Blood Bond by Heather Hildenbrand Page B

about
it.”
    I sighed. Wes was the last person I wanted
to vent to about this, but I needed to talk about it. And he would
understand at least most of my reasons for worrying. “Alex got
accepted for one of the special teams they’ve assigned to hunt the
hybrids.”
    Wes didn’t answer right away. I imagined he
was reading all of the worried emotion that was bouncing around
inside me right now. Images I’d concocted of Alex killing
hybrids—some of them with familiar faces—along with images of the
hybrids attacking and hurting him in return.
    “Did you think he would do anything else?”
he asked quietly.
    My temper flared, but then I realized he was
right. “I guess not. He’s a Hunter and he hates Werewolves more
than anyone I’ve ever met, but—” I broke off, not wanting to voice
the last part.
    “But you thought he’d be different after
getting to know you,” he finished.
    I scowled. Stupid mind-reading thing.
“Something like that.” The ache that had lodged in my chest since
the night of the dance, a pain that had eased since seeing Wes,
flared up again, leaving a small hole in my heart. It happened so
fast, I couldn’t bury it. Wes’s expression remained neutral, but I
knew he’d sensed the truth: I missed Alex.
    “I think you’re wrong about one thing,
though,” he said quietly. “He’s different for having met you.”
    My heart leaped into my throat before I
could stop it. “You read that? In his mind?”
    “I didn’t have to. No one who’s ever gotten
to know you is the same person afterward. I know I’m not. My entire
life changed when I met you, and not because you’re a dirty blood.
It’s because of who you are inside. It’s because you’re amazing,
and surprising, and you challenge me every day. In a good way,” he
added, seeing my expression. “You’re strong, and fun, and
unpredictable, and I’m sure he thinks the same. How could he
not?”
    The worry still lingered, of how Alex’s
choice would alter our friendship, but I pushed it to the back of
my thoughts and concentrated on the moment. “Thank you,” I said.
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
    A smile spread slowly across his face as his
mouth dipped lower to mine. Our lips met and the earlier fire
reignited. The fire burned brighter and hotter than before. I had
to restrain myself from pulling him down to the ground right where
we stood. He shivered as I brushed my fingers over his ribs, which
only made me hungrier. A sound erupted from deep in my throat. I
didn’t recognize it as my voice until Wes pulled away and stared at
me.
    “What was that?” he asked.
    “Um …” Now that the steamy haze had cleared,
I had a pretty good idea, though I couldn’t bring myself to admit
it.
    He leaned down and sniffed my hair, then
pulled back abruptly. “You smell like wolf,” he hissed. He looked
around, as if expecting to see someone lurking, and then bent
closer. “Has it happened again? You said you would tell me if it
happened again.”
    His hands were like a vise around my
shoulders. I set my jaw. Deliberately, I conjured images of us
kissing, arms wrapped around each other.
    “Don’t try to change the subject.”
    Under other circumstances, I would’ve
laughed at that. Instead, I rubbed my hands over my face. “It
hasn’t happened again,” I assured him. “Not completely. There was
an incident coming home from school, but it was nothing.”
    “What sort of ‘incident’?” I let my mind
replay the images of what happened at the gas station. It was
easier than trying to explain it with words. “Geez, Tara, it almost
happened,” he said when I’d finished.
    “But it didn’t.” I crossed my arms. “I’m not
even convinced it happened the first time.” Okay, that was a
lie.
    He glared at me. “I saw it, Tara. You were a
wolf. Or, sort of a wolf. You were this in-between thing, like your
body didn’t know how to get there all the way, but you were
definitely trying to shift when you killed