by Reese Morgan
Just as well, Julian’s loyalty to Celeste could spell disaster for Hayden and the two brothers. They could be walking straight into a trap. Their last lead was a dangerous lead. It wasn’t necessary to point this out, simply because Cole and Nicolas were most likely aware of the fact.
She craned her head back, catching his deep, green eyes. “And you won’t keep this distance you’ve been keeping.” It wasn’t a question, but a command.
Cole closed his eyes briefly before he leveled Hayden with a patient look. “I was doing it for you. I thought it would help in case—”
“There isn’t going to be an ‘in case’ scenario, Cole. You promised me that.”
He leaned down and kissed her upturned face, his lips melding perfectly against hers. Breaking contact, he turned her around and pressed her firmly against his chest. Cupping her face, he kissed her once more, this time more passionately, more possessively.
She leaned into him, her heart feeling too large for her chest. He held her fiercely, as if he’d never let her go again. It eased her fears and banished her concerns. She hadn’t known how much she’d missed this, missed Cole.
Still, despite Cole’s reassurance, Hayden couldn’t seem to extinguish the small, persistent flame of apprehension burning in the back of her mind.
10. Chapter Ten
Hayden couldn’t seem to shake Nicolas’ relentless attention.
It wasn’t if the Alpha male made the act obvious, for every time she looked in his direction, his focus wasn’t on her. She could feel him, though. His presence was persistent and overbearing and she could do nothing to stop herself from noticing.
There was something deep down inside her that preened at his attention. But as soon as she detected that particular feeling coming to the surface, she hastily pushed it away. It was clearly her canine half that felt the unmistakable, almost animalistic attraction to Nicolas and only Nicolas.
But why did her wolf focus on someone other than her life mate, who stood just a few feet away? She felt safe and comfortable with Cole. She intended to be with him, finally acknowledging and embracing the sacrifices and the dangers of such a union.
She didn’t understand it. She didn’t want to understand it. And she certainly didn’t want to ask her current company about it.
At times, it was difficult not having a female companion.
“Why is it always taverns?” Hayden asked, gazing listlessly at the bar, clearing her mind to everything but their current task. “Werewolves aren’t even affected by alcohol as much as humans.”
“It’s all about mingling and socializing, my dear.” Nicolas emerged confidently from the trees. “I want you to stay back, Cole. Keep watch. Wasting your energy on something so derisory is counterproductive.”
Hayden sneered at his formal vocabulary. As if sensing the reason behind her aversion, Nicolas offered her a wink.
“So you expect to be confronted,” she stated dully. “This should be fun.”
“You are going in first. Alone.”
Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. A silent, but just as wary Cole stood next to her.
“What do you have planned?”
“Never underestimate the power of female distraction.”
Nicolas gave her body a once over before reaching over and unfastening a set of buttons on her shirt. Hayden ignored the instantaneous flutter of her pulse, forcing herself to gaze unhappily at the man opposite of her.
As soon as Nicolas noticed the first set of knives peeking out from underneath her blouse, he changed his mind altogether and refastened the buttons.
“I will slip in after you make an entrance and begin questioning the men on Julian’s whereabouts. It is better to do so as undetected as possible.”
“Glad I can be of use,” she murmured dryly.
She did not possess a single seductive bone in her body. What was she supposed to do in a bar full of male werewolves if she didn’t even have money to buy a drink? Stand listlessly in the middle of the room and hope to hold their attention?
Cole stirred dangerously in protest. “I don’t want—”
“I will take good care of her, brother,” Nicolas reassured coolly. “Not a single hand will touch her.”
“I am standing right here,” Hayden reminded. “I can take care of myself.”
“Of course you can, my dear,” Nicolas replied with intentional slowness, as if he were indulging a child.
Her hackles rose before she realized Nicolas was only trying to placate Cole. Knowing she couldn’t contribute to the situation, and would probably make it worse, she turned her heel and approached the bar.
