The Hunt (By Kiss and Claw #2) - Melissa Haag Page 0,25

side of myself. It’d been subtle. Natural.

I’d been fine for so long, feeding only when I absolutely had to quiet the hunger. Why was I becoming a monster now? Was Mom right? Was I finally to the point that I was so starved I couldn’t take it anymore? But why, then, hadn’t I fed? I’d felt the energy pooled inside of Tegan, had smelled the savory musk of it, yet, it didn’t coat my tongue.

“Uh, do you want his wine?” the waitress asked from across the room.

Shame heated my face as I noted the other patrons had left.

“No.”

She tipped the glass and drained the contents in a few long swallows. Without a word, she headed back to the kitchen.

Exhaling shakily, I grabbed my purse and stood. My legs wobbled, and my stomach churned as my gaze bounced between the main entrance and the door to the kitchen. I didn’t want to face Fenris or see what state Tegan was in. But I also didn’t want to bump into the waitress and see the accusation in her eyes.

Before I could decide which was the smarter choice, Fenris returned. He didn’t smile or stop to tease me as he crossed the space. He simply opened his arms and wrapped me in the biggest, most needed hug of my life.

I ducked my head and hid in the shelter of his embrace.

“Is he okay?” I asked after a minute.

“Define okay for me because I have a feeling our versions will be different.”

I pulled back to look up at Fenris.

“You know what I mean.”

His gaze shifted to the right where the waitress was watching us through the glass in the kitchen door. She had a phone pressed to her ear and was talking.

“I need a ride home,” Fenris said. “Feel like giving me one?”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on.

“She’s talking to Adira, isn’t she?”

Fenris winked at me.

“Fine. I’ll give you a ride.”

I made it out the door before I changed my mind.

“You drive.” He didn’t question me as I handed him the keys. Instead, he jogged ahead to open the passenger door. I couldn’t stop shaking. Not even when I was comfortably seated and buckled in.

“I’d ask if you’re okay,” he said as he started the engine, “but I know that you’re not. Want to talk about it?”

“Tegan wasn’t there because he liked me. He was there because he knew who I was and wanted to use my connection with the Quills to gain access to the Council. For a job, Fenris. He just wanted to earn money and build a reputation. And I was so upset he was going to leave without telling me where his sister was that something snapped. No, not snapped. I just…I don’t know…stopped caring?

“The worst part is that he’ll never be mad at me for what I just did to him. He won’t remember why wanting me to love him was wrong. I stole a piece of who he was, Fenris. How am I supposed to live with that?”

I glanced at Fenris as he navigated the roads out of town. He didn’t wear his typical humor-filled expression. Serious and slightly troubled, he met my gaze.

“You spend so much time hating yourself that you never step back and take an objective look at things. Tegan wasn’t some innocent guy you found on the street. You said it yourself; he wanted something. He walked into that situation, ready to play hardball with you to get what he wanted, but he wasn’t the better player. He lost. It’s not your job to protect everyone from you, Eliana. It’s their job to protect themselves, too.”

Instead of arguing with Fenris, I stared out the window. Was I really supposed to absolve myself of any wrongdoing? Tegan might have had an agenda, but that didn’t give me the right to do anything more than say no to him. And, he had tried protecting himself. He’d cast a stupid spell that hadn’t even worked.

Fenris was right about one thing, though. All the time I spent hating myself only served as a distraction.

Taking a deep breath, I clasped my hands in my lap and focused on finding the druids.

“Did you get their location?”

“Yep. He entered it in my phone.”

“Thank you. You can text it to me after I drop you off.”

“Not a chance, goldilocks. The druids you’re looking for are in Drys Woods. We’re almost there.”

“Fenris, there’s no reason for you to—”

“Tegan didn’t give exact coordinates. If you want to find