Once Upon a Shifter (46 page)

With everyone thinking I was angry, I was taking a wild guess that it would be at least thirty minutes before anyone realized I was gone. That was a good head start. From the vague vibe I was feeling from Jess and the other traitors, I was looking at covering a distance of about four miles. I ran that nearly every morning, and the time it took to get there would allow my wolf and me time to figure out what we were going to do when we got there.

Cutting the bitch was what my wolf wanted to do, and I couldn't honestly say that I wasn't on board with that plan, but I was smart enough to know that I couldn't take on eight werewolves on my own. I would have to find their hideout and come back with my pack. Bringing Phoenix and his clan to watch my back in case any of my wolves were really on Jessica's side was a smart thing to do, so I would let them come, too, not that I would really get a choice in the matter; I doubted he would stay behind even if I begged him to.

A loud clatter had my head whipping around to look behind me again. An aluminum trash can lay on its side, its contents spilling into the street. A tabby cat peeked around the edge of the torn trash bag and I exhaled in relief. I was a sad case, indeed. I laughed at myself. I was not used to being the monster.

"I aim to change that, Mena."

I rolled my eyes at my wolf.
"You just be you and let me be me and we'll get along just fine."

Soft laughter filled my head and I had to smile. I had to admit that I liked her, regardless of how much trouble she was causing me with Phoenix. At least we had come to a compromise. I didn't know how well said compromise was going to work out, or even if it would at all, but I was willing to try. Everyone deserved a shot at happiness, even with as insane as our case may be.

As I turned my head back around to continue on my journey, I ran smack-dab into the hard chest of a man. He was in shadow, so I couldn't see his face. Stumbling back, I attempted to get my balance, but his arms closed tightly around my body, jerking me to him and trapping my arms down at my sides so I couldn't move.

Struggling against his solid hold on me, I opened my mouth to let out a scream, but he twisted me around and clamped a hand over my mouth so fast that I didn't know what was happening until I was being pulled backward, away from the security of the streetlights that lined the suburban road.

I raised my knee up then brought my foot down hard on the toe of his shoe. He let out a muffled grunt, but continued to drag me into the shadows.

This had to be one of the werewolves. The strength alone told me that. They had to have been watching my house, just waiting for me to leave. This bastard was going to kill me if I didn't do something.

My wolf stirred under my skin. She wanted out and it was the first time since I'd been bitten that I agreed with that plan. With only a little more than human strength and quick reflexes, it wasn't possible for me to handle a grown male werewolf on my own.

My final option, before letting my wolf free, was try to at least injure him. I hoped that would be enough to make him loosen his grip on me enough so I could run. If he gave chase, I would have to concede and let my wolf take over.

Gripping the dagger tighter in my palm, I rotated my wrist and drove the blade into his side as hard as I could. An ear-piercing ululation erupted from his throat and he let go of me. I didn't wait or look back. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, adrenaline and my wolf giving me the speed and strength to push my muscles past what a human would be able to endure.

"Mena… Mena!" I heard the cry behind me, but my mind wasn't registering anything except panic and the need to get as far away from my attacker as possible. "Mena—wait! It's me…" A strangled groan had me slowing. "…it's… it's Phoenix. I—I'm so sorry, Mena."

I froze, not wanting to look back at the man, terrified that what he'd spoken was true. If it was—if I turned and saw those ice-blue eyes staring back at me, it would destroy any trust I had ever had in him.

"Please, Mena, I never meant to hurt you. I was only trying to scare you so you would realize what a stupid stunt going off on your own to find the killers was. What were you thinking?"

The blood rushed through my veins at an impossible speed, and fury washed over me in waves as I stood there trying to decide whether to walk away or allow my wolf to rip Phoenix's head off. She was all for the second option.

I heard him cough, and then groan in agony. I imagined he was pulling the dagger out of whatever organ I had been lucky enough to hit. There was a lot of heavy, ragged breathing and two more guttural-sounding coughs. It appeared as though I had hit a lung.
Too bad it wasn't his heart!
I wasn't sure stabbing him in the heart with a silver blade would kill him, but I would have put money on a bet that it would have been a hell of a lot more painful.

I turned my head to glare at him, but the hatred I had expected to feel wasn't there. He had fallen to his knees, and his head was bent, his eyes focused on the bright red stain spreading across his new shirt.

Shaking my head, I looked up to the sky and asked, "Why me?" After receiving no answer, I sighed and began the one-hundred-meter walk back to Phoenix.

Chapter 17

Mena

"Ouch!" Phoenix yelped. "Damn, Mena, take it easy. I'm immortal, not invincible. That hurts!"

As I put a piece of tape over the last corner of gauze, I rolled my eyes and stood with the First Aid supplies in my hands. "Oh, shut up, you big baby. It's barely even a scratch now. I'm amazed at how quickly vampires heal."

Phoenix gave me a heart-melting smirk. It was impossible to stay angry with him when he did that. Damn him! I wasn't done being upset, but I supposed we were even, since I shoved a dagger through his right lung.

"You heal just as swiftly as I do, Lupacchiotto."

I frowned. "Well, I don't want you stabbing me with a silver blade so I can find out how swiftly I heal."

He lost his smile. "You wouldn't heal at all if someone stabbed you with silver. It's lethal to werewolves—anywhere on the body. The metal is like poison. It spreads… and destroys."

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't accidentally poke myself while putting the weapons on then."

He seemed to be contemplating my words for a moment then he shook his head. "I think I need to have Jaxon make you a set of steel blades. I'm not sure if the silver daggers would be lethal to you if you just barely nicked yourself, but I don't want to risk it."

"Will steel protect me against a werewolf?"

Pressing his lips together, Phoenix picked up the empty packaging from the gauze I had used to dress his wound and wadded it in his fist. "No," he finally said, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was, that there was someone on the inside watching and just waiting for the right time to take me out.

