by T. S. Joyce
Shit, shit, double shit. Sadey pulled out the IV someone very determined must’ve shoved into her arm. They’d wound surgical tape around her arm at least a dozen times to keep her body from rejecting the needle. She had to get out of here.
“I’ll get your release forms,” Jody said with an empty smile.
Fantastic, but Sadey wasn’t signing them. No one here could know her name or Brock would track her down.
The nurse left the room, and now Sadey was terrifyingly alone with the monster in the corner. His navy T-shirt read Winterset Fire Department and had the city logo on it. A firefighting vampire? She’d always imagined the undead dressed in tuxedos, drinking goblets of blood in their gothic mansions, not fighting fires and pulling strangers from cars.
“Th-thank you for saving me,” she rushed out so perhaps he would remember she was a person and not serial-kill her.
“You smell of fear,” he said in a low, gravelly voice, and now his eyes were that pitch black again. He pushed off the wall, stood to his full imposing height, and cocked his head as he studied her. He was the predator, judging whether she was worthy prey. “If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t have covered for you.”
Covered for her? “Did you take over that woman’s mind?”
His lips stretched into a wide smile, and he whispered, “I’m in all of their heads.”
“Are you in mine?” she squeaked out.
That cocky smile faltered, and a troubled expression flashed through his eyes before he carefully composed his expression. “No.” His eyes narrowed as he eased back. “For some reason, I don’t want to be. I’m Aric.”
Oh, he was intoxicating. Surely it was the vamp in him. They were compelling on a chemical level. That’s what helped vamps convince their victims to let them drink them up. She had to be careful with him because she would be damned if she was going to be a victim. After Brock, she would rather die than let another man control her.
Out of self-preservation, Sadey refused to give him her name. Slowly, she sat up, but winced when pain zinged up her arm.
“You broke it,” Aric said.
“Crap.” She stared down at the bruising on her forearm. Shifter healing was great until it came to broken bones.
“I set it for you before it healed, but it’ll be sore for a while.”
“How did you know to do that?”
The man’s lips lifted in the corners, but he didn’t look nice. He looked feral. “Just a hunch. What are you?”
Sadey crossed her arms over her chest and gave the window her attention. It was still full dark outside. Maybe if she ignored him until dawn, he would make like a tree and leaf her the hell alone.
“Bear shifter?”
She cast him a quick glance and stifled the snarl in her throat. “That’s none of your business.”
“Ah, but that’s no fair. You know what I am, right?”
She parted her lips to deny him, but the nurse returned just in time. And good thing because, belatedly, she remembered vamps could sense lies like shifters could. That and the bloodsucker had the unnerving ability to poke around in peoples’ minds.
She needed to get away from him, and fast.
Sadey read over the form Jody handed her, attention carefully angled away from the man who seemed to take up every inch in the small room. Helgalina Tittywinkles, she scribbled across the bottom line.
Aric snorted from the corner he’d retreated to, as if he could read what she’d written. Hell, maybe he could.
If she was in her animal form right now, every hair on her back would be standing straight up. In fact, she was surprised her animal was as calm as she was. Usually in the presence of rival predators, she became defensive and wanted to rip out of Sadey’s skin. Not now, though. Other than an occasional warning growl when he got too close to their secrets, her animal was curiously content to watch him. Strange. Perhaps her inner beasty didn’t realize how much danger she was in.
“Thank you for visiting,” Nurse Jody said in that strange, empty voice, and then she stood there, staring at something just over Sadey’s head. She went completely still like she was a robot that had just powered down. Geez, this vamp was a trip.
As Sadey sidled past Aric to escape to the door, she whispered, “Will she be okay?”
“Other than some confusion and a little headache later, she’ll be fine.”
“Great. Bye.”
Sadey rubbed her sore arm and made her way down the hallway. One by one, the nurses and doctors she passed came to a stop and froze, eyes staring, pupils blown out. Sadey slowed and looked behind her.
