Obsession

by Jennifer Armentrout

  She nodded slowly, looking away. “The whole incubuslike thing?”

  “Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat. “Opal can also maintain our energy levels.”

  There was a pregnant pause and then I felt her eyes on me again. “With opal, we don’t have to feed that much,” I said, feeling itchy. All the talk of feeding was making me hungry. “The DOD outfits their Arum with the opal. Helps keep us better under control when we aren’t running amuck, draining unsuspecting Luxen.”

  “That’s good, I guess.” She stretched out her legs, then tipped her head back. I didn’t have to look at her to tell that she was anxious. “Do you kill the Luxen when you feed off them?” she asked.

  “Not always, but most Arum do because they want to kill them. But we can feed without killing.”

  “And you’re going to have to feed for this opal to work, aren’t you?”

  “If I don’t feed soon, I won’t be safe. Around anyone.” I glanced at Serena. Her face was pale but her gaze steady. I didn’t lie. “So yes, I will need to feed.”

  Chapter 22

  I will need to feed.

  I wasn’t sure how to really deal with that. How he said it, so dead-on and unapologetic, was unnerving. And he hadn’t clarified if he would kill or not. The whole feeding thing was hard to swallow. It was like sitting next to a vampire or something. He’d already fed from me before—twice—but he hadn’t since I’d asked him not to do it again. He stopped himself, and I believed he could stop himself again.

  I just hoped I didn’t turn into the biggest idiot ever for believing that.

  As we traveled the rest of the afternoon, he explained we were going to this club where he’d be able to find this guy named Luc. He didn’t say anything more about him, and I figured that Luc was another Arum, hopefully a friendly one like Dex.

  Eventually the rolling hills and thick wooded areas cleared from the interstate, and the road became more congested as we neared the town of Martinsburg at dusk.

  We entered through the south, passing a mall and several restaurants, which woke my stomach up. I was hungry but too wired to really consider eating. A couple of miles later, Hunter took the Spring Mills exit and hung a right, heading toward a town named Back Creek. With names like that, this should be fun.

  Two miles off the exit, Hunter slowed down as an old, abandoned gas station came into view. My brow rose as I took in the overgrown weeds. The road wasn’t much better, really a hodgepodge of potholes and gravel.

  “Are you sure the club is back here?” I asked, peering out the window. Dust plumed into the air, cloudy like fog.

  “Yes. No one goes back here.”

  “I can imagine,” I muttered.

  Passing several run-down buildings with boarded-up windows, I was convinced we’d taken a wrong turn somewhere, but before I could point that out, the trees cleared and a makeshift parking lot overflowing with cars came into view.

  “Christ,” I said, shaking my head.

  A sea of cars were parked around the building, and not piece of crap vehicles, either. Brand-new trucks, Hummers that could mow down entire villages, BMWs, and Jaguars parked side by side. It was like the nicer part of a used-car dealership.

  Hunter grinned at me. “Looks can be deceiving.”

  “No doubt,” I said as Hunter parked the car.

  “I want you to stay close to me in here, okay?” Hunter killed the engine. “I sense others of my kind and a few Luxen. They shouldn’t bother us, but you never know.”

  My brows rose. “Luxen and Arum together?”

  “Stranger things have been known to happen, and strange shit always happens here. This is a no-kill zone.”

  I should’ve been relieved by that. Hunter started to open the door, but I grasped his arm. “Wait a second. What happens after you get the opal and do your thing here?”

  “We leave.”

  I shot him a bland look. “I figured we weren’t camping out here. What are we going to do?”

  Hunter looked away, his profile stoic. “We’re going to head south, to just outside of Atlanta. It should be safe there.”

  “Safe from what?” I asked, my fingers digging into my knees. “I need—”

  “Can we talk about this afterward?” he interrupted, his eyes sheltered.

  I wanted to protest, but this really wasn’t the moment. Relenting, I climbed out of the car and followed Hunter through the maze of cars. The one thing I noticed, which was weird as hell, was I didn’t hear any sounds coming from the club or anything around us.

