Moonlight Kin 4: Tristan (3 page)

Tristan gritted his teeth. He was not used to
sparring with sharp-tongued, purple-haired hoydens who didn’t know
what was good for them.

As the Enforcer for the Lycanian Elders,
people respected and feared him. Known for his cold countenance and
unwavering tenacity, Tristan took great pride in his position. The
impression he made had never bothered him until now. Of course up
until now, it had never been thrown in his face.

“I am as sane as you are,” he snarled, moving
his face closer to hers. “The only difference is I have a stronger
sense of self-preservation. You, Ms. Purple Hair, have a death
wish.”

Isabel put her hands on her hips and glared
at him. “And you, Snowball, can suck my big toe!”

* * * * *

Did he really think she was that stupid? Only
a fool would trust one of them with their lives. They were the
monsters, the creatures that came out of the night to swallow you
up.

Either that or he had an overinflated opinion
of his kissing abilities. Izzy glanced at his harsh mouth. Okay,
maybe he deserved some bragging rights on that front, but that
wasn’t the point.

“Listen, I’m not sure who you think I am, but
you have the wrong girl.” Izzy hoped he didn’t notice the tremor in
her voice.

“Scents don’t lie,” he said.

Izzy swallowed hard. “Well this time your
schnoz
is wrong. So why don’t you just be a good frost giant
and run along?”

His mercury eyes glistened, then he slowly
blinked. “Is there something wrong with your hearing?” He snapped
his finger next to her ear.

Izzy flushed and shoved his hand away. “No,
is there something wrong with
yours
?”

He stiffened. “I can hear things you never
knew existed,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Good for you, Snowflake, but you’re still
wrong about me,” she said, more boldly than she felt.

The voices that had been in the distance grew
louder. Perhaps if they got close enough, Izzy could scream for
help. She had no doubt the giant of a man beside her wouldn’t like
the attention.

His silver eyes narrowed. “Don’t even think
about it,” he hissed.

“Think about what?” she asked innocently.

“Whatever was going through your little
purple head,” he said.

“I didn’t say anything, Whiteout,” Izzy
said.

“You didn’t have to,” he snarled.

The man raised his head and sniffed the air.
The canine move startled her.

“Your pursuer has changed directions,” he
said after another moment.

Izzy smiled. “Great! Then I guess I’ll see
you around, Snow Drift.”

“My name is Tristan Chevalier.” He flashed
astonishingly white teeth. “I suggest you remember it. You’ll be
hearing it a lot.”

She took a step back. “I don’t want to know
your name.”

Her confession brought out a frown, but
Tristan didn’t comment. “Whether you like it or not, we are stuck
together.” He held up a hand. “At least for the time being.”

“Yeah.” Izzy shook her head. “I don’t think
so. I’m a solo act. Besides, how do you know that I’m the one being
hunted? It might be after you,” she said.

“Oh, it would definitely like to kill me,”
Tristan said nonchalantly. “Of that there is no doubt.”

“I know the feeling, Frosty,” Izzy
muttered.

Tristan scowled. “But I will not give it or
you the opportunity.”

She believed him. Izzy couldn’t imagine much
taking Tristan down. “If you’re so big and bad, why do you need
me?” she asked. “It’s not like I can help. I’m crap in a fight.
Just ask my sister.”

Tristan cocked his head. “There wasn’t time
to ask Mindy,” he said.

Fear engulfed Izzy. How did Tristan know
about her sister? She didn’t like the look he gave her. “How do you
know Mindy?” she asked, bracing for his answer.

This time his smile left her chilled to the
bone. “If she hasn’t already, she will soon mate with one of the
Moonlight Kin.”

Izzy shook her head in denial. “My sister
would never marry a monster.”

Tristan’s smile became colder, if that were
even possible. “Not all monsters are created equal. I pray for your
sake that you don’t learn that firsthand.”

Izzy shivered and glanced away. She needed to
get to a phone to warn Mindy, then she needed to get out of
town.

A police cruiser rolled to a stop behind
Tristan. The officers climbed out of their car. This was it. This
was her chance to get away from Frosty, the crazy snowman.

