Night Calls - Nyx Slaughter Book 1 (20 page)

I grab one of my throwing knives
and prepare to stop him, if he gets too close. He sees it and stops
about five feet from me. “You need to let me leave now. There is no
way I am letting you form any kind of bond with me.”

“That’s the reason I picked you.
You are so feisty; I cannot wait to see what you do in the
bedroom,” he states with a laugh. “The fact that you are the
hottest female werewolf out there only adds to that initial appeal.
I imagine the bit of vampire you have in you makes you pretty
tasty.”

“What do you mean vampire?” I ask.
He shouldn’t know about that. Sebastian said wolves shouldn't be
able to figure that out unless they had access to my medical
records and I don’t believe Tommy has that kind of
clearance.

“No playing dumb. I have a better
nose than most, so I have always known about you being a hybrid.
Your little fangs peeking out, confirmed that you have already
activated that part of you. Being young, you must be kind of
hungry. Why don’t you come over here and take a sip,” he suggests
tilting his neck to give me access.

“Gross. That is not going to
happen. If you want to fight let’s, get this over with. I have
places to be.” I move my tongue around in my mouth to verify that
Lil and Bebe have made their presence known.

“You know what is better than
fighting?” he asks rushing over and taking my hand. He places it
over his zipper, so I can feel the effect this talk is having on
him. I need to figure out how he can move so fast because it really
isn’t natural. “Fighting without clothes. What do you say; want to
give it a try?”

I jerk my hand back and wipe it on
my pant leg causing him to laugh. When I get out of here, I am
spending a week in the shower. “Clothes are a requirement and I
will die before letting you try to mate me. I already found my
mate, so you can’t just break that bond.”

“No? I believe I can. I can either
do it by just marking you myself, notice I didn’t say scent; the
bond would break if I fully mated you. If I do that, your current
mate would die leaving you wide open for me. I could also pump you
full of the drugs I have been given. That way, your guy would
probably live, but you would still be mine. I am leaning towards
the full mating version. I don't think I want a guy alive that has
scented you.”

“And you think my mate is just
going to stand for this? You know he knows what I am feeling,
right? Who’s to say he won’t come barging in here any second?” I
ask hoping he doesn’t realize it is a bluff. I have been trying to
keep my emotions relatively flat, so Sebastian doesn't show up. I
am hoping disgust isn't a strong enough emotion for him.

“I am sure whoever your mate is
doesn’t have the guts to step foot inside the Collective. It
couldn’t have been a Collective wolf or you would have triggered
the bonds years ago. So, quit worrying about him and why don’t you
take your shirt off? I have only seen the bloody version of my
mark. I am interested to see how great it looks now against your
silky skin,” he says as he adjusts the front of his
pants.

I hear something zip by my head
from behind me and see Tommy switch his focus back there. Not
wanting to take my eyes off him I choose not to move. Whatever it
was, it didn’t sound like a bullet, so Tommy is still my number one
threat.

“Her mate is not afraid of the
likes of a little pup like you,” Alex says from behind me. I am so
in shock that it is Alex, I cannot help but turn around. Just as I
do I hear a thump from Tommy as his body hits the floor.

“Alex?” I question not sure how he
came to be here.

“Let’s go. His body probably won’t
take that long to metabolize the paralytic agent,” he rushes over
and maneuvers me so he is carrying me bridal style and then runs
out of the building. In my confused state, I don’t even argue about
being carried.

He doesn’t stop until he makes it
back to the penthouse where the gang is all waiting. He sits down
on the couch with me still in his arms. As he settles, I hear him
take a big inhale of my scent.

“Greg got out, right?” I ask
remembering the original mission.

“Yes, we saw him running towards
the woods and tracked him down, so he could fill us in on what was
happening,” Jake reports.

“That is the important thing. Now
would someone explain to me what Alex is doing here?” I ask. “Last
time I checked he was three hours away.

“That is where I was, enjoying a
nice shower until your guards called to inform me that my mate was
meeting with a woman asking you to break into the Collective and it
sounded like you were going to accept. When I hear something like
that, I drop everything and get on my jet,” he explains. “If it
wouldn’t hurt me, you would be being strangled right now, or
paddled at the very least.”

“It wasn’t that bad. I freed the
prisoner and would have been able to handle Tommy. I have fought
him before and I didn’t have fangs or fur during those times. Not
only that, but I learned valuable information about a secret
Collective program,” I say defending myself.

“I heard. I am guessing the side
effects of the drug are vampire speed and increased aggression.
Granted I didn’t watch the whole scene, but he seemed to be moving
faster than normal,” Alex says.

“That’s true, I don’t know about
the aggression, though. He has always had it in for me. I have the
scars to prove it,” I tell him.

“I heard that part too. Care to
show me your back?” he asks.

“I don’t think I trust you in this
mood to see it. Jake and Jonas have seen it. They can fill you in
on what it looks like, while I take a shower. I really want to get
his scent off of me,” I say trying to stand.

“Just a few more minutes. I am
still calming down and your presence is the only thing that will
help,” he says holding tight.

“How you feeling, Sebastian?” I
ask. So far, he hasn’t said a word which is a little unlike
him.

“I am actually enjoying watching
someone else go through the same emotions I do every time you go on
one of your missions, love. If nothing else, me and Alex should be
able to bond over you taking years off of our lives.”

I laugh. “Well since you at least
will live forever, I have to do what I can.”

“I am pretty sure Alex will live
just as long as me. Sorry, it wasn’t me to come in and rescue you.
When Alex showed up, we thought it best that he go in, since he is
already on their assassination list. Plus, I would have brutally
killed anyone that held you captive. Alex tends to be a little more
level headed on that account,” Sebastian explains.

