Page 7 of Poison's Kiss
I never see Amy's aura warning me of what's to come before she uses her inhuman strength to slam me against the wall, brutally ripping me out of my stupid, silent inquiry. I can't believe I just let my guard down in front of a lycan that hates me with a passion.
A few gasps rattle out as her hands grip my throat, squeezing me just tight enough to make me strain for air. I don't care if I risk exposure or not, I'm not dealing with this.
Just before I decide to shock the fuck out of her, Kane is suddenly breaking us apart, hauling Amy off me.
"Damn it, Kane! Let me handle this. She deserves to have her ass kicked one good time for fucking with us," she growls while squirming against his hold.
He pins her arms to her sides as all the eyes of the party fall to us.
"Stop it now," he warns, keeping his voice low enough to escape the normal hearing register of the humans. "She's not worth risking all we've fought to build here. If yououtus, we'll have to move before the council finds out."
"Do whatever you want to me," I scoff while walking away. "There's not a whole lot worse than what you've already done."
I push past Zee who seems more curious than angered this time. He follows me out, and I prepare myself for anything as I start heading down the steps.
"Alyssa, can I ask what you were doing with Kane if you weren't after Cas-"
He stops when he realizes there are too many people outside for this conversation. I whirl around to answer anyway.
"Because I cared about him. Because he made me feel excited, happily terrified, and safe all at once. I fell in love with him, but you all already know this. It's just in your nature to toy with my kind. You love the mind-fucking games that make us shiver and leave us in tears moments before there's nothing left to give - if you know what I mean."
I take a step toward him as I glance over my shoulder to make sure no one can see what I'm about to reveal to him. I'm ready to show him I know exactly what they're all capable of.
Waving my hand over my shoulder, I peel back the fabric to reveal my nasty little secret. Zee's eyes widen as his mouth falls open.
"This happened the night of the botched trap?" he asks while seeing the two bites run together.
"One of them did. The other happened a long time ago."
My eyes fall down to my horrid scars and marred flesh. It looks more like a bear attack than a vampire bite on the first one. Isolis's bite wasn't quite as dramatic, but it still left the proof of his presence. The smaller wound is barely noticeable anymore compared to the monstrosity beside it.
"Who did this?" he asks, feigning concern.
I roll my eyes at his insincere gesture, and then I cover the proof while slipping my shirt back into place.
"It doesn't matter. The point is you don't have to keep waving your veiled threats around. I know perfectly well what you're all capable of doing."
He frowns as if he's mulling over all the facts. I'm sick of the games.
"Zee!" Kane yells, his voice less than thrilled when he sees us talking and mistakes it for light conversation. He stalks toward us, and my blood boils. "One fucking simple request. I told you all to just avoid her, and yet, you and Amy have to speak to her the first time we run into each other. Un-fucking-believable."
"Kane, I-"
"Don't, Zee. Just leave the trash outside and head back in. I struck up a deal with the blond in there that I can assure you is much more appealing than the blond right here."
My stomach slaps my throat almost as hard as his tart retort slaps my heart. I walk away, refusing to look behind me as I hurry back to find Gage. Just as I reach the top of the stairs, Heath is waiting.
He looks completely healed. His body doesn't show any signs of the brutal beating he received just a few weeks ago. How is that even possible? I saw his face distorted in ways a plastic surgeon couldn't have possibly repaired so quickly.
"Well I'll be damned. You look so good tonight, and now I hear you're single."
Stupid drunks. Stupid aura. Stupid, stupid party!
"Single, but still not interested. Touch me and I'll break your face for good this time."
His laughter proves to me his memory has been wiped. He has no idea what Kane did to him that night. Reflexively, I turn around to look for the man I once considered my human hero.
I'm surprised to find him actually staring back, seeming to be seething as he stares at us. He hated Heath long before he knew me, so there's no point in assuming this has anything to do with any lingering feelings. He's too cold to feel anything but dark. He's a night stalker. A bloodthirsty, sadistic bastard.
