The Wicked Kiss (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #2)(54)

“I tried to talk Julian out of it, but he wouldn’t even let me finish an entire sentence.

He can’t wait to fight it out with Shaz. It turns my stomach to think about it.”

My toast popped, and I turned away to spread jam on it, glad that she couldn’t see the frown I wore. “I know. It kills me that I have to accept Shaz as the man that he is and not the boy that he was when I first met him. So much has changed.” There was a forlorn note to my voice that I hadn’t anticipated. It felt all wrong.

Kylarai surprised me by laughing. “That boy you speak of has been a man a lot longer than you give him credit for. If anything, what he did for you last night should prove that.”

My cheeks warmed as I bit into a piece of warm, strawberry toast. I thought of the previous evening, how he had gently cleansed my wounds, willing to heed my pleas as I begged him not to go after that wolf. It had been against his instinct to ignore that urge, and he was willing to do it for me. Until Arys came along…

Whether I liked it or not, Shaz was the most dominant male wolf in this town. He had to prove it, and I had to play my role as his mate and back him.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m just not sure how far I should let it go before I stop it. If we let them determine that, it won’t end until somebody’s dead.”

Ky made a noise of disgust. “Men! Can’t live with them, and you just can’t kill them.”

“Says who?” I winked and munched away on my toast. I paused, just then noticing her dressy attire. “Are you working today? On the full moon?”

“I have some papers that have to be delivered in person for a client. I won’t be gone long.” She began to put away some of the coffee accessories, a nervous habit on her part, one she could do without. “And don’t tell me that I work too much. If I don’t keep busy, I’ll be a nervous wreck all day.”

I smiled in response, keeping my opinion to myself. I was nobody to talk about work. At least her job wasn’t going to get her killed. There was a likely chance that mine could, if my personal life didn’t catch up to me first.

I glanced at the clock. Shaz would be coming by later. We would be heading out to the forest behind my house together. In the meantime, I had a few mundane tasks to take care of. The large H on the kitchen calendar caught my eye, a reminder that Halloween was just days away. If we all made it to the party at Lucy’s Lounge intact, it would be a miracle. I was actually looking forward to getting out and having some fun.

After Kylarai left, I gathered my laundry together and threw it in the machine.

Whenever I wanted to do chores, I knew my anxiety level was up. I had to give both Kale and Jez a call before it got dark. Jez didn’t run with us wolves often, but she would tonight. I’d asked her to come and back me up. I didn’t entirely trust either myself or some of my fellow wolves.

Kale wouldn’t be up for hours yet. I wanted to bust his chops for not knowing our target had a mate. The gashes down my back had scabbed over nicely but still pulled and stung as I moved. Shifting later would be less than pleasant but would aid the healing process.

Picking up the phone, I punched in Jez’ number and waited. I hung up when it went to voicemail. She would see that I’d called. Wishing that I could stop time and knowing it would never happen, I turned my attention to my jewelry box for costume accessories.

Hopefully, forcing myself to show interest in what I was going to wear for Halloween would take my mind off the fast approach of nightfall.

I stared into my closet, eyeing the Little Red Riding Hood outfit that Jez had found for me. Whereas a few days ago, I wasn’t feeling all that confident about wearing it, now I just hoped that I would still get the chance. Everything that could go wrong lately had.

And, I could only wonder what else lay ahead. I couldn’t escape the feeling that the worst was yet to come.

* * * *

“I’m telling you, Lex, there is nothing more to say about last night. We found him, fought him and killed him.” Shaz shrugged like it was all in a day’s work. He had been in an incredibly chipper mood since he’d arrived. His energy was blazing with a feverish heat as he mentally readied himself for a fight. “So by that, I can assume that you dropped him and Arys bled him.”

“I insisted. I thought it might make a difference, for you and the bloodlust.”

Maybe that was why Shaz had been so quiet about the details of their shared kill.

He’d seen Arys feed. It was nothing if not disturbing. I wanted to keep pestering for details simply because I hadn’t been there and it bothered me. It wasn’t worth it, though, in light of what was coming.

I literally had to bite my tongue to keep from begging Shaz to reconsider this scrap with Julian. The determined look on his face made it clear I’d be wasting my breath. The sun had set; Jez was on her way, and Shaz was antsy to get moving. His continued glances out the kitchen window into the backyard had my guts twisting into knots.

I didn’t miss the way his green eyes followed me as I moved restlessly around the dining room table. When the doorbell rang, I literally jumped as my skin prickled with anxious energy. I called out for Jez to let herself into the house. Rubbing my arms did nothing to ease the sensations of Shaz’ feisty energy, and I frowned when he reached out to grasp my hands.

“Would you stop twitching out? What’s up with you?” His eyes searched mine, concern etched in their jade depths. “Your eyes are brown, and you don’t feel vampy.”