and they fluttered in the breeze. The animal growled. Eyes pale blue and far too human narrowed. He was pissed and because of that didn't think before leaping.
The beast knocked me to the ground. As I fell, I shoved the weapon into the wolf's chest to the hilt, then twisted.
Flames burst from the wound. Silver did that to a werewolf, one of the reasons I preferred killing them from a distance.
The animal snarled in my face. I held on to the knife despite the heat, despite the blood, and as the thing died in my arms I watched his eyes shift from human to wolf. It was an oddity I'd never get over, that change at the end.
Legend says that werewolves return to their human form in death, but that isn't true. Not only do they remain wolves, but they also lose their last remnant of humanity as they go straight to hell - or at least I hope that's where they go.
When the fire was gone and the wolf stopped squirm-ing, I shoved the body off me and yanked out my knife. Then I saw something disturbing.
The wolf I'd killed was female.
I scanned the area, searching for the male I'd expected. I was certain the shadow I'd observed in the alley had been a man's. I'd followed the wolf that had come out the other side. Hadn't I?
This one? Or had the male from town been following her as I had? If so, he would have attacked when she did. They couldn't help themselves.
Another mystery. Why wasn't I surprised?
I retrieved the gun, cleaned off my knife in the grass, then stuck it back in my boot. I wiped my bloody hands on my jeans - they were already stained, as was my shirt, but at least the dark material of both, combined with the less than bright sky, helped disguise what was staining them.
My palms tingled. A quick examination proved they were sore but not blistered, so I ignored them, following standard J-S procedure as I made a wolf bonfire to get rid of the evidence.
After sprinkling the body with a special accelerant - a new invention courtesy of the scientific division of the J-S society - I threw on a match. The flames shot past my head. Hot, strong, fiery red. Just what I needed to get my job done quickly.
Until recently, burning wolves took a long, long time. In order to remain secret and undetected, Jdger-Suchers needed to do their jobs and dispose of the evidence before anyone was the wiser. The new accelerant was a big help in that direction.
I thought to check in with Edward while I waited for the flames to abate. Unfortunately, I'd left my cell phone in the car. Oh well, if I woke him it would be payback for his waking me. And I liked payback -
almost as much as I liked killing things.
"Isn't that illegal?"
The voice, coming from behind me without warning, had me pulling my gun as I spun around. The man stared at my Glock without blinking.
I frowned. Most people flinched when you stuck a gun in their face. And mine was in his face. He'd gotten so close I had nearly clocked him in the nose with the barrel.
How had he snuck up on me like that?
Narrowing my eyes, I gave him the once-over. This was fairly easy, since he wasn't wearing any shirt.
The veins in his arms stood out, as if he'd been lifting - reps for definition rather than weight for strength.
His chest was smooth yet defined, with flat, brown nipples that only accentuated the pale perfection.
I'd never been much for beefcake. Hell, be honest, I'd never been much for men. Seeing your fiance torn into bloody pieces in your dining room did that to a girl.
However, I found myself staring at this one, fascinated with the taut, ridged muscle at his abdomen. Even his shaggy brown hair was interesting, as were his oddly light brown eyes, which shone almost yellow in the wavering light of the moon. I figured in the daytime they'd be plain old hazel.
His cheekbones were sharp, his face craggy. As if he hadn't been eating well or sleeping any better. And despite the pale shade of his eyes, there was a darkness to them that went deeper than the surface. Still, he was handsome in a way that went beyond pretty and stopped just short of stunning.
He had managed to pull on some black pants, though the button hung open,