Aric stood there, dark eyebrows drawn down in concentration and something more. Confusion? His mussed hair had fallen down his face on one side as though he’d roughed it up after she’d passed him by.
Sadey looked at all the staff who were frozen like statues in the hallway. How was he not in her mind? How did he choose who to manipulate? And why wasn’t she Changing out of fear right now?
Troubled down to her bones, Sadey ripped her gaze away from Aric’s and bolted for the door with the glowing green exit sign.
That man was too terrifyingly powerful for his own good, and he was much too interesting for hers.
Chapter Three
What was wrong with him? Aric frowned at the small house with the big front porch.
Sadey. The second her name had brushed his mind when he’d introduced himself, he’d almost retched. He hadn’t meant to dip into her mind, and it didn’t feel right with her. He didn’t give a single fuck about visiting other people’s minds if it kept him and his people safe, but tonight he’d gone overboard in an effort to keep a complete stranger’s identity protected from the hospital staff.
The breeze kicked up, swaying the elaborate garden she’d planted. Bushes, grasses, and brightly colored flowers were placed tastefully in the front landscaping, down both sides of the house, and around the dogwood tree out front. The grass was mowed, and the landscaping perfectly weeded, the soil damp and smelling of rich earth. Before Sadey had gone inside, cradling her sore arm, she’d talked to each plant as she watered them like they were her children.
This was a woman who reveled in sunlight, so why the fuck couldn’t he leave the shadows of this old sycamore tree across the street right now?
For the past ten minutes, he’d tried to convince himself he was just trying to make sure she got home safe. He’d tried to convince himself he was just watching her warily as a predator watches a rival in its territory, but she wasn’t a physical danger to him.
Her face had given her away when he’d asked if she was a bear. She was something smaller. She didn’t smell like a dragon either, so she wasn’t either of the two shifters that could threaten his life and the lives of his coven. Not when she was so obviously alone out here without a crew to protect her.
He didn’t like that.
It was dangerous for supes to be alone, and she hadn’t even called anyone on the cab ride from the hospital to her house. He’d flown near her taxi in his shifted form and watched for her to lift her phone to her ear, but she didn’t. Tonight, she’d almost died, and she had no one to call?
A shallow hiss filled his throat at the idea that her people had failed her so epically.
Movement caught his attention in the front left window. A light had turned on, and now Sadey’s shadow walked across the room. She pulled her shirt off gingerly, as though her arm was really hurting.
A reckless thought consumed him. He could dip into her mind briefly and take the pain away. He did that sometimes when he was called to a bad injury on a shift. But the thought of digging around in her mind had him doubled over in pain.
Squatting down in the shadows, Aric glared at her outline. Perfect breasts bobbed out of the bra she removed and, fuck it all, his dick was so hard right now. This wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be sitting here watching her like this. Why didn’t she have blackout curtains? Because she won’t burn to her final death if a ray of sunlight peeks
through, his asshole subconscious whispered.
What was his purpose here? He was fighting something that drew him to her. It rivaled bloodlust, but the thought of drinking her made him feel guilty. This right here was why he made a terrible vampire. His maker, Arabella, had known it would be like this, but she’d Turned him anyway. Wasn’t he supposed to be heartless by now? Wasn’t he supposed to feel less?
Instead, he felt everything. His coven could sense it and resented him. They thought him weak. If it wasn’t for the power of mind-manipulation that had manifested when he’d risen from the dead, they would’ve put him down by now.
His phone chirped, and he checked the glowing screen. It was Garret, his Second. Where are you? Dawn is almost here.
Aric slid his glance to the gray horizon and muttered a curse. This was the part he hated—the fear of the sun.
And for the billionth time since he’d been Turned, he cursed his maker for all she’d taken from him. Arabella had promised him great power, and when he’d turned it down, she’d Turned him anyway. She’d ruined his life with that power.
