September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)

“Be understanding?” Shaz repeated, aghast. He clenched a fist as if he wanted to take a swing at me. “After everything that happened, you just let him have her? There’s no way in hell I’ll ever understand that. It’s dangerous for the two of you to be apart, especially now.”


“The wolf is right,” Jenner said. He came over to where I sat on the recliner armchair and scrutinized my drawing. “You said yourself being apart takes its toll on you both. What do you think it’s doing to her as a new vampire?”

I frowned and met his gaze, finding it held unspoken judgment. “Don’t you have a plane to catch, Jenner? Vegas must be imploding without you.”

“Trust me, brother. If I thought it was safe to leave you, I would have been gone by now.”

My frown deepened into a glower. “I’m not a child. I don’t need you to watch over me.”

Jenner crossed his arms and studied me pensively. “A pointless argument. How many nights do you plan to while away sitting in this house starving yourself?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Angrily I tore the page from my sketchpad and tore it in two. Then I tore it again, crumpled the pieces, and threw them on the floor.

Nobody had seen nor heard from Shya since the night Alexa died and took with her his only chance at overthrowing Lilah’s empire. The demon was down but not out. Only a fool would think otherwise. It was only a matter of time until he finished licking his wounds and resurfaced.

Falon believed that Willow’s descent to full demon might be keeping Shya at bay. As angels Willow far outranked Shya, and as demons it would be the same. Now that Willow was no longer in between, Shya had great reason to fear him.

Unfortunately, we might all have reason to fear Willow now. He too had yet to show his face. Though I know he loved Alexa dearly and cherished his guardianship of her, he was not that person anymore. The darkness reigned in him.

“I can’t take this anymore,” Shaz said. He grabbed his phone and stuffed it into a pocket as he stood up. “I need to see her.”

“She’ll try to kill you, pup. She doesn’t have the self-control it takes to be around blood as potent as yours.” Feeling exasperated, I set my things aside and rose. The headstrong wolf was going to force me to knock him out if he kept this up.

“Well, if you won’t go, then you leave me no choice. Kale is taking advantage of the situation. He is the last person she should be with right now.” There was such vigor in his declaration. He really believed it.

“As much as I wish I could agree with you, I’m afraid I don’t.” I braced, expecting his fury and accepting it. “Believe me, I’m not any happier about it than you are. But Sinclair loves her. She is safe with him.”

Shaz glared at me with enchanting wolf eyes. In recent months he’d shown himself to be as much monster as he was man. Ready to fight as needed with a growing stubborn streak, he was really coming into his own as a werewolf. It was admirable. It was also likely to write him some checks his ass couldn’t cash.

“Bullshit,” he spat. “They’ve been killing together. It’s going to get the FPA on their asses and then what?”

He threw his hands up as if he couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on me and marched for the door. I was faster, blocking his path to the front porch.

“Get the hell out of my way, Arys.” Fangs bared, Shaz clenched and unclenched his fist.

“Do you want to hit me, pup? Come on then. Let me have it.”

Jenner’s laughter followed us as he ambled into the kitchen where we stood staring one another down.

“You two really have to learn how to be a team,” he observed. “It’s the only way you’ll get your girl back.”

I could explain my reasoning to Shaz until he was old and grey, but he would refuse to accept it. In his mind Alexa was his mate, and he couldn’t understand why he could not simply ride to her rescue.

What I tried to make him see was that she was in no need of rescue. Alexa had been with Sinclair for a few days now. If she wanted to leave, she would have. Her power was far greater than Sinclair’s. She was no hostage.

Sinclair offered her something that I could not. Comfort. It was temporary though. Two vampires as mentally unstable as they both were right now would only feed that instability. They could never fix each other. Still, I knew I had to let her see that for herself.

“You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?” Shaz demanded, getting much too close. He was in my face, trying to provoke me. “You’re abandoning her when she needs you the most.”

“She needs space, Shaz,” I nearly shouted. With great difficulty I stopped myself from shoving him back a few steps. “She will come to us when she is ready. I can feel her, you know. In my dreams, I enter her thoughts, and I know that she is not ready to face either of us. Have some patience and back the fuck off.”

With a growl, the stubborn wolf hauled off and punched me. It was a nice hit, square on the side of my jaw. It snapped my head to the side, and I swore.

Rubbing my jaw, I smiled. “Feel better?”