"Well, I will just have to be careful when I handle them then, right?"

He turned and took my arm, encouraging me to look him in the eyes. Any sign of joking had faded from his expression. "Make sure you do, Mena. As much as I would like to be with you and protect you twenty-four-seven, it's not possible. It kills me to think something might happen to you during the daytime, and I won't be able to get to you. Maybe it's not a bad idea for Alex to be here during the day."

I started to protest, but he held up his hand, silencing me instantly.

"Can you honestly tell me that you trust your pack? All of them?"

My shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm not sure."

"I'll consider that a no. You are their Alpha, Mena. You shouldn't fear anyone who is beneath you."

"They aren't beneath me—"

"They are, Mena. If you don't act like you are their Alpha, someone will step up and take it from you; they will take you from me. It isn't a game, and it won't just be a brawl. If you are challenged, you will fight until you or your opponent is dead." He shook me a little. "Do you understand?"

Hot tears stung my eyes and I fought them back as I nodded. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what; nothing would come to me. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, with the massive lump in my throat constricting my vocal chords.

Phoenix pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. One of his hands came up to rest on the back of my head and he kissed my forehead sweetly.

"I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, but I am begging you to stay with me at night and allow Alex to stay with you during the day, at least until we find and destroy the killer. I honestly believe, with him being here, none of them will try to hurt you for fear of being exposed. I'm not going to say they won't try to kill him, but he's the one who offered to protect you."

"A human, Phoenix. He offered to protect the human Mena, not a werewolf. He has no idea what he's getting into."

He shrugged. "He'll find out soon enough. You know as well as I do that your wolf plans to make him hers…" He grimaced. "…in every way."

I didn't know when I had actually made the choice to be more than friends with Phoenix. Our situation was more complicated than a Rubik's Cube, but I guess I had, at some point. I had no doubt the man would have been able to talk me into doing anything. And kissing him was no hardship, but a relationship? I knew if I gave in to him and agreed to stay at his compound at night that we would end up being more than what we are now; we just had too much chemistry for that not to happen. But I was leery to let anyone get too close. I had trusted Marc, and he had hurt me. I knew no two people were the same, but the wounds were still fresh. What was wrong with taking things slow? We barely knew each other, for cryin' out loud!

I shrugged out of his embrace and took a step back. "Phoenix, I—"

He huffed as he ran a hand through that beautiful hair of his. Damn it, I was getting distracted again! "What is it, Mena?"

I flung my arms out toward him. "You! I'm a little freaked out with how fast this is all moving between us. I can't do this right now—"

"Don't do this. I won't let you shut me out—"

"Phoenix, I am not ignorant to what will happen if I stay with you. We are too attracted to each other for something not to transpire between us. I just don't think I'm ready for the next step."

"What if I promise not to touch you? My only concern is your safety."

I walked back into his personal space and placed my hand on his cheek. He reached up and covered my fingers with his. "It's not you I'm worried about, Phoenix. I don't trust myself not to come to your bed."

Phoenix's hands came up quick and grabbed my face as his eyes bore into mine; they dilated until only a sliver of blue could be seen around the pupil. The sweet scent of him overwhelmed me so much that I swayed on my feet a little. My eyes were drawn to his mouth as his tongue slid out to wet his lips. I thought he was going to kiss me, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Those magnificent eyes glared into mine as if he were looking through them. "Come out, wolf," he growled. "We need to talk."

I gasped.
"No!"

My wolf smiled with my lips. "You called me, vampire. Now, what are you going to do with me?"

V''''V

Alex

Brady Lancaster, another of Montgomery's medical examiners, zipped up the black body bag over what remained of Mena's friend. There hadn't been much left of the body to put in there.

"Damn," Alex said quietly. Not giving that girl a rematch would haunt him for the rest of his life. Maybe if he had played just one more game the cops wouldn't be knocking on the door of her next of kin right now.

His job was done here, for the moment. Waiting for forensics and lab results to come back could take days, but that wouldn't stop him from finding the SOB who had murdered this girl.

Alex was almost positive the killer was the same person who had taken Marc's life; coincidences like that didn't happen every day. Plus, it had been Mena's car, not Katie's.

He shuddered for at least the tenth time since he'd received the call from the chief.

Glancing back at the house, he saw something unexpected: Mena, standing on her front porch, arms crossed loosely over her chest and watching him. His heart gave a little flutter at seeing her alive and safe.
But for how long?
Terror managed to creep its way into his thoughts before he could put a halt on that shit. It made him want to vomit, and puking all over Mena's landscape wouldn't win him any brownie points with her, so he swallowed a few times, desperately trying to get control over his gag reflexes.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like I did. I was just angry over what happened to Katie and… I don't like when other people try to choose what is best for me."

Alex shook his head as he walked up the wide sidewalk to the front steps. Noticing a porch swing out of the corner of his vision, he nodded toward it. "Let's sit and talk."

Uneasily, her gaze moved toward the front door, like she was waiting for something to happen or someone to join her.

"You don't need your bodyguards, Mena, not around me."

She snickered as she walked to the swing. "I was actually waiting for Phoenix. I guess he's still explaining everything to the others."

Alex's brow furrowed as he sat at the opposite end of the swing than she had taken. "I want to ask what he's explaining, but before I do, I would like to ask another question, since we're alone."

"You want to know what Phoenix is to me," she said.

His tongue clucked against his teeth and he leaned forward, letting his elbows rest on his knees, stopping the swing's easy glide. "You told me you weren't having an affair, so I'm at a loss here. It seems to me like he's more than just a friend, but that's what he told me you were to him. I have to be honest, Mena; I don't believe him. It's obvious he's attracted to you."