Trina M. Lee

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

  “I need to get really serious with you, Alexa, and you may not like it,” he continued, forcing me to look into his heavenly eyes. “You have to keep that pup away from Harley, at all costs, or you risk losing him.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face. I shook my head, momentarily confused. “What do you mean?”

  He studied me carefully before stroking the side of my face. “If Harley learns about him, and how much he means to you, he won’t hesitate to hurt him.” Or worse. I could feel the part he was leaving out.

  My mouth instantly went dry at the thought of the sadist vampire touching Shaz in any way. I’d give myself to him before I’d allow that to happen. “Oh God. That can never happen.” I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The reality of the danger we were in hit home with a heaviness that made my vision spotty.

  “Are you ok?” Arys put a hand out to steady me when I rocked away from him on my heels, unsteady. “It’s going to be ok, Alexa. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to prevent any harm from coming to you … or the wolf pup.”

  Try as I might to speak, nothing would come out. I felt the warning sting of tears and fought them back. There was nothing to cry over, not yet. I’d be damned if I was giving into the weakness that fear was stirring inside me.

  I finally managed a deep breath. “I’m ok. I just can’t breathe.” I attempted a smile, but it was a poor one. I pushed a lock of red and blonde hair out of my face. He responded by reaching out to grasp it, twirling it around his finger.

  “Your wolf is right about one thing. I don’t feel right about leaving you alone, either.” The concern that pulled his sensual lips down into a frown warmed me.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m pretty sure I’m safe for now. He made it seem like he wants to drag it out.”

  Arys pressed his lips together. He clearly didn’t believe my claim. I watched him twist my hair, the two different colors creating a candy cane effect. The close proximity made the effects of his energy stronger. It no longer felt angry. Instead, it felt hungry.

  The bloodlust rose up then, engulfing me in one giant swallow. It clawed at me like a rabid dog fighting to get out. My gums tingled, and my fangs were suddenly there, large and sharp in my mouth. The need for blood was overwhelming.

  “I need to feed before it tears you apart. I can feel it raging through you.” Arys looked torn, as if he wasn’t sure what to do.

  “It came on out of nowhere.” A hand to my head, I went to the cupboard that I knew held dishware and fished out a drinking glass. Going to the kitchen sink, I ran the cold water until it was icy. After taking a long, refreshing swallow, I deposited the glass in the sink and turned back to my vampire. He looked anxious. “It isn’t fair. It never eats you up the way it does to me.”

  “I’ve had centuries to learn to deal with it. Of course, it won’t be so easy for you.” He shook his head and a familiar expression of self-loathing played along his features. “I wish this didn’t happen to you.”

  “It’s not like you escaped unscathed.” I waved a hand dismissively. I didn’t need his guilt right now. Since we’d joined our power three months ago, we have each suffered the other’s weaknesses in the worst of ways. Though it was getting fewer and farther between, the strength and urgency of it, when it did occur, seemed to only increase.

  “You’re better at taking care of that than I am. I don’t deserve you.” Arys ran a hand through his hair, messing it further. “I need to feed. Will you be alright for awhile?”

  “Yes, of course. Do what you must. Don’t worry about me.” I struggled to appear cool and confident though I was never that good an actor.

  “Why don’t you head to Lucy’s, and I’ll meet you there later?”

  I debated arguing that and accusing him of thinking I couldn’t take care of myself. I restrained the urge with great difficulty. I couldn’t always give Arys the run around for trying to keep me safe. True, it got annoying when he did it in situations that were so mundane and every day, like when I got hit on by a guy that wouldn’t take no for an answer at Lucy’s Lounge. But, I knew he meant well. I wasn’t sure why I always busted his chops when I would never do so to Shaz. They were different men, and I was a different person with each of them. They drew out different sides of me.

  “Alright. Don’t kill anybody that doesn’t deserve it.” I winked when I said it and received a sexy little snarl from him in response. He bared his fangs at me, and my body reacted to it against my will as a thrill shot through my veins. When Arys sensed my response to him, he smiled wide, satisfied.

