He frowned, and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. A hint of demon fire rolled in his irises before he said, “Yes, that was the reason I took your job.”
“So the part about having a change of heart was a total lie?”
His frown increased before he replied hesitantly, “It might have been.”
“And when that blue-haired fairy said they got a heads-up about you coming, was that from Matija?”
“No, but it was from somebody in Matija’s camp. I’d sent Matija a text to tell him where I thought his daughter was before we left, which means that he has a traitor in his mix. That’s how they knew I was coming and were able to ambush me, and it’s probably how his daughter got abducted in the first place. Matija’s aware and is working to correct that.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “And were you ever going to tell me any of this?”
This time, the dude studied me for a full ten seconds before he responded. “No. I didn’t see a reason to.”
I made myself not react, but inside, my heart cracked. Dammit, it cracked.
Too invested. I’m too invested in this.
“Thanks for answering honestly.” I wrapped my coat tighter around me and turned my back on him. It was time to make my getaway and be done with the Fire Wolf. Our business was officially over.
I took off at a brisk pace down the sidewalk, and Carlos hurriedly fell into step beside me.
In the next moment, the hunter was walking on my other side. “What do you think you’re doing?” he snarled over my head to my ex.
Carlos stiffened. “Escorting Tala to the Supernatural Forces. I’m here to help her.” Carlos’s hand drifted to my waist, as if he were intent on propelling me away from the menace of the Shadow Zone, but . . . sigh . . . that was a mistake.
Before I could blink, the hunter had Carlos pinned to a tree three yards away. I stopped dead in my tracks, my jaw dropping even though I knew this was normal mating behavior for an alpha whose chosen female hadn’t accepted him. The dude was simply acting on instinct and my earlier suspicion was turning out to be entirely accurate. The hunter was territorial as fuck.
The scent of the Fire Wolf’s illusion spell drifted around me. Thank the gods. At least he was sane enough to hide what he was doing from the humans walking by on the sidewalk.
“Don’t. Touch. Her.” A low growl rumbled in the hunter’s chest.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t that sane . . .
Carlos’s eyes widened, but then they narrowed. “It doesn’t look like she wants you touching her either. From what I can see, you have no claim on her.”
The hunter’s nostrils flared before he slammed my ex into the tree again.
Carlos groaned. “She’s okay with me walking her, though.” The corner of his mouth kicked up.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. This was worse than I’d thought it would be. Both of them were now occupied in a pissing contest. Werewolves, seriously, but ah-ha! Silver lining.
I used the opportunity to make a beeline for the street corner. As much as Carlos had intended to help me today, I wasn’t so stupid as not to see what he was really doing. Yes, he was honest in his intentions to help me, but given his recent text messages, he was also looking to rekindle our relationship, which wasn’t something I was interested in.
And if the dude felt like pushing the Fire Wolf’s buttons, I wouldn’t get in his way, but that was on him, not me. I had shit I needed to get done today.
I whipped my phone out and began furiously tapping. With any luck, I would be in a hired ride, driving away, before either of them had put their dicks back into their pants.
I was one tap away from confirming my ride when the sound of footsteps came from behind me. I hurriedly finished the request, before swinging around to find both men staring at me. Carlos was now keeping his distance, and he kept giving the hunter wary glances.
So much for a quick getaway.
“I’ll escort you to the SF.” The Fire Wolf’s hands fisted.
“I don’t need an escort.”
His gaze flashed to Carlos, then back to me, as if saying, you were going to let him escort you.
I merely raised my eyebrows. Clean break. We needed a clean break.
The hunter glowered but something flashed in his eyes. Worry maybe? “Tala,” he growled, before he prowled closer to me.
I jumped back. “Keep your distance, please.”
He stopped, his frown turning into a glacial scowl.
Carlos’s lips twitched, and the hunter shot him a murderous glare at which my ex wisely wiped his face clean.
“Tala, I can help you.” The hunter’s plea came out through gritted teeth.
“I don’t need your help, thanks. I’m just fine on my own.”
“Tala,” he snapped. “Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m not being difficult. If anything, you’re being difficult. I’m merely stating the obvious. I don’t need you to escort me to the SF. I’m a big girl.”
His scowl grew even darker, especially when Carlos took another step in my direction. “So you’re going to let him escort you?” the Fire Wolf demanded.
I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose, because I had no doubt the hunter was currently experiencing an overriding urge to claim me and mark me as his. The mating instinct was obviously sinking its teeth into him so deeply that he couldn’t have fought that bitch off if he’d wanted to. Right now, he just wanted to stamp his ownership of me, and that reaction was only being heightened because my ex was present.
I bundled my coat tighter around me as I imagined what said ownership would look like. The dude would probably insist on tattooing my forehead with something like, Property of Fire Wolf. Do not touch. If you do, I’ll dismember you. And if that doesn’t get the point across, I’ll burn you in my black flames ’cause I’m a demon werewolf who’s also something else as I have magic, but my chosen mate doesn’t know what that other part is because we just met. But anyway, beware. She’s mine.
Yeah, no thanks. Because despite my undeniable attraction to the hunter, I wasn’t going down that path. Any attraction he felt toward me was one hundred percent driven by his wolf, and well, I wanted more than that. The Fire Wolf’s interest in me had only started after his wolf had gotten a whiff of my true scent. Prior to that, my arousal had merely amused him. Amused him. Hence, he wasn’t actually attracted to me. He only wanted me now ’cause his wolf told him to, and I wasn’t interested in getting wrapped up in that mating crap. I wanted something real.
My long blond hair blew over my shoulder while I continued waiting for my ride as the Fire Wolf’s and Carlos’s energies barreled into me from behind. I could only imagine what my ex was thinking right now.
I sighed and shot the hunter another annoyed stare. “Okay, seriously. I don’t have the energy for this right now, so can you just go away? Please?”
“Why are you standing on a street corner?” He frowned, completely ignoring my request. Shocker.
“Because I’m waiting for my ride.”
Carlos ran a hand through his hair, then asked hesitantly, “So just to clarify, am I understanding this right? He’s interested in you, but you’re not interested in him despite what he claimed he did to you this morning?”