This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,88

and fruit, I’ve only just finished getting dressed in the bathroom when the elevator whirs.

I hurry out to find Tristan alert where he stands at the window, but he relaxes when Iyana and Danika appear.

Iyana looks like she’s prepared for war, wearing her leather boots over tight black pants and a black shirt, her outfit complete with a weapons belt sporting daggers and—I’m surprised to see—her handguns.

Both women head right for me, Iyana skirting around the pool of sunlight pouring through the window while Danika strides right through it.

I meet them halfway, accepting their hugs, pulling Iyana safely to the far side of the living area, which is darker.

Neither of my friends appears well rested.

“We were worried about you,” Danika says, squeezing me hard and making my eyes burn with tears.

Iyana kisses my cheek and whispers, “Do I need to kill him for you?”

I pull them both tighter, a group hug that I don’t want to end. “You’re the best friends I could ever hope for. But no, you can rest assured, Tristan doesn’t need killing today.”

“Good.” Iyana breathes out a sigh of relief. “Because I’d hate to kill the man who saved my life.”

She’s come a long way from the woman who nearly crumbled at the possibility that Tristan wasn’t the good guy she thought he was. When we finally break apart, Tristan stands with his arms folded across his chest, looking every bit the alpha. I bite my lip to hide my smile that he’s chosen to locate himself directly in the sunlight. He’s wise not to underestimate Iyana.

Or Danika, for that matter.

Our hug revealed that she’s carrying a pistol at her hip beneath her long tank top, which shows off the tattoo of a hawk’s wing that covers her left shoulder and bicep.

“Tessa and I are heading out to see our territory today,” Tristan says. “You’re welcome to come with us.”

Our territory? My eyes narrow, but I let it pass.

Iyana huffs at him. “You know I can’t come out into the sunlight.”

Tristan shrugs. “Then Tessa can take you out tonight when she goes on patrol. She’ll need backup.”

Iyana’s scowl fades. “I’ll be there.”

Danika is more relaxed. “I’ll watch over you both today. I’ve been dying to take to the sky. I’m assuming I don’t need to be worried about other airborne shifters.”

“As long as you stay directly above us, you’ll be safe,” Tristan says. “Remember not to fly above the forests. They belong to witches, who won’t take kindly to your presence.”

“Noted,” she says.

“Then let’s go.” Tristan strides straight for Iyana and swipes the security card right out of her hand as he passes by.

“Hey!” she objects, her jaw dropping at how fast he moved. “We need that.”

“You don’t,” he says to Iyana, passing the card to me. “Tessa’s staying with you from now on, so you have no need to come to my floor. But she needs a way to see me if there’s an emergency.” He pauses. “Unless, of course, you were planning on coming up here to visit me, Iyana?”

Iyana grins madly and her blue-gray eyes pop with her smile. “You wish, wolf man.”

Tristan strides onward to the elevator and I’m left holding a security pass that I would have killed for yesterday. I quickly deposit it into my pocket, grab my duffel bag, and join the others in the elevator.

To my surprise, Tristan presses the button for the roof. “You don’t need a pass to access the roof, so you can head on up there anytime you need,” he says to Danika.

Her hazel eyes are bright with anticipation. As soon as we exit the elevator into a small room with a transparent door, she begins stripping off, dropping her clothing into a pile in the corner.

Tristan averts his eyes and holds open the door for her. She runs through it, sprints right up to the edge of the building, and leaps off it.

My breath catches, my heart leaping into my throat when she jumps. She transforms mid-leap and I let out my held breath. Her hawk is a gorgeous honey color with bronze-tipped feathers and a massive wingspan. She soars into the wind and upward, circling the building. Her eyesight will allow her to spot us from up high and follow us.

Back in the elevator, Iyana tells me that she and Danika are living on the tenth floor now—she asked Jace to move them yesterday. When the doors open at the tenth floor, she takes my bag with her. “See you tonight, Tessa.”