Tristan raised one powdery white brow and
waited for her to answer.

“Forget it,” she said, then in the next
breath yelled for the police.

His head whipped around too late. The
officers were already approaching them. Tristan cursed loudly and
glared at her.

“You’re a fool,” he said, then took off
across the park.

Izzy watched him go. Hopefully that would be
the last time she saw him. An odd sense of disappointment followed
the thought.

“Jeez, girl, it was just a kiss,” she
muttered then approached the police. “Thank goodness you guys got
here when you did. I think he was going to mug me.”

* * * * *

The police escorted Izzy home and checked her
apartment. As they departed, they warned her to stay away from
tourists.

Izzy waved goodbye, then quickly shut the
door and locked it. She wasn’t safe anymore. Not that she’d ever
truly been, but she thought she’d have a little more time in New
Orleans before she’d have to go.

She glanced around her studio. Other than a
daybed, which served as both a couch and a place to sleep, there
wasn’t much in the place. Her foldable table and chair were with
Everly.

The blood drained from Izzy’s face. Oh gawd,
she had to warn Everly about Tristan. It wasn’t safe for her to
stay either.

Izzy tossed clothes and her essentials into
her tote bag. She was in the middle of packing when someone knocked
on the door. Izzy’s heart jumped into her throat.

Had Tristan found her already? Maybe the
police had returned? Was it too much to hope for that they’d found
Tristan and arrested him?

She grabbed the bat she kept next to the
daybed and quietly tiptoed to the front door. Izzy peeked out the
peephole and saw a dark-haired, handsome guy standing on her porch.
She didn’t recognize him. He looked young enough to be in college.
Was he lost?

It wouldn’t be the first time that someone
knocked on her door by mistake, but after the night she’d had, Izzy
wasn’t taking any chances.

She checked again, this time using her gift.
A swirl of darkness surrounded him, but Izzy didn’t detect a beast.
However, the darkness didn’t bode well. She decided to ignore him
and keep packing.

“Please, Isabel. I need to talk to you,” he
said. “I know you’re in there.”

He knew her name. How did he know her
name?

Izzy cracked the door open, but didn’t remove
the chain. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“Isabel?” he asked, as if he were unsure now
that he got a look at her.

That gave her pause. “What do you want with
her?” Izzy asked.

He stared at her. Like Frosty, this man was
good-looking. The kind of guy most college-aged girls would welcome
with open arms and open legs. Unlike Frosty, he seemed nervous.

“I came to warn you that you’re in danger,”
he said. “Can I please come in?”

Gooseflesh rose on Izzy’s arms, and she
glanced behind him to make sure Tristan wasn’t hiding in the
bushes. The thought almost made her laugh. Almost.

“My name is...” He glanced around. “Stone,”
he said after a moment.

“Okay,
Stone
.” Izzy emphasized his odd
name so he’d know she didn’t believe him. “What can I do for
you?”

“It’s not what you can do for me, it’s what I
can do for you,” he said, surprising her. “I know this is going to
sound crazy, but there are monsters after you.”

“Monsters?” Izzy asked, trying to hide her
shock. “Why would you say something like that?”

His amber gaze met hers, and he swallowed
hard. “Because they’re after me, too.”

Izzy reared back in shock. No wonder he’d
given her a fake name. He knew the truth. Stone opened his mouth to
say more, but she held up a finger to stop him. “Wait.” Izzy closed
the door to unhook the chain then opened it again. “Please come
in.”

He flashed her a quick smile. “Thank you for
the much- needed invitation,” he said, then swept into the
room.

Izzy ignored the odd churning sensation in
her gut. There wasn’t time to examine it. She had to get out of
here.

“We don’t have much time,” he said, as if
reading her mind. “I have reason to believe that you’re being
stalked.”

Fear tightened her chest. She’d met her
stalker already. What Izzy needed to know was if there were more of
them hunting her.

“Have you seen or heard anything odd lately?”
Stone asked.

Other than being kidnapped by an iceberg
earlier, no, not lately. Izzy shook her head.

Stone scanned her small apartment, taking it
all in with one glance. “You need to get some clothes together and
come with me,” he said.

