by Ashlee Sinn
Glaring at the demon twins, I found my voice. “What are they doing here?”
Ashby and Arabella, the demon women that had tried to seduce me in Sebastian’s club, winked at my outburst. Everyone else simply stared at me like I’d grown an extra head.
“Is anyone going to answer me?” I demanded. The twins giggled.
“They are here at my request,” Viktor said calmly.
“”You’re request?” I shouted. “They work for Sebastian!”
“We work for no one,” Ashby said. Or was it Arabella? I couldn’t tell without the different colored lingerie.
The three strange men standing next to them all grinned. Like all three at once smiled in the exact same way. In fact, they even looked alike. Extremely tall and large, almost football player size, they all had shaggy brown hair and various stages of facial hair highlighting their faces. At least they weren’t dressed alike. One wore a suit, one wore a simple tee with jeans, and the other looked like a full-blown mountain man in his flannel and work boots. They were still grinning by the time I finished my assessment.
“You were at the club,” I finally answered Ashby’s statement.
“We need to make money,” Arabella cooed. Broch and Graham looked mesmerized by the sound of her voice trickling through the room. I felt sick and a little bit betrayed by Viktor. Turning my attention to him, I raised my brows waiting for some kind of answer.
And damn him if he didn’t grin at me.
“I’ve asked Ashby and Arabella to help us find Ezra.” He held up a hand when I opened my mouth to argue. “They can be trusted.”
“Their demons,” I spat back. “Their very existence relies on deceit.”
This time the three men actually made a noise of agreement and the other female covered her mouth to hide her laugh. I studied her, pale skin and dark hair similar to mine. She was built like an athlete with broad shoulders, thin hips, and long legs. Standing off to the side to separate herself from the rest, she smiled at me when she caught me staring.
“Everyone, let me introduce you and alleviate any mistrust you may have,” Viktor said that last part directly to me and I glared. When did he become the man in charge? Nadya sidled up to me and raised one brow. I shrugged, not knowing who Viktor was about to introduce us to aside from the demon twins.
Viktor pointed to the two blondes. “This is Arabella and Ashby, and yes, they are demons. But I’ve known them a long time and have always been loyal to me and my causes.” Viktor tilted his chin and their direction and the girls returned the gesture. While everyone else seemed to be taking this in stride, something uneasy stirred inside of me at the thought of placing any kind of trust in demons.
“These three are the Callaghan brothers from Alaska. Brennan, Brandt, and Bo. Their clan has agreed to assist us as Sebastian’s revolt has strained their ties with the Order.”
Clan? I whispered to Nadya, “They’re shifters?”
“Bears,” she nodded. “Super hot bears.”
Bo, the one in the flannel, winked at her and a slight blush crept up Nadya’s dark skin. I hadn’t had much, or really any, contact with shifters in my short lifetime. I knew they existed, Ezra would occasionally discuss their business if it pertained to us. But I’d never met them before. Especially not bears.
“And this is Portia Dunanski. She’s the best tracker of all the North American packs.” Viktor’s smile grew as he introduced Portia, making me wonder just how well the two of them knew each other. A sharp pang of jealousy flared to life, and I felt embarrassed that those thoughts had even crossed my mind.
“Ezra is a good friend of mine,” she said. “I promise I’ll help you find him.”
Her voice sounded smooth and in control, and something about her instantly put me at ease. I think I’d rather work with a female werewolf than conniving demon twins that tried to seduce me.
“This is bullshit,” Silas growled. He’d been silent since I’d arrived but the anger seemed to be building up inside. He turned his back to Viktor and faced all of the hunters. “Viktor isn’t in charge. And we certainly don’t need them,” he waved his hand to the other side of the room. “Ezra only needs us.” Silas’ gaze locked with mine and a thousand messages passed between.
“He’s right,” I said quietly. “Sebastian’s already made his demand. He won’t touch Ezra if…” I swallowed down the fear, “If I turn myself over to Sebastian.”
“He’ll kill you.”
“He’ll turn you.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
Everyone had something to say. Nadya grabbed my shoulders and shook me a few times. Graham and Broch shouted louder than the others. And Silas just glared at me. I didn’t know why I was at that end of his anger. I hadn’t asked to be marked and we had no way of knowing that Sebastian would betray everyone by his actions.
“Sophia is not going to give herself to Sebastian.” Viktor’s commanding tone quieted the room in a matter of seconds. “That is why I’ve called upon my friends to help us find Ezra before Sebastian can make any more demands.”
“This isn’t your decision to make,” Silas shouted at Viktor.
“No?” Viktor said, stepping a little closer to a visibly shaking Silas. I knew his anger was on the verge of boiling over into something more dangerous.
“No!” Silas snapped his head around to look at me. “It’s Sophia’s.”
“You really want her deciding whether or not her life is more important than Ezra’s?” Viktor’s tone chilled the air. “You know what she’ll do. You know better than anyone else.”
I wasn’t sure if Viktor meant that as a compliment to Silas or as an insult to me, but either way, the room went silent and all eyes turned my way.