  It was unnaturally quiet.

  A shiver crept over my shoulders and I folded my arms. Hunter slowed until I was beside him. He didn’t say anything about my slow progress, and having a good idea I was about to get another shock of my life in this club, I was slowing down.

  “Remember,” Hunter said, placing his hand on my lower back. “Stay close to me inside here. Okay?”

  I nodded. “Gotcha.”

  We stopped at a steel-gray door. Two seconds later, the door opened and a huge mammoth of a man stepped out, wearing blue jean overalls and nothing else.

  My eyes widened. The man’s arms were the size of tree trunks and he was looking at us like he wasn’t happy in the least bit to see us.

  Hunter shifted ever so slightly, blocking me. “I need to see Luc. It’s an emergency.”

  Overalls folded his muscular arms. “Everyone says it’s an emergency when they come a-knocking. Rarely is.”

  “This is.”

  “Yeah.” Overalls drew the word out. “That’s what they all say, and ain’t like Luc has a lot free time, ya know?”

  I’d been around Hunter long enough to recognize when he was starting to lose his patience. His shoulders tensed, spine stiffened. And then he smiled. Only one side of his lips curved up.

  Oh no.

  “How about this?” Hunter started, and I cringed inwardly. “I know he’s listening in right now.” He paused, flicked the black wire behind Overall’s ears. Huh. Hadn’t even noticed that, but there it was, a slim, black earpiece. “The little fuck owes me. And we know how he is with favors. So unless he wants me to rip through everyone in there, including your big ass, and hang y’alls entrails from the rafters, he’s going to make time for me.”

  Oh dear.

  I turned to Hunter slowly, wondering if he ever heard of the saying you catch more bears with honey because, Jesus, he just sprayed Overalls in the face with battery acid.

  Expecting Overalls to tell us to hit the road or come to some kind of blows, I nearly fell over when the big man revealed a toothy smile.

  “He’s waiting for you, Hunter.” Overalls stepped aside, holding the door open, and we brushed past him. I saw him check out Hunter. “I love when they get all bossy.”

  A smile raced across my face, but it froze as we stepped out of the narrow black hallway. “Holy…”

  I’d never seen anything like this, not in real life. It’s not like I didn’t know they existed. I just never visited them. Clubs like this were more up Mel’s alley.

  Multicolored strobe lights pulsed over the teeming crowd of dancers. Cages hung from the ceiling. Scantily clad women danced in them, swaying their hips to the heavy beat of the music. And when I say scantily, I mean the only parts of their bodies I didn’t see were their nipples and hoohah.

  Dim lights hid more than revealed the outskirts of the club. I could tell there were tables, and maybe even couches, but that was all. The whole atmosphere was otherworldly.

  Hunter’s hand found mine as he guided me through the throngs of people. He parted the crowd like a freight train. Women stopped dancing to stare at him. So did some of the men, and not all the stares were lascivious. Some were downright hostile. Were they Luxen? Humans who knew what he was or other Arum? I couldn’t tell in the flashing lights.

  There was a strange clove scent to the air, and with the dizzying lights, loud music, and the low-level fog that seemed to creep along the floor, swirling up our legs, I f
elt like I was walking in a dream.

  A tall, dark mass stepped out of the cluster of people, blocking our path. The guy looked to be around my age, hair thick and dark, spiked up. Skin pale and eyes heavily lined in kohl, his lips curved in a tight half-smile as his light blue eyes flickered from Hunter to me.

  Didn’t take an alien expert to figure out he was an Arum.

  Hunter didn’t stop, shouldering the younger Arum out of the way. “I don’t have time for this.”

  Looking over my shoulder, I expected the other Arum to do or say something, but his grin spread as he slipped back into the dancers crowding the floor. I shivered at the weirdness of it all.

  We skirted a bar and hit a narrow, empty hallway. At the end, there was a door with a sign that said FREAKS ONLY. Nice.

  Hunter knocked with his free hand and a heartbeat passed. The door opened, revealing an extraordinarily tall and good-looking man.

