Page 7 of Lycan and Lark
The brick wall held him up as he took a deep restorative breath. When he felt able to stand again without wobbly legs, he teleported back to his temporary apartment. He had other hideaways and safe houses in more secluded places but this one was closer to Aria and required him to travel the least amount to watch her. The apartment wasn’t much, but he only had to steal the bare minimum to pay rent if his compulsion didn’t work and he didn’t draw attention to himself here. The tenants were noisy and he’d had to discreetly break up more than one domestic dispute. The scumbags in question would wake up with a migraine and the feeling that their balls were nearly severed. After that they usually limped away, leaving their poor victims to recover.
The smell of weed floated through an open window and he sighed. It was no fairytale home, but compared to where he grew up, it might as well be heaven. He slid through the closet of freshly acquired clothing and selected a sleek black suit. It would help him to fit in with the other nightly patrons while he loitered around Luna + Lupine. He checked his appearance in the mirror, once more donning the illusion of the dark-haired, blue-eyed male. His ever-changing eyes peered at him from beneath the magic. They reflected the lives of all those he had stolen powers from. His reflection was nothing but a mirror of ghosts that would haunt him forever.
He pulled his mind out of its dark trip down memory lane and prepared himself for travel. The limo would be at Luna + Lupine by now. When he thought of the lycan who had made Aria laugh, his wolf stiffened within. The beast surged, pushing toward the surface and Lark fought to keep his own skin. Taking a deep inhale, his shaky hands gripped the windowsill.
The animal was getting stronger by the day, harder to control. Creedin had never allowed Lark to work much with his beast and so the rift between them only grew. Since they had found Aria his wolf had been forcing itself to the surface more frequently. There had been a few times Lark had blacked out and woken up covered in blood. He sighed and the animal growled in satisfaction. His wolf was dangerous. Lark had never had other lycans in his life to teach him the ways of being one with his inner animal. If only things had been different, if only…No.If onlywas a waste of time. Lark steadied himself, visualized the familiar club, and teleported.
* * *
The world reappeared around him and he was facing Luna + Lupine’s crowded front. He took an inconspicuous position across the street near the crowd of smokers and clubgoers waiting for their friends and rides. He turned down several advances from drunk women, and eventually cloaked himself in an aura of darkness and fear. The girls had stopped coming and he had moved deeper into the shadows.
The doors to the club flew open and loud electronic music spilled into the street. His wolf perked up and he drew his attention to the figure that came storming out. Aria. Holding a phone to her ear, she waved her arms around dramatically. Lark slid closer, watching her as she moved farther from the entrance.
Aria’s head suddenly shot up and she stilled. He froze, too. Had she sensed his presence? But a moment later she darted toward a nearby alley. Lark followed, keeping hidden behind a parked car. A scream emanated from the seedy alley but it wasn’t Aria’s. He peered up in time to see Aria punch a lowlife who had a dark-haired girl trapped in the alley. The man screamed again and bolted away. Blood gushed from his face. Aria had most certainly broken his nose. Damn, that woman was sexy, strong, and ruthless. He groaned at the way her creamy toned legs worked beneath her short dress. She smiled triumphantly before locking her arm with the other girl’s and heading back toward the club. Aria talked excitedly as they made their way to the entrance and then disappeared inside.
Lark settled up against a wall. It would likely be a while before she emerged again. Before long he saw a familiar figure come outside. It was the dark-haired woman from the alley. She was accompanied by Aria’s brother, Gideon. The duo got into a car and headed off. No one else emerged, and Lark took his place back in the shadows. Half an hour later, more of Aria’s party guests exited the club. They spoke frantically, several jumping into cars and others hurrying back inside. He could sense the anxiety in their panicked features. What had happened? Did it involve Aria?
Finally Aria emerged. Her blue heels clicked across the pavement. The cowboy lycan hurried after her. She turned and yelled something at him before stomping away. Lark didn’t miss the way she swayed as she walked. Her feet stumbled over the uneven pavement. She was obviously drunk…and alone. He followed her and his gut tightened when a group of men appeared from within the darkness. He recognized the one in the center. Blood still stained his shirt and darkness ringed his eyes. It was the man from the alley earlier. The man Aria had punched and sent packing.
Aria looked unafraid as the group surrounded her. The confidence she exuded made him temporarily believe she could handle herself again. But when she threw a punch, and toppled to the concrete, his heart sank. The men moved in to touch Aria and red filled his vision. All he knew was he had to protect her, had to be there for her, had to destroy anyone who tried to harm her.
