by Trina M. Lee
Remembering Ash as a zombified lab rat made me feel like a failure. Going forward I planned to do better, to work harder for those in similar situations. His death had birthed in me a renewed determination to protect those new to our world. Those who wandered afraid and alone. As I once had.
“As far as you know?” Falon repeated with a scowl. “Why don’t you know? He’s your creation, Alexa. You should know where he is at all times.”
If I didn’t have wolf blood racing through me, encouraging relaxation and calm, I’d have full on lost my shit. His attitude bordered on cruel. It went beyond his usual assholery to a place of malice.
Refusing to let him trigger my temper, I calmly said, “Juliet won’t talk to me. He’s in her custody. Not much I can do about that. Feel free to pop in there and check on him yourself.”
Falon struggled to get my chair back to a regular height. It would’ve been comical to see him fighting with the mechanics of an office chair if he hadn’t been working my nerves so hard. “You have to file a report. We need up-to-date information on everyone we’re watching. There’s no room for slacking off.” The chair obeyed his next lever pull and he smiled, victorious.
“I’m slacking off?” My calm vanished. I kicked the arm of the chair, causing it to spin suddenly. “You think I’m slacking off? What the fuck is really your problem, Falon? Anything else you’d like to say to me before I kick your ass?”
He used a foot to stop the motion of the chair. Absolute repugnance passed behind his eyes. “My problem is your inability to do your job. A job I secured for you. If you screw up, it reflects badly on me.”
My temper flared, and I wanted to fire right back at him. However, I realized there was something else going on with Falon. Taking a few extra days to report a werewolf death didn’t seem worthy of this kind of attitude. No, this wasn’t about my job at all. It was about exposing his most vulnerable state to me. That moment of weakness in the hotel drove all this.
There were a few ways I could handle this situation. The way he looked at me, like I was crap he’d found smeared on his shoe, it made me want to take the low road. Damn he had to make this so difficult.
I took several deep breaths, but my buzz had been destroyed. “If you think I suck so damn bad at what I do, then feel free to replace me. While you’re at it, get the hell out of my nightclub and don’t come back until you can show some respect for what I do.”
My vehement outburst carried a double meaning that I didn’t need to spell out for him. He had issues. Well, so what? Who didn’t? He could respect that I treated his secrets with discretion, or he could take a flying fucking leap.
Without waiting for his lippy reply, I stormed from the room. I’d resisted the urge to throw his vulnerability at the hotel in his face, a small victory. Bringing it up wouldn’t help. We both knew what happened there, and we both knew that was why Falon had such a problem with me all of a sudden. Throwing it at him would reduce me to his level. And as much as I enjoyed slinging a good barb at Falon, I wouldn’t use his greatest weakness to do it. I was better than that.
One of us had to be.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Raucous laughter and drunken shouts greeted me as I entered the heart of The Wicked Kiss. Emerging into the party slapped my hyper alert senses. The place was packed—wall to wall, bodies pressed against bodies kind of packed. Always busy, it didn’t usually reach this level. Apparently we had some newbies in our midst. Or special occasion types.
I paused to take it all in. Dozens of perfumes and colognes mixed into one musky scent that, when combined with all the human flesh, actually smelled pretty damn good. Bodies gyrated on the dance floor. Others were crammed into the large, cozy booths engaged in activities that belonged behind closed doors. Josh the bartender barked orders at his team as they tried to keep up with the growing lines.
Following the link between Arys and me, I found him. With Gabriel. And a few of their friends, including Ebyn.
Arys had him backed into the corner of a booth. Why did that not surprise me? I should’ve known better than to turn a freshly wounded werewolf loose in a building with Arys Knight.
Ebyn made no effort to escape. He gazed into Arys, completely under his thrall. On the other side of the booth, Gabriel lounged between two women. Face buried in the cleavage of one, his hand beneath the skirt of the other. Clearly this was where the real party was.
“Looks like you’re enjoying your evening.” Arms crossed, hip cocked, I waited to be noticed.
Arys turned to me with a mischievous grin. “You’ve been keeping this one all to yourself? For shame, Alexa.”
