everywhere, thickening the air. When we came to a stop, we had dug a ditch several feet long.
Raz sprang off me, heading for Serena again. I powered to my feet, but before I could reach the jackass, Dex shot out from the stand of trees, slamming straight into him. Dex took Raz across the clearing, impaling him into a tree.
But Dex backed off, because he knew somehow. Maybe it was the instinct of our kind. He left Raz for me.
I stopped in front of Raz and a moment passed. He lifted his head and roared. I struck like lightning. My fist hit Raz’s chest and then went through it. Yanking my arm back, something long and inky came with it. I ripped his spine straight out from him and watched as Raz folded into himself like crumpled paper. No more than a second passed before the body shuddered and broke apart, pieces floating into the sky and then fading out.
In the silence that followed, I staggered a step back, body aching from the fight and the need that always seemed to follow something so bloody. Usually I needed a woman or my hand, but not now.
I
Turning to her, lust punched me in the gut harder than any blow Raz managed to land. Getting to her and then getting inside her was all I could think about.
I really didn’t understand him, or I didn’t care, because I took a step toward Serena.
When I got to her, I was going to—
Serena took a shaky step back, her hands spasming around the edges of her torn shirt. I moved closer and the color of panic swirled around her. She careened around me, her eyes darting from Dex to me, and it was in that moment that I realized I was still in my true form and was probably scaring the ever-loving crap out of her.
The lust eased off, surprisingly, as another need rose swiftly: a desire to comfort her. It seemed too little too late, because Serena took off running toward the cabin.
I caught sight of Dex and he nodded.
Cursing myself, I tracked her easily, finding her on her knees near the edge of the woods. The lights of the cabin flickered between the thick branches. I stopped and took my human form.
“Serena.”
She lifted her head, letting out a shaky breath. “I think I might have lost a little bit of my mind back there.”
I knelt, close but not touching. “That’s understandable.”
Sitting back, she eased her legs out from underneath her. “Aliens.” She laughed. “I think it’s finally really sinking in. Aliens.”
“I prefer the term extraterrestrial,” said Dex from behind us.
Serena scrambled to her feet and stumbled. I caught her around the shoulders, steadying her before she hurt herself further.
“He’s not going to harm you.” There was an odd gentleness to my voice as my hands trailed off her shoulders. “He’s a friend. This is Dex.”
She seemed to relax a little, but didn’t say anything.
Dex slipped his hands into his jean pockets and rocked back on his heels.
“Extraterrestrial just sounds cooler.”
“Yeah,” she whispered, and then said louder, “you guys are like the friendly neighborhood alien watch around here?”
Dex laughed.
“No,” I said, completely serious. “We’re usually the opposite.”
She stared at us. “That’s reassuring.”
“That’s Hunter,” Dex said, smiling. “A pillar of support.”
My eyes narrowed and then I turned to Serena. “Remember how I said shit was about to get a lot crazier? Well, it did, and that’s not even what I was talking about.”
Chapter 19
I was marginally surprised when Serena seemed to pull herself together. Then again, I wasn’t giving her enough credit. The female was tough as tungsten, but given how quiet she was as the three of us walked back to the cabin, which was so unlike her, I half expected her to freak out and start running again. So I kept an eye on her, and something about the way she kept her arms wrapped around her, making her appear smaller than she was, more vulnerable and fragile, made me want to hold her close.
Back in front of the cabin, I took in what Dex had brought me. “I thought I told you something inconspicuous?”
Dex smirked as he ran his hand over the hood of the midnight blue Porsche. “You said you wanted something fast. This is the fastest thing I have.” He touched the car lovingly. “And if you get one scratch on this baby, I will kill you and make it hurt.”
“Your car will be fine.” I glanced over at Serena. She was standing near the Porsche, staring at it. Her head was tilted to the side, and even in the darkness I could see the bruise along her cheek and the swollen lower lip.
I turned back to Dex. “Stay here with her. I’ll be right back.”
Dex nodded and I turned, heading back into the house. I grabbed what I needed quickly, and when I returned they were exactly where I’d left them. But Dex had an odd look on his face.
“What?” I asked.
He pursed his lips, then said in a low voice, “She hasn’t spoken a word.”
“I doubt that will last.” I gestured at the Expedition. “I need you to get rid of this SUV. Everything else has been taken care of.”
“All right, man.” Dex held out his hand. “Take care of yourself.”
I hesitated for a moment, and then I shook his hand. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Grabbing the luggage, I tossed them into the trunk. When I closed it, I found Dex standing beside me.
“I don’t know what you’re planning to do with her,” Dex said, voice low, “but she’s a human, Hunter. You’re going to have to be careful with her. They break easily.”
I snorted, but then in a moment of clarity, I turned to Dex. “Did you ever worry about breaking Eliza?”
The Arum met my gaze with equally pale eyes. “Every damn day.”
“Then why are you with her?”
Dex placed a hand to his chest. “Because of what’s in here—what I feel for her will never allow me to hurt her.”
“You speak of love?” I shook my head as I clutched the keys. “Very foolish to rely on a
“It’s also very foolish to think we’re incapable of being more human than Arum.”
And with that, he was gone.
I stood there for a moment. More human than Arum? Impossible.
Turning around, my gaze landed on Serena. Under the moonlight, her hair was a silver halo around her bowed head. As I approached her cautiously, she looked up.
Close as we were, I could see the deep purplish marring of the bruise across her cheek, the dried blood under her lip.
Shit. I wanted to kill Raz all over again.
When I reached around her, she flinched. “I’m just getting the door. That’s all.” I opened it for her and she climbed in and huddled in the front seat.
Closing it behind her, I had one last thing to take care of. Moving to the back of the Porsche, I bent and
