N. Walters - Isaiah's Haven

She straightened her shoulders and stiffened her spine. She’d had him for a short time, and she would have no regrets. What she needed was advice.

“What’s the best way to handle the bodies?” She’d never had to dump bodies before. She swallowed hard as bile swirled in her belly and left a sour taste in her throat.

Joshua was staring at her like she had two heads. Isaiah put his hands on her shoulders, turned her and aimed her toward the stairs. His lips brushed the top of her head. “Go upstairs and see to the pack. I’ll take care of this.”

“You’re injured.” With everything, she’d forgotten he’d taken a bullet in his thigh. He was so big, so tough. He acted like being shot was no big deal. And maybe it wasn’t to him. She really had no idea what his life had been like before he met her.

As she watched, he ripped a piece off his shredded shirt. He wrapped it around the wound, stopping the flow of blood. Thankfully, it seemed to have slowed to little more than a trickle. “I’ll take care of it. It’s not serious.”

She really shouldn’t let him take the burden of this on his shoulders. He’d already done enough. She was alpha. It was her job to clean up this mess.

He gave her a slight shove. “Go.” His tone was soft, but there was no mistaking the steel command behind it.

Maybe this was his final job, to fulfill whatever sense of responsibility he felt toward her and her pack. Whatever it was, she was too tired to argue.

“Thank you.” She didn’t turn to face either male. Meredith had no idea if she’d even see Isaiah again or if he’d leave with his brother. She heard them moving around the club, righting tables and chairs as well as dragging the bodies closer to the back entrance.

Heart aching, tears pricking her eyes, she climbed the stairs to her sons’ apartment.

Quinn ducked into a dark doorway and held his breath. He’d seen the purist werewolves head into Haven. Damn Macmillan for that anyway. Why he had to bring them into the mix, Quinn didn’t know.

What the hell should he do?

He heard the first crash and winced. His fingers flexed around the stock of his rifle. He had to stay out of this. This wasn’t his business. Yet it was. There were women and half-breed werewolves in there. They wouldn’t stand a chance against three seasoned purebloods.

“Shit.” He closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the brick wall behind him. He was going to blow a year of hard work. He couldn’t just stand here.

He started to move, but pulled back when a black SUV came to a squealing halt outside Haven. What now?

A huge man climbed out, stripping his clothing as he went. He kicked open the door and changed in one swoop. Holy crap .

Quinn blinked and the second man seemed to disappear. He heard a low cry and glanced to his left. He could see another bounty hunter there in the shadows. Mitch, he thought the guy’s name was. Obviously, Macmillan hadn’t trusted Quinn and had sent another man to watch the street. Right now, it looked as though Mitch was under attack. By a frigging vampire. Quinn had only seen a vampire once before, from a safe distance. And he’d never had the desire to repeat the experience. They were dangerous bastards. The situation was deteriorating rapidly.

Quinn melted back into the shadows as the vampire emerged, licking his lips. His gaze passed over Quinn but quickly moved on, focusing on a group of young men wandering down the street. The vampire quickly enthralled them, taking the time to help himself to some of their blood.

When he was done, he turned to the club and walked inside, closing the door behind him. Quinn eased out of his hiding spot and hurried over to Mitch.

The man seemed dazed. “You okay?”

Mitch nodded. “Yeah. I got a headache.” He rubbed his head. “We might as well head home. No werewolves here.”

Quinn glanced back at Haven and then gripped Mitch by the arm, leading him down the street to his car. “Right. No werewolves here.” Damn, the vampire was good. Saved Quinn the trouble of having to figure out what the hell to do. He couldn’t lose his place with the hunters, not until he was sure they didn’t have the information he needed. But he sure as hell wasn’t killing women or half-breeds. Or any full breeds who weren’t purists for that matter.

He opened the door to Mitch’s car. “You okay to drive? I’ve got my truck parked a couple streets over.”

Mitch winced as he eased into the driver’s seat. “I’m good, man. I’m just gonna call Macmillan, then I’m hitting the bed.”

Quinn shut the door and watched Mitch drive off. Shaking his head, he headed toward his truck. He had some serious thinking to do. Tonight a vampire had almost caught him. That would have ended badly. As it was, he couldn’t quite believe the creature hadn’t seen him.

Maybe he had. Maybe the vampire had been able to see into his head and knew exactly what he was and what he was doing.

Shivering, he pulled his long trench coat around him, hid his rifle beneath the folds and picked up his pace. He needed to be careful in the days ahead. He couldn’t afford to die. Not until he’d done what he’d set out to do.

Isaiah’s thigh stung like a sonofabitch. When he’d taken a good look at the wound, he’d noted the bullet had only skimmed him. Thankfully, the bullet hadn’t lodged in his leg, allowing the silver coating to poison his system. It made for a bloody wound, but not a serious one.

“You okay?” Joshua had asked him that question several times as they’d loaded up the bodies in the back of Joshua’s truck and driven to a secluded area well beyond the city to bury the bodies. They wanted no trace of either male found and linked to them in any way.

“I’m fine.” They were now sitting in Joshua’s truck outside Haven. They’d snuck up the back stairs to Isaiah’s apartment building and used his shower. They’d both needed to wash away all the blood, sweat and grime, and Isaiah had needed to get some clean clothes since most of his had been bloodied or shredded during the fight.

Joshua hadn’t commented on the fact that Isaiah was no longer staying at a motel, but had moved in just down the street from Meredith. He could sense his brother wanted to say something more to him but was choosing his words carefully.

“You’re really staying?”

Isaiah didn’t even need to think about it. “Yeah.” Whether Meredith eventually accepted him fully into her life or not, he loved her and wanted to be with her. More than that, he needed to protect her. “She’s the one for me.”

Joshua tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “You sure don’t do things the easy way.”

A rough laugh broke from Isaiah at his brother’s dry tone. “I guess I don’t.”

“You deserve this, man.” Joshua turned, resting his back against the truck door. “You were always meant to be alpha of your own pack.”

His brother had struck the nail on the head. That was what terrified him the most. What if he let them down as he had his sister? He rubbed his hands over his face, feeling the heavy scrape of stubble against his palm. “I don’t know.”

Joshua snorted. “What’s to know? I’ve never seen you look at a female like this before. And she looks right back. Love her and protect her. You’ll figure the rest out.”

“When the hell did you get so smart?”

His brother grinned, white teeth flashing. “I always told you I was the smart one of the bunch.”

Isaiah punched Joshua on the shoulder. “You told James?” He hadn’t had time to contact his alpha yet.

“Yeah, James is good. If anyone understands needing to find your own way, it’s him. He wishes you well.”