It takes a second for it to hit. “Oh.” I wait for her to be disgusted, but she does the exact opposite. “That makes sense; it’s not like you can do sports drinks. You could have just said that. We could have made sure you had some nearby.”
“I’m pretty sure drinking blood in front of this crowd would have drawn some attention,” I tell her wryly.
She rolls her eyes. “It’s not like we would have announced it. We could have just put it in a dark bottle. Nobody would have known.” I’m so shocked by how well she’s taking this. “Next time,” she says.
“Got it.” I take my clothes from her and slip on my boots and jacket. “Who’s Hunter fighting?” I ask out of curiosity.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yeah. That’s why I asked.”
She grins maniacally at me. “Let’s go see.”
Liam starts talking about the last fight of the night and really builds it up, and I wait for him to announce who Hunter’s fighting. “Just get to the point,” I mutter under my breath.
Raechel laughs. “Oh, Liam’s in his element. He's going to draw this out as long as possible.”
I’m almost back to my seat when Liam finally announces who Hunter’s opponent is going to be. I turn to the ring in time to see Garrett duck under the rope. I watch as Hunter approaches the ring and does the same. He steps into the corner and takes off his shirt. I swallow hard at all those muscles on display. But when I look at his eyes, unease fills me. The look he’s eyeing Garrett with is not one of a guy looking forward to a good fight. It’s the look of a guy that wants to tear his enemy to shreds. I’m already moving that way before I stop to think about it. I don’t know what’s going on, but this is not going to be good. I can feel it deep inside. I’m almost to the ring when Max gives the go-ahead. I stand still, waiting to see what’s going to happen. Nothing happens at first, but then Garrett goes on the offensive. Hunter simply avoids his hits, and I watch him even as I clench and unclench my fists. And then Hunter explodes into action. I suck in a breath at the brutal force behind Hunter’s hits. Garrett meets him in kind.
I stand just a few feet from the fight. “Is Hunter trying to work out something?” Raechel calls out above the noise of the crowd. I don’t answer because I have no idea what’s going on. I move closer to the fight, but Raechel puts her hand on my arm. “Best not to get too close.” I resist the urge to shake her off. I wait a moment and then move away from her, dislodging her hold on my arm. “Sherese, wait.”
But I’m already at the ring. Max turns slightly, still keeping an eye on the fight. “Stay back.” I hear his voice over the fight, but I ignore him. I’m worried about Hunter. I’ve never seen him like this. There’s a darkness, more than usual, surrounding him.He ends a series of brutal hits and moves back, and Garrett moves back to his side. For just a moment, Hunter turns his head and locks eyes with me. I suck in a breath, and the air stalls in my chest.His eyes.I’m up and under the rope in the next second, but it’s too late. Hunter’s already on the attack again.
“End it now,” I tell Max, yelling over the music. He hesitates, glancing down at me. I look up at him, so he can see I’m not messing around. “You have to end it right now.”
He doesn’t question me. He raises his hand, but Hunter doesn’t respond. He and Garrett are going at it, and I know this is going to end in disaster. “Hunter.” I don’t raise my voice; I just call his name. I can tell the instant he hears my voice. His entire body tightens, and he spins around, leaving his back exposed to Garrett. His eyes lock on mine, and that dark gaze makes me shiver. I walk over to him. “Let’s go. Now.” I can tell he’s not going to listen; he’s too far gone. I know the entire pack is watching right now. I get right in his face. “I need you to listen to me. We need to leave right now.” And then I put my hand on his arm. That does something finally. The darkness recedes just a little bit. “We need to leave,” I say again. This time, his eyes focus on me. I think he gives me a nod, and then we’re moving. Max holds the ropes for us, and I climb through, never releasing my hold on his arm. I will him to just get out of there. I hear Liam’s voice in the mic, but I ignore it. I lead us towards the exit. I’m sort of surprised he’s letting me keep my hand on him, but I’m afraid if I let go, he’ll return to finish what he started. But that’s not going to happen. Hunter wasn’t fighting for the love of a good fight. He was fighting like he wanted to kill Garrett.
We step outside, and I pause. “Are you good to head back to the house?” He doesn’t look at me, but he nods. The door opens behind us, and I really hope it’s not Garrett.
“Sherese.” I turn at the sound of Wyatt’s voice. “Catch.” He throws a set of keys, and I catch them midair. He disappearswithout another word, and I turn to Hunter since I don’t drive. He takes the keys from me without hesitation. He surprises me by opening my door for me. I slide in, and he shuts the door behind me. He climbs in behind the wheel and pulls out. I don’t look over at him, but I can still feel the intensity radiating off him. The drive doesn’t take long. He shuts off the engine and is out the door a moment later. I open my door before he comes around and lead the way inside. As soon as he closes the door, I whirl on him.
“What was that?” He doesn’t look at me but walks past me into the living room. I follow him. “Hunter. What was that?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.” His voice is dark.
I realize for the first time since we left that he’s not wearing a shirt. We never grabbed it from the ring. I walk over to the couch where his bag is. Without asking, I open his bag and dig through it for a shirt. “Catch.” I toss it at him, and he snags it mid-air. He pulls it over his head a moment later. Then we stand just a few feet apart, and I’m at a total loss for words. “Your eyes,” I finally say.
He looks up then and meets my gaze. His eyes are not nearly as dark as they were, but they’re still not back to normal. “What about them?” he challenges.
I’m suddenly no longer tongue-tied. “You’re a vampire or at least part vampire.” I’ve always known there was a dark side to Hunter, but tonight proved it. The moment I saw his eyes, there was no question in my mind. I’ve lived with vampires for years. I know what happens when they get angry. I’ve seen it so often; it’s impossible to mistake. “When a vampire is in a rage, or on the verge of a rage, their eyes go impossibly dark.” My words are cautious, and I watch him carefully. “I know what you are.” He doesn’t say a word; he doesn’t even look at me. “It’s okay,” I say softly. “I won’t tell anyone, and I didn’t mean to pull youfrom that fight.” I lift my chin. “But I know what happens when vampires lose control.” A shiver courses through me. “I didn’t want that to happen—”
“What happened?” he asks in a gruff voice.
His question throws me. “What?”
He steps closer, and now his eyes meet mine. I see his eyes are super intense, and that darkness is making itself known again. I swallow and resist the urge to take a step back, even though my internal radar is screaming at me to back away from him. I know for a fact just how dangerous male vampires can be, especially in a rage. He raises his hand, and I raise my arms in a fight stance. He freezes, taking in my raised arms and fighting stance. His arm drops to his side. “I would never hurt you.”
“Okay.”
He stares at me, and I watch him warily. “My father was a vampire, and my mother was a wolf.”
I stare at him. “That’s not possible.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“My mom didn’t know if my wolf side or my vampire side would win out. Spoiler, it was my wolf side, but the vampire traits aren’t exactly absent.”
I stare at him, trying to understand. “But vampires only create vampires; they can’t procreate.” He doesn’t say anything. “That’s...” I have no words.Terrifying.