Distractedly, she unraveled her braid and let her hair fall around her face.
They wanted a distraction. She would provide one to the best of her ability.
Her boots made small indentations in the sand as she approached the bar. While there were plenty of trees and greenery surrounding the tiny town, rocks and sand made up the majority of the terrain. It was dry here and the ground was as hard as cement.
It hadn’t taken them long to reach the small town outside Porterville. Nicolas seemed to have a general idea of the location. He claimed he knew Celeste had a son, yet he had never once laid eyes on the ‘boy’.
Boy, he said, because Julian couldn’t be older than twenty-years-old.
Mavis, the human woman, claimed he led a large pack. Cole and Nicolas seemed to believe his surname gave him the ability to lead a pack of such magnitude. Logan Crow was an influential figure, especially in the South. Many werewolves would pledge their loyalty to his son, even if that son was a mere pup.
Hayden wouldn’t underestimate Julian until she actually interacted with him. Her naivety and blindness had caused her to overlook Celeste’s true nature. She refused to do the same with her son, no matter how young he may be.
She glanced inside the windows of the tavern. The light emitting from inside the bar allowed her to see a fairly large group lounging inside.
Gathering her courage, Hayden pushed open the door.
It was comfortably warm outside, but inside the bar, it sweltered. Her eyes roamed the occupants of the bar, noticing how the dim lights danced across their perspiring skin. Most of the men appeared gruff in appearance. Even the few women in the bar gave off a rough façade.
Hayden kept her face neutral as she wandered further inside. They were staring openly now, as they should. While it was not Julian’s marked property, it was his neighborhood.
An uninvited werewolf, especially a lone female, raised silent alarms. No matter what Nicolas claimed, the werewolves watched her out of wariness, not lust.
She sat heavily on a bar stool, trying to appear fatigued. For good measure, she ran a weary hand through her hair, slumping her upper torso on the counter.
“What can I get you?”
“Just a cup of water please.”
The bartender, a shaggy-haired werewolf, grunted and turned his back to retrieve the water. She gazed across the bar, stiffening when she realized she’d been wrong about the lack of appreciation she garnered. The majority of the inhabitants were male and they eyed her as if she were their next meal.
And why not? She was unmated. They could probably smell Cole and Nicolas on her, yet they would also know she was unclaimed. Nicolas’ mating mark hid behind the collar of her blouse, concealed from prying eyes.
“Why don’t you let me buy you something a little stronger, eh?”
Casting the man next to her a sidelong glance, Hayden flashed a bashful smile. “I’m only looking for a quick rest before I continue on the road.”
Movement over the man’s shoulder caught her attention. She watched the dark figure of Nicolas move in the background, approaching a few men around a table. What he expected to find, Hayden didn’t know. If these men were part of Julian’s pack, she found it doubtful they’d give his location willfully.
“Where are you headed?”
The question didn’t come from the ginger-haired
man on her right, but a platinum blond male on her left. Hayden appraised him through lowered lids, instantly noticing his appreciative leer.
Though just established, her coy performance abruptly crumbled and she grew vigilant. Something was not right about these men. They weren’t simply flirting, they were preying on her and looking at her as if she were defenseless to their influence.
“I don’t know yet,” she replied stiffly, accepting the cup of water placed in front of her. “Maybe San Diego.”
“A young, pretty thing like you shouldn’t be traveling alone,” it was the ginger who chimed in this time, his tone pitched low in hopes he’d come across as seductive.
“Leave the pup alone,” the bartender scolded the two.
“We’re just having a bit of fun.”
“Is that what you’d like to call it?” Hayden mused bitterly.
Ginger and Platinum both turned on their stools to face her, all but caging her between them. They were relatively handsome men, but their features too plain and their expressions too open. There was also a layer of sinister taint clinging to their aura like a second skin.
