Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(27)

Everyone fell quiet. Forgetting Arys entirely, Jenner slithered over to Shaz, eyeing him up like a prize-winning piece of meat.

“Well, look at the balls on this one,” Jenner mused. “I’m tempted to put money on you myself. Too bad I don’t want you to actually walk out of that ring alive.”

“I guess you’re going to be disappointed then. Might as well place your bet.” Arms crossed, the wolf shining in his eyes, Shaz stood relaxed, ready even. Not a shred of fear emanated from him.

Arys looked as stunned as I was. Our eyes met, and I shrugged. This side of Shaz was new to me too.

“Shaz, you don’t have to agree to this,” Arys said. “I won’t let him force you into anything.”

Shaz scoffed, looking insulted. “Did I stutter? I said I want to do it. Don’t talk down to me, Arys.”

“Are you out of your mind?” I asked, incredulous. There weren’t words enough for the flurry of questions I wanted to hurl at him.

With a snap of Jenner’s fingers, three vampires from his security team surrounded Shaz. Both Arys and I took a defensive stance, but the blond wolf waved us away.

“My guys here will take you down to get ready for the fight,” explained Jenner. “Drink, shower, beat the hell out of one of them, I don’t care. Do whatever you need to do to be at your best. I want to see a good show.”

“Oh, you will.” Shaz went with them willingly. The wolf was heavy in him, creeping close to the surface. His green eyes almost glowed.

I stepped in front of him, refusing to let him just walk away like this. “Wait. There has to be another way. You don’t have to do this. Why would you want to?”

Shaz touched my cheek; something almost wistful crossed his face. Then it was gone, and I saw only wolf. “Don’t do anything to stop this, Lex. I mean it. Consider that a command from your pack Alpha.”

He leaned in to press a brief but surprisingly deep and sensual kiss to my lips before following the security guys through the crowd. I gaped after him, speechless and a little pissed off.

“I don’t have a pack,” I mumbled when I found my voice, but he was already beyond earshot.

I looked to Arys for help. He merely shrugged and sat heavily in the chair Shaz had just vacated. I was torn, wanting to go after him. Did he really expect me to just sit back and let this happen? And more importantly, did he seriously just give me an order?

“Let him go, Alexa,” Arys said. Like many times before, it made me wonder if the mental wall between us was more transparent than I thought. “Shaz came back with something to prove. Like any other animal, he’s going to run around marking his territory and generally ticking everyone else off. And you have to let him.”

I looked longingly after Shaz, knowing I had to let him go. He was an Alpha wolf. He’d be fine. Right?

Remembering my drunken leopard friend, I searched the crowd for Jez who had vanished from sight. In her inebriated state, she’d never be able to fight off a vampire, especially not one like Sloane. No vampire made by Harley could be trusted.

“I should find Jez. How long do I have until Shaz fights?” I couldn’t believe I was asking so casually with such acceptance. This was so wrong.

Jenner perched on the edge of the poker table, watching me fidget with my whiskey glass. “Your friend will be safe with Sloane. I promise. In fact, she’ll have the time of her life.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Swirling the deep gold liquor in my glass, I grasped my power, making my eyes bleed to wolf and then to glow Arys’s vampire blue. I peered into Jenner, hoping he saw the resolve in my eyes. “If anything happens to either Jez or Shaz, I will kill you. And if I go down trying, I’ll still find a way to take you with me.”

We shared a moment then, Jenner and I. For a brief space in time, I think he truly believed I could and would be the one to end him. Then he shrugged off the dazed wonder and replaced it with a smarmy sneer.

“Your wolf fights next. So we should probably head down there. I like a ringside view.”

Without waiting, Jenner headed for the elevator. Angry and cursing up a storm beneath my breath, I followed with one last glance back for Jez who was still missing with Sloane.

Re-entering the fight arena made my knees shake. I walked in a surreal haze. The harsh sting of reality sought to cut through the remains of the euphoric buzz. It had faded along with the effects of the whiskey like a short-lived illusion shattered by impending doom. The usual.

I did my best to tune out Jenner’s gloating. He led us to a VIP section near the fight cage where we sat on velvet sofas and watched the current fight while waitresses offered their blood to us.

“Spit it out,” Jenner said to Arys. A cheer from the crowd drowned out his words. “There’s something you want to say. I can see it all over you.”

Arys sat stiffly, his arms crossed, eyeing Jenner like a snake in the grass. “Harley kept the shady activity much quieter than this. How do you do this every night without the FPA shutting it down?”

“Harley’s activity was filthy. That blood ring was too dirty, even for me. And I like it dirty. The FPA was happy to let me do whatever I wanted with the place after his death. I have a little arrangement with them. I withdrew from the blood ring, and they leave me and the club alone.” Jenner was pleased with himself.