Trina M. Lee

by Alexa O'Brien Huntress Series Book 1-4 Box Set (Retail)

  “Coffee?” Her first word kind of surprised me. She smiled wide, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Sure, thanks.” I watched her fill a mug and hand it to me. I fetched my own cream and sugar. “Good morning, or afternoon I should say.” The microwave clock indicated that it was closer to the supper hour than breakfast. Such was the life of a werewolf.

  “Did you sleep well? I stayed up reading the latest Nora Roberts novel until my eyes were dry. Had some pretty crazy dreams after.” Kylarai bustled around the stove, carefully not meeting my eyes for more than a few seconds at a time.

  I took a long sip of my coffee, watching her like a hawk. I didn’t have to say anything. I knew her, and she would cave all on her own. “I slept great. There is no such thing as a bad sleep when Shaz is with me.”

  She took two plates out of the cupboard and began to scoop food onto each with the spatula. Handing one to me, she met my eyes with a guilty half-smile.

  “You’re not even going to ask, are you?”

  That had happened even sooner than I’d expected. I gave her a friendly grin and reached out to pat her arm before grabbing a fork and taking a seat at the table.

  “Of course not,” I said. “But, that doesn’t mean I’m not dying to know.”

  I took a bite of the mouth-watering omelet and almost had to close my eyes in pleasure. Kylarai was a supreme cook when she had the time. I was going to enjoy this. I’d be fending for myself again in no time.

  She took the seat across from me but didn’t pick up her fork. “Ok, this is the quick version. Kale and I called it quits over a week ago. I just can’t do it, Lex. I can’t be with a vampire romantically. Kale has baggage that I can’t even begin to comprehend.” She shrugged and looked like a lost little girl. “I didn’t think it was fair to him. I had to let him go.”

  “Is that why he was drowning his sorrows at The Wicked Kiss?” I asked between bites. “That makes more sense now.”

  “And, it wasn’t that I was trying to keep anything from you, but then I ran into Julian at Lucy’s and one thing led to another.” Kylarai smiled shyly and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I really like him.”

  I wished she had let me finish eating first. I grimaced inwardly but miraculously prevented it from manifesting on my face.

  “Just like that, huh?” I took a sip from my coffee cup, using the moment to think of something positive to say. I failed.

  “Well … the attraction isn’t new, but acting on it certainly is.” Ky picked up her fork and took a bite of her eggs. She chewed robotically, out of habit rather than desire. “I can’t stop thinking about Kale though. He didn’t want to see me, when I went to him after he bit you.”

  I could see how the admittance pained her. Dropping my fork on my plate, I reached across the table to give her hand a warm squeeze.

  “Don’t worry about him, Ky. Kale will be fine.” I didn’t sound very convincing, but I’d seen how rough he was. Why didn’t he tell me they had broken up?

  She chewed her lower lip, her eyes darting between her plate and me. “I just couldn’t do it. I can’t donate blood to him, and I can’t sit by while he gets it from that whorehouse of a blood bar. Everything unraveled really fast.”

  I nodded in understanding. Kylarai hadn’t even been cool with it the first time Arys had fed from me. It was a very personal experience, one that was more intimate than sex. I could understand her inability to be part of that world. And, Kale was the type of guy who needed that in his lover.

  “You can’t blame yourself. Kale’s issues go deeper than either of us realize. I’m sure of it. And, if you aren’t able to be with him, then it’s better to figure that out now instead of months or years from now.” I was encouraged to finish my meal when she began to pick at her food again.

  “I know,” she nodded and pushed a slice of bacon around her plate before finally spearing it and popping it in her mouth.

  We ate in comfortable silence for a few moments. I wanted to ask her why Julian of all people. She could do so much better. That would be rude though, so I bit my tongue against the urge.

  “I know it’s hard, Kylarai,” I said instead. “But, Kale will be fine. And, so will you.” As an afterthought I added, “I hope you don’t hold it against me for introducing you guys.” I smiled to soften the seriousness of my words.

