He pulled me flush against his chest until our bodies molded together, which was definitely not needed for a portal transfer, and something about his grip felt possessive.
“What’s gotten into you?”
For the briefest moment, his grip relaxed and he shook his head. His expression cleared and another flutter of confusion drifted across his face before he said, “I don’t know. I mean, nothing.”
Obviously, I thought sarcastically. Maybe the dude didn’t sleep at all. He certainly seemed out of sorts, and he may have been standoffish previously, but he’d never been an outright asshole.
“Do you understand what you need to do when we get there?” he asked. To the side of us, his portal widened until it was large enough for two.
“Yep. Tell you where Tessa is and leave the rest to you while my weak ass sits on the sidelines.”
A muscle in his jaw clenched. “You’re not weak.” For the briefest moment, he leaned down and inhaled, but then he jolted himself upright, his spine snapping into a rigid line.
Okay, the dude was seriously starting to worry me.
“Stay close when we emerge,” he added. “I’ll tell you where to go while I handle things.”
Some of the fight sputtered out of me as I began to wonder if his irritation and discombobulated actions were because of the upcoming rescue. Maybe it wasn’t Carlos’s text or sleep related at all. For all we knew, an army was guarding my sister and the Fire Wolf was only one supernatural.
“Are you sure it’s smart to do this alone?”
He eyed me briefly, crimson fire rolling through his eyes, before an additional golden flare ringed his irises. Huh, that’s new.
“I always work alone.” He dipped us into his portal, and it felt as though the ground dropped out from beneath me as the portal winds swirled around us, creating a medley of sensations.
I welcomed the distraction, since once again, the feel of the hunter’s body and the fragrance of his intoxicating scent were playing mind tricks on me more powerful than a Jedi warrior’s, and that was the last kind of reaction I needed considering his new labile behavior.
The transfer’s jarring sensations stopped when the portal deposited us into a bustling city. We landed smack in the middle of a busy sidewalk, and my eyes widened in alarm before the hunter said, “Relax. I have an illusion spell cast around us. Nobody can see or hear us.”
“Now you tell me.”
Wherever we were, it had to be in a northern state. The sun was setting, and it was cold. All of the humans hurrying by on the sidewalk wore heavy coats, and the smell of snow hinted in the air.
A vibrant skyline filled the horizon as we inched to the edge of the sidewalk so none of the humans would walk into us in our invisible state.
“Where are we?” A shiver struck me so I wrapped my arms around myself.
“New York. That’s Manhattan.” He nodded to the skyline, then tugged me forward and around the corner.
Several dark alleyways lined the narrow street, and at the end of it was a nightclub. Neon lights flashed around the club’s entrance, and a bouncer was stationed at the front door.
“A bit early for clubbing, don’t you think?”
“I think your sister’s kept in there.” He pointed toward the club, then peered down at me. “Can you feel her?”
My heart jolted, and I immediately tuned into the witch-twin bond I shared with Tessa. My heart thumped even more when the bond vibrated to life, buzzing and glowing. “Oh gods, yes!”
“Where?”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling, my brow furrowing as I let it guide me. Down. “I think they have her underground.”
My eyes flashed open to find the hunter all up in my personal space. At some point in the last few seconds, he’d moved closer, doing it in that silent way of his. The look of hunger on his face had me taking a step away.
“Dude.”
At my loud comment, he startled and took a huge step back. He shook himself, as if coming out of a trance.
“This way,” he growled. The Fire Wolf led me into one of the narrow alleyways, then backed me up to a concrete wall. “Stay here, and stay hidden. We don’t need anyone recognizing you.”
He made a move to leave, but then abruptly turned back to me and slammed his forearms against the wall on either side of my face until he was caging me in. “Who’s Carlos?”
I yelped in surprise, his movement so violent and so unexpected that I’d been caught completely unaware. But I composed myself and replied, “What?”
He growled again. “I saw that text, and I have to know. Who’s Carlos?”
So it was the text that’d gotten him all weird and bothered. But again, how did that make sense? I tried to shove him away from me, but he didn’t move. “Seriously, what is wrong with you right now? My sister is being held captive and you’re supposed to save her, and instead, you’re asking me about a text I got?”
His jaw locked, and his nostrils flared. He inched closer before leaning down. “I don’t know why, but I need to know. I won’t be able to concentrate until I do.”
Okay, the dude was mental, seriously mental. I’d hired not only the scourge of society but also a complete nut case. How he’d kept his insanity hidden away for the past twenty-four hours was beyond me, but it was now official—the dude was insane.
I gritted my teeth together. “What. Is. Wrong. With. You.”
He scowled, the expression so dark and foreboding that my eyes widened. “Just tell me who he is. I feel like if I know, that this . . . feeling . . . in me will go away.”
Feeling in him? Okay. We were now talking about our feelings. Holy fucking tuna fish.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend.”
His jaw clenched so tightly, that I swore the bone was about to snap. “If he’s an ex, why is he texting you?”
I gave him an incredulous look. “Do you hear yourself right now? What does Carlos have to do with anything? You’re supposed to be saving Tessa!”
“I don’t know, I just—” His gaze dipped, and he took a deep breath. Heat rolled off him, and his forearm muscles clenched, still trapping me against the wall. “I think I need to scent you again, to feel . . . normal. Something’s going on with me. I need—” I tensed when he brought his head forward and his lips grazed close to my ear. Despite his completely crazy behavior at present, a tingle of goosebumps raced down my spine. “Release your cloaking spell, just for a second.”
Another shiver ran through me and I wanted to kick myself because now I was acting mental too, but I was powerless to resist his request. Or at least, that was what I told myself.
I called up my magic and deactivated my spell. The heavy cloak fell off me for the second time in twenty-four hours, and my magic surged forth, rushing through my veins and tingling along my skin as it raced from its confining cage.
The Fire Wolf sank more into me, as his head lowered and his nostrils flared. He inhaled sharply, the sound fast and deep. A low, vibrating growl came from the hunter’s throat.
Before I could ask him if he would rescue my sister now, his arms whipped down and pulled me flush against him, those limbs like bands of steel as they locked around my waist in a jolting lash.
I cried out in surprise as he hauled me up to his chest, his eyes locking onto mine. Crimson fire rolled in his irises, but something else did too. A glow, that subtle golden hue flared behind the flames again, and in that moment, I knew that I was looking at his wolf.