Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(27)

His left eye was swollen, and his clothes were bloodstained. Falon had given him a good ass kicking. That lit a flame of anger inside me. If he was my wolf then he was mine to punish. Where did a fallen angel get off laying hands on my wolf?

“What happened to him?” I directed the question to Shya, but I locked eyes with Falon. “What did he do to earn himself a beating before I even knew about him?”

“He went to the human authorities with his story. He begged for their help.” With a shake of his head, Shya looked at the wolf with utter disdain. “My man on the inside turned him over to me, but not before he wolfed out on two cops. I would have killed him immediately if he hadn’t said your name.”

“How do you know my name?” I was uneasy. Wolfing out on cops was not something to brush off.

The wolf looked between Shya and me uncertainly. “Everyone knows who you are. It wasn’t hard to get some information on you once I started digging around. I knew what you looked like.”

“Why the hell would you go to the police?” I demanded, my voice rising. I was having a hard time grasping all this. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take tonight. To Shya, I said, “And why the hell do you have a fire burning? It’s July.”

Shya merely smiled, a vicious grin that shone with amusement. I kept my attention on the wolf before me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was definitely not what I’d expected to find here tonight.

“I didn’t want to hurt anybody. I thought they could help me before I did something I’d regret for the rest of my life. It was stupid. I get that. I just wanted help.”

He was unapologetic, but I saw desperation in his eyes. He had learned the hard way.

I couldn’t fault the guy for panicking and seeking a way out. I hated to ask, but I had to know. “Shya, what happened with the cops who saw?”

“They’ve been dealt with. They don’t remember seeing a thing. However, if such an incident had occurred in front of a whole crowd, it wouldn’t have been such an easy fix. Mind control and memory manipulation does have its limits.”

I stood there in the agonizing heat, trying to think through the onslaught of questions forming. Shya watched me expectantly.

“Kill him.” Falon spoke up from where he stood near the open attached kitchen. “It’s not worth the risk of keeping him around. He’s just one werewolf.”

The way his tone changed on that last bit rubbed me the wrong way. I had a feeling there was a hidden jibe there.

“It isn’t your call to make,” I snapped, my words ending on a growl. I glared hard at Falon who leaned back against the kitchen island, casual and unaffected.

“No, Alexa. It’s yours.” Shya swept an arm toward the wolf on the floor with a grand, dramatic gesture. “Claim him as your wolf or leave him to us.”

Trepidation filled me. I didn’t want anyone’s life in my hands. Not like this. I gazed down at the wolf, my wolf, and I felt a territorial obligation to him. “What’s your name?”

“Coby Haines.”

“Well, Coby Haines, this is your lucky day. I’m not going to decide your fate. You are. Are you ready to die now? To escape the wolf in the only way possible? Or, do you want me to claim you as pack? You’ll be mine to protect, and in return you’ll keep a low profile.”

A snort of derision came from Falon. I ignored him. Shya was quiet, but I could feel the weight of his watchful gaze upon me, judging my choice.

Coby cast a careful glance at Falon, then Shya before settling his gaze on me. “I’m not ready to die. I just want help.”

“You’ll get it.” The way I saw it, I owed Coby. For the past few months, he’d been out there, changed because of me, and I hadn’t even known. What he did was thoughtless, but he deserved a chance.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Taking Coby’s hand, I pulled him to his feet and steered him toward the door. “I assume I can leave now, Shya. Unless there’s anything else.”

Shya’s amused smile never wavered. “Have a nice night, Alexa.”

The eerie sensations floating around inside Shya’s house spilled over outside. The entire property felt cursed, like it writhed with something black and bottomless. The house was outside of town, down a dirt road east of the city. I assumed Shya had several reasons to live in a secluded area. Everything about the place, including Shya himself, set off my personal warning bells. I was hasty to get away.

Coby hesitated near my car. He looked back at the house for a moment as if torn before grasping the passenger door handle. If I were him, I would second-guess getting into a car with the person who turned me, too.

“Are you going to get in?” I dropped into the driver’s seat and started the car. I was in a hurry to leave. “It’ll be a long walk back to town.” Well, it would be on human legs.

I opened the windows and the sunroof, drinking in the night air. It was delectably cool in comparison to the insane heat inside.

“I have nowhere to go. Not anymore.” Coby got into the car but continued to glance nervously out the window.

“Well, you’re not staying here. I’ll drive, you talk.”

I snuck a look at him. He had to be in his late twenties or early thirties, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. With light, ash brown hair and a five o’clock shadow, he was ruggedly attractive. He turned hazel eyes on me that were all wolf.