  “I’ll see you at midnight then.” He pressed close. His hard frame against my soft, feminine form felt like magic. “Stay alert, and don’t get caught out alone. I don’t think Harley would come to Lucy’s, but I can’t say for sure. If he wants something bad enough, he’ll go to any lengths to get it.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I murmured against his lips as he bent to kiss me. He tasted like power, tangy and savory. I closed my eyes and allowed it to wash over me. It was similar to the sensation of falling into Harley’s power only this was welcome, which made it so much better.

  After much contemplation, I pulled away from Arys and turned to go. He walked me to the door. My body reacted to his as he shadowed my movements. Just being in the same room as the smoldering hot vampire stoked the fire inside me. It also caused my power to rise to a dangerously uncontrollable level, especially when the bloodlust was strong.

  “See you in a bit.” I fought back an unexpected wave of nausea and kissed him quickly on the cheek. I hurried down the front step to my car, eager to get away from him so that I could think. It wouldn’t make the blood hunger stop, but his presence was feeding it.

  I started my car and pulled away from the curb. It was still early. I planned to go back home before heading to the Lounge. Kylarai had been home before Shaz and I had left the house. I’d had time to fill her in on my visit from Harley while she ran around getting ready for another date with Julian. Was I a bad friend for wanting that whole, sordid relationship to dissolve? She was my best friend, and I adored her. I wanted better for her.

  I was singing along to the radio as I crossed town to my neighborhood. Passing one of my neighbors, I raised a hand in greeting. When I turned the corner on to my street, my expression froze on my face. A black SUV that I recognized as Julian’s was parked in front of my house. Why did I get the feeling that this was just the beginning of a bad night?

  Chapter Ten

  I made a face of disgust to nobody at all as I turned the doorknob, letting myself into the house. Kylarai’s laughter rang out, tinkling like wind chimes, and Julian’s low murmur came in response. I let the door slam shut behind me, a little harder than necessary, but I wanted to make my presence obvious right off the bat.

  I was hoping that I could bypass the living room where they sat and escape down the hall to either the kitchen or my room. The square layout of our house had the hallway running past every room as it continued around the house. It wouldn’t be all that hard to sneak past the entry to the living room, would it? Hopefully, Ky would know better than to stop me.

  Unfortunately for me, the voice that called to me as I hurried past the living room entry was not Kylarai’s. I cringed when Julian’s low, husky tone caught my attention. His hurried, loud whisper of, “Alexa!” had the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. I shuddered and turned towards the living room, unable to resist as Arys’s bloodlust rode me.

  I appeared in the doorway suddenly. Kylarai actually jumped, which I found both odd and surprising. Crossing my arms over my chest, I mustered my best bored expression and said, “What do you want?”

  Julian held up both hands in a mocking show of surrender. The smile that played along his lips was more than a little malicious. I stared at him and instantly saw him as prey to be hunted and bled. I think I may have licked my lips as the sound of his steady heartbeat alone suddenly outweighed any other sound in the room.

  My ey
es went to Kylarai. She was curled up against the corner of the sofa, sipping from a steaming mug. He sat next to her, an arm slung loosely about her shoulders. Though he attempted casual, there was no missing the way he looked me over. I’d caught him doing just the same thing at Raoul’s once. That time it had appeared sexual, this time it was the sign of a wannabe Alpha wolf sizing up the competition. I smirked openly at him.

  “I’m not here to get into it with you, Alexa. I just want to spend some time with my girl here.” Julian nodded at Kylarai, and I had to fight down the bile that threatened to rise up in my throat.

  “Then why did you call my name when I tried to successfully ignore your wretched presence?” I felt Kylarai cringe more so than I saw it since I was staring down the pathetic excuse for a werewolf beside her.