“With good reason,” I replied. “You don’t need a steady diet of wolf.”
“Need. Want. What does it matter? Nobody’s getting hurt.” Arys lifted Ebyn’s wrist to his lips. “Quite the opposite in fact.”
Ebyn gasped as Arys’s fangs pierced his vein. My dark half turned the feed into an art. He savored the wolf blood that spilled into his mouth. Slow and sensual, he sucked at the wound. Watching caused a tightening in my groin. Arys dragged his tongue over the wolf’s wrist while Ebyn shuddered and groaned.
Was it hot in here? Yes, yes, it was. However, that was not the source of the flush of heat scorching my nether regions.
“Ok, Arys. That’s enough.” When he ignored me I reached to place a hand on his shoulder, thought better of it and kept my hands to myself. “Ebyn should be on his way.”
“Hot damn, V, he’s almost as good as you are.” Chest heaving, Ebyn all but panted the words.
That shouldn’t have stroked my ego but it did. Arys had an immaculate touch. But Ebyn still enjoyed me more. Strange thing to take as a compliment really, being the better manipulator.
“You need to go home and sleep it off,” I informed Ebyn. “Any more and you’ll be burnt out for days.” Not to mention hopelessly addicted to us.
“Worth it.” He pointed a finger at me, and his head lolled against the back of the booth. “Totally worth it.”
“Arys.” The warning in my tone finally grabbed his attention.
He turned to me with a taunt in his eyes. “It’s a new year, my love. Might as well kick it off with a bang.”
To really drive his point home, Arys made a show of dragging his tongue over Ebyn’s wrist while maintaining eye contact with me. No, I definitely could not out manipulate Arys. He was a master.
“No, there will be no banging,” I said, hearing how very wrong that came out. “I’m calling Ebyn a cab and he’s leaving.”
“What’s the hurry?” Ebyn slurred, barely able to make a coherent sentence. “The night is young.”
I ignored him and pinned Arys with a daring stare. He loved to challenge me. This was not the best time. We shared a moment of silent conflict. A battle of wills.
Arys relented, surprising me. He slid out of the booth and extended a hand, bowing slightly toward Ebyn as if presenting him to me. The smitten wolf grabbed for the table to pull himself upright. His hand slipped, and he tumbled back against the cozy booth.
With a stifled sigh I grabbed Ebyn’s hand, trying not to stare at Arys’s bite, and yanked him out of the booth and onto his feet. He leaned too far to one side and almost fell. I steadied him with a pointed look at Arys who affected his best phony innocent expression.
“I’m not ready to go yet, V.” Ebyn stumbled along as I guided him to the exit. “Let me stay. I’ll be a feast for you both. You know I’m willing.”
“Too willing.” I glanced back to ensure Arys hadn’t followed. “And don’t let Arys hear you say shit like that. He’ll take that and run.”
Squeezing between people was difficult with the lust-drunk werewolf. We finally reached the lobby, and I handed him off to one of the door guys with strict instructions: Ebyn was to get into a cab and go to his home address. No stops. And absolutely no readmittance tonight.
When I returned to Arys, he was eyeing up Wendi, the waitress Jez had been seeing. “No,” I stated.
“Just looking.” He caught my hand and pulled me down into the booth beside him. Then he kissed me, the taste of Ebyn’s blood fresh in his mouth.
“You’re bad,” I murmured against his lips.
Despite the loud music he heard me. A Cheshire Cat grin lit up his gorgeous face. “Let’s be bad together. We could’ve had a hell of a time with the wolf.”
“As tempting as that may be, you have to stay away from him, Arys. I mean it. Stop grinning at me like that.” A smack on his chest went ignored. “If you lose it, if you kill him—”
“I’m not going to kill him.” So fast his humor vanished, replaced by offended irritation.
Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t feel Arys had the right to be offended. Too many wolves had died at his hand. Me included. And he wanted to kill me again.
Because once wasn’t enough.
Choosing to back off rather than engage in a fight that would escalate quickly, I turned my attention to Gabriel. “Hey, kid.”
