The Wicked Kiss (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #2)(50)

At first, he didn’t feel me drawing him into me, absorbing his strength, his very life.

Then, awareness brightened his eyes, and he tried to pull back. I gulped in the air when he released my throat, grateful to be able to breathe again. I reached for him as he scrambled backward, suddenly desperate to put space between us. He thought that would make a difference.

I leaped to my feet with my fangs bared and a loud growl rumbling in my throat. I wanted to taste his musky wolf blood as I drained his life energy away. My mind wanted to ask him what the f**k he thought he was doing, but my instinct just said kill.

“Vampire.” The word came from him like a hiss. I almost wasn’t sure I’d heard it.

His shock didn’t last long. He flew at me again, and this time I hit him with a psi ball that left him panting, but still, he didn’t stop. “You killed her. You killed Olivia!”

Uh oh. It all made a little more sense now. He took another clawed swipe at me, this time painfully close to my throat, grazing my upper chest. It seemed that Kale and I had failed to consider that the she-wolf we’d taken out had a mate. Like any mate would be, he was hell bent on my death as retribution. And, knowing Shaz would be the same, I couldn’t blame him.

“It wasn’t personal. She was endangering all of us.” I didn’t doubt for a moment that he had been a willing partner in Olivia’s rampage. I would have given anything to be in wolf form right then, but it just wasn’t possible, not unless it got really ugly.

I tapped Arys’ power and threw the wolf clear, sailing through the air to land against a thick pine tree. He immediately tried to get up, but he was dazed and moved slowly.

Running, I crossed the distance between us, landing on him with a series of power-fueled blows that snapped his head back and forth. I just knew that I couldn’t let him gain the advantage again.

Despite the blows that resulted in a series of crunches and cracks and plentiful blood flow, he didn’t cease his assault either. When his body beneath me began to turn furry, I knew I was a goner if I didn’t get the hell out of there. I didn’t want to shift in the park and be trapped, unable to get in my car and leave. I had to get to the Charger.

I went for his throat, but he successfully blocked me with an arm that was instantly a furry front leg. Leaping off him, I turned to run, feeling ashamed but knowing I couldn’t take him here and now. The sound of his paws hitting the ground behind me had my heart leaping into my throat.

I threw up an energy wall between us, buying myself some time. He’d either have to wait for it to dissolve or go back across the bridge and around the pond the other way to catch me. Glancing back, I saw him slam right into the barrier and go down. I poured on the speed; my feet barely touched the ground as I ran.

Fear drove me to move faster when I saw the large wolf scramble to its feet and take off the other way, across the bridge. I was closer to the Charger than he was, but he had twice as many feet as I did. I could taste blood in my mouth from a cut I’d sustained during our scuffle. The pain was beginning to set in as my injuries throbbed in time with my pounding heart.

As I drew closer to the car, I fumbled my keychain out of my pocket. With a loud jingle, it dropped to the grass, and I had to jerk to a halt. Cursing, I snatched the keys from the ground and continued sprinting to the car. A large shadow was barreling around the other side of the pond, drawing closer with alarming speed.

Thanking God for the remote unlock feature, I literally threw myself at the passenger side of the car, since he was coming up fast on the driver side. I had just gotten in and slammed the door shut behind me when his two hundred pounds of aggression crashed into the driver’s side of my car. Scrambling to get into the driver’s seat, I jammed the key in the ignition and felt absolute relief when the engine roared to life. I’d been afraid he would have done something to strand me here.

Slamming the car into reverse, I pressed the gas to the floor, and the car flew back in a wide half circle. If he was stupid enough to get in my way, I was going to run him down. He backed off though when I put the car in gear. In a blur, he darted out of my path and in amongst the trees. I didn’t stop driving until I was across town, safe in the parking lot of Lucy’s Lounge. Rather than park at the end of the lot as usual, I double-parked next to Shaz’ car in the staff spaces near the door.

My heart had barely slowed in the five minutes it had taken me to cross town.

Flipping down my visor, I studied my face in the mirror. I could have screamed when I saw my face and the tangles and filth in my hair. My eyes were still Arys’ shocking blue, but that was the least of my worries right now.

There were small, bloody punctures on my throat from where he had grabbed me.

Crimson stained my bottom lip, and I could only imagine how bad the deep, long scratches down my back were. I’d need a full-length mirror to see it all.

Finger combing my hair was almost useless, and I had to arrange it carefully so that the marks on my neck were hidden from the humans at least. Anything supernatural would know I was injured immediately. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with Julian here, since he was at my house, in my personal space.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the car door and scented the air before getting out.

Call me paranoid, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I reached the door in record time, nodding briefly to the bouncer just inside. He raised an eyebrow but waved me through.