Barrett whipped around to look back at us. “Fuck, are you serious?”
I huffed a laugh. “I didn’t realize we were the topic of gossip. Clearly, the recruits aren’t working hard enough if they have time to talk.”
“I’ll be sure to drill them extra hard so they aren’t ogling you and your mate making eyes at one another,” Barrett mused.
“That sounds like jealousy to me,” Zephyr said with a teasing tone.
A cocky grin spread across Barrett’s face. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you saw the female I took back to my apartment a couple nights ago.”
Zephyr gave him an assessing look, and I let out a heavy sigh, knowing I was about to be pulled into one of their pissing matches.
“You should’ve seen the male Thalia left with last night,” Zephyr said, turning to look along the stretch of dark alley ahead of us.
It was faint, but Barrett’s shoulders tensed, his step uneven for the briefest of moments, but instead of retorting he continued forward.
“Awfully handsome, too. Whatwashis name?” Zephyr rubbed his jaw. “Shit, Damien do you remember what his name was? He’s always at Stokers, with the viper tattoo on his throat? He’s not part of The Order. Honestly, I don’t really know the guy.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you dare drag me into your lovers’ quarrel.”
Barrett’s hand balled into a fist, and my brows furrowed, but Zephyr continued when Barrett didn’t respond. “They were awfully friendly when they left.”
“That’s enough,” I said, the scent of Barrett’s anger burning the air like smoldering oak. “We’re supposed to be hunting darklings.”
I walked up beside him, placing my hand on his shoulder. “You good?”
He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and nodded. “Yeah. I will be.”
Something had happened, and by the way Barrett responded to Zephyr’s taunts, it was serious. Barrett didn’t typically lash out like this. If anything, they would go back and forth with their own snide remarks, and Zephyr would be the first to cave to his anger.
Zephyr passed us, and I waited until he was far enough to whisper, “Issheall right?”
“She is,” Barrett said through clenched teeth. “Let’s just say the bastard won’t be frequenting Stoker’s any longer.”
What the fuck had happened? “If there’s anything I can—”
“She’s fine,” he said, his steel eyes sharp as he came to a stop. “Nothing happened in the end. No one knows what he tried to do. I don’t even thinksheremembers what he tried to do, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
I nodded, relieved that, despite whatever had occurred with this male, Thalia was all right, and the bastard would never harm another female.
He drew a deep breath, and that calm cool mask fell into place again before he lifted his eyes to Zephyr. “When are you gonna finally get your dick wet and stop being such a prick?”
“Gods,” I breathed, running my hand over my face.Here we go.
Zephyr looked over his shoulder and opened his mouth to speak, but the Lupai at my sides bristled, cutting Zephyr off as they growled. Their icy blue eyes turned a blood-red, and their jaws split as they bared their teeth at the darkness around us. The temperature plummeted, the darklings’ icy presence snaking over my skin. I grabbed my dagger, but I wasn’t fast enough as two darklings launched at us from the rooftop.
A curse tore from my lips as one crashed into me, taking me to the ground. A Lupai snarled before it sank its teeth into the darkling’s leg. The creature twisted around, hissing at my shadow wolf, and when the Lupai released its hold, the darkling launched at it, jaws widening to bite down. I smiled at the way it fell through the wolf, the Lupai’s misty body rippling around the darkling before solidifying to attack again.
I found Barrett facing off against the other. Black mist swallowed Zephyr as he shifted into his massive black panther form before he launched himself at the darkling that had just attacked me.
A shriek pierced the air, and I pushed myself up as three more came at us from down the alley. Gods, five darklings. This was the second time this week a group this size had been encountered. I grasped my dagger firmly as they threw themselves at me, gangly arms reaching, claws stretched out to tear us apart. A Lupai intercepted them, jaws tearing into the throat of one while the remaining two came for me.
I sidestepped out of the reach of one and it crashed into the pavement before I sank my blade between the eyes of the other, bone crunching against the Elythian steel. It shrieked before dissolving into dust. Another slammed into my side, and I crashed into the brick wall, its claws tearing into my leather armor. The darkling flailed against my hold, desperate to get to me, jaws snapping as I sank my dagger into its chest.
It stilled, the fight slowly leaving its limbs, and I yanked my blade free. It crumbled to dust, and I slouched against the brick wall as I slid to the pavement.
Gods, I was so tired of fighting.
My eyes fell to the near frozen dagger in my hand, fragile snowflakes cascading around us. The icy crystals landed one after another atop the black and silver metal until the blade was tipped in frost and blood.
