Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(57)

Hoping to ease Coby into our world, we playfully stalked small night critters. Following the scent of a field mouse, I tracked it to where it hid in the long grass, hoping to go unnoticed. I pounced playfully, a few feet from the mouse, sending him scurrying away as fast as his little legs would carry him. He was a cute little thing, beady eyes and all.

I wouldn’t dream of hurting him. The little mouse was in no danger from me; I preferred prey that could fight back.

Shaz led a small hunt when we came across a relatively fresh deer trail. I had little interest, but I followed along, slinking through the trees as we tracked the big buck. He was an impressive beast alright. The rack of antlers atop his head was massive. Tall with long legs, he was a gorgeous creature.

I hung back, watching as the others encircled the deer. Kylarai was an ace hunter. She had a way of gliding up alongside her prey without being noticed until it’s too late. Her brown hide was barely visible as she stalked the buck. Shaz paused on the opposite side with Coby, waiting for Kylarai to make the first move.

For a moment, everything stopped as we waited for Ky to pounce.

A twig snapped in the distance, mere seconds before the scent of humans reached me. Immediately alert, I met Shaz’s green eyes, finding alarm in their depths.

The shotgun blast was as deafening as it was shocking. For a split second I couldn’t tell where it hit. Then the deer dropped and began to flail. A strangled sound came from the buck as he thrashed helplessly.

A second shot rang out and something grazed my flank. I’d never known hunters to be in these woods. My heart pounded in my ears. I could barely hear the sound of paws hitting the ground furiously around me as we ran with supernatural speed.

As the adrenaline faded, the pain grew in intensity. By the time we reached Kylarai’s backyard, every step I took hurt. It could have been so much worse; a near miss was nothing to laugh off. It hurt like a bitch. I collapsed on the grass, embracing my human form. The wound was ugly, a large, deep puncture that bled profusely. I felt lightheaded but I’d had worse.

“Are you ok, Lex?” Shaz wasted no time resuming human form. He lifted me carefully in his strong arms. “Looks like it just grazed you a good one.”

“I’ll be fine. It just hurts like a mother f**ker.” I groaned and clung tight to Shaz. Burying my face in his neck, I concentrated on his familiar scent. “Last thing I need is to get taken out by hunters. Lilah would love that.”

He carried me inside, down the hall to the bathroom, while Kylarai ran ahead to turn on lights and wet a towel with warm water. Shaz held me while she cleaned the wound.

“I cannot believe that just happened.” Ky’s eyes were wide with terror. “That was too close.” Reaching into the bathroom cupboard for rubbing alcohol she added, “It’s an ugly gash, but it’s not as deep as all the blood made it look. Let me clean you up, and you should be fine.”

I didn’t feel exactly glamorous sitting tight in Shaz’s arms while Ky cleaned and bandaged a wound on my ass. How embarrassing.

“Since when do we get hunters this close to town?” I wondered aloud. “I hope that’s a one-time thing.”

“That scared the hell out of me when that deer dropped. For a second I’d thought one of us had been hit.” With a shake of his blonde head, Shaz grimaced. “Thank God it wasn’t worse than this.”

“This was not how I wanted to introduce Coby to our world.” I groaned when Shaz gingerly set me on my feet. Pain shot through my leg and rear end. “We need to let the others know. They need to be careful. It could still be dangerous out there.”

I limped my way back down the hall to the kitchen where Coby paced near the dining room table. He’d gotten dressed in jeans and a dark hoodie. The anxiety rolled off him in thick waves.

Shaz swept past me, disappearing outside to fetch our clothing. I leaned on the kitchen counter, using it to hide my nudity from the already uncomfortable Coby. He glanced at me with unease.

“We’ve never run into humans out there. Never.” I didn’t think I was reassuring him.

Coby seemed to be trying to look anywhere but at me even though most of my nakedness was hidden behind the counter. Nudity was second nature to me when I was with other werewolves. He was still adjusting.

“That was pretty damn scary. I mean, the guns were terrifying. I’ve never run like that in my life.”

Shaz returned with our clothes, and I slipped my t-shirt on, struggling a little with the tight fitting jeans. They were not ass-wound friendly.

With a gentle hand on Coby’s shoulder, Shaz attempted to calm the nervous wolf. “It was an isolated incident. We’re safe here.”

“I know.” Coby nodded. “I’m just trying to process what just happened. I knew life was about to get dangerous, but I had no idea what to expect.”

“That’s the thing. You never know what to expect.”

“If it’s not vampires and demons, it’s idiot humans with f**king guns.” I swore up a storm as I helped myself to an iced tea from the fridge.

Kylarai emerged from her bedroom, clad in a long robe. I envied her comfort. My ass throbbed, and the jeans were not helping. I wanted to get back to Arys’s house, to my own robe.

“Well, that was a rush,” Ky said, her soft features set in a grim expression. “As long as nobody starts a wolf hunt out here, we’re safe.”