If she weren’t in the company of Cole and Nicolas, and if she didn’t possess any combative skill, she knew these men would take advantage of her. Hayden wondered how many women they had preyed on before her.
The thought upset her.
“We’d like to show you a good time.”
Her teeth set on edge and the hairs on her arms stood.
“How about you tell me how I can find Julian Crow,” Hayden requested tautly. Nicolas might have preferred the stealthy approach to getting answers, but she didn’t particularly care to play the distraction any longer.
Her patience grew thin.
Ginger whistled. “Did you hear that?” his tone was full of thick ridicule and mockery. “She wants to see Julian. You think you can keep up with an Alpha male, eh?”
“Oh,” she scoffed darkly. “I think I can manage.”
Ginger laughed appreciatively, hardly taking her seriously. Unaware of Hayden’s growing irritation, he pressed on. “We have a feisty one on our hands.”
Slowly, she turned toward the redhead, leveling him with a cold stare. “You think you can keep up with an Alpha female… eh?”
Raw hilarity crossed the redhead’s face. “That title doesn’t hold much—”
Hayden kicked the stool out from under him. Before he could regain his balance, she grabbed a handful of his hair and slammed his forehead into the corner of the bar. He slumped to the ground, dazed and confused.
Sensing the attack from behind, Hayden anticipated the grab, latching onto the man’s arms and flinging him over her back. He flipped in the air before landing violently on his spine.
Hayden crouched down over the blond, intentionally leaning her knee on top his genitals. The man gasped sharply and she smiled sweetly down at him.
“Unfortunately for you, it doesn’t look like you can handle me.” She pressed down harder on his genitals, garnering a high-pitched moan from the man beneath her. “I want to see Julian Crow. Take me.”
“I—I can’t take you,” he lamented pitifully.
A deep, tenured voice interrupted her private interrogation. “While the attack was warranted, I’m afraid it was for naught.”
Hayden turned to look at the newcomer from over her shoulder. Of course she knew she was in a crowded bar, but she’d been so distracted by the male scum, that she hadn’t given her audience much thought or consideration.
The man who addressed her appeared far more put together than the men currently at her mercy. Indistinctly, she noticed the dim lights reflecting off his bald head and the small patch of hair underneath his stern lips. He stood tall and confidently next to a table, his companion none other than Nicolas.
She glanced at the Alpha male, curious about his reaction to her latest actions. He’d wanted her to sit pretty and attract all the men’s attention. Or maybe he had expected her to cause a scene and that was why he didn’t want Cole inside to intervene.
No matter his reasons, he didn’t appear frustrated or amused. His expression was ablaze as he regarded her from the back corner of the bar. There was appreciation in his gaze, but also something stronger, darker.
Desire.
Hayden stiffened in recognition, her chest tightening and her hands curling to stop their trembling. She looked away quickly, the back of her neck washing with cold sweat. In order to distract herself, she surveyed the man who had interrupted her interrogation.
“I am Marcus, Julian’s beta.” He did not offer a smile or any other inviting gesture. “Those two on the ground are not part of his pack.” He motioned a hand towards Hayden. “Come. Let us talk in private.”
Slowly, the noise resumed in the bar. Hayden looked down at her prey, noticing the deepening lines of pain around the man’s eyes and mouth. Unsympathetically, she removed her knee from his groin. He winced, scrambled up, and quickly assisted his comrade from off the floor.
Without wasting a moment, they escaped the bar, a few mocking snickers following their wake. Hayden stood, contemplating their escape. A large part of her wanted to follow them, to ensure they never preyed on women again.
Considering death was the only means of truly preventing their future antics, Hayden stayed rooted in place, letting them escape.
It took a great deal of restraint to turn her shoulder and approach Nicolas and his latest find. Trust the eldest Slayter to zero in on the one person who could assist them with finding and speaking to Julian Crow.
