Jace down onto the platform, his hand throbbing from trying to break his fall. Jace kicked out hard, and the heel of his boot collided with the moron’s nose. Blood gushed from Alejandro’s nostrils like a waterfall. Jace glanced at his foot. Damn, he really needed to clean all the dried blood off his boots.
Alejandro pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted his head back in a futile attempt to slow the bleeding. He coughed as the blood seeped into his mouth.
“You know you don’t get a break just because I busted your nose, right?” Jace hoisted himself to his feet.
Gripping Alejandro by the front of his shirt, he threw a right hook. His fist collided with Alejandro’s cheek, and he felt the familiar crunch of broken bone and damaged cartilage beneath his knuckles. Jace yanked his arm back to deliver another blow.
Sharp animal claws ripped across Jace’s face. Dropping Alejandro, he stumbled several steps backward, then touched his cheek, his fingertips finding fresh blood. The bastard had managed to half-shift, his hands covered in fur with the claws of a wolf.
“You can’t fight me without your claws, huh?” Jace stepped toward him. “Shift full form for all I care.” He plowed forward like the world’s fastest bulldozer and aimed straight for Alejandro’s center of balance.
Alejandro threw himself forward to meet the attack, shifting in midair. Jace stopped in his tracks to throw his opponent off-stride. The large black wolf growled at him, its teeth bared. Jace readied himself just as the wolf pounced. Jace’s sheer size gave him the upper hand. The two of them rolled to the floor with Jace on top. He slammed his fist into Alejandro’s furred jaw.
The wolf let out a high-pitched yelp and squirmed beneath him, fighting to be free. His canines dug into Jace’s shoulder, ripping through flesh as if it were butter.
Jace let out a cry of pain and pulled back. To hell with letting this dickhead get away with this crap. Blood poured from his shoulder, but he fought through the pain, reached down to his ankle and pulled his blade. Throwing himself on top of the wolf, he pinned the animal to the floor and pushed his blade against Alejandro’s fur-covered neck.
“Your pelt will look nice spread out on my apartment floor.” He moved to draw the blade across Alejandro’s throat.
“Jace, don’t!”
Frankie rushed over to him and pulled on his uninjured shoulder. “You’ve won, Jace. Get off him.”
For a long moment he didn’t budge, but finally he gave in to her pleas and decided to move on his own. A low groan escaped the asshole’s lips as Jace stood and stepped away.
“Greg, take care of Alejandro!” Frankie yelled, as she started to lead Jace away.
“Coward.” Alejandro’s accusation stopped Jace in his tracks. “Only a coward steals another man’s woman.”
Jace paused, then turned to face Alejandro. His eyes narrowed to thin slits. “What are you talking about?”
“Alejandro, shut your mouth,” Frankie snapped.
“She’s mine,” Alejandro hissed as if he were a venomous snake, ready to strike.
“That was a direct order!” Frankie screamed at Alejandro. Her cheeks were red with anger.
“She was mine,” Alejandro said to Jace, ignoring her. “She was promised to me. She was going to be my mate. My
Jace met Frankie’s eyes. He didn’t need to ask. He knew the truth from the fading light in her chocolate eyes. Shit.
She latched onto his arm. “Jace, it’s not like that any—”
He plucked her hand off his bicep and stepped away. “Stop.”
“No, Jace, you don’t understand. It’s a mist—”
“You’re right. It
DAVID PRESSED HIS palms against the brick wall to support his weight. His warm breath clouded in front of his face as he exhaled raggedly. She’d been right within his reach. Inches from his grasp, but he’d lost her again. The image of her face lingered in his mind. Her green-gold eyes. Her auburn curls and full lips.
The permanent ache in his chest throbbed. All the years that had separated them had disappeared as soon as he saw her face. He let out a low groan. She was always on his mind, and she visited him in his dreams every night. He pushed off from the wall and walked down the alley. Shit, he was pathetic. Hung up on a woman who didn’t want him, a woman who’d left him with no explanation and without looking back.
He punched the metal Dumpster, sending a loud bang rattling through the alley. She wasn’t even there, and still his brain had melted to mush because of her.
His hand was throbbing from the blow, and he cradled it against his chest.
ROBERT LINGERED ACROSS the street from K9’s, waiting for the opportune moment. All he needed was for someone, anyone, to come out of the club. Someone he could use to lure Frankie to him. He’d stood there, waiting in the cold, for at least half an hour. They would all have to leave eventually, he told himself. Then, as if the gods had granted him a stroke of luck, a small, curly-haired bitch emerged from the alleyway behind the club and ran down the road without looking back.
For a brief moment Robert wondered what she was running from, but then a grin spread across his face. It didn’t matter. Now she was running from him.
He followed her without hesitation, easily keeping up with her. After several blocks she slowed to a walk and then stopped to catch her breath.
She bent over and braced her hands on her knees. After a long moment she straightened and sighed. The smoky outline of her breath swirled in the air before it quickly dissipated.
A sudden gust of the northern Canadian wind hit, and she gave a visible shiver. She rubbed at her bare arms and cursed. The streetlights cast dim shadows over the empty streets. She would look so sweet on his torture rack.
She quickly reached into the rear pocket of her jeans, probably in search of her phone. Now was the time. Slowly, he approached her from behind. In seconds her phone crashed to the pavement, a spiderweb of cracks fracturing the screen as he grabbed her from behind.
She screamed and elbowed him in the gut. He grunted but ignored the temporary discomfort. Then she jammed her heel down onto his instep, grabbed his hands and swept her leg behind his. She gave a quick twist, and suddenly he was toppling to the ground as she stumbled out of his grasp. Dirty whore. He was going to enjoy ripping her to shreds. He grabbed her ankle and wrenched her down to the ground beside him.
“Hold still, you little bitch.” The heel of her shoe collided with his neck, and she twisted to see him. He saw his golden wolf eyes reflected back in hers.
He smiled. “I enjoy a woman with some fight in her.” He allowed her to move beneath him, testing her strength and resilience.
She rolled onto her back, their noses nearly touching, before she spat in his face. He recoiled slightly. She used the opportunity to pull her knees to her chest, lodge a foot against him and push. He slammed his hands into her shoulders, knocking her head into the pavement.
His silver dagger glittered in the orange light of the streetlamps as he held the blade against her windpipe. “Don’t worry. I’ll wake you before the fun starts.” He laughed and swung at her face with his free hand. The light in her eyes faded as blood gushed down her forehead.
