“Alpha…?” Stephan questioned.
“Don’t worry,” Elijah said. “I can take her.”
She snorted. “You can try, puppy. Don’t forget I have a few eons on you.”
In less than a minute, the room was emptied.
“I’m waiting,” he said, his eyes glittering dangerously.
“One of your dogs kil ed my mate.” Familiar rage and pain raced through her veins like acid. “If you think what I did to your friend was bad, it was nothing compared to what was done to Charron. You help me find the ones responsible and let me kil them, I’m al yours.”
His gaze narrowed. “How do you plan on finding these lycans? What are you looking for?”
“I have the date, time, and place. I just need to know who was in the area then. I can narrow it down from there.”
“Such bloodthirsty loyalty.”
She turned her head to look at him. “I could say the same about you.”
“You’d have to stay with me,” he pointed out. “I expect to be present anytime you question a pack member. It could take days, maybe weeks.”
The scent of his lust grew stronger by the moment and she—damn it al —wasn’t immune.
“I’ve been searching for years. A few weeks more won’t kil me.”
“No, but I wil . Eventual y. In the meantime, I don’t have to like you,” he said softly, “to want to f**k you.”
She swal owed hard, damning the elevated rate of her pulse, which she knew he could hear. “Of course not. You’re an animal.”
He circled her again, leaning in and inhaling deeply. “What’s your excuse?”
She had none, which was screwing with her head. In al the years since Char had been kil ed, the need for sex had been less than an itch. But she wasn’t about to confess that he was getting to her in a way no man had since her mate. Especial y when she was certain her reaction had less to do with him than with her own anxiety at being in a den ful of creatures she hated without a weapon on her back. With her fangs and claws, she could take down a half-dozen lycans; with Charron’s twin katanas, she could hold her own against a legion. Only Char himself could rival her skil with the swords. “No excuses necessary. I’m a heterosexual woman and you’re an exhibitionist who likes to fondle his big dick. The show had its merits.”
He bared his teeth in a semblance of a smile and crossed his arms. “What does Syre want in return for protection from the Sentinels?”
Vash studied him, noting his wide-legged stance and uplifted chin. He was a solid, anchoring presence. She could almost imagine him remaining an immovable object in the midst of a tornado. Although his rage was a tangible force, battering her senses along with his desire, his beautiful emerald eyes were shadowed with pain. Whatever else he was, Elijah was loyal. If he was trustworthy as wel , he could be an asset to the vampire nation. And to her.
Her arms crossed in mimicry of his pose. She watched his eyes dip to the vee of her neckline and his jaw clench. He didn’t want to want her. That made her smile inwardly. She’d been using her sexuality as a weapon since Charron died; she was as deadly with it as she was with a blade.
Something Elijah was about to discover firsthand.
“You’re going to kil me,” Vash said softly, “in retaliation for the death of your friend, who died because I was seeking the same vengeance for Nikki. No…let me finish before you argue. I’m not going to renege on our agreement. When al is said and done, you’l be doing me a favor. I’l even lay my neck across a stump and make it easy for you.”
The lycan’s gaze sharpened. “Your point?”
“I’m not asking for your sympathy or compassion. I just want you to look for the same fidelity in me that I see in you. I’l come into this al iance with al I’ve got. You do the same and we’l both end up with what we want.”
“Wil we?” His tone was low and intimate, belying the anger that thinned his sexy mouth.
“If you keep your wants realistic,” she qualified drily.
“You’re dodging my question, Vashti. What does Syre expect to gain from this?”
“It’s an almost even trade.” Lifting her hand, she ran her fingers through her hair, noting how his eyes fol owed the fal of the crimson strands. She meant to tease him with what he hungered for, but instead found herself heated by the fierceness of his regard. The desire of such a gorgeous, virile beast of a man was a seduction al by itself. “We both need bodies.”
“I won’t lead the lycans into war with the Sentinels.”
“No? Stil feeling the pinch of the col ar?”