Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(55)

Arys followed my gaze to the couple. “Is something wrong?”

The couple’s voices became just two of many as the barrage of thoughts started up again. The pain in my head worsened, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“I can’t listen to this anymore.” A hand to my head, I squeezed my eyes shut, but it only served to increase the volume. “Can we talk outside?”

“Of course.”

With a hand on my lower back, he steered me toward the exit. The noise inside my head grew to a deafening crescendo. Sharp knives of pain pierced my skull. A storm of thoughts assaulted me, but one voice stood out above the rest. That one voice I knew well.

I felt the touch of his energy before I saw him. A honey sweet essence that called to the undying hunger I would always possess for him. We never reached the door. Arys stopped dead beside me, and I looked up to find Kale standing there, his gorgeous eyes fixed upon me.

For a moment none of us moved. It wasn’t hard to tell that Kale wasn’t himself. Madness caused his brown and blue eyes to glitter dangerously. The cacophony of noise fell away once Kale captured my full attention. He took one step toward me, and Arys snapped.

Arys was a blur of speed as he crossed the distance. Without hesitation, he threw a punch. It connected with Kale’s jaw, and he stumbled back a few steps. Rubbing his chin, Kale turned to Arys with a malicious smile.

“I’m sure you can do better than that,” he taunted, holding up both hands in invitation.

“Arys, don’t!”

My shout went unheeded. Arys grabbed the other vampire by his collar and threw him. Kale crashed into a table and went down along with those seated at it. They had barely scrambled out of the way before Arys was there, dragging Kale to his feet.

“That’s right.” Kale spat blood. His grin was still in place. “I didn’t play so nice with your girl last time. Do what you’ve gotta do.”

“I should f**king kill you,” Arys snarled. “She trusted you and you violated her. Like just another victim.”

Kale’s gaze passed over me. I saw no sign of the Kale I’d known, only the monster that had brutally tried to kill me in the FPA basement. It was like a knife to my heart. Sure, he’d been walking on the edge of sanity for a long time. I’d been ignorant enough to believe he wouldn’t fall over into the abyss of bloodlust driven madness.

Staring into Arys’s angry eyes, Kale laughed. “She is just another victim. Stop pretending you don’t kill her yourself in your mind, every time you taste the power in her blood.”

Kale might not have known it, but he was cutting too near the bone for Arys. Without warning, Arys lashed out with a right hook that opened up a cut above Kale’s eye. I stood there knowing I had to do something, uncertain what that should be.

I threw my hands up, intending to separate them. Falon’s power dominated my own, and instead of a simple separation, I threw them hard in opposite directions. I caught Jez’s eye across the room. She shook her head and shrugged. Apparently, Arys wasn’t the only one who thought Kale deserved an ass kicking.

Arys recovered fast. He was at my side, ready to do more damage. I grabbed his arm and forced him to look at me.

“Please don’t do this,” I pleaded.

“I can’t let him get away with what he did to you.”

Kale got up from where he’d fallen among the crowd gathered around the dance floor. Brushing himself off, he gave his short dark locks a toss and slowly made his way back for more. He paid Arys no mind; his gaze was on me.

I stepped between them with my hands up in surrender. “Just stop, Kale. Ok? It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Doesn’t it?” He kept coming. “You heard the man. He needs to defend your honor. Can’t blame him for that.”

“We can talk about this. Nobody has to get hurt.” Try as I might to preach peace to them, it was incredibly difficult with the skull-bashing agony that threatened to bring me down.

Kale cocked his head to the side, studying me. “What happened, Alexa? Did you seduce one of the angels, too?”

My temper flared at the cheap shot. I almost blasted him with Falon’s power but caught myself before I made a fatal mistake. Shaking with the effort it took to hold back, I sought out Willow’s watchful gaze.

He stood close without getting involved. With his arms crossed and a casual stance, he gave the impression that he didn’t care what happened either way. A quick nod provided the reassurance I needed. This wasn’t his fight, but he wouldn’t let me set the place ablaze.

“This isn’t you, Kale. Nothing you say can hurt me. I know you’re better than this.”

“Are you still naive enough to think that? Haven’t you been paying attention? This is what I am.”

Kale’s words echoed in my ears. Kale, who had once been wolf for such a short time, was now this monster, hell bent on destroying someone he once claimed to love. That would one day be me, too. It was too much for me to take.

“It’s not always what you were,” I said, the words tumbling out on their accord. “You were like me once. Wolf.” Surprise flashed through his eyes at my words, so I bravely continued. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The shock was gone from his face as quickly as it had come. The twisted smile was back in place. “I suppose that was bound to come out eventually. Better be careful, Alexa. Nobody likes a snoop.”