The dinner meeting had been exactly as dangerous as Alexander promised.
I stood in his private office at eleven PM, still wearing the black cocktail dress he'd insisted I buy for the occasion. My feet ached from the heels, and I had a small cut on my arm from where a broken wine glass had flown too close during the "business discussion" that turned into a full-scale brawl.
Three hours ago, I'd watched Alexander Kane negotiate with five other werewolf pack leaders in the back room of the most expensive restaurant in Beverly Hills. I'd seen him stay calm while they threatened him, insulted him, and questioned his right to control West Coast territory. I'd also seen him break a man's wrist when negotiations broke down.
But that wasn't the strangest part of the evening.
The strangest part was watching him protect me.
When the fighting started, Alexander's first instinct hadn't been to defend himself. It had been to make sure I was safe. He'd literally thrown himself between me and a flying chair, taking a hit that should have been mine.
Now we were alone in his office, and I was trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
"You handled yourself well tonight," Alexander said, loosening his tie. He'd taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves again. There was a bruise forming on his left temple where someone had landed a lucky punch.
"I've been in worse fights," I said, which was true. But not many.
"Have you? Tell me, Miss Mitchell, how many werewolf territory disputes have you been involved in?"
I froze. The question was casual, but there was nothing casual about the way he was looking at me.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Alexander walked to the bar in the corner of his office and poured himself a glass of something amber. He didn't offer me one. "You heard me. How many werewolf disputes have you witnessed? Because you didn't look surprised when Marcus Delano's eyes turned gold. You didn't flinch when Thomas Blackwood started growling. And you definitely weren't shocked when I put David Torres through a table."
My mouth went dry. "Mr. Kane, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please." He took a sip of his drink and studied me over the rim of the glass. "We both know you're not Sarah Mitchell. We both know you didn't come here for a security job. And we both know you're carrying weapons that don't show up on metal detectors."
I kept my face blank, but my mind was racing. How much did he know? How long had he known it? And most importantly, what was he planning to do about it?
"I think you've had a long night," I said carefully. "Maybe you should get some rest."
Alexander laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Rest? Do you know how long it's been since I had a good night's sleep? Five years, three months, and sixteen days. Would you like to know why?"
He set down his glass and walked toward me. I tensed, ready to fight or run. But he stopped three feet away, just close enough for me to see the exhaustion in his silver eyes.
"Because every month, for three nights, I turn into something that wants to kill everything in sight. Including you."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I'd suspected Alexander Kane was different from other werewolves - his control was too perfect, his transformation too complete. But this...
"You're cursed," I said quietly.
"Very good. Yes, I'm cursed." He turned away from me and walked to the window. "Five years ago, someone thought it would be amusing to turn the most powerful Alpha on the West Coast into an uncontrollable monster. They succeeded."
"Who did it?"
"Someone who wanted to see me destroy everything I'd built. Someone who knew that a werewolf who can't control his transformations is a dead werewolf." He pressed his hand against the glass. "Do you know what happens to Alphas who lose control, Miss Mitchell?"
I did know. The werewolf community had strict rules about rogues. Any werewolf who couldn't control their transformations was considered a threat to everyone. They were hunted down and eliminated.
Usually by people like me.
"The other packs kill them," I said.
"Exactly. And they've been very patient with me so far. But that patience is wearing thin." He turned back to face me. "Tonight's meeting? That was them giving me one last chance to prove I can still lead. One last chance to show I'm not a danger to our kind."
"And did you prove it?"
Alexander's smile was bitter. "What do you think? I put three pack leaders in the hospital tonight. Does that sound like control to you?"
I thought about the fight in the restaurant. About the way Alexander had moved - fluid, precise, deadly. But also angry. Frustrated. Like he was fighting something inside himself as much as the men around him.
"You weren't fully transformed," I observed. "You stayed human."
"Barely. And only because it wasn't a full moon." He walked back to the bar and poured another drink. "Three days from now, when the moon is full, I won't have that luxury."
"What happens then?"
"Then I become something that would terrify even you, Scarlett Hunter."
The sound of my real name made my blood run cold. I reached for the ceramic knife in my shoe, but Alexander held up his hand.