She wondered if he had even needed her for distraction, or if he’d simply wanted a bit of entertainment. Hayden wouldn’t put it past the man. Often times, Nicolas enjoyed stirring the pot and causing his own brand of mischief.
“You have a very resilient mate,” Marcus praised Nicolas quietly with a respected glance at Hayden. “A rare trait in one so young.”
Hayden opened her mouth to heatedly deny and correct his claim, but stopped herself when she finally surveyed the situation. They were currently situated in the back of the bar, a shaded and unlit corner compared to the rest of the tavern.
It was not only Marcus and Nicolas occupying the space, but a half a dozen of other males, their postures motionless but their eyes sharp and calculating. They possessed intelligence in their stare, and a healthy mix of diligence and readiness.
One wrong move from either Hayden or Nicolas would set in motion a great deal of chaos and disarray.
Yet, despite the chilling and precarious atmosphere, Nicolas sat confidently amongst his enemies. His eyes were bright, as if he enjoyed this sort of situation immensely. Unlike the men surrounding him, he carried the Alpha supremacy about him, a clear and undisputable warning that despite their numbers, Nicolas would be the one to come out on top.
“She is very spirited,” Nicolas agreed easily, hardly dissuading the man and his assumption. His pale eyes dropped and landed on Hayden’s neck, specifically his mating mark underneath her collar.
It was a silent gesture to tell her that technically, she was his claimed mate.
“Your name?” Marcus asked.
While it was appreciated, it still came to a surprise to receive that sort of question from someone of authority. He was talking to her, not about her. Certainly an abnormality amongst male werewolves.
“Hayden,” she announced, though she suspected he already knew. Surely Julian Crow had spoken with his beta about Celeste’s enemies.
And yet, Marcus gazed at her pensively. “Your surname,” he prompted.
Growing perplexed, she glanced at Nicolas. He simply raised an eyebrow, silently encouraging her to answer. “I’m… I was a human before I was bitten.” She noticed Marcus’ keen expression. He still wanted to know. “It’s Grey.”
Despite her Mutt lineage, Marcus lifted his chin and surveyed her with interest. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Hayden. My Alpha is very interested in meeting with you and your company.”
C
onvenient, Hayden mused to herself, looking once more at Nicolas. His expression remained closed, but he met her stare and nodded once.
He thought so too, yet he seemed as if he wanted to go along with it.
She didn’t share his sentiments. After Cole’s troubling conversation, Hayden didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. She understood his driving need to discover what Xavier and Logan Crow were involved with, but not at the expense of his health.
Julian Crow knew they’d been coming. Who knew what else he had planned?
“We’re very interested in meeting with your Alpha as well,” Nicolas responded airily. “I assume it’s safe to say he knew of our arrival in advance?”
Hayden looked warily around at Julian’s pack, trying to read their expressions. Unfortunately, they excelled in the art of stoicism. The occasional blink was all she got out of them.
Marcus smiled thinly. “He knew of the possibility, yes.” His dark eyes landed on Hayden. “His parentage aside, Julian is determined to stay neutral in this war between the traditional wolves and his mother.”
“We were told that Celeste and Julian were inseparable,” Hayden said, feeling it was pointless skirting around the elephant in the room. “That was only a couple years ago. Why wouldn’t he support his mother in her… endeavors?”
Her brashness earned a chuckle from Marcus. “While that is true, Julian is also his father’s son. He inherited Logan’s levelheadedness.” His face grew stern and somber once more. “Besides, he is very interested in meeting all of you. You in particular, Ms. Grey.”
That got a rise out of Nicolas. The normally poised and motionless male stirred, pressing his fingertips calmly on the table. His teeth flashed in a smile, though it was anything but reassuring or approachable.
“She is already claimed. His interest will not be appreciated.”
“I assure you, both you and your brother’s claim will not be challenged.” He met Nicolas’ chilling gaze with a slight, submissive tilt of his head. “Which begs the question as to Cole’s whereabouts.”