up the many sounds of the forest right before night retreated to allow the dawn. I felt safe. I belonged here. There was just one thing missing.
I raised my nose to the sky and howled. The sound echoed in the stillness. I waited, knowing I wouldn’t hear the reply I ached for but hoping anyway.
Shaz should have been by my side. I longed to see his white fur shine just a little brighter in the moonlight. He didn’t even know about the new house. I was happy to have my own little piece of forest near my backyard, but I wanted to share it with him.
I stayed there beside the pond until I felt Arys’s insistent nudge in my head. ‘Get your furry ass back here, Alexa. You can’t avoid me forever.’
‘I can try.’ I let a glimmer of amusement show; I enjoyed antagonizing him.
‘I’m waiting for you.’
As much as I would have loved to welcome the sunrise there amid the calm and comfort of my forest home, my lover called, and I could only avoid him for so long. I headed for home both eager and reluctant to see Arys.
A great span of field separated the forest from my backyard as it did with most of the houses in the outlying area. My house was a little better because it was beside a cemetery, where very few wanted to live. I had just one neighbor on the other side of the graveyard, hidden from sight.
Arys stood in the backyard with his arms crossed over his chest. He watched me approach with a haughty arrogance that quickly turned to appreciative wonder. I sat back on my haunches, staring up at him.
“You’re magnificent.” He moved closer, a flicker of vampire fire in his midnight blue eyes. “And, as much as I love to see you as wolf, we need to talk.”
I simply stared at him. He could talk; I would listen. That way this couldn’t blow up into a fight. I knew that look in his eyes. Arys was going to say something I wouldn’t like, and he was bracing for a clash of wills.
“Really?” He prompted after a few minutes of staring at one another. “Is this how you want to do this?” When I didn’t move, he nodded. “Alright, fine. Have it your way. I shouldn’t have to tell you how stupid it was to go back into the FPA building, but apparently I do. Briggs could have caught you. It’s bad enough that anyone caught you. And Sinclair… I don’t even know where to start.”
He paced the length of the yard, waving his hands in a grand gesture of ire. “He was going to fuck you and kill you, Alexa. You know why? Because you’re so deep in his system, it’s the only way he’ll ever be rid of you. If he gets out of there, you’ll never be safe from him.”
I wanted to argue, which was exactly why I’d stayed in wolf form. Being patient and allowing Arys to vent first would be better for both of us. Yet, the fire had already sparked within my belly. We shared the need for a good fight. Though my instinct was to tell Arys he was wrong, that Kale would never hurt me, I knew I could no longer believe that.
“He’s not going to get away with what he did tonight,” Arys declared. “I can’t let him.”
A muscle twitched in Arys’s jaw. He ran a hand haphazardly through his black hair, making it more of a sexy mess than usual. The mixed scent of cologne and hair products, an aroma that was solely his, reached me. It made me itch to bury my face in his neck and savor the many sensations of him.
“The last thing you need to deal with is a psychotic vampire with an incurable obsession. It will distract you from the real issue, Lilah. She’s going to do everything she can to force your hand. She’ll keep targeting those you’ve sworn to protect. Those you love.” He sat heavily on the small concrete wall encircling the fire pit in the center of the yard. “We have to stop her.”
We sure did. I agreed with him there, but I still didn’t believe playing nice with Shya was the way to do it. I considered shifting back to human form but decided to hold off a little longer. Arys was doing just fine spilling his thoughts and feelings with my silence.
“She won’t stop until you willingly surrender