And now he couldn’t have a normal conversation with a woman like Sadey without smelling the stink of fear pouring from her skin.
Aric stood, made his way into the middle of the street, and inhaled deeply. Sadey was a being of the light, and he was of the shadows, and he had no place in her life.
He would be poison to her.
Sadey’s shadow froze, and slowly she made her way to the window. He should leave before she saw him and become even more scared, but he couldn’t conjure his shift. He just stood there, a dark part of his heart wanting her to see him. Wanting her to know he saw her.
Sadey lifted the thin blinds and then paused, staring at him with those gold eyes that said whatever animal she harbored was close to the surface.
Sexy, mysterious, rogue. He bet her animal was stunning.
But this was enough. It had to be. He had no place being here. Aric closed his eyes and gave his body to the bats.
And then in a haze of smoke, he disappeared into the night and out of her life.
Chapter Four
Sadey frowned down at the address, then back to the giant Victorian home surrounded by wilderness. It was beautiful, but not at all like the gothic castle she’d imagined a coven of vampires would inhabit. A shallow porch graced the front and was lined with a trio of white rocking chairs to match the intricate railing.
There were a few girls leaning against the railing. They wore sundresses, jean jackets, and cute wedges of differing colors as if they’d called each other and coordinated their outfits. They talked low and laughed easily. Sadey stuck her nose out the open window of her rental car and sniffed. They were definitely human, and they weren’t afraid of being at a coven house, so why should she? She was a motherfluffin’ shifter. And not just a bird shifter either, but one with teeth and claws. She wasn’t defenseless.
Plus, something deep down inside of her said Aric wouldn’t hurt her.
She remembered the look on his face right before he’d disappeared in a haze of flocking bats and purple smoke. There had been such a raw vulnerability in his eyes when he’d stood outside her house. That was one week ago, and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since. That would’ve been good except she was curious about him, and apparently that curiosity-killed-the-cat saying didn’t work on her. Hopefully the nine lives adage would work, though, because now that she was here, her animal apparently thought this was the greatest idea ever instead of the stupidest.
Sadey huffed a sigh and licked the envelope to the card she’d brought for Aric, then shoved it into her purse. She shoved the door open and jogged across the street.
“Hey, we’ve got a new girl,” one of the human girls said in a friendly tone.
A blonde looked troubled, though. “Who are you here for?”
“Uuuuh.” That was a weird question. “Aric?”
The blonde’s frown deepened further. “He just fed a couple nights ago, but okay. If he called you in, maybe he had a bad night at work.”
“What do you mean?” Sadey asked, a sliver of worry snaking in her gut.
“He’s a firefighter, and sometimes his shifts are bad. He has to feed more if he’s going to be around all that blood and not hurt the injured ones, you know?”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” The silence grew too thick, and she was crap at small talk, so naturally she made it awkward. “So you’re all here to feed the vamps?”
The friendly brunette pursed her lips. “Well yeah, the pay doesn’t suck. Aren’t you?”
Sadey opened her mouth to vehemently deny that she would ever do something so repulsive, but the door opened suddenly, and a tall man with dark hair and green eyes smiled at them and said, “Y’all come on in. Your boys are ready for you.”
Sadey’s pulse tripped as the man’s eyes landed on her and narrowed. “What do we have here? Fresh meat?”
“Garret don’t give her a hard time. She’s here for Aric,” the blonde explained. “The first time is always nerve-wracking, too, so cut her some slack, okay?”
Garret smiled at the blonde and murmured, “So long as you’re here for me, darlin’.”
The blonde blushed a pretty color, ducked her gaze, and looked pleased as punch. “You know I am.”
The girls filed in one by one while Sadey looked longingly behind her at the rental car that sat on the circle drive by the others. Her chariot awaited, but the thought that Aric was right inside, just a few walls away from her, made it impossible to flee. Apparently, her damn animal had grown a keen and terrifying interest in men even more dangerous than Brock. This was the part she hated about being a shifter—the marrow-deep instincts she couldn’t ignore.