I kicked his leg under the table three times before he surfaced from the heaving bosom of the brunette writhing next to him. No sooner had he raised his head than the blonde on his other side grabbed his face and dragged him in for a porn-worthy kiss.
Yeah, he was definitely Arys’s progeny.
Instead of a kick this time, I sent a little pulse of mildly aggressive energy his way. Gabriel’s head snapped up, and he turned glassy eyes my way, high as fuck on blood and desire.
“Take a break.” I jerked a thumb at his companions. “I need to ask you a few questions.”
With great reluctance he turned the ladies loose. They pouted and whined but perked up when he promised to pick up where they left off. Arys watched him like a proud father. Ridiculous.
“Can you make this fast? I’d really like to make that happen.” He nodded toward the ladies who sauntered away giggling, holding onto one another as they headed for the bar.
“I can imagine.” I rolled my eyes, wondering if perhaps Gabriel and Arys had the right idea. Drowning myself in someone with a heartbeat might be the best way to spend the night. Too bad Ebyn simply wasn’t safe here. Not with Arys around.
Arys nudged me. “We could be making that happen. Pick someone out. Two someones. Hell, as many as you like. Lady’s choice.”
I ignored him and got to the point, seeing Gabriel’s attention span was short. “When did you start practicing necromancy?”
“Necromancy? I’ve never practiced it. Why would you think I did?” To Gabriel’s credit, he seemed genuinely confused.
“Because Briggs claims to have swiped some necromancy spell from you. And he used it.” I studied the young vampire closely, seeking any signs of dishonesty.
His dark eyes widened. “Oh. Shit. I do have a necromancy spell, something Shya gave me. It’s recorded in my spell book. I’ve never used it though. I wouldn’t. That shit is deadly. Too unpredictable.”
Son of a bitch. Squeezing my eyes shut, I rubbed the frown lines that formed between them. “Why the hell do you have a spell like that? Especially if you didn’t plan to use it.”
Gabriel seemed to shrink in on himself. “I recorded every spell Shya showed me. Never know when it might prove valuable. I never thought for a minute Briggs would try one of them.”
“Well, he did, and it was fucking horrifying.” I’d never get that image of Ash out of my head. I had to remind myself that ultimately, it wasn’t Gabriel’s fault. Blaming him wouldn’t turn back time and undo what had happened.
Briefly I told him what had occurred in the FPA lab. Ruining Gabriel’s night hadn’t been my intention, but I’d gotten the answers I needed.
“Lex, I’m sorry. I should have spelled the book itself so Briggs couldn’t read it. I’ll do that the second I get home.” Gabriel had sobered considerably while I spoke. Brow creased with worry, he waited for me to bring down the axe.
Seeing my distress over the whole thing, Arys jumped in. “Is there anything else you have that we should know about?”
Gabriel appeared uncertain. He glanced between us, like he didn’t know the answer. “Maybe. I guess that’s a matter of opinion.”
Every time I looked at the kid these days, I saw a ticking time bomb. His turn to vampire had come with a dire warning, and though Gabriel promised that he meant us no harm, I knew better than to take an elder’s premonition lightly.
“I can help with Briggs.” Gabriel wove his hands together awkwardly. So fast the confident, power-oozing vampire had vanished, leaving in its place the awkward nineteen year old. “If you want me to try a binding or anything at all, I’ll do whatever I can.”
Eyeing him with curiosity, I wondered if he’d ever grow out of that awkwardness. He’d be in that teenage body forever, but his mind would surely change as the decades passed.
“He’s in lockup right now, although I doubt my sister will have the nerve to keep him there long.” Feeling shitty about ruining the kid’s night, I waved a hand toward the bar. “If you can help with anything, I’ll let you know. Deal with that book the moment you get home. And go. Have your fun. Someone should.”
He hesitated for only a second before launching out of the booth. Already his attention had returned to what he wanted most, the blonde and brunette. At the same time.
