Once Bitten (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #1)(75)

“What’s your plan for nailing this target, Alexa?” Kale stepped up beside me. His mismatched eyes stood out in startling contrast against the black of his long jacket. “I’m hearing that this is a no kill hunt. Could you possibly be more boring?”

“Please, stop,” I waved a hand dismissively. “You’re going to make my ego positively huge with these sugary sweet compliments. And yes, for now, it’s a hunt and detain. I’ll sort out the killing stuff as we go.”

I perused the five people who waited for my clearly thought out plan. Other than tracking Zoey down, I didn’t really have concrete details.

“I guess we’ll split up.” I shrugged in response to their expectant expressions. “Three groups of two should make it easy to cover the whole town. Zoey’s energy feels hybrid but she smells human.”

“So pairing a shifter with a vampire would make sense,” Kylarai spoke up. She gave Kale a roving once over. The first time that she’d met him at my office, she’d told me that she found him hauntingly beautiful with those eyes.

I nodded and surveyed the possibilities. I shouldn’t be paired with Arys. I wasn’t willing to gamble with being alone with him right now. His allure was too strong. Our energy worked on its own science. It didn’t give a damn who I loved or why. It just wanted more of our power.

Kale’s differently colored eyes darted between me and Arys. He sensed the bond between us. I wanted to ask if he could see the aural colors, or if all vampires were unable, but this was hardly the time.

I didn’t have to look at Shaz to know he hoped to come with me. However, the testosterone-laden air spoke of envy.

To keep my focus on business, I didn’t want to go with either Shaz or Arys. I considered pairing the two of them together, but that didn’t sit well with me, either. Frankly, I didn’t trust the vampire alone with my wolf. In the end, I smiled apologetically at Kylarai.

“I’ll go with Jez. Shaz can go with Kale, which leaves Ky and Arys. Is that cool?” After they all nodded, Ky somewhat begrudgingly, I continued. “Since Ky brought her Escalade, we have enough vehicles to easily cover the whole town.” I turned to Jez, indicating Shaz and Kale. “Do you want to give them my car or yours?”

“Yours is newer,” she shrugged, her eyes on a leggy blonde exiting the Travelodge. “They can take mine.”

Kale made a scoffing sound, as she tossed the keys to him, before flipping her off.

I delegated everybody to a different section of town and stressed again to take Zoey alive. “Kill her, if it’s you or her, but I think we should all be capable of overpowering her.”

In my hurry to get moving, I almost forgot about the photograph. When everyone had taken a good look and exchanged cell phone numbers, we were ready to move.

“What if we run into Raoul?” Shaz asked softly. He was so quiet that I couldn’t be sure if he was upset or his usual, soft-spoken self.

“Try to avoid him I guess. Call me if you do see him. If we don’t find Zoey within a few hours, we’ll call it quits.”

As everyone turned to go, Arys told me, “Be careful.”

He surprised me when he kissed my hand in a way that made my blood run hot. A slip of his tongue on that soft stretch of skin between my pinky and ring finger made me shiver.

I was painfully aware of the wide-eyed horror etched on Shaz’s face before he successfully forced neutral expression. I forcefully pulled my hand from Arys’s and gave him an absolute death glare for his trouble.

“You, too.” I did my best not to scream when he smiled in satisfaction and turned on his heel towards Kylarai’s Cadillac.

Shaz quickly turned to the Jeep where Kale sat fiddling with the radio knobs. I grabbed Shaz’s elbow and forced him to face me.

“Please, don’t let him get to you. It’s just in his nature. He’s used to getting what he wants.”

Shaz ducked his head so that his white blond hair hid his eyes. “I know. It just makes me crazy knowing he’s bound to you.”

“I know. But it’s metaphysical, not emotional.” I raised his chin up so that he met my eyes. “As good as all of that power feels, it isn’t like what you and I have. You need to believe that.”

“Don’t worry about me, Alexa.” He glanced at Kale, waiting in Jez’s Jeep. “I’m not as fragile as you seem to think I am.”

“This isn’t about being fragile. This is about me needing you to know that, no matter what happens with Arys, he’s not the one.” My voice caught.

Did he know what I was trying to say? I couldn’t possibly guess how deep this thing went with Arys, but I searched Shaz’s eyes for some kind of confirmation that he loved me regardless.

As he pulled me to him in a soft yet strong embrace, I basked in the wolf scent of him, reluctant to let go.

“I’m not walking away from this, Alexa.” He breathed into my hair. “Not now.”

The emotion in his voice tugged at my heart, and I pulled back to look into his youthful face. His smile warmed me in places the vampire’s cool touch just couldn’t reach. It was all Shaz.

“Alright,” he leaned in for a fast press of his lips to mine before turning to the Jeep where Kale feigned interest in a family parking their motor home across the lot. “We better go find Raoul’s offspring and tidy up another one of his messes.”