Moonlight Kin 4: Tristan (8 page)

If Pierre’s eyebrows rose any higher, they’d
disappear beneath his hairline. “How exactly did Isabel do that?”
he asked. “Did she hold you at gunpoint?”

Tristan knew what he thought. It would be
what any Alpha of the Moonlight Kin would think, when it came to
him. Tristan wasn’t known for being emotionally or physically
demonstrative, unless he killed someone. And even then, emotions
rarely played a part. He wasn’t the type to keep females
around.

Contrary to what they all believed, Tristan
wasn’t a glacier and he wasn’t gay. He had needs just like any
other male. He just rarely acted upon them.

Instead, Tristan focused on the job. It took
a special breed of wolf to hunt down your own kind and kill them
without mercy. It wasn’t something he enjoyed, but Tristan was
exceedingly good at the job. There were a few other Enforcers, but
none were better.

Pierre continued to stare at him until he
squirmed in his seat.

“She wouldn’t shut up,” Tristan said, trying
to make the Alpha understand. “When she wasn’t threatening to
scream, she tore into me. Since I didn’t have a gag, I improvised.
That was all. The kiss meant nothing.” The lie slipped out before
he could stop it.

Pierre’s amber eyes glistened. “That’s some
improvisation on your part. I would’ve never thought you had it in
you.”

“It’s been a while, but kissing is not
something one forgets how to do,” he said mockingly.

“Wish I could’ve been there to see that,”
Pierre said.

“What did she do when you kissed her?”

Tristan’s mind blanked. “I don’t understand
the question.”

Pierre’s lips canted, and his eyes crinkled
in amusement. “Did Isabel smack you? She would’ve had every right
to do so, since I have no doubt you kissed her without
permission.”

Tristan hesitated. Where was Pierre going
with this line of questioning? “No, she didn’t strike me, though
Isabel did look like she wanted to,” he said.

Why hadn’t she hit him? She’d had plenty of
opportunity. Tristan hadn’t exactly been as unaffected by the kiss
as he claimed. He wished the Alpha wasn’t so amused by the
situation, but Pierre had always had an annoying sense of
humor.

“Did she scream or try to run away?” he
asked.

Tristan shook his head. “No, she didn’t do
anything like that.”

“Hmm...” Pierre said. “Interesting.” He
leaned forward. “I have one final question.”

“Then ask, so I can put us both out of our
misery,” Tristan said impatiently.

Pierre chuckled. “Did she kiss you back?”

Yes
, the word whispered through
Tristan’s mind, leaving confusion in its wake.

He straightened in his seat. “You don’t know
her. Isabel may look soft and tempting, but her tongue spews acid,”
Tristan said. “I am lucky to have flesh left on my bones.”

A grin parted Pierre’s face. “So she
did
kiss you back. Fascinating, don’t you think?”

“Did you not hear what I said?” Tristan ran a
hand through his long white hair. “There is nothing interesting
about this situation,” he said. “Isabel can be utterly infuriating,
when she wants to be. Which is most of the time, I might add.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Pierre said. “Isabel.”
Her name rolled off his lips.

The seductive tone made Tristan’s hackles
rise. “That is her name,” he said.

Pierre carefully blanked his expression. “It
is indeed. Perhaps I need to speak with Isabel once more. I feel
that I prematurely formed my opinion of her.”

Tristan’s muscles flexed as he gripped the
arms of the chair. “I’ve told you everything,” he said.

The Alpha gave him a knowing look. “I have
absolutely no doubt, but women can be quite elusive when they want
to be,” he said. “There’s obviously more to Isabel than meets the
eye.”

Something akin to panic struck. Pierre was
renowned for his charm and his many conquests. Women of all ages
responded to his devilish good looks. Isabel hadn’t been immune.
Tristan had seen her pupils dilate and heard her pulse jump when
she looked at him. He didn’t want the Alpha anywhere near her.

“I assure you that she will show you no
respect whatsoever,” Tristan said, trying to dissuade Pierre. “You
are wasting your breath.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll be the judge of
that.” Pierre rose from behind his desk.

Tristan stood, too.

