She tucked a few more strands of hair behind her ear while she peeked at him. The small gesture made him swallow. Hard. Her subtle study of him made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. A feat no other woman had accomplished.
“Fine. But no matter what I ask, you’ve got to answer. No picking another question—and no one-word answers.”
“You’d better make them good then.” Why did he suddenly not mind the questions?
Because she already knew about Veilers, he reasoned. If he placated her, maybe she’d stop being a pain in his ass.
“First question.” She paused and once again her blue eyes slayed him. “Explain what kind of wolfen you are.”
A brief sentence crossed his mind, but instead he decided to go for the longer version. Damn blue eyes. “Night Runners are half shifters with the unique ability to perceive, experience and feel human subjectivity.”
“How can that be?” she asked.
“Is that your second question?” He sensed her disconcertedness.
“No!” She turned her face away from him as if that might make it easier to refrain from speaking out of turn.
The corners of his mouth lifted without permission. He tried not to enjoy himself, he really did. He decided to give her a little more because…hell, just because. “My father is a werewolf and my mother is a Sentient.”
Her head whipped back in his direction, eyes wide. She was about to speak, then stopped herself and just stared at him like she was trying to decipher a code.
Laughter rang inside him. He saved her by continuing. “So when I shift I remain on two legs and have all the strength and animal instincts of a werewolf, including tissue regeneration, but my mind is able to pick up on things other humans can’t.”
“Like fear,” she said, not in question, but confidence.
Hugh choked. “Among other things, yes.” There was definitely more to Tess than met the eye. She knew about Sentients. Was she some sort of Veiler? Impossible. Her scent was one hundred percent human. He wanted to ask her questions, but bit his tongue. The last thing he needed was to get to know her better.
“I’ve always thought Sentients were angels in human form, but angels don’t procreate outside their kind. Which means…” Lines creased her forehead as she paused. “Are you telling me they’re just human? With special mind powers.”
“That’s right.”
She stopped, leaned against the side of a dilapidated building, and pulled off her shoe. “I keep getting damn pebbles.” She brushed away the tiny rock and fixed the shoe back on her foot.
“Where’d the heels go?” He looked at the broken shoes and tried not to laugh.
“They were slowing me down so I got rid of them.” She stayed put, thinking. He quieted the chatter in his head, not wanting to take advantage of the situation. If he gave into it once, it would be that much easier the next time, and he’d prided himself on keeping his connection to people as human as possible.
Temptation, however, beckoned him like it never had before. Tess was quite possibly the most infuriating, sexy and adventurous woman he’d ever met.
“I need to get a move on,” he said, breaking the silence and stepping away.
“I get to ask one more question.”
Hugh looked over his shoulder. “I believe you just asked it.”
She hadn’t budged.
He wheeled around and, without warning, tossed her back over his shoulder.
“Hey! Put me down!” she wailed.
Fists met his back while he tried not to let his hands roam too much. Or enjoy the feel of her body squirming against his. “You done?”
“Yes.” She surrendered, her body relaxing.
Once again on solid ground and falling in step beside him, she added, “You’re so going to pay for that.” Tugging her dress back into position, she let out a rankled sigh. “Believe me buddy, as fast as you want to be rid of me, I want to be rid of you faster.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Shmuck,” she whispered under her breath, obviously unaware that he could hear a pin drop. “So Night Runner, why would someone want to kidnap your friend?”
“That’s a good question. One I…” He halted and put a firm hand on Tess’s arm. His senses perked up. An acidic smell touched his nose. Whispers of breath, raspy and gruff, touched his ears. Someone or something was close. Very close.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, no hint of fear in her voice.
He looked around but saw nothing. Whatever was out there was very good at masking itself. “Nothing.” With his hand on her arm, he moved them forward with caution. “And to answer your question, I don’t know. I met you tonight because I thought you might be able to shed some light on the situation.”
“How the hell could I do that? I just met you.”
“Yeah. About that.” Only a few hundred more feet and they’d be out of the alley, closer to a safer part of town. Shit. Was he walking them toward danger or away from it?
“About what?” She didn’t seem to mind his hand on her arm. In fact, she lifted it and put her arm underneath his to join them in stronger companionship.
That small gesture was all it took to convince him to tell her the truth. “My name’s not Trey. Trey is my missing friend. My name’s Hugh. Hugh Langston.”
She doubled over at his admission, breaking their arm connection. Choking sounds and attempts to catch her breath followed. “Hugh. Langston.” She uttered his name like it was laced with poison.
Before he could reply to her charming echo of his name, the source of his apprehension made an appearance. With a thump that shook the ground, a savage, shaggy, burnt-orange-haired Banoth dropped from above in front of them. How the hell the giant had gone unnoticed was beyond him, but here he was.
“What the—”
“No time, Tess.” He yanked her behind him then turned and grabbed her hand. “Run!”
Chapter Five
Holy shit.
Tess hated hearing the word run. She didn’t mind the act of doing so, just despised the fact that when yelled, it meant someone or something was chasing her. And she hated being chased.
But more than being chased, she hated not knowing what the hell was in hot pursuit of her ass.
He looked like a wooly mammoth on two feet—thick, clubbed feet, which right now moved too swiftly for his big size. Long hair hung over his extremely tall body, and spiraling, jagged horns protruded from his oversized head. Lips like an orangutan’s spread all the way across his face while thick saliva sputtered from his mouth. Hair covered his eyes too, allowing only a peek at his red, crazy stare. Yes, it was a he, she decided. No female creature would wear a beard that hideous.
With another quick glance over her shoulder, she found the beast a bit too close for comfort. And yet, excitement shot through her. She lived for danger. And the creature wanting to take a bite out of her was very dangerous. When she’d left to follow Trey—Hugh—she hadn’t imagined the evening turning out like this.
Hugh.
“Quick, down this way!” he yelled, his hand still firmly holding hers.
She matched him stride for stride. When her mind wandered to him shifting and what that might feel like, she gave herself a mental slap. Hugh was her assignment, the wolfen she had to investigate and e-l-i-m-i-n-a-t-e.
Nausea hit her so fast she was sure she’d throw up while running. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she yelled.
“Not here, you’re not. If we stop for even a second, that thing will overtake us.”
She swallowed the bad taste coming up her throat and tried to catch a breath. If he hadn’t been gripping her hand so tight, there was no way she would have been able to continue at the Olympic pace he’d set. “What the hell is that thing?” she asked, pushing aside the appreciation his protection stirred inside her.