“We need Ezra back.” I said the words without filtering. It’s what I felt and what I had already decided back at Viktor’s house.
“You see what I mean?” Viktor growled at Silas whose eyes had widened in surprise at hearing my words.
“We can get started now,” Brandt said. He was the shifter in the suit and seemed to be the one expected to take charge. “If you have something of Ezra’s…” His voice trailed off the second Broch tossed a jacket in his direction. Brandt reached out and snatched the coat out of the air. Holding it to his nose, he took a deep breath and then passed it to his brothers. When Bo finished taking in the scent, he held the jacket to Portia. She took a quick sniff and then nodded to Viktor.
“All right,” Viktor said. “Keep me posted.”
The shifters all left at the same time, leaving a room full of hunters staring at the two demons. Their long blonde hair hung freely over their black leather jackets and matching skinny jeans. No one should look this good at a meeting deciding how we were going to find our friend.
“You ladies keep your ears open at the club,” Viktor told them. “Sebastian probably won’t show up there for a while, but he has many eyes there. Someone’s bound to talk.”
“We can get them to talk,” Arabella said, twirling a piece of her curls between her fingers.
“Just watch your backs,” Viktor said. “And…thank you.”
Arabella winked. “A favor for a favor,” she cooed.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Although I wasn’t sure if it was because of Arabella’s cryptic words or because I’d just noticed the way Ashby was staring at Silas. And the way he was looking back at her.
Surely he wouldn’t fall for her seductress antics, would he?
Arabella nudged her sister, winked at me, and then they both disappeared in a blink. “Jesus,” Broch said. “That was freaky.”
“They’ll be useful to us,” Viktor told him.
“I still think this is bullshit,” Silas said, although this time his words weren’t quite as harsh.
“Why don’t you help me search Ezra’s computers,” Broch suggested to Silas. “There might be something in them that could give us a clue as to how Sebastian got to him and where he may have taken him.”
/> We all knew that searching his computers was not going to give us the answers we needed. The trackers would actually be our best bet. But I appreciated Broch’s attempt at trying to distract Silas and redirect his anger into something more useful.
“What the hell happened between you two?” Nadya whispered to me.
Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them. “It’s the mark. It’s changing everything.”
Nadya, not one to comfort others, actually squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you two will be back to normal soon enough.”
I glanced at Silas who looked everywhere except at me, and my heart ached. We’d been partners for years, well before we added sex to our relationship. And I knew that we weren’t going back to any sort of normal any time soon.
“Nadya, let’s go.” Graham tugged on Nadya’s arm. “There’s something I want to check out.” Graham gave me a look mixed with pity and disgust. I wasn’t sure where that was coming from and Nadya pulled him away before I could ask. Had Graham talked to Silas about me?
“Sophia?” Viktor stepped closer to me. “I need to go back to my house to make some calls.”
I looked at him in confusion. “Okay.”
“And you’re coming with me.”
“Seriously?” Right now, I kind of wanted to go to my apartment and snuggle with my cat. “I have to stop by my place first.”
He nodded and gestured toward the exit.
I felt the urge to look back at Silas, but couldn’t make myself do it. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want anything to do with me right now, and with everything else going on, I decided to take the high road and allow him his space.
Even if my body wanted to wrap itself in his arms.
CHAPTER 2
Viktor drove me to my apartment where I fed the cat, who sat on the back of the couch and glared at me the whole time, and packed a small bag of clothes. I didn’t know how long I’d have to stay at Viktor’s. If I had my way, I’d turn myself over to Sebastian at the first chance I got. All I needed was for Viktor to give me a few minutes alone.
“Are you hungry?” Viktor asked once we were back on the road.
“No. But I could really use a drink.” I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but Viktor chuckled and a part of me relaxed when I heard it.
“I know just the place.” He made several left turns so that we were going back toward the college campus. But then he dipped in and out of back alleys and side streets until I was so turned around I just closed my eyes and waited for us to stop.
We pulled up to a fine-dining restaurant and I immediately gave Viktor a look. “I can’t go in there dressed like this.”
He shook his head. “That’s why we’re going in there.”
I followed his eyes to the other side of the street where a rounded stone bar jutted out from the corner. There were no flashing lights in the windows or people lined up around the block to get in. In fact, I wasn’t even convinced it was open.
Viktor got out of his SUV and opened my door faster than I could grab the handle myself. I slid out onto the sidewalk, pulling down the man’s shirt to make sure it covered my hips in the yoga pants. Walking beside him, I noticed how quiet the street seemed and wondered again where we were. There was something here that called out to me. Not in a literal way, but some vibe…something familiar tugged deep within my memories.
“You coming?” Viktor asked. He was holding the door to the bar and giving me a strange look.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, walking past him and stepping into an empty room. “Where are we?”
Viktor brushed his hand against my lower back and pushed me further into the bar. And I use the word “bar” loosely. A small wooden serving bar sat against the one wall, while four bistro tables had been pushed against the other wall. With it being a row house, the whole place was maybe twelve feet wide. No wonder why no one else was in here.