  “Alexa,” she piped up, her voice gentle as she tried to draw my attention to her. “I didn’t know you would be back tonight. Is something up?”

  I studied her for a moment before replying. She wore a long, black robe and had her long bob pulled back into a ponytail. Her grey eyes were filled with anxiety. I hated that she was caught in the middle of all of this.

  “No, not at all.” Though I looked at Ky, my senses honed in on Julian, sharper than before. “I just had some time to kill before I head to Lucy’s. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  Her ponytail bounced as she gave her head a vigorous shake. “No worries. It’s your house, too. We’re just watching some silly ass Freddy Krueger movie. Want to join us?”

  Julian seemed to await my response as if he thought I might really say yes. I couldn’t resist the urge to look at him, his scent tantalizing my blood hunger as I did so. It seemed to grow stronger when our eyes met. The spice and pine of Were blood assaulted my senses, and the wave of demanding bloodlust rocked me. It was all I could do not to cross the room dividing us and bleed him.

  “No,” I replied, a slight shake to my voice. I swallowed hard, confused at the way I was reacting to Julian. “I won’t be here long. You won’t even notice me.”

  I turned to leave the room before the growing, sickening hunger could affect my choices. Julian cleared his throat, and I knew he was going to speak before he did. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten. I was not going to murder him in my own house.

  “I just want to say something quickly, Alexa.” When I turned back to face him, he wore a serious expression. “This whole thing with Shaz, no hard feelings, ok?”

  Was he freaking kidding me? He looked so damned serious, but I just didn’t buy it. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, and the surge of anger that hit me directly fed my hunger for living, pumping blood.

  “Remember that you said that when he wipes the forest floor with you.” The words came tripping out of my mouth before I could stop them, not that I wanted to. A wicked smile graced my lips then, and I knew it was Arys’s smile. Julian may not recognize it, but Kylarai would.

  She stiffened noticeably. Her mug smacked the coffee table loudly, and her mouth dropped open. Julian looked like he didn’t know what hit him. I took great pleasure in his shocked expression. I found it somewhat surprising that he hadn’t expected it from me. He recovered fast though, his typical smirk back in its place on his scruffy face.

  “And, if he doesn’t? What then, Queen Alpha? Are you going to accept me as your second fiddle in this town or take me on yourself?”

  “Julian, that’s enough!” Kylarai warned as her cheeks grew flushed with angry heat.

  “I won’t hesitate to run you out of this town with your tail between your legs like the pathetic dog that you are. You will never be dominant to either Shaz or me, so keep dreaming, little boy.” Something moved inside of me, and Arys’s power slammed through me.

  It was Julian’s reaction that alerted me to the fact that my eyes were Arys’s startling blue, not my own deep brown. It was something that happened when the vampire’s power was strong, pressing the surface of my being. It was also something I would never get used to. I avoided mirrors like the plague when my eyes turned the eerie vampire blue.

  “Holy shit,” Julian breathed. He sat frozen next to Kylarai who just looked plain worried. She thought I was going to kill him. I could see it all over her face.

  “Don’t say another word,” she hissed under her breath. Of course, I could hear her as if I’d been standing beside her. To me she said, “It’s cool, Lex. Just calm down , okay?”

  Try as I might, I couldn’t shake the snake-like grin from my face. “Trust me. I am calm.”

  I wasn’t trying to scare Kylarai, but her face paled, and she ever so slowly got to her feet, motioning for Julian to stay seated. He watched me with dark chestnut eyes that had gone all wolf, leaving no trace of white. It was only natural that his wolf would go on the defensive. It only encouraged the cool energy dominating my focus.

  “Maybe I should call Arys for you?” Her tone implied a question, and I realized she was afraid of me, not just the situation. If I hadn’t been so wired right then, I would have been saddened by that.

  I could remember the first time this had happened to me, right after I’d lost it and attacked Shaz. That had been the first morning Ky went to bed with her door locked. Did she really think I would hurt her?

