Chapter 7

SEVEN

Asha

I open my eyes slowly, disoriented. Where am I? And why do I feel...so strange?

I’m somewhere dark. It’s not pitch black because I can see shadows on the roof and shadows around me. But I don’t recognize any of it, and I wrack my brain for the last clear memory I have.

Suddenly, every muscle in my body stiffens. The attack! The assholes! I shift and a little moan slips past my lips as an echo of pain rolls through me. My body is sore and achy, but not nearly as bad as I would have thought after my fight with the shifters. What’s more disturbing is the fact that I don’t know where I am.

Or if I’m safe.

My heart races. Panic awakens within me and disjointed memories fill my mind. The men who attacked me were fast and strong. They didn’t just use their brute force, because that I could have handled. They were clever, slimy . Yet, I remember defeating them… I remember walking away from that alley.

But to what?

A man looms over me. Or, the shadow of a man.

I don't think before I attack. I just act. My hand snaps upward, and I’m squeezing his jugular, hard. Holding on for dear life as he starts to thrash. Silently, I will the bastard to regret the moment he thought I’d be easy prey.

But he's stronger and faster than I’d imagined. He peels my hand from his throat before I can squeeze the life out of him, or at least leave him unconscious. Then, he’s rasping for breath above me, probably debating his next move. I wasn’t prepared for his strength, but I don't let it deter me. I simply adjust my attack, snapping my leg up and kicking him in the groin as hard as I can, even though the movement sends pain ripping through me.

A groan cracks through the silence of the dark place we’re in, coupled with his raspy breathing. I even think he might be trying to say something, but I don’t give a shit. This is the moment. The moment when he might be too surprised by the fact that I’m fighting back to react quickly enough.

I try to kick him again, but he dodges my blow and grabs my leg. His grip is tight but not painful.

Refusing to let him win, I kick out with my free leg, hitting him squarely in the face.

Then, to my surprise, he releases my leg and practically falls on top of me, pinning me down. His weight squeezes the air out of me, and I’m struggling to free my arms. Panic screams to life inside of me. This is almost the worst position I can be in, and if I can’t get out of it in time…

Then a light floods the room.

"Asha, Braxton, what in the hell is happening here?" Max’s voice booms through the room, through my chest, through my heart, awakening me from whatever fear-induced stupor I was in. If Max is here, I must be safe. But then, who the hell is this… Braxton?

I look up at my attacker and my breath catches. It’s the man from the diner. The one who smelled so damn good. The man who I wanted to do dirty things to and who has the face of a deliciously lickable demon. But right now, he looks different. His black hair is messy. His eyes are the same startling shade of light-blue, but wary as they gaze down at me. And something inside of me flips at just the sight of him. It isn’t just the feeling of walking past someone I find attractive, it’s something deeper and more intimate.

And then my pain and uncertainty push past my hormones. I don’t know who this man is. But it’s his hard body on top of me. Trapping me. After I caught him staring at me in the dark.

“Why the fuck did you attack me?” I shout, anger rising inside of me, even though my heart is still pounding with fear.

He shifts enough so I can get my arms free. “I was just checking on you.”

“Checking on me?” I shove him as hard as I can, and he must have been off-balance because he flies back and falls on the floor with a thud. “Next time, do me a favor and don’t .”

My entire body is shaking, but I roll, even though my body aches in protest, almost like my skin is too tight. I get to my feet in a crouch, trying to keep the guy on the floor in my sights as I stare around the room. Boring walls. A nasty smell. A tv, two nightstands, and two beds.

It’s another fucking motel. We’re in our room.

Safe, I guess, in our room. With Max, and the strange man. I don’t completely understand what happened, but I suspect everything is okay and tell my body to calm the hell down, even though my sweaty palms say my body doesn’t care what my head has figured out.

Then, I hear someone fart. My head jerks in the direction, and I see the golden retriever with the scars and the stumpy tail lying on his back. His eyes are half open, and he has a green piece of fabric, about the size of his head, clenched in his teeth. He holds my gaze, then farts again.

Okay…

“That’s Trouble, my dog,” the strange man says.

I’m too damn tired for this.

“Asha.” My gaze snaps to Max and slides down his body. He’s wearing grey sweatpants, a black t-shirt, and nothing else. Not his tailored suits. Not those sunglasses he often wears that hide his eyes. Right now, he looks less like an Enforcer and more like a man.

I hate it when I notice that he looks like a man.

“You showed up here last night looking like hell. Braxton and I got you fixed up and put you into bed.”

Braxton. That was the name he used for the delicious man. The man who slowly climbs from the floor wearing nothing but black boxers and a smirk. Oh yeah, and tattoos that cover his arms, part of his shoulder, and the side of his leg.

A primal urge awakens inside of me as I look between the two men. There’s something about them. A pull. A feeling I haven’t experienced in a long time. And one I don’t enjoy.

Not really.

“Braxton,” I say his name like I’m tasting it. Like it’s something foreign I haven’t decided whether I like. “And who the hell is Braxton to be standing over me in the middle of the night?”

Max sighs and moves closer to me. He gives Braxton a look and the man hesitates, then moves away from me to the other bed and sits on the end. Almost as far from me as he can get, but he’s still watching me in a strange way. Like I’m a prisoner, and he’s my guard. Or like he thinks I might suddenly sprout a second head. I’m not sure which. But him being further from me doesn’t make me feel any more comfortable than I felt a second ago.