  Kylarai laughed then which made me feel a million times better. “Don’t be ridiculous, Alexa. I adore Kale, he’s a good man. He just isn’t meant to be mine.”

  Her warm grey eyes fixed on me, and the uncertainty in their depths made my heart go out to her. Her energy was very strained and pinched. It stung if I concentrated on it. Too much negativity.

  I finished eating and rinsed my dish before stacking it in the dishwasher. That had to be man’s greatest invention to date. I went for a second cup of coffee, needing the caffeine boost in my system. There was more that I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure how.

  I shook my head and resisted the urge to hug her against her will. She wasn’t ready for that though. I could see how hard she was fighting to subdue the depths of her feelings.

  “You know I’m always here, right? If you ever want to talk.” I wished there was more I could say, but I could only say so much.

  Her face lit up then, and she beamed a grin at me. “I know. I love you for worrying about me. You’re like the younger sister I never had.”

  “And you’re like the tough-ass older sister I always needed to throw my boyfriends around.” I had to laugh when I pictured her stepping in between Arys and Shaz the other night. I wish I could have appreciated their surprise at the time.

  “We have to stop them from fighting, Alexa,” she said suddenly, and I paused, my coffee partially raised to my lips. “Julian and Shaz, we can’t let them do this.”

  “I know.” I nodded and thought back to Shaz’s fierce intensity when he spoke of beating Julian’s ass. “It’s going to be fucking ugly. Shaz refused to listen to me last night. He insisted it’s something he has to do as my mate.”

  Kylarai looked worried, her food, once again abandoned. “And, I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. I’m sorry … Julian isn’t the easiest person to understand, but he is a good guy underneath it all.”

  “Well, I hope you can talk some sense into him. Otherwise, we’re going to have one hell of a furry mess to clean up.”

  “I’ll do my best.” She searched my eyes then, a shadow of doubt passing in her stormy gaze. “But, if they won’t listen to reason, if they still fight, we can’t let it go too far. We have to be ready to split them up.”

  I was pretty sure I knew what she was saying. “Don’t worry, Ky. I’ll be more than happy to blast them both on their asses.”

  “I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”

  It never ceased to amaze me how she had such a sweet, gentle nature that could unleash into a frenzy of murderous rage at a moment’s notice. I was counting on her to use that to our advantage if necessary when those boys went head-to-head. And, I could feel it in every part of me that without a doubt, they would.

  I moved about the kitchen, tidying up the counter and starting the dishes. I was looking forward to a quiet night alone. Shaz was bartending tonight and judging by Kylarai’s perfectly done makeup and hair, she had plans.

  After Ky disappeared to her bedroom, re-emerging in a stylish black cocktail dress, I considered getting dressed. With a questioning brow raised, I asked, “What are you all dressed up for? You look gorgeous, by the way.”

  “Thank you. Julian and I are going to dinner.” She had the decency to blush and look guilty when she said it. “I won’t be home until morning. Do you have any plans tonight?”

  “Nope. Shaz is working, and Arys is, well, being Arys most likely. I’m going to lie around, watch movies and be thankful that I haven’t had to hunt down any vampires all week.”

  The vampire activity had been reasonably quiet in the city recently. Of course, that could just b
e the calm before the storm. In all honesty, I love what I do. Hunting rogue supernaturals was necessary. Somebody had to do it if we all wanted to keep our secrets. I had a hunger for the hunt and kill that made me a natural for the job. Having partners, like my friends Kale and Jez, alongside me made it a lot more fun than when I worked alone.

  “You haven’t done that in a long time. I’m sure you need it.” I watched as Ky gathered her things together to leave. She leaned in to give me a quick embrace before turning to go. “Enjoy the quiet time. It’s good for the soul.”

  After she left, I stood in the quiet kitchen, listening to the sounds of the clock ticking and the fridge running. Slipping through the glass sliding doors to the backyard, I was pleasantly surprised to find the night wind to be particularly warm for October. A run would be really nice right now. Just thinking about it brought an itch to my limbs and muscles as the need to stretch out and become wolf grew quickly.

