Chapter 9: Chapter Nine

Blood.

Warm.

Slick.

Delicious.

Enticing liquid.

It pounded against his senses through every human’s vein within and outside the pub’s vicinity.

While Ryder wasn’t the bloodsucker in their dual group of misfits—him being a werewolf, and Zayden de la Vega being a vampire—he had to admit, feeling the way blood ebbed and flowed within the bloodstream of his prey and knowing that he could stop the flow at any moment was an entirely different level of high, which called out to that baser animalistic instinct of his.

And, it did a lot of good, distracting him from a certain blonde human who had invaded his thoughts, confused him and his wolf, and made him act out of character.

Forcing himself to stay hidden earlier, lurking in the shadows and simply watching her, went against every instinct he had.

The need to touch her skin had totally consumed him, until it almost seemed like he would snap in half from the tension.

Not immediately touching her had driven him and his wolf crazy. When he had gripped her neck and aligned his body with hers, it had taken tremendous effort on his part not to mount her there and then, like the barbaric heathens werewolves were thought to be.

Touching her had not only calmed him a bit, but it had also heightened whatever it was that had drawn him to her in the first place. And knowing that she had been hurt by either his father or his inner cycle had only made his wolf rage harder.

Her scent, even though she had been caked in mud and filth should have been dulled, but it felt like he had been doused in that honeycomb and wildflower scent that was only unique to her the moment he had come in contact with her.

And now, even though he had showered and put a sizeable distance between them, there was a bit of her scent that still clung to him like a second skin, making his wolf prance and hit against the cage he had put it in, wanting to go back to the human it had sniffed out and wanted to claim to.

It wouldn’t end well. Ryder knew that.

Though the physical distance helped in dampening the brewing infatuation he felt towards the human girl, it did nothing for his wolf. It only made it antsy and more needy by the minute.

This silly infatuation was making him lose his head, as it was proving to be such a nuisance already. He really hoped it would go away sooner rather than later, as he needed to get his head back in the game and not hung up on the pretty human.

So, instead of focusing on what he wanted, which was unraveling the mystery around his sudden interest in the human slave and why his wolf was going berserk over her, Ryder focused his attention on sniffing out his prey.

“Can I get you anything else?” the bartender asked, leaning against the bar as she cleared away his empty glass and offered him a friendly yet slightly suggestive smile.

“No, that would be all, thank you,” he uttered, as he checked out his mark, who was pretending to be inconspicuous, through his peripheral vision.

Another day, another time, he would have been eager to accept her invitation. But now that his whole mind and body were distracted by a certain woman, he needed to release his aggression somewhere else, otherwise he risked hurting the bartender.

He ignored the disappointed look on her face as he dropped a couple of bills on the bar and headed out of the pub, well aware that he had caught the attention of his mark.

Well, this is going to be fun, he thought, as he strolled out into the darkened alley, whistling a tune, acting as if he wasn’t aware that he was being followed, laughing inwardly at the stupid human male who thought he could get the drop on him.

He found it insulting that whoever had it out for him was sending low tier human gang members after him instead of hiring from either of the gangs operated by the supernatural species.

But he knew that whoever was after him didn’t know the truth of what he was—which wasn’t a surprise, considering all the effort the gangs had gone to to hide within plain sight and keep the truth of their existence a secret—otherwise, Ryder would be on a different kind of hunt tonight.

In a way, he was sad that this particular hunt was going to end sooner than he would have wanted.

But the fun part was yet to come.

Again, he wasn’t the bloodsucker, but he did enjoy playing with his prey, and this one would be no different.

Although, he would have wanted a prey who wasn’t human, as humans tended to break easily.

The man tailing him, for all appearances, appeared to be a boring and unremarkable kind of guy. Though the three guns he seemed to be carrying beneath his sweatshirt and the knives that poked out from beneath his hoodie begged to differ.

It made Ryder’s lips twitch with mirth at the confidence with which his newest assassin carried himself. But he was glad for the weapons, as he was in the mood for a good fight and needed to expend all this pent-up energy before he had to return to the pack house.

He had a certain reputation he didn’t want to be messed with, while in company of the Alpha and his sleazy inner circle. And, returning to the pack house while still feeling the influence of his encounter with Saffron would definitely break through that ruse, like taking a sledgehammer to a glass wall.

So, he wasn’t entirely disappointed that whoever was after him had stepped up from sending wannabe assassins who couldn’t hold a gun right to sending one who clearly knew how to wield not just a gun, but multiple weapons, if Ryder could guess correctly. And when it came to weapons, he was never wrong.

It only took a few steps before his would-be attacker decided to take him down, making Ryder’s lips turn down slightly.

Yeah, this was going to go down way easily and quicker than he had anticipated, much to his disappointment.

But a fight was a fight, and he needed to get his kicks somehow. And maybe, he could go back to the pub and take up that sexy bartender up on her offer when he was done, so he could release the rest of his pent-up energy.

Chuckling under his breath, Ryder turned right, just as his attacker brandished one of his daggers and aimed for Ryder’s heart through his back.

With one quick jab, Ryder had dislodged the dagger from his assailant and had him in a chokehold.

Although, his hold on him wasn’t tight, so the man was able to wiggle out of Ryder’s hold, swiping a blade from his boots and slicing against Ryder’s forearm.

The man was good; Ryder would give him that. Although the slice of the blade only made him laugh, as the wound closed almost as soon as he had gotten it—thanks to his superior healing abilities—leaving behind only a trail of blood as evidence of the assault.

“What the hell are you?” the would-be assassin gasped, as he watched the wound close, with a mixture of fear and disgust, his terror clear in his voice and the quake in his confident stance.

“Your worst nightmare,” Ryder replied in a toneless voice, allowing his wolf out of its cage and letting the human glimpse it through his eyes.

A whimper escaped him, and without a second wasted, he tucked tail and ran for his life, abandoning his weapons and the monster behind.

But it was a little too late for that. Now that Ryder’s wolf had scented him, there was no way he was going to let him go.

His life had been forfeited the moment he had accepted the hit against Ryder. It was only fair that he let his wolf have a little fun. After all, Ryder had subjected it to the cage for a while today.

Now, the hunter has become the hunted.

Not that he was any hunter to begin with, Ryder thought with a dark chuckle.