Sinister Pretty (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 11)

by Trina M. Lee

  Because all I wanted now was a taste of wolf.

  Offering a hand to Hanna, I took note of the tension in her shoulders and the tight press of her lips. We both stumbled through forced small talk. Her heart thundered loud and fast in my ears. My gaze slipped to her throat and the remnants of Arys’s bite that she still wore, hidden by a lock of auburn hair. Hoping she didn’t notice, I managed to drag my eyes back to hers.

  “Please accept my apologies for the recent confusion and conflict,” I said. “I’m so sorry for the loss of your wolves. I only wish I could take it all back. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it never happens again.”

  Hanna’s smile was so tight I thought it would shatter on her face. “My husband is the grudge holder. All I care about at this point is getting him back. We’ve taken enough shit from the FPA. It’s time to turn the tables.”

  It came as a relief to hear her say that. If her priority was Dayne, then perhaps Arys’s jackass shenanigans wouldn’t blow back on us after all. Lucky damn vampire.

  “Agreed. It’s not going to be easy, but if we work together, I think we can get your wolves back. It may be a long shot, but I have an idea.” I glanced around the coffee shop, satisfied that nobody listened. “We’re going to go in there and get them.”

  Hanna pushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. “We are? And how might we pull that off? Won’t that place be crawling with Feds?”

  “Yeah, it will. But I know a guy who can get us inside. He’s one of them. Well, he was anyway. I’m hoping he’ll help.” I considered how much to tell her about Briggs and decided to say as little as possible. She didn’t need to know he was my prisoner, especially if I had to force Briggs into helping. “We’ll tear the fucking place apart if we have to, but I’m getting those wolves out, and the vampires they’ve been snatching too.”

  Shaz sputtered coffee. “We? Lex, you can’t go back in that building. Not after what happened last time.”

  I stiffened. Airing our dirty laundry in front of Hanna was not going to happen. I grabbed his hand and gave a little squeeze. “It will be fine. I’ll have you with me.”

  He didn’t push it although I knew he wanted to. With a nod he shoved the sweet coffee aside with a grimace. “I suppose, if we’re careful, we can pull it off. With proper planning.”

  Hanna stared at our joined hands and something resembling guilt slid across her face. My wolf searched her, seeking the source of that guilt. Her heart raced. Instinct had the fine hairs on the back of my neck standing up. My gut tightened. Something had happened between Hanna and Shaz. But what?

  Despite the urge to reach across the table, grab her by the throat, and shake the truth out of her, I somehow stayed focused on the reason we were meeting.

  “The FPA didn’t just grab your wolves,” I said. “They abducted a vampire off the street. And I suspect she wasn’t their first. I’m sure we can both agree that we are not one another’s enemy. We share an enemy. The FPA needs to be sent the message that we will not be controlled, that we are not lab rats.”

  “I agree completely.” A fire sparked in Hanna’s eyes. “I’ll do anything to get Dayne back, including laying a serious beating on any wolf who tries to continue this shit with the vampires.”

  Considering what Arys had just pulled, I was hard pressed to offer the same promise. “I’m not above doing the same on my side of things. All I ever wanted was an alliance with your pack.”

  “You have it. I don’t happen to share Dayne’s opinion of you, Alexa. I just want to make that clear.” She slumped in her chair, eyes downcast, voice a near whisper when she said, “Do you think he’s still alive in there?”

  I sure as hell hoped so. He owed me some gratitude, and I planned to collect. “I do. Dayne doesn’t strike me as the type to go down easy.”

  She sucked in a shaky breath and shoved her chair back. “Excuse me.”

  We watched her disappear into the restroom. She was an emotional wreck. I got it. I’d been there, wondering if someone I cared for were still alive. Still sane. Still mine.

  Taking advantage of our moment alone, I pinned Shaz with a wolfy stare. “She tried to fuck you, didn’t she?”

  He seemed to weigh the question. Head tilted, he frowned. “Technically, no. She may have offered me a blowjob while heavily under the influence of alcohol. Please tell me I don’t have to assure you that I didn’t accept.”

