“Because the only time I’m going to drink fresh blood again is when I’m fighting to save someone’s life, or when I’m with a partner. And we both know that won’t be you. So let it go, okay?”
The sting of his words is a door slamming closed. I grit my teeth together, afraid to push him further. Why am I even thinking about this, anyway? I don’twantJericho to drink from me. I just want him to know that if he had to…
His attention turns to the door a split second before a fierce snarl rips through the air.
“What was that?” I ask.
“If I had to guess, one of the neighbors just stopped by for a visit,” Jericho says, climbing off the bed.
“Wait, we shouldn’t—”
But he’s out of the van before I can stop him.
8
JERICHO
My mind is reeling as I climb out of the van.
I’d trust you…
Holy hell. Evan has no clue how that came across, does he? Like an offer?
He clearly has no idea how difficult this is for me, giving me way more credit than he should be. If Evan knew how much his scent tempts me, he wouldn’t even be talking to me. He’d be afraid of me, and rightly so.
As it is, I want to bathe myself in his scent and drown myself in his blood.
I tense when I climb out of the van, startled to see three wolves growling at Grant and Rowen. They all turn to look at me, and the largest of the three lunges for me with teeth bared.
Instinct kicks in, and I step to the side, throwing my arm out just in time to catch the wolf by the middle before he crashes into Evan. I toss the wolf to the ground, but he quickly climbs to his feet, still growling.
I reveal my fangs. “Fuckoff!”
“Stop!” Forest says as he steps off the front porch. Jasmine and Neal are close on his heels. “Bronson! Listen to me. He’s not a threat!”
The wolf still doesn’t back away. I keep my eyes on him and move to stand between him and Evan, ready to protect Evan with my life.
I’ve fought enough wolves in my short time as a vampire to know that when they pull back, it means they’re about to lunge. Adrenaline rushes through me as I try to come up with a plan. Do I fight him? Or flee? Which route ends up with Evan safe?
“Bronson, STOP!” Forest commands.
The two other wolves bow their heads, but this one—a massive red wolf with copper ears—ignores him and snarls at me again, digging his paws into the dirt. He must be an alpha himself, to ignore another alpha like that. Great.
As soon as he draws back on his hind legs, I turn and loop an arm around Evan’s waist, pulling him to me as I leap straight up into the air. Evan grunts in surprise, hands digging into my arms as he mutters a loud, “Oh shit!”
The distinct crunch of metal makes me groan, though it hadn’t come from us landing on the van. It came from the wolf who just slammed into the side. The poor van has taken so much damage these last two days.
I pull away from Evan to peer down at the wolf. “Shift, Alpha, so we can talk!”
The alpha snarls then shifts into a tall man with cropped dark hair. He has beautiful dark skin and amber eyes that are anything but welcoming. “Howdareyou attack—”
Forest cuts him off. “He did not attack us, Bronson! He’s going to fight Foxx with us!”
That gets Bronson’s attention. He turns on his heel to face Forest. “What?”
Forest tries again. “That’s what I was trying to explain on the phone. He’s here tohelp.”
Jasmine takes a few steps toward us, arm outstretched. “Please, just listen,” she pleads. “Jericho has just as much reason to kill Foxx as we do.”
