Un.Requited (Claimed Series) (33 page)

Amber eyes considered the window briefly before making a decision. Shifting her weight silently, she stood from the bed and carefully approached the open window. Focusing on keeping her adrenaline stagnant, Hayden leaned outside the window and stepped onto the overhang of the roof.

Heaving an inaudible sigh of relief, Hayden tiptoed across the shingles, scoping out the prime area to jump and land. Cole’s bedroom was on the main level, but it was on the opposite end of the house. Still, she had to remember that he had the sharpest hearing out of the entire pack.

He also had the ability of sensing when something was amiss with the property. All Hayden had to do was act as if she
was
permitted
to leave. Cole’s senses were more inclined to detect when an unwelcomed guest entered the territory, not when a pack member left.

She braced herself at the edge of the roof, gathering her courage. If she’d been human, the jump she intended to take would have seriously injured her.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Hayden crouched down low and leaped. A thin smile crossed her lips as she descended. This time, the adrenaline and exhilaration was almost too hard to suppress.

Fortunately, the whirlwind-like drop was over before her excitement grew too difficult to contain from Cole’s notice. Her feet landed on the ground with a small thud, hardly enough to alert the others in the pack. 

Gracefully, Hayden stood from her crouch and quickly moved with the shadows. Her eyes peeled through the dark, easily spotting the lone figure standing further down the road.

“A feat only accomplished by the female Alpha,” Asher appraised as soon as Hayden crossed the territory line. “I almost thought you wouldn’t show.”

Hayden kept her back half-turned, glancing at the dark house behind her. She was holding her breath, hoping Cole hadn’t noticed her departure. A part of her expected the Alpha to tear out the house at any moment, snarling and foaming at the mouth.

Pushing away the lingering remorse and the staggering relief over Cole’s ignorance, Hayden turned her attention on the blond beta next to her. “How could I ever stand
you
up?” she teased quietly.

For the most part, her reason for going against Cole’s orders
was because of
her loyalty to Asher. She could already see him stalking Falco by himself and doing something as stupid as
being caught
.
Hopefully,
with her presence, Hayden could distract him enough to deter him away from doing something ridiculous. 

He scoffed while approaching her with a confident swagger. With his hands in his pockets, he bumped shoulders with Hayden. “Falco is still deeper into town, but he should be looping his way back here. We should probably find a place to observe before he gets there.” He pointed his chin toward town. “Would you like to race?”

Hayden had to smile as she fished out her shoes from her backpack. Things always seemed to turn into a competition when she was with Asher. “On the count of three,” she conceded, forcing her foot into her shoe.

Before she started the countdown, Asher was already off, chuckling at her misfortune. She scrambled to get her shoes on fully before taking off after him. If it weren’t the dead of the night, she would have yelled after him for cheating. Then again, if he thought he could only win by a head start, then she would gladly keep her comments to herself.

The October night was crisp and it provided relief for her flushed face. Hayden closed her eyes, smiling at the freedom running had to offer. She had never been one to enjoy the activity when she was human, but with her new abilities, running had a therapeutic effect on her. Her improved speed made it all the more enjoyable. What would normally take her a good five minutes to arrive into town
was easily cut
in half.

She advanced closer to Asher, catching up and running neck-to-neck with him as they crossed into town. As Hayden began reducing her speed, she noticed the blond beta beside her began to pick up his velocity. Uncertainly, she watched as he headed directly toward the side of a flower shop. At the rate he was going, he would collide into the wall. 

With a grunt, Asher leaped, his foot hitting the side of the wall once before he grabbed the edge of the roof. Fluidly, and never missing a beat, he pulled himself over and onto his feet. He laughed quietly, looking smugly down at Hayden.

“Clearly, I win,” he boasted. “But I might consider it a draw if you can get up here.”

The challenge was clear, but Hayden had never used her abilities this way. Running was one thing, but jumping was an entirely different playing field. One particular bad memory of hers involved two hurdles, a sprained ankle, and countless of spectators at her high school track meet.

“Come on, you can’t back down,” he taunted from the roof. Taking pity on her, Asher crouched at the edge, holding a hand down to her. “You don’t want Falco to catch you down there. He’d make a meal out of you.”

With her faced screwed up in concentration, Hayden backpedaled a few feet, considering the wall in front of her. She pushed off on her toes and sprinted toward the wall. Timing it just right, she jumped, the balls of her feet hitting the side of the wall before she skipped a second time.

He was there promptly, curling a secure hand around her wrist when she would have slipped. “It was pretty good for your first time. It took me days to get the hang of it.
” 
Asher pulled her up and over the edge, motioning at the roof with a sweeping gesture of his arm. “This
will be where we scope out Falco and his pack. Normally, people don’t look
up
when they should.”

Hayden pulled her hand from his grasp, slightly upset she couldn’t accomplish the jump. However, one look at Asher’s enthusiasm quelled any lingering disappointment. “You really
are
planning on watching Falco, aren’t you?” She followed Asher to the front of the roof, sitting down beside him.

Asher pursed his lips as he dropped on his belly and peeked over the edge of the store. “Of course I planned on watching him…” he trailed off, offering Hayden a quick look of indignity.
“
Actually, it was more so I could see you tonight, but Falco
is
my main suspect for the murders. It won’t hurt to put extra surveillance on him.”

Hayden shook her head, having already suspected that he had lured her out of the house just for the company. Flattening herself onto her stomach, she propped her head on her folded arms and stared out into the sleeping town. Across from her,
The Lounge’s
renovation was almost complete. It had taken a beating from the rogue attack in late September, but luckily, it was something that
could be fixed
.

