Claiming The Alpha (Wild Obsession #2)(10)
Author: Adriana Hunter

“Meet me here in an hour, okay? I’ve got an errand to run. And then we’ll head out.” Jax slapped Bec on the back and strode out of the room.

Jax wanted to find Nikki, make sure she was back here at the house before they left for the hunt. He’d make sure the pack kept her safe. There would be mates left behind and Jax had no doubt they were just as capable as the guys in taking care of Nikki.

And with any luck, they’d find their prey and this nightmare would end, once and for all.

*

Nikki wanted to be with Jax, more than anything, but Lori’s apartment was so much closer. And maybe she could bum cab fare from Lori and get to Jax’s house, if Lori wasn’t still mad at her from the argument the other day.

She ran through the rain, her shoes soaked, slipping on the wet sidewalks, splashing through puddles as she crossed the street. She bolted up the stairs of Lori’s building, breath rasping in her throat, heart thudding in her chest. When she finally got the door open she darted inside, locking the door and fumbling the security chain in place.

“What the hell?” Lori came out of the kitchen, hands on her hips. “Someone chasing you?”

Nikki stumbled into the living room and collapsed on the couch. It was a minute or so before she caught her breath, before she could speak.

“Ryan…he’s…there’s something really wrong with him.”

Lori dropped into the chair by the couch, lighting a cigarette. “Yeah. He’s kind of sleazy.” She blew out a stream of smoke, her eyes on Nikki. “Did he offer to give you a tattoo for free? I hope you turned that shit down.”

Nikki shook her head. “No. Not that. Much more than that. And you know what he is, Lori, he said you knew.”

Lori sat back, crossing her legs. “Oh.” She breathed out a frustrated sigh. “Bastard. Can’t keep a secret, can’t control himself.” She took a long drag from the cigarette.

“So did he hurt you or just scare you?” Lori’s voice was way too calm for this and it set Nikki’s teeth on edge.

“What the hell difference does that make? You sent me to him…this…creature of a man. A sick, twisted man at that… wanted me to put out in order to get paid before changing into a beast… right before my eyes! And you knew, Lori. You knew all about him.”

Lori looked away, tapping her cigarette into the ashtray. “Yeah. I knew some of that…not all.”

“What do you mean, not all? Let’s start with what you didn’t know about Ryan and work our way backward.”

“I didn’t know he would try to get you to put out rather than pay you. That’s low, even for Ryan.” Lori was quiet for a minute, brow furrowed. “He’s never been interested in sex, as far as I knew. Always more interested in getting high. Must have expanded his horizons lately. Or, he’s obsessed with you.” Lori regarded her for a minute. “I bet it’s you…he did say you were the best dancer at the club, the one he always remembered. Maybe he thought he had some chemistry with you or something.”

“But you knew about the rest? That he’s a…lycanthrope?”

Lori hesitated a moment, eyes locked with Nikki. “How do you even know what that is?” She leaned forward. The suspicion and mistrust in Lori’s voice, her posture, the look she gave Nikki, cut her right to the bone.

“Did Jax fill you in on the details? Or…shit…” And then Lori’s eyes went wide, her face going pale.

“Did you tell Jax about Ryan? Holy shit, if you did…” Lori’s voice was panicked and Nikki could see the pulse beating at the base of her throat. She was spooked, either scared of Ryan or of Jax. Nikki suspected Ryan; she didn’t think Jax was much of a threat to Lori. A pissed off lycanthrope would have to be more dangerous than just some guy Nikki was sleeping with.

Nikki shook her head, frowning. “Huh? No. Other way round.”

“So…your wolf told you about lycanthropes?”

It was Nikki’s turn for wide eyes, for her heart to skip a beat…skip several beats, and her stomach drop. “How the hell did you know about Jax?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“The wolf scent is all over him. I could smell his scent from a mile away. Powerful…very, very powerful. I knew from the first time I saw him, back at the club.” Lori shrugged. “I thought he would be all kinds of bad for you, just a wolf in a man’s clothing. Maybe I was wrong. He’s at least better than some of your boyfriends.”

“His scent? You said, way back when, that he smelled divine.”

Lori snorted. “Yeah. Well, I’ll while we’re hashing out secrets and lies, let me share one of my own.” She leaned forward, stubbing out her cigarette, staring at Nikki through a haze of cigarette smoke. Lori held Nikki’s gaze for a moment and then she smiled.

Nikki recoiled, pulling her legs up beneath her, scooting back into the corner of the couch. Lori had fangs, sharp canine teeth, top and bottom, extending up from the rest of her teeth. Long and white, and very wolf-like. She held up her hands, her fingernails curved and sharp claws.

“Lori…I…why? How long?” Nikki’s heart resumed beating, very fast, the sound of blood rushing in her ears so loud she was sure Lori could hear her. And, judging by the evidence in front of her, Nikki was pretty sure Lori could hear her heart pounding away in her chest.

