Blonde and Blue (12 page)

These precious moments as wolf reassured me. No matter how deadly my other side was, as long as I had my wolf to ground me, the darkness wouldn’t swallow me whole. As hard as the first few years were after Raoul had attacked me, I couldn’t regret becoming a werewolf. The wolf connected me to life in the same way Arys linked me to death. The wolf kept me sane and alive; I believed it with every part of me.

I raced through the forest, ducking a low hanging branch before it could slap me in the face. My ears twitched constantly, ahead then back, listening as Shaz gained on me from behind. I was hoping to reach the clearing ahead before he leaped on me. Once he got me in his sights, he would roll me.

The sound of his pursuit grew quiet, and I wondered what he was up to. I had a feeling he was going to try to head me off before I reached the clearing. Shaz made one hell of a fine wolf. He was stealthy and intelligent. Though I wanted him to have opportunities to make use of those fine qualities, I hated that it put him in danger.

Hoping to throw him off, I veered off my straight path and zigzagged through the trees. I broke through the trees into the clearing and gave a surprised yelp when Shaz leaped out in front of me. He crashed into me hard enough to knock me off my feet. We tumbled and rolled with limbs flailing.

I was quickly on my feet, circling away from Shaz. He sat back on his haunches with his tongue lolling out. I didn’t give him much time to enjoy his small victory before I jumped on him, biting at his ears. He whined and tried to pull away.

We fought playfully until we’d both had enough. A wolf play-fight still left real cuts and bruises. We lay in the soft grass for a while, watching the sky change color as dawn drew closer. I caught myself drifting off and decided it was time to head back. As much as I loved the forest, when I fell asleep for the day I wanted to be in my own comfy bed.

Shaz and I trotted back at a leisurely pace. The sun was just barely glowing on the horizon when we crossed the small stretch of field that separated the tree line from Kylarai’s backyard. The forest was the one thing I missed the most since I moved out of Ky’s and into Raoul’s house. Living in a small-town suburb outside the big city made it easy enough to get back to Ky’s for a run, but it just wasn’t the same as having this lovely forest outside my own door.

Kylarai was standing on the back deck when we approached. She was wrapped tightly in a long, fuzzy robe, and I envied her coziness.

“You two are out pretty late.” She greeted us with a wave. “It’s four o’clock. Want to come in for coffee since you’re here anyway? I put a pot on when I first noticed you out there.”

To shift, I disappeared beneath the upraised deck where I’d left my clothes. Shaz followed suit, and within minutes we were sipping from steaming mugs of coffee in Kylarai’s kitchen.

“Are you just going to bed or just getting up?” I asked, giving her a serious once over. Her hair was a mess, and she looked as if she hadn’t slept in days. “If we’d known you were up, we would have asked you to join us.”

She shrugged and stared into her coffee cup. “I’ve been buried in work lately. Took on a new case that is pretty sticky. They have a lot of assets to split up, and of course they want to fight over every single one of them.”

Shaz and I exchanged a glance. Kylarai was a known workaholic. She liked to stay busy with her career as a divorce lawyer, but this was more than that. She was working to escape from her break up with Julian.

“You need more time off, Ky. Regular time off.” I didn’t mean to scold. She was a grown woman, but she never hesitated to tell me what I needed to hear. I was willing to do the same. Her energy was low, and if I focused, I could feel the distress of her wolf. “Time as wolf.”

“I know. Zoey has been saying the same thing.” Ky glanced down the hall. The door to Zoey’s room, my old room, was closed. “So I was thinking maybe we could do a girl’s night out tonight. If you’re not busy.”

I looked into her grey eyes and saw the pain that she tried to hide. This Julian incident wasn’t something she was going to get over easily. I wouldn’t have either.

“Yes, definitely. Let’s do a girl’s night. I could use one, too.”

Shaz looked back and forth between us. “What does a girl’s night out consist of exactly?”

“If we told you, we’d have to kill you.” I smiled and winked.

Kylarai laughed and smoothed down her wild hair. “I promise to sleep and shower first though. I won’t make you take me out looking like this.”

“Are you kidding?” Shaz let his gaze slowly sweep over her. “You’re a knockout, Ky. Never doubt it.”

 “Nice try, kid. You’re not that good of a liar.” Kylarai threw a sugar cube across the table at him. “So what’s new with you guys? Fill me in on all the latest. Arys worried me with his mysterious danger talk.”

Shaz leaned down to retrieve the sugar cube from the floor. “Arys thrives on drama and trouble. I don’t think he’s happy if there isn’t something going on.”

“It’s nothing we can’t handle. I told you about the blood ring Harley was involved in. Seems there are a few people affiliated with him that are looking for a little restitution.” I shrugged, hoping I came across as unaffected. I didn’t want her to worry.

Kylarai’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “You’ve got balls, Alexa, more than most men I know. I don’t know how you can deal with this stuff and stay so grounded. I’d be a basket case.”

“Well thanks, but I’m hardly as well put together as it might appear. This is the perfect time for a night out. I’ll have to do laundry when I get home so I have something decent to wear.” By that I meant something without bloodstains.

We chatted over another cup of coffee, until the sun was high in the eastern sky. I was stifling yawns like crazy when at last Ky shoved us out the door so she could sleep through the day. I longed for my own bed and my white wolf curled up next to me.

“I’ll pick you up tonight at eight,” Ky called as we made our way down the front walk. “I can’t wait!”

Though I was too tired to show it, I shared her enthusiasm. We didn’t spend as much time together since I’d moved out, and I really missed her. As long as I knew Lena was still safe, I’d be able to let myself go and have a good time. Good times were becoming fewer and farther in between. A relaxing night out with the girls was just what I needed.