So like the epic fate-tempter she was, Sadey stepped into the house behind the others. The decorator had been a fan of dark woods. Dark floors, dark wainscoting, dark bronze sconces, and a massive black chandelier hung above her in the entryway. To the left was an entire wall of security panels with video, retinal scanners, and glowing squares of buttons that probably helped make this place a fortress during the day. Made sense. Vampires didn’t have much defense when they were sleeping.
Garret led them down a hallway and a set of stairs to a sprawling basement with tall ceilings. Down here, the lights were dimmer, and it smelled of sawdust and new paint, like the coven had recently renovated this place. The brunettes filed off one at a time to bedroom doors and disappeared inside, while Garret draped his arm over Blondie’s shoulders.
“You don’t have to worry,” Blondie said. “It’s not scary like rumors say. This coven is gentle and don’t even leave scars behind. Aric will treat you well for your work.”
Work. Donating blood to vamps was considered a job? Sadey tried to smile, but she was pretty sure it was a grimace highlighted by a lip tremble. Some predator shifter she was.
As Garret opened a bedroom door and waited for Blondie to saunter inside, he tilted his chin to the door at the end of the hallway. “Aric is in there.” Garret looked like he wanted to say more, but he frowned at Aric’s door instead. And when she hesitated with her hand raised to knock, Garret said, “Take good care of our king. He shoulders a lot.”
King? Holy hell. Royalty was notoriously ruthless. They had to be to secure entire covens under them. She was about to let herself into the king of the coven’s room. Crap, oh crap, oh crap.
“Don’t worry,” Garret said. “Aric will be gentle with you, especially your first time.”
Fantastic. Clenching her fists to stifle the instinct to flee the house, she knocked lightly.
There was commotion at the end of the hallway, and when she turned around, the nice brunette was pinned onto the wall, hips rolling against a handsome man with pallid skin and bright blue eyes. They were making out hard core, and from the sounds the brunette was making, she was thoroughly enjoying it. The vamp slid his icy gaze to Sadey right as he opened his mouth and exposed his fangs, then sank them into the brunette�
�s neck. He made a hissing sound as he ground his hips against her.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!
The door swung open, and Aric froze like an ice sculpture. His face went slack, and his gray eyes morphed to the black of a raven’s feather. He wore nothing but low-slung jeans. She’d known he was well-built through his firefighter shirt, but he was more cut than she’d even imagined. The dim lighting made deep shadows between his hard pecs and between each hard ridge of his six-pack. The tattoos she’d seen peeking out of his shirt were dark against his pallid skin. He was intimidatingly sexy.
With a rapid blink, Aric looked at the sexual feeding frenzy down the hall and yanked Sadey by the arm inside of his room.
The door clicked closed, and he was there, standing too close, his hand digging into her arm too hard. “What the hell are you doing here?” he whispered. “I’m not drinking you!”
“I’m not here for that,” she gritted out. “I came to give you something.”
Aric ran his hand through his chestnut brown hair, mussing it as he looked around with a tinge of panic flaring in his eyes. It was then that she really saw his bedroom. It was massive, but okay, that made sense. He was king of this coven after all.
It was dark, with just a few sconces lit on the walls. Rich wood floors and chocolate-colored walls made the room seem even darker.
“It’s like a classy dungeon in here,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Where’s the shackles?”
He gave her a disapproving look, so she muttered, “Joke,” and moved to the writing desk scattered with charcoal sketches. Some were of animals, some of planes or scenery. Each was dark and smudged quickly, but belied real skill. Under a picture of a row of familiar flowers, there was an eye done in such detail she gasped. Gently, she moved the image of landscaping over and exposed a picture of a girl lying in a man’s arms, her lips parted slightly, her eyes wide and wild, a tear streaking through the dark smudges on her face. If this was done in color, those eyes would be gold.