Lark’s wolf roiled right at the surface and he allowed magic to take control. He would do anything to keep her safe.
* * *
The party was a disaster. Aria fumed as she sat in the corner of her VIP party room. Things had gone downhill so fast and she didn’t even know where to start. First she had saved her new friend, Dahlia’s, ass from some creep in the alley. Dahlia seemed incredible. She even gave her a special birthday lap dance when the boys failed to procure a stripper. But then she asked Gideon to go home with her andhe had said yes. Just like that, he left in the middle of her birthday party with a complete stranger. It was irritating and Aria had enjoyed most of a bottle of vodka to hide her annoyance. The alcohol drowned out her negative emotions and she had finally started to enjoy herself.
Then Romani arrived.
That stupid, handsome Veil Walker had shimmered his hot self right into her party and taken Leah and Lance to help Gideon. The three had vanished without so much as an explanation. Phone calls came soon after and Laurie was summoned back to the complex. Aaron escorted her and the party literally came to a crashing halt. What a bunch of bullshit.
Aria’d had enough of this shit. She stormed out, pushing through the velvet curtains and out the front door.
“Aria!” Aaron’s voice called after her. She turned on him, fury in her eyes.
“What?”
“Come with us. This is urgent, we have to get back to the complex. Ride back with us and we will pick the party back up in one of the apartments. It will be fun.” He looked at her with apologetic eyes.
“No—thanks.” Her words came out slurred but she didn’t care. She turned to leave and Aaron reached for her. She whirled, snatching her arm away. “I said no thanks. Now fuck off and run back to your Alpha. I’ll finish celebrating alone. Don’t fucking follow me or I’ll tell Gideon you got drunk and tried to grab my tits. And he’ll believe me.”
Aaron appeared startled by her words. His shock morphed into a glare. “Fine but this is your choice, Aria. I tried.” The lycans got into a waiting car and drove away. Aria huffed and stormed off into the darkness.
Gideon and his drama had ruined her party. What an asshole. She was missing Nova like crazy and Gideon seemed to barely have time for her. Nothing was simple anymore. It seemed like every time they had a big outing, some sort of negative event or attack happened. It was getting very annoying.
She stomped down the street, ignoring the way her stomach was churning and how the world suddenly swayed a lot more than normal. Maybe it was the heels. The blue stilettos were absolutely stunning but they suddenly made her feel like she was walking on the deck of a boat in the middle of a fucking storm.
She was about to undo the strappy shoes but stopped when a whistle drew her attention to the nearby darkness.
“You don’t look too sure on your feet, pretty little thing.”
She turned to find the creep from earlier. His face was still bloodied and bruised and dried blood coated the front of his shirt. “Oh look, it’s crunchy face.” Aria pointed to his badly broken nose and giggled. “I told you if you didn’t run away I’d break your dick off too. Come back for more? You have to admit you have it coming.”
The man glared at her but a sinister smile turned up at the corner of his mouth. “I’m not alone anymore, and this time you’re the one who will be suffering at my hands.” The darkened alleyway was suddenly filled with the bodies of five other men. Why hadn’t her wolf alerted her to their presence? She sought out her animal within but it was buried beneath layers and layers of alcohol. She barely felt a connection with it. That feeling of aloneness sent a chill running through her but she had never backed down from a fight.
“Fuck it.” She rolled her shoulders back and lunged for the crunchy man. Her arm felt like it was punching through Jell-O and the world spun as she flew past her target and plummeted onto the concrete, smacking her head hard on impact. The skin on her forearm was gone. It had been taken by the gritty ground as she’d tried to catch herself. She saw the raw and bloodied flesh but the pain didn’t even register through her alcohol-induced haze. Warmth spread across her scalp. She reached a hand to assess the area and when she pulled it back, sticky dark blood coated her fingers. What the hell? She looked up and the group of five men suddenly looked more like ten. She shook her head, trying to clear it but the world continued to swim around her.
Aria pushed up onto her knees but a booted foot flew up and connected hard with the side of her face. A shocked cry escaped her lips as she slammed back to the hard ground. How had that idiot landed a hit on her? This time she did feel the pain. A fiery cluster of heat detonated in her cheek then spidered its way across her face and up into her skull. Tears brimmed her bleary eyes and she spit out a mouthful of blood. She gazed down in disbelief at the crimson pool below her. Was that a fucking tooth?