“Why do you suspect Falco?” Hayden asked. She was mindful to keep her voice down so only he could hear. “Wasn’t Ian his pack omega? Why would Falco kill his own members?” She kept a lookout for any patrolling werewolves from Falco’s pack. In the distance, she spied two members, but otherwise the streets were mostly bare.

“To cover his tracks,” Asher responded simply. “Falco’s temper slipped with the loss of his pack member, Mathew, last month.
Plus
, that dead human, Robert Warden, took over Falco’s diner because of debt related-problems. He lost his composure and set the murder up to make it look like you did it.
And
because Robert’s death was obviously connected to him, Falco needed to shake our suspicions. So he threw us off his trail by murdering someone we would think Falco would never have a hand in killing.”

“It’s hard to believe, but I guess it could be plausible,” Hayden acknowledged lowly. “I just find it hard to imagine an Alpha killing the very same people he swore to protect. If anyone is suspicious, it’s Adolf. He’s wanted me out of Albertville ever since I first arrived. Framing me for murder is his sick way of doing it.”

Asher exhaled in laughter. “Adolf is
all
bark and no bite, Hayden. Honestly, even I could come out on top if I ever chose to challenge him.”

“He’s that defenseless, huh?” she teased.

The blonde-haired beta scoffed. “Ok, I’ll rephrase that. Even Fergus could come out on top if he ever chose to challenge Adolf.” 

Hayden smiled, not knowing if she should take Asher’s reassurances seriously. If there was one thing she knew about Alphas, it was their unyielding duty to protect their pack. Adolf couldn’t have such a sharp tongue and not have the power to back himself up and protect his pack.

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence as they observed the handful of werewolves lingering around the town, patrolling the premises for any rogue activity. As the moon traveled further into the sky, the majority of Falco’s pack began retreating to the pack house, not having encountered any trouble. 

Sleepily, Hayden watched the pack members depart, extremely jealous. It didn’t take long to determine that she would never make a good stakeout partner. Already, her eyelids were becoming abnormally heavy, and without much remorse, Hayden closed them.

Her limbs grew weightless and she was mindful of Asher’s breathing matching the steady pattern of her dozing. His warm frame was pressed flush against hers, making the cold concrete roof oddly comfortable.

“You’re really horrible at this,” Asher remarked softly, his voice somehow reaching into the deepest recess of her mind.

Opening her eyes, Hayden found herself face to face with his scrutiny. For the first time that night, she was aware of just how
close
they were and how easy it was to be relaxed around him. He looked especially endearing with his untidy hair and accusing eyes.

Clearly, he was exasperated at Hayden’s inability to stay awake, but his seriousness suddenly deflated and a dimpled grin took precedence.

He reached out and traced the silly smile that blossomed across her face. His fingers proceeded to curl underneath Hayden’s chin to pull her closer to him. Encouraged by his beckoning, and intrigued with the prospect of being intimate, Hayden closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his.

It was just a brief, chaste kiss, lasting only seconds before an animalistic growl tore them apart. They reared away from each other,
shock
and guilt lining their features.

At first, Hayden thought a member of her pack had discovered them. Fortunately, the growl was coming from the other side of the roof and between the two shops. She looked at Asher, nodding in agreement when he gestured to the opposite end of their current location.

Bracing herself on her hands and knees, she followed Asher toward the growling. She tried to control her racing pulse as she slowly inched her head over the edge of the roof. Just the tops of her eyes peeked over, straining in order to catch a glimpse at the scene below. A small, almost inaudible gasp escaped her lips when she comprehended what she was seeing.

Just a smidgen away from the streetlamp’s glowing reach, Falco had Shane’s grandfather pinned up against the wall. Hayden ducked further away, too surprised at the man’s appearance to trust herself by leaning over the edge. Next to her, Asher was almost bobbing with excitement,
obviously not afraid Falco would catch scent of them. Luckily, the wind was blowing away from Falco, giving them an advantage.

“…saw you. I know it was you,” Red Donovan spat in Falco’s face.

Hayden remained immobile, too
entranced
and afraid to move an inch. Apparently, Asher and Hayden weren’t the only ones who had decided to keep an eye on Falco when the Alpha was patrolling the town.

Falco seemed unusually vicious as he snarled, baring his sharp canines threateningly. His customary blue eyes clouded over with amber, indication that his wolf was near the surface.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, human.” Falco’s clawed fingers curled around Red’s shirt collar, shoving the human further against the wall. “If I was the killer, you’d be dead. I assure you.”

Red nodded jerkily, utterly unfazed with the manhandling. It was times like these, when Red’s fearlessness got the best of him, that Hayden remembered that the old human was once a Hunter. It frightened her to think there were other humans out there that weren’t just unafraid of werewolves, but hated them with a blinding passion.

“You were in a mood when Robert Warden bought your diner. Now that he’s dead, the transaction fell through and you couldn’t be happier. How does that work, Falco?”

“You
think
I killed one of my own over the loss of a diner?” Falco bellowed.

Hayden reached over and gripped Asher’s elbow, silently asking him if they should intervene. Falco’s biceps seemed to grow double in size and his body trembled. Fur sprouted on his forearms, a sign that he was close to turning or close to losing control. Next to Hayden, Asher tensed, already standing up to interfere.  

However, someone beat him to it and Asher was quick to drop back down against the roof.

“Is there a problem?” Joseph interrupted calmly, stepping into the alleyway and looking at his father with reproof. “We’re supposed to be patrolling the town, father, not wasting our time with meddling humans.”