  And boy was he all kinds of golden.

  Golden skin. Golden hair. Golden shirt.

  Incredibly unreal blue eyes widened just the slightest as the man’s lips curved down. “And here I was having a good night…”

  Hunter smirked. “Nice to see you, too, Paris.”

  Paris? All I could think of was Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt.

  The man opened the door. “You know the rules.”

  We stepped into an office. There was a couch and desk and nothing else but a closed door leading to where, I didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. The door we came through shut behind us, cutting off all sound. Paris stood there, his arms folded. His gaze dropped to where Hunter’s hand joined with mine. He let out a soft, little laugh.

  Hunter’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t drop my hand. “You’re making me feel like I need to rebel against the rules.”

  “Try it,” Paris replied, leaning against the closed door. “But I doubt your lady friend would want to witness the kind of mess we’ll leave in our wake.”

  It hit me then, and my heart tripped over itself. “You’re a Luxen.”

  Paris winked. “And you’re a human.”

  My mouth worked on a response, but Hunter squeezed my hand. “He’s not going to try anything,” he said in a low voice, but his eyes were trained on the Luxen. “Isn’t that right, Paris.”

  “Depends on what you do, Arum.” Paris looked at me and smiled. It was a nice smile, charming even, but fear trickled through my veins like ice. “But you, my dear, have nothing to fear from me. I won’t judge you for your obvious lapse in judgment when it comes to who you associate with.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my judgment,” I snapped. “But thanks for your input.”

  “Oh.” Paris’ brows rose. “She’s defending you, Hunter. How sweet.”

  “Shut up,” Hunter replied.

  Paris snickered.

  In spite of their exchange, I realized Hunter wasn’t tense or preparing to break out a bundle of kickass. It seemed like they were just mouthing off at each other…for the fun of it. I relaxed a little.

  “Well, wrap me up and call me a Christmas baby. Hunter with a female—a human female.”

  I startled at the voice and turned to the door behind the desk. I hadn’t even heard it open, but there stood a tall teenage boy no older than fifteen or so. His blond hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, showing off an angelic face that was asymmetrically perfect, but his eyes…whoa. They were purple.

  Who in the hell had purple eyes?

  Aliens. Duh.

  Hunter let out a long-suffering breath. “Luc.”

  My mouth dropped open. Holy shit, Luc was a kid.

  Chapter 23

  Luc sauntered to the desk and hopped up on it, propping his chin on his fist. The opal on his leather cuff glittered in the light. I was half tempted to knock him over and take it, but Luc…

  Yeah, Luc wasn’t normal.

  Not even in the world of Luxen, Arum, and hybrids. He was something else entirely and knocking him over wouldn’t be like kicking a kid on a playground, because this kid could knock just about anyone and anything into another galaxy. Sometimes it was hard to remember that when talking to the little punk.

  Luc smiled broadly. “What brings you here? I hear this ‘little fuck’ owes you.”

  “You know you owe me. And if you need a reminder, all I need to say is Sharpe.”

  “Ah, yes. That does remind me of a lot of things.”

  “Sharpe?” Serena murmured, her eyes bouncing back and forth.

  I let go of her hand and found myself stepping in front of her. Luc noted this with a mischievous glint. “I need my money.”

  Luc leaned slightly to the side, as if he was trying to see Serena. Man, this kid loved to push buttons. “You can have your money whenever you need it. Paris could’ve gotten that for you. So I doubt that’s the only thing you need.”

  “I also need a piece of opal.”

  His brows rose as he leaned onto his side completely, supporting himself on one arm. He smiled at Serena. “And why would you, an Arum who works for the lovely DOD, be in need of a piece of opal? Don’t they hand that out with their ‘I was bought out by the man’ badges? Oh! Wait…wait a second, Hunter.” Luc’s wide eyes blinked innocently, and I had a strong urge to knock those eyes into the back of his head. “Are you no longer playing with the DOD?”