“An old friend owns this,” Viktor answered. “I thought it would be a quiet spot.”
“Does anyone ever come in here?” I asked, looking around at the dust in the corners of the wooden floor.
“Only when I allow them,” a gruff voice answered.
I looked up, surprised to see an elderly gentleman with the body of an Olympian starting back at me from behind the bar. His hair had already turned silver and his face looked leathered and sun-stained, but his impressive size would still intimidate men half his age.
“Owen,” Viktor said with a laugh, “So nice to see you again.” He stepped forward to great the giant and gave him a hearty handshake and genuine smile. “You look good.”
“And you haven’t changed one bit,” Owen said with a shake of his head. “Immortality. Gotta love it.”
Viktor chuckled and gestured toward me. “This is Sophia Glen.”
Owen held out his hand and I placed mine in his. He squeezed it extra tight as he studied my face. “A vampire hunter?” Turning toward Viktor, he added, “Need a little excitement in your life?”
Viktor opened his mouth to answer, but I cut him off. “We’re working together.”
Owen grinned and finally dropped his grip. “I bet you are.”
I huffed and readied myself for a reply, until Viktor shook his head at me. “We just need a little night cap, Owen. Got anything old?”
“Old? Huh. I don’t think I have anything as old as you but I may have something that aged properly.”
Owen turned and looked at the bottles he must have had hidden under the counter. When his eyes caught the light, I caught a slight glow to them. No, not a glow. A reflection. Like an animal. I must have made a noise because both Viktor and Owen looked at me in amusement.
“Want to ask?” Owen teased.
“What?” I said, trying to play it off. I failed miserably.
“Go ahead, hunter. Ask.” Owen lifted a bottle of scotch and presented it to Viktor who nodded in approval.
“Are you a shifter?” A guttural laugh filled the tiny bar, and when Owen was finally finished I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Why are you laughing at me?”
Pouring three drinks, Owen couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face. “You sound so…scared. I’m surprised really, given your chosen career.”
“I didn’t choose this career. I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice,” he replied, handing one glass to Viktor and lifting the other toward me. “And the answer is yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes. Cougar, puma, mountain lion…take your pick but that’s what I am.”
A cat shifter. I thought about my housecat that slept no less than twenty hours a day and acted like I reeked of decay the other four. It must be nice being a cat.
“I’ll let you two be,” Owen said, interrupting my thoughts. “Nice to meet you, Sophia.”
Viktor nodded toward one of the small tables and I sat down across from him with my drink. I wasn’t really a scotch drinker, but tonight seemed to be the night of firsts, so why not? I took a sip and was surprised by how much I liked it.
“So, he’s a big cat?” I asked.
Viktor smiled. “He is.”
“And how long have you known him?”
He tilted his face toward the ceiling in thought. “Almost one hundred years now.”
“What?”
Viktor took a drink and then raised his brows. “How much do you know about shifters?”
“Enough.” When he continued to stare at me I sighed. “Okay, not much. But I’m guessing they live longer than regular humans?”
“They do.”
“And they are friends with vampires?”
“Some of them.”
“And those friends will help us find Ezra?” I whispered, suddenly feeling sad and remembering the events of the day again.
“I believe they will.” Viktor watched me as I took another swig but he didn’t say anything else.
“No one told me how they got him.”
“Ezra?” Viktor asked.
“Yeah. How did Sebastian take him? He’s the most skilled hunter we have.”
Viktor set down his drink. “There were too many. I imagined Ezra made a choice not to fight in order to give us a chance to save him.”
I thought about that for a second and then shook my head. “No. Ezra would never choose not to fight.” Especially not if he knew what they really wanted, I mused.
“If he died, they would still come after you, Sophia. Ezra knew that and you know that. This was the only way he could buy us time to come up with a plan.”
“But we don’t have a plan yet,” I said, finishing off my drink.
“Want another?” Viktor asked.
Shaking my head, I continued. “We don’t even know where to start—”
Sophia.
The whisper came from behind me and I jumped in my seat and turned to face the door.
Sophia, come to me.
Chills raced down my neck and my bite flared to life. I stood and rubbed at the spot, feeling my chest tighten with each breath I inhaled.
“What’s wrong?” Viktor placed his hands on my shoulders and I jerked away.
Sophia.
“Do you hear that?” I asked in a panic.
“Hear what?” he asked, his voice deepening with concern.
And just as I was about to explain, a searing pain raced down from my neck to my toes and I doubled over in agony.
“Sophia!” Viktor shouted. “What’s wrong?”
Viktor and Owen’s words faded into the distance as the whispering voice grew louder inside my head. Out of my control, I started to walk toward the door. Viktor tugged me back, but I couldn’t stop my forward progression.
“Well that’s pretty crappy,” Owen said. Somehow I understood his commentary better than what he and Viktor had been speaking about a few moments ago. But their voices quickly disappeared into muffled words again and I kept moving toward the door.
Viktor let me go, but I felt him close behind me. I think he kept asking me what was wrong and where was I going even though I never answered. I simply walked toward the voice calling for me.
Sophia.