Chapter Nine

We started in a relatively nice lounge sipping cocktails. When it became evident that the place was full of older couples out for a quiet evening, we began to reconsider. It was a nice place to enjoy a drink, but we needed a venue with a rocking dance floor and sexy man-flesh wandering around. I didn’t want to push Kylarai back into the dating scene, but she needed to see how much more was out there.

By the time we headed downtown to a trendy dance club, the place was packed with guys on the prowl. Pushing Kylarai into some silly human fling was not my intention. But if it happened, I sure wasn’t going to discourage it.

“Seriously, Alexa?” Ky glanced around the busy club. “Everyone here looks like they’re barely legal.”

“What’s wrong with that? We’re here to have some fun. Go grab a drink. I’ll stay sober and drive home.” I gave her a gentle push toward the bar.

She turned those gentle eyes on me, and I could see the masked pain within them. It hurt me to see that. Maybe this wasn’t the road to healing, but staying home buried in legal paperwork wouldn’t help either.

“Come on, honey.” Jez took Ky by the arm and pulled her along. “Let’s go get a drink and hit the dance floor.”

I followed Zoey when she pointed out an empty booth in the back. We were hit on twice by guys at the tables we passed. I knew a beauty like Ky would get the same attention. It was wasted on the rest of us; I wasn’t interested, and neither Jez nor Zoey were into men. They weren’t quite into each other either. I’d tried to play match maker, but ultimately, neither of them seemed interested.

“She’s been crying. A lot.” Zoey slid into the booth across from me and leaned close so I could hear her over the music. “It’s been so hard not to hunt that fucker down and break his legs myself.”

“I know. Shaz wants to kill him. Ky made him promise to stay out of it. But, I know if he runs into Julian, nothing will stop him.”

“Good. Shaz should kill him. Julian is a waste of fucking space. He hasn’t come around since it all went down. If he does though, I’m not holding back.”

We fell silent when Jez and Kylarai approached with drinks in hand. Jez took the spot beside me. Damn. I’d still hoped she would have sat beside Zoey. I just wanted everyone to be happy. Was that so wrong?

Jez was quick to avoid an awkward moment by launching into one of her many stories of dating failure. She really did meet some of the weirdest chicks out there. When she got Kylarai laughing, I started to relax. I couldn’t help but feel like it would be my fault if Ky had a shitty time out with us.

When a waitress passed by, Jez was quick to grab her and order a tray of shots. That was one way to kick off the evening. Once my companions started on those shots, the mood lightened considerably. We talked up a storm. Girl talk was the perfect remedy for male-inflicted woes. I could see Ky start to shake off the tension that had held her captive. After a few shots, she was visibly relaxed. Ok, so it wasn’t the best medicine for a broken heart, but it was better than nothing.

Zoey wasn’t much of a drinker. However, Jez and Ky had drunk enough for all of us by the time an hour had passed. Weres could safely hold a lot more liquor than humans. Still, Ky and Jez were giggling like drunken lunatics.

I was happy to sit there and let the massive amounts of human energy wash over me. I was so used to shutting it out, but now that I had better control, I was able to filter out any negativity and just enjoy the lively sensation of so much human energy packed into one place. If I focused, I could hear the sound of hundreds of hearts beating. The noise quickly became overwhelming, exceeding the fine line between enough and too much.

“Let’s get this party started. It’s time to shake your sweet bits, ladies.” Jez tossed back another shot and got to her feet. “Come on. That means everyone.”

I exchanged a look with Zoey who rolled her crystalline blue eyes. I shrugged and let Jez drag me out of the booth. Once she got going, there was no stopping her. It was a challenge just to keep up.

We made our way to the dance floor and were quickly intercepted by a group of guys looking for some female company. Jez wasn’t so great at polite rejection, so I kept her moving, leaving Ky and Zoey to deal with the guys. I smiled to myself when Kylarai actually paused to talk to them. I knew it was too much to hope she’d take it further than that, but it was a nice start.

“So what do you think?” Jez leaned in close, casting a glance back at Ky. “Do you think she’s starting to have fun?”

“It looks like it. I wish there was more I could do for her.”

“You’re doing all you can. Being there for her is the most important thing you can do right now. It will get better with time.”

Would it? I thought about Raoul. He broke my heart years ago, and I felt like I would never truly be rid of the heartbreak. I think many people have that one person, the one they can never escape, regardless of time and distance. I prayed Julian wasn’t Kylarai’s. She deserved better than that.

Lost in thought, I forced myself to feel the rhythm of the music and dance with Jez. By the time Kylarai and Zoey joined us, I was fighting the ghosts of my past. Zoey made it that much harder. She was Raoul’s daughter. She had killed him in front of me. Now, almost a year later, here we were, dancing and sharing concern for our friend. It was almost too screwed up to believe.

Seeing a genuine smile on Kylarai’s face made it easy to forget about how fucked up my life was. Tonight was all about her. Everything was going great. At least it was, until a pushy guy decided he wanted to be part of our group, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

It started when he approached Zoey. She quickly shot him down with little more than a look. Refusing to take a hint, he made a pathetic attempt to grind with her on the dance floor. She gave him a light shove and a warning glare. It did little to deter the drunken fool.

He laughed her off, as if she couldn’t possibly be serious. I watched the scenario play out, ready to intervene if necessary.

“Look asshole, I’m not fucking interested. Got it?” Zoey went from calm to seething before I could blink. It alarmed me.

Her admirer appeared confused. The rest of us kept dancing as if we weren’t paying attention, but clearly all three of us were taking note of everything. My biggest concern was Zoey throwing a punch and getting us tossed out. She wasn’t a full Were. She was a hybrid. Still, she was stronger than the average human, and I knew she could lay this guy out cold. The woman was a damn murderer; this guy had chosen the wrong girl to harass.