Hunt Me! (I Crave The Chase) - Page 185

He was stubborn.

I shouldn’t have come here.

I realized that now. It was pointless. And these hunters were as likely to help me as they were to shoot me with the fucking pistols they kept strapped to their hips. The guns glinted, and I forced myself not to take an anxious step back.

I’m stuck now.

I wished I’d had the foresight to accept Avery’s offer of backup. Or at the very least, let Mutt know where I was headed. Though…him walking in here as a feral alpha was a recipe for disaster.

For an hour I schmoozed, plying the group with jokes and stories of the shit Lydia and I had done. With every bloody anecdote and their resulting laughter, I hated them just a little bit more. These people were fucking evil. The way they snorted when I regaled them with my first goblin hunt was disgusting at best.

“Did they squirm?” Handlebar asked, eyes dancing. “I love when they squirm.”

“Knife or gun?” the woman asked.

“I made one explode once,” round glasses hummed, voice low and nasally. “Covered him in C4 then watched him go kaboom.” He mimed an explosion with his hands, then frowned. “It was messier than expected.”

“How can you expect anything less than a mess if you’re blowing them up?” The woman rolled her eyes. “Slow and steady is the answer.”

“You only say that because you like to bleed them,” Nieve laughed.

I wanted to throw up.

But my smile never wavered.

Get me out of here.

Fuck fuck fuck.

I shouldn’t have come.

I shouldn’t have come.

A phone buzzed.

Thank fucking God.

The conversation stopped as handlebar pulled his phone out of his pocket with a grimace. A grimace that quickly morphed into something wicked. “Evans,” he said, addressing me, his eyes burning. “Looks like you’re about to get your wish.”

“What?” My ears were ringing.

“Just got a call about a rogue alpha wolf not that far from here.”

I couldn’t breathe.

My smile never fell.

“A rogue alpha?” I laughed, two seconds from breaking in half. Please don’t be Mutt. Please don’t be Mutt. Please don’t be Mutt. Please don’t be Mutt. “Where?”

“Found him in Elmwood. Someone called it in. Local hunter went to investigate, and fucking thing couldn’t shift to talk to him.”

“That’s the first sign,” the woman hunter grinned, leaning forward in excitement. “So he’s free game?”

“The clocks ticking,” round glasses added.

“You think they’ll let us let him loose so we can hunt him?” Nieve asked, his voice low and crackling, his arm still tight around my shoulder. He gave me a little shake. “Aren’t you a lucky one?” he purred, grinning down at me like I was supposed to be fucking elated.

I suppose I couldn’t blame them for thinking this was what I wanted.