  Running alone isn’t something I do often. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I didn’t have Kylarai or Shaz with me. It was kind of a group activity. So imagine my surprise when the first time I do head out alone in a long while, I run in to Zoey Roberts. I hadn’t laid eyes upon her since the night she murdered Raoul. Though, that’s not to say that she hadn’t occupied my thoughts since then.

  I was trotting along, minding my own business as I savored the crisp freshness of the night breeze. I rounded a bend in the trees that led to the small forest clearing where several of us meet to run on the full moon. The black wolf caught my eye immediately, my mind conjuring a memory of Raoul. She just looked so much like him. My heart leaped, and for just a moment, I thought it was him.

  Then her scent reached me, and the instinctual need to kill was back. Despite everything, I had to lay the blame somewhere, and though Raoul was dead, his vindictive offspring wasn’t. A snarl erupted from me, unbidden and unexpected, yet welcome. What was she doing, so close to my house? This was my turf, not hers.

  We stared at one another across the distance that separated us. She looked a lot better than she had the last time I’d seen her. How she’d managed to escape death was beyond me. Her once blood-matted fur was now long and silky, the color of sin. The one feature that set her apart from Raoul was the eyes. She had cerulean blues rather than ebony orbs. I was glad that the similarities only went so far.

  I waited, not blinking an eye, but she never came any closer. The seconds ticked by increasingly long. How I kept my feet planted is a mystery to me. Maybe it had something to do with the sudden memory of the challenge in Raoul’s eyes as he lay dying, allowing Zoey to kill him. He had been willing to do anything to give her the vengeance she felt entitled to, regardless of my feelings, my need for vengeance.

  After a long, suspenseful moment that had me shaking in my tracks, she backed away toward the thick trees behind her. When she was sure that I wouldn’t give chase, she turned and fled into shadow.

  I didn’t hang around to see if she’d return. She wouldn’t, not tonight anyway. Instead, I beat it home to take a soak in a hot bath while I nursed a combination of guilt and confusion.

  I wasn’t sure where the guilt came from. Maybe because while I was relaxing in bubbles up to my chin, Zoey was out there trapped in wolf form indefinitely. The confusion was partly due to Raoul’s death having only occurred a few months ago. I just wasn’t entirely over losing the man I’d looked up to, nor could I accept his betrayal from beyond the grave. That would likely never change. How could it? He had waited until he was dead to reveal to me through a letter that he had been the werewolf that killed my family and turned me. That kind of pain didn’t fade overnight.

  Since I was alone, I dragged my fuzzy comforter out to the futon in the living room. After making some African red tea and grabbing a bag of chocolate covered pretzels, I was ready to get comfy with a good movie.

  I munched on pretzels as I scrolled through the TV channels with the remote. There was a late night showing of one of the old Halloween movies. With Halloween being just weeks away, I also had three or four other horror flicks to choose from. After eliminating them based on cheesiness and gore level, I stuck with Michael Myers and his shrieking teenage victims.

  It wasn’t long until my eyelids began to droop. The classic slasher theme played in the background as I drifted between sleep and wakefulness. It accompanied me as I sunk deeper, right into a dream I hadn’t had in months.

  I was back in my family home, surrounded by the bodies of my dead family. Raoul stood before me as wolf, but this time I knew it was him. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn’t my teenage self in this dream like in previous ones, and I was fully aware that this was indeed only a dream. I soon came to realize that though it was a dream, it was not at all the same one I’d assumed it was.

  Unlike dreams of the past, Raoul wasn’t snarling or preparing to attack. He simply stared into me with calm, coal-dark eyes. I was overcome with the instant urge to tell him what a jackass he was for trying to communicate with me now, after my run in with Zoe. It was always about her.

  But, try as I might to say all the things that came to mind, I was unable to give voice to them. I could only look into those dark eyes and feel a mixture of sadness and wonder.

  Just when I felt that something was going to transpire, another sensation roused me. When my conscious mind became aware that somebody was in the house, I was wide-awake, on full alert.