Lori sat back, the nails and teeth slowly receding. “Seems like forever, but sometime after high school, after you moved out and got your own place.”

“Who did this to you?” Nikki tried to breath, tried to let some of the tension out of her body. But her mind was racing in a million directions, her thoughts shattered like glass. This was someone she’d known since they were little. Someone she’d trusted, who knew her. And it turns out, was a complete stranger herself. Hell, Jax telling her he was a werewolf was nothing to hearing from her best friend that she was a lycanthrope.

“Ryan did it.” Lori shrugged. “He was my dealer, for a long time. And then one day, I almost overdosed. Was seconds away from death, bright white light, the whole thing. And he changed right there and bit me… to save me, I guess. So here I am.”

Every emotion she thought she could have coursed through Nikki. She felt pity for Lori, angry with Ryan, sad that she’d never known this, regret for not being there for her friend. But most of all she was just confused.

“Save you? …But you’ve never…I’ve never seen you change.”

“I don’t usually. And never in front of anyone. Sometimes I get restless and go out at night, but not often. I don’t have the need, anymore. But when I was using, it was harder. I couldn’t control myself…” She tilted her head, regarding Nikki. “You remember. You used to call me a hellion, tell me I was a loose cannon.”

Nikki nodded. At the worst times when she was using, Lori had disappeared, sometimes for just a day or so, but sometimes longer. She’d never told Nikki where she’d gone or who’d she’d been with. Nikki assumed she’d just holed up somewhere with her dealer or some druggie friends and spent the time high. It broke her heart to imagine Lori, as a wolf, out on the street, doing whatever it was wolves did.

“I got off the drugs because of this…it’s almost impossible to control this thing if you’re using. Ryan’s all f**ked up now, in more ways than one. He was probably high today, if he started changing in front of you.”

Nikki nodded, the image of Ryan coming back. “I think he was. He was talking about the sex for pay thing and…then he just went off, grabbing at me, pawing me…and I slapped him.”

Lori winced. “Yeah, that’d set him off.”

She got up, walking into the kitchen. “You want a beer? I think you could use one.”

“Yeah. I guess. So…” Lori came back and handed her a cold bottle, sitting down on the couch. Nikki took a swallow, watching Lori.

“So, Ryan’s a lycanthrope. He bit you, you’re one like him.”

“Um-hum.” Lori took a drink from her beer. “Pretty cut and dried. Not much intricate detail. They bite, you’re one of them.”

“And you knew Jax was a werewolf all along?” Nikki shook her head. “I can’t believe you kept that secret, that you didn’t tell me.”

“Not my place to tell you. I didn’t want you to fall in love with him…I never wanted that. You know, I can’t decide those things for you.”

“But you said he was a good guy.” Nikki frowned. “But you don’t like him?”

“I did think he’s a good guy, still do. But he’s still a werewolf and for one night each month, he’s something totally different than what you know now. There’s no going back from that.”

Nikki was quiet for a long moment. She couldn’t keep any more secrets, didn’t want to hold back now that everything else was out on the table. “He asked me to be his mate.”

Lori almost choked on her beer. “You’re kidding? Really? Jesus…you told him no, right? Tell me you left him, got the hell out.”

Nikki didn’t answer, didn’t need to. She read everything in Lori’s face, watched her eyes narrow, saw the disappointment in their blue depths. “You can’t become a werewolf, Nikki. It’s not what’s good for you. Trust me on this.”

“But I love him.” Why couldn’t Lori see how much this meant to her? Why was her best friend the one putting up roadblocks to her happiness?

“And it’ll be the hardest thing you ever do, if you stay with him. You don’t want that.” Lori shook her head.

Nikki frowned at Lori. “You don’t know what I want. I don’t think you even know me anymore…and I,” she paused only briefly contemplating whether to say it before going forward, “I certainly don’t know you at all.”

Nikki set her beer on the coffee table and stood up. “I’ll come get my stuff later. Just put it all in the duffel, leave it in the hall if you want.”

“Where are you going? Back to Jax?” Lori stood, holding her bottle of beer.

“Yeah, I am. Back to Jax…the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Nikki walked down the hall to the apartment door. She stopped with her hand on the knob and turned around. Lori was leaning against the wall, arms folded across her chest, her face set in hard lines.

“I do care about you, Nikki. But you’re making a mistake. A serious one. I’m looking out for you, like I always have.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t need you to look out for me. Not anymore… not ever again.”

Nikki turned the doorknob and stepped into the hall, closing the door softly behind her. The crash of the bottle hitting the door and the shatter of glass made her jump, but not as much as she thought she would. Lori had a mean throw and Nikki guessed right about now, a trail of beer was running down the other side of the door, pooling among the broken shards of glass on the floor.