  There should have been no doubt in my mind. I hated that my certainty faltered for just a second. “No, of course not.”

  “She’s lonely, Lex,” Shaz continued, pleading Hanna’s case. “She’s lost without Dayne, and as much as I hate to say it, she’s barely in control of what’s left of the pack. Hanna needs us. She needs you.”

  I sat back with arms crossed and huffed. “You weren’t even going to tell me, were you?”

  “Nope,” he admitted with a slight chuckle. “Because of that exact look in your eyes. I didn’t want anything to shift your focus from what’s really important here.”

  Torn between my two sides, between predatory wrath and total understanding, I sat there conflicted. Probably should have fed the bloodlust.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  We decided to go in after the three nights of the full moon. Hanna would choose someone she trusted to bring, and I would do the same. Arys would expect to be one of them, but I wasn’t so sure about that. The FPA building had made him snap once already. He might be more of a liability than an asset, although the same could be said about me under the wrong circumstances.

  We headed out. Mulling over who would be best to bring, I watched Shaz climb into Hanna’s SUV. He had to go back to Doghead for his car. As for whatever other wolfly duties she had for him, if that included going down on him, I’d probably have to kill her.

  He caught my eye and graced me with a lazy half smile that brought naughty things to mind. Oh, how I adored him. Shaz continued to surprise me. Anyone who made the mistake of underestimating him would regret it. Me included.

  He was so much more than I’d dared to give him credit for.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket. I tore my gaze from Shaz. It was Jez.

  “What’s up?” I asked, giving Shaz a wave, as I continued on to my car at the end of the lot.

  “I’m waiting for some rich douchebag to leave his mistress’s place, so I can grab some evidence. It’s boring. Come hang out with me.” Crunching followed as Jez stuffed some snack into her mouth and rudely munched in my ear.

  At first sitting in Jez’s Jeep watching her munch out didn’t sound too appealing. When I reconsidered that it would be quiet and low key, I changed my mind. “What the hell? I could use some quiet girl time. Where are you?”

  I followed her instructions to leave my car a few blocks away and walk to where her Jeep was parked in a public lot. After lingering in the shadows to ensure nobody else lurked about, I crept to the beat up white Liberty and slipped inside.

  “Stealthy.” Jez nodded in approval. “I never saw you coming. Good job.”

  “The perks of being a vampire.” I pointed to the stash of chips, chocolate, and Twizzlers. “Please tell me you’ve eaten something healthier than that tonight.”

  She shrugged and tossed her long, golden ponytail over one shoulder. “I grabbed a burger earlier. Where’ve you been? You smell like coffee and wolf.”

  I recapped my evening for her. As I talked, she studiously watched the apartment building across the street, glancing away only to grab another Twizzler or make a face in response to something I said.

  “Ok, well for one,” she began, “I’m definitely coming into FPA HQ with you. And for two, how on Earth did you manage to keep from laying the smack down on her? She tried to do your man.”

  I sighed and reached for the lever to tilt the seat back, swearing when it dropped me down too far. “I don’t think it was personal. She’s pretty fixated on getting Dayne back. Sounds like she’s struggling to deal. I may have taken a bite out of her if Arys hadn
’t already done so last night.”

  “Whoa, what did I miss?”

  Much laughter and cursing ensued as I caught her up on my vampire’s shenanigans. Hearing myself retell it, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Arys’s logic strayed far from the place of reason where mine dwelled. At least, I’d like to think so.

  Jez drummed her fingertips on the steering wheel. Nervous energy danced about her, drawing my scrutiny. “I need to tell you something.” Her gaze darted my way before returning to the apartment building. “I keep trying to find the right time, but there is no right time. I’ve asked Willow to do a binding on my demon side, to keep it suppressed. We both knew you’d be against it, but I have to do it, Lex. I feel it in there. I dream about it. And I need to do whatever I can to protect myself.”

  She was right; I didn’t approve. Kale had warned me that she’d been talking about making such a decision. Jez had already confided in him. Asking Willow to perform any kind of ritual was a mistake for all involved. But especially for Willow.

