Now I’d never been one to lay a finger on a woman, even if she was a supernatural creature. But these amateurs apparently needed a big neon sign drenched in blood to tell them I wasn’t interested in their little group. It didn’t help that she hadn’t just insulted Jack but had threatened her life.
I’d killed for Jack for much less already. What was one more?
Chapter three
Tate
IfelthimbeforeI saw him. Kyren, on the sidewalk, talking to some woman. Jack luckily hadn’t noticed him yet, her arms full of a large white and pink cartoon kitten I had convinced her to let me buy for her.
“So what now?” Jack asked, laughing at something I’d said before.
I glanced at Kyren and then back down to Jack, trying to keep my face neutral to what was happening. “Why don’t we put your child away and find something to eat?”
Jack scoffed. “Child? Me? Never.”
I twisted a lock of her curly ebony hair around my finger and leaned down as if to kiss her. “Never say never.” Then I snatched the stuffed animal and ran toward the car.
Jack cried out in surprise and came running after me just as I wanted. Kyren and the woman had disappeared off the sidewalk and hopefully weren’t drawing attention to themselves. I’d haveto talk to him about what he was doing here later. Right now, I had to protect Jack, even if she didn’t know it yet.
About halfway to the car, the scent of blood hit me. My footsteps faltered, and I glanced back to see that Jack was no longer chasing after me. She had her head turned toward the same scent. Then, without saying anything to me, she started running back toward the smell.
“Jack!” I called out, but she didn’t listen. I tossed the stuffed animal aside and chased after her.
A part of me knew that Kyren and the woman hadn’t been flirting or just chit-chatting about the weather. While the former had been concerning to let Jack witness, I almost preferred it to what she was about to discover, because the blood stinking the air wasn’t Kyren’s.
I caught up to Jack as she came upon an alley between two buildings near where we had just been. Placing a hand on her shoulder, I tried to dissuade her from going in.
“Jack, princess. Come on, let’s go find something to eat. This isn’t our business.”
Thankfully, the scent of the stranger’s blood was so potent that it covered up Kyren’s presence. If she knew it was him, she wouldn’t hesitate to go barging down the alley just to get in his face, and this was a side of him I wasn’t sure she was ready to see yet.
Jack shrugged me off with a scowl. “I might not be an active hunter, but I still have a duty to protect those against the supernatural.”
Shaking my head, I stepped in front of her. “But we were having such a good time. Do we really want to ruin it with work?”
Her brows furrowed for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest. My massive jacket, which I had given her earlier, engulfed her, making her look more innocent than she was.
“Why are you trying so hard to stop me from going in there?”
I offered her a small smile. “I’m just trying not to ruin the mood of our date. I’m supposed to be showing you there’s more to life than hunting. And I can’t do that if you try to hunt on our date. Now, can I?”
Jack stared at me for so long that I thought I’d lost her before she dropped her arms and sighed. “Alright. Fine. You’re right. I’m sorry.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit a few buttons on the screen. “But I have to call this in.”
“No, Jack, don’t.” I went to grab for her phone.
To my surprise, she ducked under my arm and stalked into the alley before I could stop her. God fucking damn it. I’d been tricked by my own hopefulness.
Chasing after her, I tried to prepare for what we’d find in the alley when I almost walked into her back, where she had stopped dead in her tracks. My eyes took a second to adjust, and then I saw what had made her pause.
Shadows almost obscured the view of Kyren standing over what no longer looked like anything but a pile of meat. The blonde and black hair of the woman he’d been talking to before was the only distinguishing feature that told me what I was looking at.
Kyren lifted a hand to the wall, tracing his blood-soaked fingers over the brick of the building.
A small, startled sound escaped Jack, jerking Kyren’s attention to us. His gaze landed on me before shifting over to Jack. Regret mixed with rage filled his face.
“Kyren, what are you…?” Jack trailed off, stepping toward him. “How could you…?”
Not answering her, Kyren stepped back from the wall and into his shadows, letting them surround him until he was gone.