Izzy wasn’t going anywhere with him or anyone
else. “How do you know about the monsters?” she asked.

“I sense them,” Stone said. “Don’t you?”

Yes, she did, but she rarely came across
others like herself. Everly was the first person she’d met in years
that had a true gift.

“That’s why they want me so bad.” Stone’s
head came up, and he turned toward the open door. “He’s coming,” he
hissed. “We have to go now!”

“No,” Izzy said. Although Stone seemed
genuinely distressed, she didn’t know this man. “I’ll be okay on my
own.”

His eyes turned pleading. “I’m not kidding,”
Stone said. “He’s coming. I can feel him like an itch beneath my
skin.”

An irritating rash
... Definitely
sounded like Tristan. “I feel him, too,” she said calmly, though
calm wasn’t what Izzy felt at all. She wanted to smash the stupid
butterflies flitting around in her stomach. “You should go, while
you can.”

Stone shook his dark head. “You don’t
understand the danger you’re in,” he said. “We should stick
together.”

She did, but there wasn’t time to convince
Stone. Izzy was well aware of what could happen to her if she let
her guard down.

“The thing that’s coming is a killer,” Stone
said.

Izzy knew that, too, since Tristan had
admitted as much, though she wasn’t sure how much was truth and how
much was bluster. “Have you seen him?”

Stone shook his head.

“Well I have,” she said. “You really need to
go before he gets here.”

Stone scanned her apartment. “Do you have a
cell phone?” he asked.

“No.” Izzy had always been afraid that the
monsters would use it to track her, so she’d avoided them.

Stone pulled a cell phone out of the pocket
of his jeans. He shoved the phone into her hands. “Take this. The
number is in the address book, along with one where I can be
reached. Once you find someplace to hide, call me and let me know
that you’re safe.”

“I will,” she said.

His gaze continued to dart toward the door.
“Are you sure you won’t come with me?”

“Positive,” she said.

Stone looked as if he wanted to say more but
instead shook his head. “I really have to go. If you run into
trouble, call! I’ll come and get you anywhere, anytime.”

He bolted out the door before she had the
chance to respond and disappeared down the street.

Izzy saw a streak of white flash by and knew
exactly who was on his trail. She prayed that Stone was faster, but
there wasn’t anything she could do to help him. Izzy glanced back
at her tote bag.

She had to get out of here before Frosty
found her again. Izzy finished packing and left a note and some
money on the counter for her landlord. She glanced at the small
apartment she’d called home one last time, then shut the door.

Only one place she could think to go. She
hoped Everly didn’t mind the company. Ultimately, it didn’t matter.
If Tristan Chevalier found her, then he’d easily find Everly. Izzy
wasn’t about to leave Louisiana without warning her friend.

* * * * *

The scent of the Darkling burned Tristan’s
nostrils as he raced through the French Quarter in his wolf form.
He was so close, he could almost taste the foul being on the air.
The houses blurred as he poured on speed. The lodestone around his
neck pulsed as it encountered a wave of dark magic.

Tristan shuddered and almost lost form, but
somehow his great beast prevailed. He turned a corner, following
the pull of the magic, and suddenly the Darkling’s scent
disappeared. The hair on his nape stood on end. Tristan stopped and
dropped his nose to the ground.

A week’s worth of city life smacked him in
the face. He smelled spicy seafood, sweat, alcohol, and urine, but
no Darkling. He raised his head and sniffed again, but the scent
was gone. Had he opened a portal between the worlds and crossed
over?

It shouldn’t be possible without Tristan
feeling it in the lodestone. Was this Darkling more powerful than
the others? The thought left Tristan decidedly uneasy.

He circled back one more time just to make
sure he hadn’t missed anything, but his nose didn’t lie. The
Darkling was gone. Tristan growled in frustration and snapped at
the air, then turned around and headed back the way he’d come.

When he’d been chasing the Darkling, he’d
also picked up a familiar aroma. Isabel. Her strong scent let
Tristan know that he had to have passed her during the chase or ran
by her home. He retraced his steps until he encountered the
honeysuckle and citrus aroma again. It was strange how quickly he’d
associated the scent with Isabel.