“Briggs will still be in lockup tomorrow.” Arys nuzzled his face in my hair and breathed deeply of my scent. “Tonight ends a year of pain, chaos, darkness, and light. Those things will more than likely follow us into the new year. But we get to start fresh. New. Let’s kick it off in style. Our style.”
The vampire talked a good game. Too good. The touch of his lips beneath my ear made it even harder to resist.
Arys’s desire to hunt and feast together was understandable. We did. Sometimes. It made me nervous though. I felt that one of us needed to remain in control when we were together. To keep the balance. If we both lost it, things could get ugly real fast.
And I’d already gone down that road with someone else. Someone who allowed me to go to dark places. The problem was that Arys was the source of those dark places. I could be so much worse with him.
Yet, needing to shake off the stress of Briggs, Gabriel, my sister, and pretty much the world at large, I relented. “Alright. What do you have in mind?”
My willingness to play perked Arys right up. Like a kid in a candy store, he perused the options. His gaze strayed from a lone woman swaying in her own little world on the dance floor to a burly guy standing uncertainly near the door. He shook his head. After another minute he settled on a couple enrapt in one another on the edge of the dance floor. Both human. Obviously here for something more.
“Them.” Arys pointed. “First timers I’d guess. Let’s make their first time unforgettable.”
“Fine. I’ll follow your lead.”
He slid out of the booth and held out a hand for mine. “Are you sure? I so enjoy watching you in action.”
I kissed his arm and gave him a push. Holding tight to my hand, he led the way through the crowd, gliding with inhuman grace.
As we drew closer to the dancing couple a flutter of excitement began in my stomach. It grew when Arys pulled me into his arms on the dance floor. Sliding his hands down to my hips, he guided us closer to the couple.
Anticipation gripped me. This could be fun.
Arys turned me so I bumped the guy. With a fang flashing smile I made eye contact. The guy raised brows and returned my smile. He gave his lady a squeeze and a head nod. She followed his gaze to us, curious but shy.
The air rippled. Alarm bells rang in my head as my senses lit up. Someone with wings approached.
Shit.
Arys stiffened. Somehow I knew in my gut it wouldn’t be Falon. Not after the conversation we’d just had.
When Willow emerged from the center of the dance floor I sucked in a breath and held it. Despite keeping his wings absent from sight, those gold-flecked red eyes betrayed him as pure demon. They lit up at the sight of us.
&
nbsp; “Sorry to interrupt,” Willow said. “Can we talk?”
Immense dread filled me so that I drowned in it. Willow didn’t tend to stop by for a drink and a chat so much anymore. As much as I hoped that was all this was, instinct said otherwise.
The excitement in my belly shriveled like a sour grape. “Of course. I’ll grab some of your favorite from the bar.”
Casting a quick glance at Arys, we shared an unspoken exchange. Neither of us felt good about this.
Arys hung back, knowing better than to crowd Willow is his unpredictable state. The couple we’d been about to make friends with shrugged us off and moved away. So much for that.
I let myself behind the bar where I grabbed a bottle of tequila, a shot glass, a salt shaker, and a small tray of lime wedges. Willow waited for me at my favorite booth. If it had been occupied before, it wasn’t now.
Sitting stiffly across from him as he carefully poured a shot, I knew I had to be transparent as fuck. Willow knew me well. Probably better than I realized. He’d been my guardian before I knew of him. Watching me. Getting to know me. Now that he was a demon, I saw that for the threat it had become.
Willow tossed back three shots before speaking. “I need something from you, Alexa. Rather than simply take it, like I so easily could, I’m here to ask for it. Because I respect you. No matter what you think of me now.”
Staring at the lime tray, I practiced my poker face. Show nothing. Reveal nothing. “I can’t imagine there’s anything I can help you with.” Every time I looked at Willow I wanted to cry.
“Well… not you exactly.” Willow’s gaze slid across the room to where Gabriel had made himself comfortable on a vibrant red sofa with his lady friends. “I need the assistance of one who understands demon rituals. Someone with power.”
Oh no. Please no.
Trying to keep my voice from tripping in fear, I cleared my throat. “He can’t help you, Willow. He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know as much as you think he does.”