“Please, have a seat,” he said. “This
shouldn’t take long.” Pierre winked at him. “Or perhaps it will.
One never knows what kind of mischief one can get up to in the
parlor.”

A deep growl rumbled out of Tristan as his
wolf surged to the surface.

The Alpha stopped and gave him a hard look,
one that all but dared him to continue.

Tristan clenched his hands at his sides.

“Sit, Enforcer,” Pierre said. “Or I’ll make
you sit.”

For one insane moment, Tristan considered
challenging the Alpha. The thought must’ve shown on his face
because Pierre’s amber eyes widened.

“I won’t harm her,” he said.

Tristan wanted to stop him, but he couldn’t
forbid the visit without starting a major incident. He’d never
wanted to be Alpha. Tristan didn’t want the responsibility of
caring for so many wolves. So what had gotten into him? Isabel’s
face flashed in his mind. He knew she was trouble, and this proved
it.

Pierre laughed, and then the Alpha stepped
into the hall.

It took every fiber of Tristan’s being to nod
and sit back down.

Pierre made sure to shut the door behind him,
so there would be no chance of Tristan hearing what was going on.
That didn’t stop Tristan from trying to listen. He’d give the Alpha
ten minutes. If he didn’t return within that time, then Tristan
would go after him.

* * * * *

The door opened behind Izzy. She turned,
expecting to see Tristan, but instead found the darkly handsome
Pierre La Fontaine staring at her. He noted the missing sandwiches
on the platter.

“I trust they were to your liking,” he said,
indicating to the food.

“They were fine. Thanks,” Izzy said, rubbing
her arms. Where was Tristan? She wanted out of here. Now!

“I’d like to have a word with you before
Tristan joins us. Which I have no doubt will be very soon.” Pierre
grinned.

What was so funny? Izzy hoped Pierre skipped
the niceties and got straight to the point. He didn’t know that
she’d heard them talking, so if he lied, she’d know.

“Please, have a seat.” Pierre pointed to one
of the expensive-looking settees.

Izzy hesitated then perched on the edge of
the seat. Instead of taking a seat opposite her, Pierre sat down
next to her. Izzy immediately scooted away.

She checked to see if the move had insulted
him, but his smile only widened. Izzy angled herself in such a way
that she kept him and the door in sight.

Pierre noticed but didn’t comment though for
a second Izzy thought she heard him laugh. The sound was there and
gone before she could be sure.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked
to hurry things along. She knew exactly what the monsters had
planned for her.

“What do you think of Tristan?” Pierre leaned
back and draped his arm over the back of the settee.

Izzy blinked. The question surprised her so
much that it took her a full minute to answer. “What do you
mean?”

This time Pierre did laugh. “I’m just curious
what you think of him. Feel free to speak candidly. You are safe
within these walls.”

Yeah, but what would happen when she left
the house?

“He’s fine,” she said noncommittally.

“You can do better than that,” he said.

“Okay, he’s bossy and thinks he knows
everything.” She had no idea what Pierre was after, and until she
figured it out Izzy wasn’t about to be too direct.

“So the kiss wasn’t that good,” Pierre
said.

Izzy’s eyes widened in shock. Heat spread
from her face to the rest of her body. Why had Tristan told Pierre
about their kiss?

She sputtered as words clustered in her mouth
and tangled on her tongue. “I-I-I.” Izzy cleared her throat. “I’m
not sure what that has to do with anything.”

Pierre took pity on her. “I’ve known Tristan
Chevalier for years. He’s never been one to play with...” –he
paused— “anything.”

Play? What did he mean by that? Izzy had no
clue, but it hardly mattered since she’d heard exactly what Tristan
had planned for her.

“Perhaps he’s trying to soften me up before
he delivers bad news,” she said.

“Perhaps,” Pierre said. “But I’ve never known
Tristan to care about such things.”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say,” she
said.

Pierre tilted his head. “You are a unique
woman,” he said, surprising her once again. He rose from the settee
and walked to the door, where he paused. “Contrary to his
appearance, Tristan wasn’t always made of ice. There was a time
when he was a lot like you.”

Izzy couldn’t imagine Tristan ever being like
her.

“Thank you for...” Pierre’s brow furrowed,
and his voice trailed off.

