexa. Shya doesn’t want Lilah getting her hands on your blood either. It can be useful.”

I stared at him, incredulous. “Have you forgotten he’s the idiot that told her my blood would break her curse? That blew up in his face when she refused him. Now, he wants to save his own ass. This isn’t about you or me. Shya is in it only for himself. Trusting him would be stupid. This isn’t like you, Arys.”

Arys rose and came to stand before me. The spark between us flashed at his sudden close proximity. “I don’t trust him. In fact, I wish there was a way to kill two birds with one stone. Shya’s been pulling strings behind the scenes for so long. Now, he’s stepping out front and center, and that doesn’t sit well with me. If we get close to him, we can find out what he’s up to.”