seem like the logical choice considering what he’s after?”
Kyden’s head titled, his gaze soft. “You have to understand that rogue wolves have been cast out—abandoned by their packs. They’re in desperate need to belong and when Lazarus came talking of a new life, they were easier to draw into his plan.”
“He offered them a new home, then?”
“Exactly,” he agreed with a nod. “Lazarus gave them a new way of life that declared it didn’t matter that they didn’t belong to a pack. It allowed them a chance to live as they saw fit. Gave them control in a world where they had none.”
She slid her hands through the water, absorbing that knowledge. Power-happy supernaturals weren’t so different than power-hungry humans. “What happened when he attacked the Council, then?”
“He’d grown stronger, but not strong enough to destroy the Council. Blood was shed on the Otherworld grounds in forms that I hope to never see.” Nexi shuddered. If anything made Kyden that horrified, it quadrupled in her. “But as the battle ceased, Lazarus ran like the coward he is and went into hiding.”
“And they never found him?”
“Talon located him twice, but he’d grown stronger and he always got away.” He lowered her foot into the tub, and trailed his fingers over the outside of her thighs. “Truth of the matter is, he wasn’t a problem any longer.”
Nexi regarded him and the concern in his features. She hated where her thoughts took her, since she had somehow landed herself smack-dab in the middle of it. “Now he is, though?”
Kyden hesitated. “Now he is.”
Chapter Sixteen
The next night, Kyden teleported into Salt Lake City, along with Finn. His dark mood fit the atmosphere. The grimy alleyway was littered with trash, and the putrid scents were impossible to evade.
Before he had left the Otherworld, he’d spent a good hour arguing with Nexi about her staying behind. The thought of Lazarus harming her made rage look weak compared to what rushed through his veins.
Lazarus wouldn’t touch her.
Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
Of course, after he gently reminded Nexi of the blood tie she had to Lazarus, she backed down. Certain things were negotiable. Her life wasn’t one of them. He was only too glad Nexi saw it that way, too.
Focusing his thoughts away from Nexi’s safety, Kyden scanned in front of him. The only light came from the streetlight at the curb, but the source of his concern rested behind the dumpster.
Two bodies, drained of their blood, lay like suits loosely covering bones.
Turning to the Salt Lake City tracker, Alazar, he asked, “What happened?”
Dressed in dark cargo pants and a brown T-shirt, the tall, athletic werewolf stared down at the bodies, his sand-colored hair curtaining his triangular face. He finally lifted his head, and his golden eyes were troubled. “I was tracking another assignment when I scented fresh blood in the area. I detoured, arriving to this scene to find two vamps attacking these mortals.” He shook his head, sighing in frustration. “As you can see, I came a minute too late.”
Kyden regarded the ripped apart bodies. This wasn’t a bloodlust gone wrong. The vamps had intended to kill these humans as brutally as possible. Fang marks littered their bodies, as if the vamps enjoyed the pain the humans endured. However, it also explained why the Council told him Haven wasn’t needed on the assignment. Alazar already knew what had transpired, and he’d seen the accused.
Finn stepped toward the female victim, squatted, and examined her. “What of the vamps? Did you destroy them?”
“One ran off while the other attacked me.” Alazar’s eyebrows drew together with his frown, and he shifted on his feet. “I know this is unbelievable, but what I’m about to tell you is the truth. The vamp put up a damn good fight, and then he vanished.”
Kyden’s muscles tensed. “Vanished, how?”
Alazar clenched his fist, then flicked out his fingers. “Poof. Gone. One second the vamp did his best to kill me, the next he was nowhere in sight, and his scent had evaporated.”
“That sounds familiar,” Finn stated.
Alazar’s eyes widened. “You’ve come across this before?”
Kyden nodded, not liking the sound of this. By all appearances, Lazarus now used Salt Lake City as his personal hunting grounds. “We’ve got ourselves a vamp hopped up on witch blood.”
Alazar’s wide eyes now went huge. “Big trouble, then?”
“As big as it gets,” Kyden muttered.
Last night he had explained to Nexi that Lazarus thought mortals were nothing more than food, and apparently, since Lazarus had feed twice now in this