“What?” Izzy asked, more confused than
ever.

“For thawing him a little,” Pierre said, then
opened the door.

Tristan stood in the hall, his hand raised to
knock on the parlor door. He had an unreadable expression on his
face.

Pierre grinned. “Right on time I see.”

As if on cue, Tristan scowled. “Let’s go,
Isabel,” he said. “I have the keys to the cabin. Thank you again
for your assistance, Alpha. I will let the Lycanian Elders know of
your aid.”

Pierre laughed. “You do that.”

* * * * *

Izzy waited until Tristan climbed behind the
wheel of his silver F150 pickup truck and pulled out into traffic
before she confronted him. She hadn’t planned to bring the subject
up, but Pierre’s questions had rattled her, and Tristan had been
acting distant ever since they’d left the house. Frankly, the whole
situation pissed her off.

Tristan had no right to be angry or pouty or
however snowmen acted when they got their carrot noses out of
joint. Izzy was the one being taken advantage of. She wasn’t the
one in the wrong. He was.

“So,” she said, itching for a fight. “How
exactly do you plan to use me as bait?”

To his credit, he didn’t flinch, but his
glacial features tightened.

Didn’t think I knew about your little plan,
did you?

“Did Pierre tell you that?” he asked.

“Does it matter how I found out?” Izzy wasn’t
about to let him know that she’d eavesdropped on their
conversation. There was confessing and then there was
confessing
.

Tristan exhaled. “The Darkling wants you. We
have to give it what it wants,” he said. “There is no other way to
draw it out.”

Izzy crossed her arms. The move pushed her
breasts up. “Do I get a say in any of this?”

He glanced at her chest, then his expression
hardened. “No,” he said then returned his attention to the
road.

He doesn’t care about you, remember?

“Well I’m sorry to rain on your party,
Snowflake, but you’re just going to have to find the monster
without me,” she said. “Because I have no intention of helping
you.”

Izzy might’ve helped him, if he’d bothered to
ask, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d planned to deceive her.

“The Darkling doesn’t want me,” Tristan said.
“It wants you. It followed you here from Oregon. It knows you’re
here. It won’t give up until I stop it.”

“Sounds like you need me more than I need
you,” Izzy said. “That must suck for you.”

Tristan laughed, but the sound sent shivers
down her spine. “It matters not,” he said. “You
will
help
me.”

“I will not,” she parroted.

Izzy stared out the window. She didn’t like
anyone giving her orders. She’d had her fill of them when her
parents had her locked up in the asylum.

“You either help me or everyone you love will
die,” Tristan said. “Just like your friend, Celina Gibson.”

Her head whipped around in surprise. At the
same time, a wave of pain struck. Mindy had told her about Celina’s
death. Told her about Slade, the man who’d killed her. Izzy had
already known that her best friend had passed because she’d caught
a glimpse of her spirit shortly after her death.

Izzy didn’t like having the incident thrown
in her face. And she damn sure didn’t like being threatened. She’d
done everything she could to lead the danger away. It just hadn’t
been enough.

She glared at Tristan. She’d known he was
stubborn and beyond uptight, but Izzy hadn’t thought he was capable
of killing innocents. She’d really read him wrong. Or perhaps,
she’d read him right the first time. He was a monster after
all.

A strange calm came over her. Izzy loosened
her seatbelt to face him. “Don’t threaten my family,” she snarled.
“I may not be as strong as you, but I will find a way to stop
you.”

Tristan’s hands clutched the wheel until his
knuckles turned white. “It’s not me who is threatening their
existence,” he said.

“Then who is?” she snapped. “Because it sure
as hell sounds like you talking.”

“The Darkling,” he said with impatience.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
Izzy asked. He’d mentioned she was being hunted. Why differentiate
the Moonlight Kin from the Darklings? All monsters were the same,
weren’t they?

Izzy had lied when she’d told Mindy that the
monsters were just like humans. They weren’t. They were far
worse.

Her sister
had mentioned something
about a Darkling. What did she say?
The music had been so loud
and Izzy had still been reeling over Celina’s death, so she hadn’t
asked a lot of questions. Now she wished she had.

“Yes, the word should mean something to you,”
he said through gritted teeth.