  “I understand that you’re afraid, Jezzy, but I’m not sure this is the best way to deal with it. Have you considered how this could possibly backfire? I mean, you’re asking a demon to suppress a demonic element. There’s all kinds of ways that could go wrong.” A knot of tension formed inside me. I didn’t see such a thing ending well.

  Jez sighed and twisted a piece of her ponytail around a finger. “You know how it feels to have darkness lurking inside you. I have demon blood in my veins. It terrifies me to think of what might happen if that side of me breaks free. I’m willing to take a risk to prevent that.”

  “I get it.” I nodded, trying for encouragement by reaching for her hand. “I do, really. But have you considered finding a way to live with it and control it instead? It’s possible. Arrow does it.”

  Perhaps I hadn’t chosen the best example to plead my case. However, he was the only nephilim I’d interacted with personally. Although I knew Arrow to be a dark magic, drug-dealing asshole, he didn’t seem to be running amok, possessed by some maniacal evil.

  “Arrow is dark and shameless. He embraces being nephilim. We’re nothing alike. Also, he’s half human. There’s not a human cell in my body.” Her face twisted into a mask of disgust. “And if being half demon means being anything like Arrow, then I am definitely doing the right thing by having Willow lock it away.”

  “Willow said the nephilim choose what side they want to serve,” I said, trying another angle. “Can’t you just choose the light?”

  Jez fidgeted with her hair, then her camera, and finally squirmed in her seat. “Honestly, Alexa, I don’t want to. I just don’t want any of it. The power stuff, that’s fine for people like you who can handle that shit. I’m happy as I am. A shifter. I don’t want that to change.” Her green eyes shimmered with fear. She gave a little shrug and leaned against the window, watching me expectantly. There was no convincing her. She’d made up her mind.

  “I understand.” And I did. But I also worried about her. “I’ll support whatever you choose to do. So when are you planning to do this?”

  “Willow says it should be the night of the full moon. I wish you could be there, but I know you have your own shit to deal with.”

  Shya’s curse would manifest that night. Then I’d know what exactly he’d done to me. Still, the thought of leaving Jez and Willow alone on such a night to perform what had to be a dangerous ritual didn’t feel right.

  “If you need me there, then I’ll be there. I probably shouldn’t be alone that night anyway. Whatever Shya’s curse does to me, it won’t be anything Willow can’t handle if it gets out of hand.” Considering he outranked Shya, I believed Willow to be more than capable. Too bad the laws of curse creation prevented him from undoing another demon’s curse. It could be broken, but only if we could discover how.

  Studying the scar-like triangle in my palm, an eerie sensation slithered through me. S-shaped lines extended from each point of the triangle. It was nowhere near as creepy a mark as the dragon I’d previously bore on my forearm. And yet, it left me feeling unsettled on a much deeper level.

  “Are you sure?” Jez searched me, those piercing eyes seeking anything I might be hiding.

  “Of course. You’re my girl. I’d do anything for y—”

  “Oh, there he is,” Jez gasped, grabbing for the camera sitting on the dash. “I just need a few shots of him leaving. His wife is going to make his life hell.”

  A guy in unkempt business attire stepped out of the apartment building. He jerked to a halt and slowly scanned the vicinity. My senses tingled right about the same moment he glanced our way.

  “Uh, Jez, were you told that this guy is a werewolf?” I tensed, watching him pinpoint our location.

  “Shit,” she muttered with a headshake. “His wife never mentioned it. Unless she doesn’t know.”

  “Maybe she does. She hired you, didn’t she?” With a hand on the door, I braced as the wolf stepped onto the street and headed right for us.

  Taking advantage of his approach, Jez began snapping photos.

  I stared at her, incredulous. “You’re still trying to get his photo?”

  “Hell yeah. That’s what I was hired for.”

  He stopped right in front of the Jeep and pinned us with angry wolf eyes before promptly smashing one of the headlights with a fist. “She fucking sent you, didn’t she?” he raged, loud enough to be heard despite the metal barrier between us.

  Jez dropped the camera and all but leaped out of the Jeep. “You’re going to pay for that, asshole.”