  “What do you think?” I stepped to the side, blocking Serena.

  “Interesting.” He sat up, putting him right back in front of Serena. “And who’s this?”

  “None of your business,” I growled.

  Luc slid me a sideways glance. “She’s in my office, in my club, therefore she is my business.”

  “This is your club?” Serena asked. “How old are you?”

  “Old enough to appreciate a good-looking woman.” Luc winked.

  Serena’s mouth dropped open.

  “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” I asked, my hands curling into fists.

  Paris stepped forward, the perpetual bodyguard, but Luc just laughed. “Oh, simmer down, Hunter. You’re too testy. How many times have I’ve told you that you need to chill out, take a vacay. Disney World is really fun this time of year. You should check it out.”

  I drew in a long, deep breath. “Luc.”

  He was focused on Serena. “So how did you get mixed up with this lump of joyful personality?”

  Serena glanced at me, questioning, and I shook my head. The less Luc knew, the better.

  Luc tapped his fingers on the desk. “Al’ right, kiddies, you don’t want to play, then I don’t want to play. Paris will get your money and you can get the hell out.”

  “Whoa. Wait a sec. You owe me, Luc. I need a piece of opal—”

  “And I’m assuming you’ll also need a Luxen or a hybrid to feed off, too. And you’re right. I do owe you. You took care of a problem for me and I’ll be forever grateful for that. I can help you, but I want to know who she is and how she ended up with you.”

  Son of a rat bastard.

  Serena stepped forward. “My name is Serena Cross. My best friend was killed by a Luxen after she witnessed them take their, um, true form. I saw it happen and Hunter was brought in by the DOD to keep me safe.”

  I turned to her slowly.

  “What?” She raised her hands. “We weren’t getting anywhere.”

  Anger flashed through me, but I stamped it down. Serena didn’t know Luc, didn’t understand what the kid was capable of. Hell, there was a lot I didn’t know about him, but I knew enough.

  Luc’s gaze traveled to a very interested-looking Paris. “Keep you safe from the Luxen?”

  She nodded as she worried her lower lip.

  “All because your friend witnessed a Luxen do their shiny thing? They killed her for that?” A calculating look appeared in his amethyst eyes. “That sounds drastic.”

  “This sounds familiar,” Paris interjected. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with Senator Vanderson, would it?”

&
nbsp; “Ah…” Luc murmured.

  Serena became very still and the aura around her turned a deeper shade of blue. “How do you know about that?”

  “Good question,” I said.

  Paris shrugged one shoulder. “I keep my ear to the ground. The senator flipped his shit because the DOD hauled in one of his boys and then the other. The Luxen are in a tizzy over it. Getting re-assimilated is like walking the green mile, baby.”

  My eyes narrowed.

  Paris grinned as his gaze slid back to Luc. “But that doesn’t explain why they would come after you, now does it? I mean, you’re not the first to see us in our true form. You won’t be the last. You seem like a smart lady. You know to keep quiet. So…”

  “So there has to be more,” Luc finished. He clapped his hands together. “And there is always more to a story. Spill it.”

  Serena had wisely gone quiet, but it was a little late for that. I folded my arms. “Her friend overheard the brothers talking about something called Project Eagle and children in Pennsylvania. Whatever it is, it seems like it’s worth killing to keep a lid on it.”

  Luc blinked slowly. “And does the DOD know about this?”

  “Yes,” Serena answered, and cleared her throat. “I told them what my friend had said, but…”

  “But you two are here and Hunter is without his opal, which means he’s without his nifty tracking device. How did that happen?” Luc asked. “Don’t be shy, Serena. I’m not the bad guy here.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, and I’m fucking Santa Claus.”

  “Okay.” Luc flashed a winning smile. “All things considered, I’m the least of your worries at this point, eh? There are three things in life that I just cannot stand and, in no particular order, they are: the DOD, the Arum, and the Luxen. Humans are pretty damn okay in my book.”

  Serena glanced back in shock at a grinning Paris, and I rubbed my temple. I was starting to get a headache.