  My instinct had me swinging before I’d identified the intruder. All at once, I realized it was Arys, but he had already deflected each of my blows, catching my wrists tightly in his grasp.

  “Alexa,” he whispered loudly. “It’s me. But, a word of warning. Don’t fall asleep with the front door unlocked.”

  I stopped struggling against him and sat up on the futon. Arys leaned down over me, his face, more battered and bruised than it had been previously. He released my arms and stepped back as I pushed my disheveled hair from my face.

  “What happened to you? That’s not from Shaz.” I reached out to brush a finger across his bruised eyelid but he caught my hand in his, kissing it softly.

  “No. I saw Harley tonight. At The Wicked Kiss.” He stared at me with an intensity I felt in my toes.

  Arys looked worried, almost afraid. He wasn’t the fearful type in any way. He pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my hair and inhaling my scent. I tried to pull away, pushing on his chest so he had to look at me.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  He studied me, his jaw clenching hard. “We had a little confrontation. It didn’t go so well.”

  “You don’t say.” I cocked my head to the side, taking in his battered appearance. “Start talking, vampire.”

  He reached out for my hand, and I surrendered it but didn’t abandon my stiff position. That had never deterred this vampire though, and it certainly didn’t now. Arys advanced on me, tipping my head up with a hand under my chin, kissing me with a fervor that I felt in my loins.

  “That’s not going to get you out of trouble, mister. Start talking. I want to know about Harley.” I managed to pull away though I would have loved to let him continue as if nothing else mattered.

  He tensed noticeably, looking away from me to stare at the gruesome horror flick that played quietly. His averted gaze told me plenty. I had to bite my tongue so that I didn’t ramble on in an attempt to pry the information out of him.

  When his piercing, blue gaze swung back to me, there was an angry fire burning in their depths. He ran his hand through his always bedroom-messy hair, a sign that he didn’t want to tell me. I chewed my bottom lip nervously. If he didn’t start talking, I was going to burst.

  “He’s bad news, Alexa. He wants to see what could possibly be so tasty that even I can’t get my fill.” Arys eyed me closely as he spoke. I felt his gaze like a weight. “He wants to sample you for himself. His exact words were a little more crude, which resulted in the punch in his face that started our little brawl.”

 
I swallowed hard around the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat. Ok, now I was a little nervous.

  “You’ve got to be joking.” My hand went to my mouth, and for a moment, I thought I might throw up. “What is it with people from your past wanting a piece of me? Why? What did I ever do to them?” My voice took on a frantic, high-pitched lilt.

  “Oh, Catherine was nothing worse than the jealous-high-school-girl type. Harley is like the evil cartoon villain that never dies. But worse, because he’s real.” Arys lightly touched a finger to one of the bruises lining his strong cheekbone, a thoughtful expression on his eternally beautiful face. “He seems to think you’d make a great toy. And, I know he’s egotistical enough to think he can have whatever he wants. But, he can’t have you. I’ll kill him first.”

  I drew him to me, a hand tracing the line of his jaw. “We have nothing to worry about. The very thing that he wants from us is what will give us the upper hand. I’ll be ready for him.” I pressed my lips to his in a kiss that had him wanting more, if his reaction was any indication.

  Arys crawled up on the futon so that he hovered over me on his hands and knees. Each of his legs was on either side of mine, and his hands came to rest on my pillow with my head caught between. The position forced me back so that I had to tip my head back to meet his eyes.

  “You can’t underestimate him, Alexa.” He nipped lightly at my bottom lip. It sent a hot tingle through me, from head to toe. He had a way of always rousing the most savage energy within me. “He’s powerful and so fucking sadistic, it turns my guts to think of him touching you.”

  There was a sharp pain as he bit my lower lip. The blood welled instantly. Before it could spill down my chin, he caught it against his tongue. The warm, moist touch against my wounded lip was heavenly.

  “I know that, Arys. But, don’t underestimate me. I take out vamps like him all the time.” It irritated me that he spoke to me like I was defenseless.