  A little thrill of excitement shot through me, as I leaped out after her. So much for Jez’s boring night of surveillance.

  “She’s paying you to stalk me, so she can fucking pay for it.” He cocked back his fist to go for the remaining headlight.

  I caught his arm before he could swing.

  When he couldn’t pull free of my grip, he paused to give me a studious once over. “Oh… It’s you. I’ve heard about you.” Dark wolf eyes traveled over me, assessing what level of threat I might be. “For some reason I thought you’d be taller. And a brunette. Your rack is exactly how I pictured it though.”

  Jez took advantage of his momentary distraction to clock him one. My fist followed, connecting with his jaw hard enough to throw him on his ass. He stared up at us, dazed, before a smirk spread across his face.

  I stood over him, ready to pin him down with a boot on his face if needed. “If you’ve heard about me, then you must have heard what I do to assholes who objectify me.”

  “I suppose there are worse ways to die than by the hand of a succubus.” The smirking wolf shrugged off my threat. He was fearless.

  Fearless I could respect. The smug attitude however, that was another thing. He didn’t bear a visible Doghead tattoo, meaning kicking his ass shouldn’t get me in any shit with Hanna.

  “Are you sure about that?” With a twirl of my wrist, I hit him with a power shot intended to hurt.

  His body seized, and he writhed on the icy ground.

  Jez held up a hand. “Pretty sure I don’t get paid if we kill him.”

  With a groan of disgust, I released him and stepped back.

  Wary yet still unafraid, the jackass pushed to his feet in one fluid motion. He tugged at his sleeves, lip curled as he examined his clothing for damage. “Whatever the bitch is paying you, I’ll triple it. Just go back and tell her I was at the office like I told her.” He turned a dazzling smile on Jez.

  A useless tool as far as she was concerned. “What’s your name again?” Jez raised a finely sculpted brow. “Evan?”

  “Ebyn,” he corrected, brazen enough to extend a hand. “Ebyn Tyler. And you are?”

  “About to kick your ass up and down this street if you don’t put that paw away.” The shadows danced across Jez’s face, and in the flicker of the streetlight, just for a moment, her eyes appeared to blacken. “I took a job, shithead, and I intend to honor the commi
tment I made to the one who hired me. Save your playboy charm and your womanizing bullshit. I’m not exactly your target market.”

  Ebyn’s hand dropped, and he nodded, glancing between the two of us. “I get it. You like the ladies. Can’t say I blame you. I enjoy them myself. You must have your hands full with this one.”

  We both laughed, although Jez went on a tad longer than necessary, leaving me to wonder if I were being insulted.

  “Oh, please!” She jerked a thumb my way. “Me and her? Not a chance. She’s way too high maintenance.”

  “So rude,” I muttered, flipping her a middle finger that went ignored.

  “Also,” Jez continued, her voice taking on a vicious tone. “I think you’re a pathetic piece of shit, and it has nothing to do with my sexuality. I can assure you, if I were straight, I’d still think you were a dirtbag. Your ego must write a lot of checks your ass can’t cash.” Her feline fire had her energy running hot. It ebbed and flowed around me like a rising sea of rage.

  Ebyn didn’t miss a beat. Wolf eyes shimmering with predatory delight, he squared his shoulders and issued an unspoken challenge. “And I can assure you that, if you were straight, you would most definitely still think I’m a dirtbag, and you’d fuck me anyway.”

  First impressions are formed in a matter of seconds, or so they say. Already I knew that Ebyn was a rich playboy who didn’t often hear the word no. Yep. Dirtbag.

  “Well, I’m straight,” I piped up, wondering if they were going to start with the fangs and claws right there in the street. “And I’d much rather bleed you than fuck you.” A fang-revealing grin coaxed the first shred of unease from the cocky wolf.

  “Look…” He tried turning that smile on me. “I don’t want any trouble. Let’s work something out. I doubt you’ll believe me, but my marriage was a business arrangement from the start. She’s had her share of extra-marital affairs, and I turned a blind eye.”

  There was no convincing Jez, whose glower had darkened. “Don’t care. She hired me. You didn’t. This conversation is over.”