"Please. If I wanted to hurt you, you'd already be dead."
"How long have you known?"
"Since the moment you walked into my elevator." He took another sip of his drink. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize the scent of wolf's bane? Or notice the way you moved like someone who's used to fighting for her life?"
I pulled the knife anyway. It wasn't much against a werewolf, but it was better than nothing. "What do you want?"
"The same thing you want. To stop me from killing innocent people."
The words were so unexpected that I almost dropped the knife. "What?"
Alexander set down his glass and faced me fully. "I know who you are, Scarlett. I know what you do. I know you've killed forty-three rogue werewolves in the past nine years. And I know you're here to add me to that list."
"If you know all that, why am I still alive?"
"Because I need your help."
I stared at him. Of all the things I'd expected him to say, that wasn't one of them.
"You want me to help you?"
"I want you to stop me." He walked closer, close enough that I could see the desperation in his eyes. "Three nights from now, I'm going to lose control completely. I'm going to become a monster that will kill anyone in its path. Unless someone stops me first."
"You want me to kill you."
"I want you to do whatever it takes to make sure I don't hurt anyone else." He was close enough now that I could smell his cologne, could see the fine lines around his eyes that spoke of too many sleepless nights. "I've tried everything, Scarlett. Restraints, sedatives, isolation. Nothing works. The beast is too strong."
"Why me? You could hire any hunter to put you down."
Alexander reached out slowly, carefully, and touched my hand. The one holding the knife. "Because you're not just any hunter. You're special."
"Special how?"
"Your reputation precedes you. They say Scarlett Hunter never misses her target. They say she's killed werewolves that other hunters couldn't even find. They say she has a gift for this work."
I thought about all the rogues I'd killed over the years. All the monsters who'd thought they were untouchable until they met me. "It's not a gift. It's just experience."
"Is it? Then explain something to me." His hand tightened slightly on mine. "In the elevator this morning, when we touched, did you feel something? Something... unusual?"
I had felt something. That strange tingle of electricity, like touching a live wire. But I wasn't about to admit that to him.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're lying." His thumb brushed across my knuckles, sending that same electric sensation up my arm. "You felt it too. That connection. That recognition."
"Recognition of what?"
"I don't know yet. But I think you might be the key to controlling this curse. Or at least stopping me when it takes over."
I jerked my hand away from his. "You're insane."
"Am I? Let me ask you something else. How many werewolves have you met who could resist transformation during a fight? How many have you seen maintain human form while their pack instincts were screaming at them to shift?"
I thought about tonight's fight. About the way Alexander had stayed human even when the other werewolves were barely containing their wolves. Most Alphas would have transformed the moment someone challenged them. But Alexander had fought with human strength and human weapons.
"That's not normal," I admitted.
"No, it's not. I should have shifted the moment Marcus challenged me. But I didn't. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because you were there." He moved even closer, backing me against his desk. "Your presence somehow gave me the control I needed to stay human."
"That's impossible."
"Is it? You're the expert on werewolf behavior. You tell me - have you ever seen anything like what happened tonight?"
The honest answer was no. I'd never seen a werewolf resist transformation under that kind of pressure. Especially not an Alpha defending his territory.
"Even if that's true," I said, "it doesn't mean anything. It was probably just adrenaline."
"Was it adrenaline that made my wolf calm down every time you moved closer to me? Was it adrenaline that made the curse symptoms fade whenever you looked at me?"
I stared at him. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that in five years of dealing with this curse, tonight was the first time I felt like I might actually have control over it. And the only thing different about tonight was you."
Alexander reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from my face. His touch was gentle, but I could feel the strength in his fingers. The carefully controlled power of a predator.
"Help me, Scarlett. Three nights from now, when the moon is full, be there to stop me if I lose control. If you can keep me human, we'll both get what we want. If you can't... well, you'll get what you came here for anyway."
"And what's that?"
"A chance to kill the most dangerous werewolf on the West Coast."
I looked into his silver eyes and saw something I'd never expected to see in a werewolf's face. Fear. Not fear of death - fear of what he might do to others.