Then, the golden dog rises from the corner. It’s a dog who smells wet even though he isn’t. He walks, well, almost hobbles over to this Braxton and then the man is petting him, rubbing his head and grinning at him like the dog is the most beautiful creature in the world.

It’s curious. Strange.

“Sit?” Max suggests softly, then gestures to my bed.

I pause for a moment, noticing that I’m still crouching on the ground, then realize that if Max wanted to hurt me or kill me, he’d had a lot better opportunities than now. I move out of my crouch, then sit lightly on the side of my bed, wincing at the pains awakening in my body that I hadn’t been able to focus on when I’d been in fighting mode.

Max sits across from me, almost close enough for our knees to touch. “Sorry about the way you were woken, but he really didn’t mean any harm.”

“I’m told I’m quite harmless,” the other man says, flashing me a smile that’s anything but harmless. Hell, it should come with its own permit. A license to make a lady swoon. Something like that.

“What happened last night?” Max’s question pulls my focus back to him.

Last night? Last night I was cornered by three shifters who hated my old pack. Who hated half breeds. Who had heard rumors my people were going around slaughtering anyone connected with the attack on our town. At least, that’s what I’d managed to pull out of them while we were fighting. Those were the things they threw at me like weapons. But I hadn’t learned how they managed to track me down. If it was luck, or something more sinister.

But I can’t tell Max all of that. “I was attacked.”

He stares at me waiting for more but sighs when I don’t continue. “By who?”

“Three shifters.”

His brows rise. “Why?”

I shrug. “Probably smelled what I am.”

It’s not impossible, some shifters can smell half-breeds, and vampires usually know too. Hell, a lot of creatures have a second sense for when a creature is an abnormality. So, Max can’t be sure I’m lying. Except the look on his face says he does know.

“And did they survive the fight?”

“Unfortunately, they did.” My words come out laced with a growl.

Max stares at me for a long minute. “So, there will be no reports of dead bodies found in this city?”

I salute him. “No, sir.”

His gaze locks with mine and I stare right back at him. I might be hiding the whole truth, but I’m not lying about them being alive. The second I was able to overpower them, I ran for it. Had I stayed around, that low on blood and wounded, I don’t think I would have made it out of that alley alive.

“And how are you feeling?” he asks, his expression changing to a more professional one. It’s almost an assessment as his eyes run over me.

“Like I got hit by a truck, dragged for a few miles, and then stepped on by a herd of buffalo. And you?” I ask, flashing him a smile.

Braxton chuckles.

Interesting. One of these two has a sense of humor.

“I mean, do you feel well enough to travel?”

My spine stiffens. “Why, do we have another lead?”

Max has that familiar screen that drops over his face. Now, he’s all Enforcer. “Do you feel ready to travel?”

“If you’ve heard anything about my pack members, I can be ready in twenty.” I try not to sound desperate, but I’m pretty sure I fail.

He studies me. “I have a lead and planned to leave tomorrow morning, if you were ready.”

“I can be ready now.” I eye the time and see that it’s seven o’clock at night. Hell, did I really sleep a whole night and day away?

Max nods. “Okay, we can leave tonight then.”

I stand up, then eye the other man. “Uh, are we going to discuss the predator and what he’s doing here exactly?”

Braxton lifts a brow, probably because I just insulted him, but it’s Max who answers. “He’s going to be joining our team.”

Joining our team. What the fuck? “Another Enforcer?”

Max nods but doesn’t meet my gaze, and I realize there’s more going on here than I can figure out. Not that I’m going to say that and show them my hand. Instead, I tell them I’m going to go take a shower. Max is already in motion, packing and getting dressed, and it’s the first time it occurred to me that these two were asleep at seven at night.

Something is definitely off.

I grab a change of clothes then head into the bathroom. But when I’m stripping off my clothes, I realize I’m bandaged in a hell of a lot of places. My stomach. My arm. My leg. I start to unwind the bandages while flashes of what caused the injuries enter my mind. Claws. Teeth. The three assholes who had shifted into wolves trying to treat me like a chew toy. These injuries were bad. And now… they’re light pink scars. Scars that will eventually completely disappear.

Which is probably why the guys were asleep so early. Were they up during the night resetting my bones and cleaning me up? Helping me heal from injuries that should have taken a long time to heal? Actually, a lot longer than one night and a day.

Unless…

My knees are shaking. I collapse onto the bathroom floor, my breath coming in and out in a rush. Max had… he’d let me feed on him. I remember it now so clearly, like a strange dream. He’d pressed my mouth to his throat. He’d tasted… rich and perfect and overwhelming, flooding my mouth with sensations that make every hair on my body stand on end just thinking about them.

And, was it… hot? Fuck, I think it was.

That’s not good. None of this is good. Max seeing me injured and weak is not at all what I need. I need him to see me as strong and untouchable. I need our relationship, filled with lies and secrets, to remain superficial. A professional relationship and nothing more. But this complicates things.

Then, I clench my hands. No, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been through worse than some awkwardness. I’m not here to make friends, form relationships, or give two shits about any of the Enforcers, I’m here to save what’s left my pack, no matter what it costs me.

And now I have another lead to one of my pack members.

It’s time to shower, dress, and be ready for the next challenge. Because if I’m going to keep up my lies to Max and this new Enforcer, Braxton, I’m going to need to have my wits about me.

Because once the bodies start falling, I can’t have anyone looking my way.