Once Bitten (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #1)(4)

When we stepped up to the bar, Shaz Richardson flashed me a smile almost as white as his naturally platinum blond hair. He had joined our small town pack as a newly turned and naïve eighteen-year-old after meeting Raoul by chance. He’s since graduated to a twenty-three year old with a great loss of innocence and a new, in-depth awareness of what really goes bump in the night. My friendship with him was a special one. I trusted nobody else the way I trusted Shaz. He was my other half in so many ways.

“Hey ladies.” He greeted us with a smile that appeared to have never known a frown. “What can I get for you? The usual?”

“Make mine a double,” Jez quipped.

“I thought you guys were hunting tonight. That didn’t take long.” Shaz turned to grab a new whiskey bottle from the liquor shelf behind him and something bright red for Jez’s fruity drink.

“No. Jez wanted to play cat and mouse with our target for awhile, but once he saw her kitty cat eyes, he changed his mind,” I said and fished some cash from my bag. Jez waved it off as she produced enough to cover both drinks and a nice tip for Shaz.

“I would, too,” he joked as he poured our drinks. His jade green eyes flashed bright in the bar light overhead as he met my gaze. “So, when are we doing breakfast?”

Once, Shaz and I had a routine of going for breakfast every morning. Since I’d started working independently for Veryl, I couldn’t recall the last time I was actually awake during breakfast hours.

“Let’s make it dinner. Why don’t you come by the house one night this week?”

“Are you cooking?” He raised an eyebrow at me skeptically.

“No, I wouldn’t do that to you. We can order in or go out. Maybe Kylarai will want to come.” Kylarai and I share a house on the west side of town. It backs onto a farmer’s field with a tree line of forest only a short run away. It’s a perfect location for wolves.

“Sounds good to me.” He pressed my drink into my hand, and the barest touch of his fingers against mine made the wolf inside me raise its head in recognition. For the briefest moment, our two wolves shared a wet nosed greeting. A longing deep down inside me sought the scent of the forest and the exertion of a good run on all fours.

We’d just left the bar and begun looking for a place to sit near the pool tables, when a few guys sitting nearby beckoned us over. When we ignored them, the ringleader of the three got up and approached us.

“What do you want?” Jez snapped. If he had known that she’d been knuckle deep inside somebody’s spleen tonight, I doubt he would have tried.

“Take it easy, girl. I was just going to ask if you wanted to join us. We have some extra chairs at our table.” He shifted his body in a lame attempt to flex his muscles. I could only imagine how many times he would try this in a night.

“No, thanks,” I said. “We’re fine.”

Jez shot me this look that said she didn’t understand why I bothered trying to be polite. There were a few reasons; one of them was that a bar fight would bring cops, which I didn’t need.

“Come on, ladies. I’ll buy you a drink.” He looked at us expectantly, almost eagerly. Did he not realize that Jez was shooting daggers at him with her eyes?

“Save us the song and dance. You’re wasting your breath here.” I met his eyes when I said it so he’d see that I was serious. However, like most guys his age that are in a bar looking for women, he chose to disregard the fact that we were really not interested.

“Well, you don’t have to be such a bitch about it.” The minute the words left his lips, the energy level surrounding us tightened with the tension. I was suddenly very aware of Arys’s eyes on us from across the room.

“What did you say?” Jez’s tone was frighteningly similar to the one she’d used with Morgan.

“You heard what I said. I’d think you would have been flattered.” His conceited words made me suck in my breath. If only he knew what he was dealing with.

Coolly eyeing the redheaded chick cuddled up with his buddy, she said, “I’ll take her over all of you chumps in a heartbeat.”

Before he could open his mouth again, there was a faintly cool breeze behind me as I felt Arys’s approach. The young man’s egotistical demeanor melted away.

“Is this guy making trouble for you, ladies?” The vampire’s voice was low and velvety.

“No, Arys. It’s fine.” I said. “He was just walking away.” I gave Arys an irritated look that he chose to ignore. I didn’t need him coming to my aid. Not this again.

He said nothing, but I knew he'd heard me even if he wanted to pretend he didn't. He'd already gotten into a brawl here with a man who'd been dumb enough to drunkenly grab at me a few months back. That man hadn’t been seen here since. Suspicious. I wasn’t planning to make a habit of letting Arys save the damsel in distress.

“It isn’t in my nature to allow a lady to be threatened.” Arys looked directly at the guy who lifted his hands in surrender and quickly returned to his table.

“I'm not threatened, and nobody is threatening.” My voice was flat. I meant it. I hate being treated as a weak female. I might be five foot one and counting, but that doesn't mean shit when it comes to what really makes you tough.

Arys stared down at me for a long moment before giving me a curt nod. Things were different with him than with most people. He was neither wolf nor human, the two things I knew best, and I found these situations uneasy. We were left to stare at one another like two dogs unsure of whether to wag tails or tear each other apart.