  “Arys is hunting.” My voice sounded hollow, even to me. “I said I’m fine. I’m not staying.”

  It took everything I had in me to turn toward the hall and put one foot in front of the other. I knew how badly I’d massacred that first victim, the woman-beater, and I knew I’d do the same to Julian if I put my hands on him. One foot in front of the other, and I finally entered my room and managed to close the door without going back for a fight.

  I didn’t want to be in my room though. I wanted to get the hell out of the house. This was so not good. My best friend and the werewolf I detested, dating. Ugh. Was it wrong to hope they wouldn’t, as gross as it was, fall in love?

  Against my better judgment, I went into my en suite bathroom and very quickly looked over my appearance. I didn’t get any closer to the mirror than necessary, unnerved by my unnatural blue orbs.

  The black, hip-hugging jeans and equally black halter-top made my hair look so much blonder than usual. The shirt was one of my favorites. It held my breasts perfectly supported so they both felt and looked great, and the fabric that fell around my waist was sheer, longer on one side than the other, and jagged-cut. I didn’t wear jewelry when I knew I’d be shifting, but today I had slipped on a silver charm bracelet that Shaz had given me for my last birthday. If the Hollywood rules about werewolves had been true, I never would have been able to wear it.

  After running my brush carelessly through my waist length hair, I tossed the red streaked locks over my shoulder and turned back to my room. It had gotten incredibly quiet out in the living room. If I couldn’t sense their heartbeats, I would have thought they’d left.

  Before leaving my bedroom, I grabbed a pair of black ankle boots from my closet so that I wouldn’t have to go back for my shoes at the front door. Silently, I slunk down the hall to the kitchen and let myself out the sliding door into the backyard. I crossed through the yard to the front where my Charger sat large and red against the dark backdrop of night.

  I revved the engine a few times before putting the car in gear and driving away. I wanted to make sure they knew I’d left. Arys likely wouldn’t be at Lucy’s for some time yet, but that didn’t mean I had to sit at home with two chicken shit werewolves feeding my fire. I needed to burn off some of the aggressive power I’d built up before I dared to step foot into a bar filled with tantalizing humans.

  Turning onto the main drag, I headed for the north end of town and the beautiful little fountain park that also served as a both a tourist attraction and information center. It would be empty at this time of night, perfect for unleashing some negative energy. By then, hopefully, Arys would have appeased both his hunger and mine.

  * * * *

  As expected, the park was cast i
n darkness. A few strategically placed streetlights illuminated the path that led to both the gazebo and the path that wound the circumference of the large fountain pond. I parked in one of the many vacant spaces and got out of the car, breathing in the crisp night air.

  Thick, luscious trees and brush surrounded the park on all sides except the one with the large hill, which led up to the highway on the edge of town. The sound of vehicles passing by was distant. If I turned away from the hill, it was as if I wasn’t even in town anymore.

  I passed the community bulletin board, glancing briefly at a flyer advertising a way overpriced, used Mustang for sale. I chuckled to myself, knowing the guy would never unload it on anyone but a sucker. Passing the gazebo, I continued down the path, headed toward the bridge that spanned the length of the pond.

  As I drew closer, the darkness seemed to grow thicker. The fading light behind me was soon no more than a pale glow. The bridged loomed large and spooky beneath the silver moonlight. A chill spilled down my spine like ice-cold water when a memory surfaced, unbidden and unwelcome.

  I had come here the day that Arys gave me the letter from Raoul, the one he’d found addressed to me, Raoul’s confession. It had been one of the most horrifying and enlightening days of my life. Everything had changed that day: some for the better and others not so much.

  I stepped onto the bridge, light and silent on the wooden planks beneath my feet. I followed its U shape up to the peak of its height, reaching out to the metal railing to steady myself. The water below looked absolutely black. I knew it was filled with thick, dangerous weeds and was actually very deep in places. The glint of the moonlight reflected off the dark surface, catching my eye.