“Be thankful you didn’t hear the
things the creep said to her. I had trouble not pulling out the
silver ammo,” Alex tells him. “Pumpkin, you can go shower now. I
don’t think I will smash things in your absence anymore.” He
loosens his arms a little allowing me to move.

“Thank you for being there, even if
I still don’t think it was all that necessary,” I say giving him a
little kiss on the cheek before rushing to the bathroom.

Chapter 21

Slow down while I am hitting you

I tune the guys' conversation out
while I start my rinse cycle. I should have asked Sebastian if he
has any bleach available for my hand. I have been wavering between
sticking my hand in bleach or just cutting it off altogether and so
far the bleach idea is winning. Silliness aside, I use the
antibacterial soap and the really hot water and scrub until I have
taken a layer of skin off.

Hand taken care of, I work on the
rest of my body to make sure any lingering scent is washed away.
After thirty minutes, I deem myself clean. I step out of the shower
and get all dried before I realize I didn't bring any clothes into
the bathroom and I have to walk in front of the guys to get to
them. Since walking out in my towel would reveal my back scars, I
decide to call for reinforcements.

“Sebby, a little help please,” I
ask in my normal voice knowing he will hear.

“Right outside the door, love. Just
open it a little and they are to the right,” he answers.

I do as he instructs and find my
pajamas sitting outside. “Hey, I was going to try to get some
things organized at work,” I announce.

“Maybe in a little while. For now,
Jake is making us some food and we are going to hang out,” Alex
replies.

I put on the black boy shorts and
the purple sleeping shirt he picked out. I brush out my hair real
quick, gargle some mouthwash and open the door to rejoin the
group.

“That is so much better. I never
liked Tommy, but hearing him talk about mating with me made me want
to wash out my brain,” I say making faces that show the yuck that I
am feeling. I settle in on a couch in between Alex and Sebastian.
They must have decided a Nyx sandwich was better than someone
getting hurt feelings.

“We are going to have to watch out
for him. He really wants you and I don't think he is just going to
give up. I imagine this program is what your other fella was
involved with as well. You mentioned he was getting a little
aggressive and wanted to take your relationship to the next level,
right?” Alex asks.

“Yeah, but he was never as cruel or
crude as Tommy. When Tommy asked me to drink from him, I seriously
threw up in my mouth. Can you imagine how nasty that would be? No
offense to wolf blood, but yuck,” I say.

“No offense taken,” Alex replies.
“I heard you shifted successfully by yourself.”

“I did with a little pain, but not
too much. It was so much better than the first time.”

“I am glad to hear that. The guys
were a little surprised by the gold. We probably should have warned
them,” he says.

“Yeah well, Jonas doesn’t even
believe me when I tell him who my father is, so I doubt he would
have believed me when I said I shimmer,” I state.

“If you have the mark, your shorts
are pretty close to showing it now. Why don’t you make us
believers?” Jonas asks earning a glare from Alex.

“I see no reason not to,” I say
moving my right hip so it is visible to all and then lift the
shorts up a couple inches. “It will teach Jonas not to call me a
liar.”

“How is that possible?” Jonas
questions.

“My father might know, or mother if
anyone has a clue who she is. Other than those two I doubt anyone
would be able to answer that question,” I tell him.

With Alex sitting on my right side,
he decides to reach over and touch the mark. I get this tingly
sensation and glare at him.

“Sorry, I felt the need to touch it
and didn’t know it would cause a reaction. I have heard of the
mark, but haven’t ever seen it. It is something that leaves you a
little in awe once you have,” Alex says with a smile.

I settle myself back down and cover
up so no one else gets the desire to be touchy feely. “How soon
before food is ready? I am starting to get hungry.”

“I’m coming,” Jake announces
entering the room with a large restaurant style serving tray. I
glance at Sebastian wondering why he would even have that in the
penthouse and he just shrugs.

Jake places the tray on the coffee
table, so we can all gaze upon our bounty. It is heavily protein
based with beef and chicken skewers, ham steaks, and sausages. It
looks like he cooked up enough to feed an army. Everyone grabs a
plate and starts digging in.

“So, since I missed the big reveal,
does that mean I get a private showing?” Jake asks with a little
smirk.

“Really not the best time to ask
something like that in front of me,” Alex growls at him.

“Come on. It was funny,” Jake
answers laughing. “I didn’t have to see it to know she was special.
A gold wolf has to be an indication of someone important. I imagine
only her father would know exactly what it means. With him in deep
hiding, it might be a while before the rest of us are clued
in.”

“I have some people doing research
in general on gold wolves. They don’t know the reason why they are
doing it and are smart enough to keep their mouths shut. Hopefully,
they can come up with something,” Alex replies.

After a couple skewers and too many
sausages, I am full. “Plans for the rest of the night?” I ask
placing my plate on the table and then leaning back on the couch.
“Oh and thanks for the meal, Jake. It was very good.”

“You are most welcome, Nyx,” Jake
responds.

“As for the rest of the night, I
would like you to focus on some training. If the Collective’s
soldiers are gaining extra abilities, then you need to be
prepared,” Sebastian tells me. “I am hoping not every case you take
is breaking into the Collective, but I do not fool myself into
believing you won’t be going up against them again in the near
future.”

“Training, me like. Does this mean
I finally get to see this gym I was promised when I moved in?” I
ask.

“Yes. Now go strap back on your
knives, at least. For this first class, let’s leave the guns in
their holsters. Your bullets wouldn’t hurt me, but you never know
if they will go off course and strike one of the spectators,” he
replies.