"Why should I trust you?" I asked. "How do I know this isn't some elaborate trap?"
"Because if it was a trap, it would be the stupidest one in history. I'm literally asking you to bring weapons designed to kill me to a place where I'll be completely vulnerable."
"Maybe you're confident you can overpower me."
Alexander smiled, but it was sad rather than threatening. "Scarlett, if I lose control during a full moon transformation, I could overpower a small army. Your knife and your wolf's bane won't be enough to stop me. You'll need something much stronger."
"Like what?"
"Silver bullets. Lots of them."
I felt my world tilt sideways. "You want me to bring silver bullets to kill you?"
"I want you to bring whatever it takes to stop me from hurting innocent people. If that means killing me, then that's what it means."
I lowered the ceramic knife. This conversation had gone so far beyond anything I'd expected that I didn't know how to process it.
"This is crazy," I said. "You're asking me to either save you or murder you. Those are my only options?"
"Those have been my only options for five years. At least now I have someone who might be able to help me choose which one."
Alexander stepped back, giving me space to think. "I'm not asking for an answer tonight. I'm just asking you to consider it. Three days, Scarlett. That's all the time we have."
"And if I say no?"
"Then I'll do what I should have done years ago. I'll find a cliff high enough to make sure the monster doesn't hurt anyone when it wakes up."
The casual way he said it made my stomach clench. "You'd kill yourself?"
"I'd save lives. Including yours." He walked back to his desk and sat down heavily in the chair. Suddenly he looked older, more tired. "I've been a dead man walking for five years, Scarlett. The only question is whether I die as a man or as a monster."
I stared at him for a long moment. This wasn't how hunters and werewolves were supposed to interact. We were supposed to be natural enemies. I was supposed to see him as a target, nothing more.
But looking at Alexander Kane now, exhausted and desperate and willing to die to protect others, I didn't see a monster. I saw a man carrying a burden that was slowly destroying him.
"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked. "Why trust me with your secrets?"
"Because you're the only person I've met in five years who might actually be able to help. And because..." He looked up at me, and for a moment his carefully controlled mask slipped. "Because I'm tired of being alone with this."
The vulnerability in his voice hit me harder than any threat could have. This was Alexander Kane stripped of his Alpha authority, his business success, his carefully constructed public image. This was just a man who was running out of time and options.
"I need to think about this," I said finally.
"Of course. Take all the time you need. Well, three days anyway." He managed a weak smile. "I should probably take you home. It's been a long night."
"I can drive myself."
"Absolutely not. I hired you to be my security consultant, remember? That means I'm responsible for your safety." He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Besides, I'd like to know where you live. In case I need to warn you to stay away when the time comes."
We rode the elevator down to the parking garage in silence. Alexander's driver was waiting with a black Mercedes that probably cost more than most people's houses.
"This really isn't necessary," I said as Alexander opened the passenger door for me.
"Humor me. It's been a strange night."
During the drive to my apartment, I tried to process everything that had happened. Alexander Kane knew I was a hunter. He knew I'd been sent to capture him. And instead of killing me or turning me over to his pack, he was asking for my help.
Either he was the most elaborate manipulator I'd ever met, or he was exactly what he appeared to be - a man desperate enough to trust his worst enemy.
"This is it," I said when we reached my building. It was a converted warehouse in the arts district, nothing like the luxury Alexander was used to.
"Interesting neighborhood," he said as his driver pulled up to the curb.
"It's quiet. Good for people who value their privacy."
Alexander got out and walked me to the front door. "Scarlett?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever you decide, I want you to know that I'm grateful. For tonight, for listening, for not trying to kill me when you had the chance."
"The night's not over yet."
He laughed, and for the first time since I'd met him, it sounded genuine. "No, I suppose it isn't. Good night, Scarlett Hunter."
"Good night, Alexander Kane."
I watched him get back into the Mercedes and drive away. Then I went upstairs to my apartment and poured myself a very large glass of wine.
Three days. That's how long I had to decide whether to help the most powerful werewolf in California control his curse, or to put a silver bullet through his heart.
Either way, my life was about to get very complicated.
End of Chapter 3