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“I want to see your eyes when I’m talking to you.”
He pulled them off and tucked them into the neck of his T-shirt. His eyes appeared white in the sunlight. Shock sent her reeling back a step. They were exactly like hers. The wonder of it had her lifting her hand toward his face. Cursing her wayward reaction, she dropped it back by her side.Don’t get distracted.“Why did you do it?”
“Do what, specifically?”
“You know what I’m talking about. The wolf or dog or whatever it is you sent to my apartment last night to scare me. The claw marks on the door. Is that your idea of keeping me safe?” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. It was better than wrapping them around his neck. Not that they’d come anywhere near to making it all the way.
“That wasn’t me.” His pupils didn’t change. His gaze was direct. He didn’t glance away or give any of the telltale signs of someone who was lying. And she was a human barometer for liars. He was either telling the truth or was a complete sociopath. Neither option was particularly reassuring.
A light breeze ruffled her hair. A horn blared as a truck roared by. All around them, people were going about their normal day. It was all so surreal, as if she was no longer a part of it but a spectator. The outrage bled out of her, leaving only exhaustion in its wake. “If you didn’t do it, who did?”
…
Zoe was a burst of color in a sea of black. The yellow shirt she wore reminded him of a dandelion. Most people didn’t appreciate the unassuming wildflower, treated it as nothing more than a weed. But it was resilient, thriving in the toughest of environments, putting down roots in impossible places. He hoped she was half as tough. She’d have to be to have a chance at surviving.
“I don’t know.” It was more an omission of truth than a lie. He didn’t know the name of the wolf he was hunting. It burned his gut that he hadn’t been able to track the rogue, but he hadn’t wanted to leave the immediate area, fearing the creature would slip around him and return.
Nothing should’ve been as important as hunting his prey. But every time he’d moved beyond about a city block, the tug in his chest would bring him back.
“You don’t know.” She said the words slowly, as if deciphering each one as she spoke. “That’s just dandy. My life was completely ordinary yesterday morning. Since I met you, I’ve fought with the only friend I have—which I suppose I can’t really blame on you—acquired a shadow—that’s you, in case you were wondering—who’s either a stalker or an overzealous protector, and had a half-wild dog scare the life out of me and deface my apartment door.”
A muscle in his jaw clenched. She wasn’t totally wrong. Trouble followed him. Or he followed trouble. In the end, it was the same thing. He watched her closely, searching for any sign she was lying, but found none. She was either the best actress he’d ever encountered, or she was telling the truth. Neither reassured him. Involved with the rogue, she was a problem. Innocent, she became a bigger one, and that was without factoring in the unexplained allure between them.
I could use her as bait.It was something he’d done in the past. Using whatever means necessary to complete the job. Rogues often fixated on their targets. This one certainly had. Generating fear fed the beast in them, making their kill all the sweeter. If he tracked the target, the rogue always showed.
He’d saved many humans, been too late to save others. The thought of some rogue harming Zoe had his wolf snarling.
“Since you don’t know anything, we’re done.” Spinning around, she started to walk away.
Let her go.It would be better for both of them if he watched over her from afar and took out the rogue before he got close.
He snagged her hand before she’d made it two steps. “Let me buy you a coffee.” Where had that come from? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d shared a meal with someone. Eating in a restaurant didn’t count. He was among people, yet apart. He had to reach back to the time before his first shift, before his life had changed forever. He’d never bought a woman a coffee.
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Her shock made him want to smile—another anomaly. Being around her was changing him on a fundamental level. He had no doubt it would come back to bite him in the ass at some point, but it was worth the risk. Besides, if the rogue was watching, it might draw him out. His wolf snorted, not buying the rationalization any more than Devlin was.
“You want to buy me a coffee?”
He nodded. He wanted to do more than that. He wanted to rub his body over hers, mark her with his scent, so every wolf that might cross her path would know she belonged to him.
“Why?”
Their existence had to remain a secret from full humans. It was the one unassailable law his kind lived by. But Zoe had been targeted by a wolf spiraling into bloodlust. This situation was far outside the norm. And screw it. He was judge and executioner for their kind. Who was going to challenge his decision?
The gray or black wolf. Maybe both.
Had fate foreseen this moment and brought them into the world at the same time as him for this purpose? He wouldn’t go down easily. It would take the two of them to even have a chance to defeat him. It wasn’t bragging or overconfidence. He understood himself and his skills.
A choice lay before him. Whatever his decision, there would be a reckoning at some point. There always was. Every year of his life, all the trials, tribulations, challenges, blood, and sweat had led to this moment.
The air around them stilled, growing heavy. His wolf grew silent. He could walk away and save himself or he could do everything in his power to protect the woman in front of him. He hadn’t asked for this, but fate didn’t care.
If she died because he did nothing, he was no better than the monsters he hunted. Her blood would be on his hands. “You deserve the truth. There are things you should know.”
He could almost hear her internal debate. Finally, she gave a curt nod. “The truth would be good. Here works.”
Relief flooded him. Until she’d agreed, he hadn’t been aware how much he wanted this. Swallowing a howl of triumph, he pulled open the door and waited for her to enter.
She marched up to the counter with him right behind her.
