I bounced on my heels as I thought. While the room remained quiet, my dragon reared its head and made a cacophony inside my head. It growled and scratched at me so it could get closer to the Barghest woman.
The dragon inhaled deeply and memorized her scent. I really needed to quench those urges more often. Maybe then I wouldn’t react like a primal beast whenever I ran into a hot woman. The Barghest woman had perfect round hips and thick thighs barely contained by her ripped jeans. I wanted to stick my fingers into the holes of her jeans and feel the skin beneath.
Why was I having such weird thoughts? I shook myself.
“Look, that’s a lot to ask of anyone,” I said to keep my mind off her body. “I’m not going to do anything without good reason.”
She lifted her head. A firm resolution swept over her. It chased away the tremble that had her shaking after my roar. “Either you do what I ask, or I’m not helping you.”
I groaned. “How about this? I’ll think on it.”
I didn’t have the time to think on it. Morgan would find me. I knew him. He would have started his hunt the moment he’d discovered what happened. I’d left without word, without leaving any kind of explanation behind. Morgan wasn’t going to leave it at that.
But the Barghest woman let out a soft sigh of relief, and I melted.
Fucking women. Why did she have such sway over me? I knew I needed her help, but this seemed like more than just desperation.
“Tell me,” I began, “how you plan on helping me. What can you do for me?”
She lifted a brow. “Well, I need to know what your problem is. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do until you tell me.”
The smell of blood and ozone filled the air. I tried to shut it out, but the scent wouldn’t go away. It hung around me like a ghost I couldn’t exorcise. I held my breath and waited for it to leave me alone.
When I opened my mouth, the taste of metal covered my tongue. I snapped my mouth closed and tried to breathe through my nose. The Barghest woman, whose name I still didn’t know, stared at me. I breathed deep and shoved the memories down.
“What should I call you?” Those were the only words I could manage. I couldn’t bring myself to explain what I needed. The memories were still too fresh, despite how long I’d been running. Guilt and remorse hit me like a tsunami and left me reeling. I couldn’t even think long enough to figure out what I needed from her. “I need your name and why your pack hates you.”
She let herself fall back onto the couch. Her curls fluttered around her face and made her seem younger than I’d first thought. Her smoldering gaze slid to the side as her lips twisted into a disgruntled scowl. I thought I saw a hint of incoming tears.
What the hell was I supposed to do if she cried?
But she didn’t. She pressed her eyes shut for a heartbeat. When she opened them again, she met my gaze without fear.
“Vanessa. Call me Ness, though. I was named after my father’s mother, but I never really liked her all that much.” She sucked her teeth. “As for why my pack hates me, they don’t. Well, not everyone, at least. It’s just my alpha and his family. Alvin is an absolute son of a bitch. You met his son earlier.”
I studied her face for lies. She remained unreadable, though. The tension in the room sent static dancing along my skin. She clearly had an affinity for storms, same as me. I found it strange that the Barghest I’d been searching for would have the same elemental powers. What were the chances?
Though I wanted to sit beside her and feel the electricity between us grow sharp, I backed up until the back of my legs hit a chair. Sitting across from Ness, with a coffee table between us, I weighed my options once again. She could help me. I knew she could.
“Fine. Give me time to figure out why your Alpha is being a bastard.” I hated the words that came out of my mouth.
Was I really going to do this? Was I going to kill a man to get this woman’s help? It seemed so. I didn’t have any other choice. I’d taken a life before, and nothing had been the same ever since. Would another life change much? Would I see this man’s face at night when I tried to sleep? Or would his death feel justified?
Before I could say anything else, Ness jumped to her feet. She wiped her boot-prints off the coffee table, grabbed her drink, and marched towards the exit. She gave me a wave over her shoulder.
“I’ll see you when you make up your mind, big boy.”
I fumbled out of my seat to chase after this skittish shifter. Damn, she had a habit of running.