She made a right and he increased his speed to make up the two-mile difference and followed her. She turned here and there, even going in a circle, making her way through the after-school traffic. It wasn’t as heavy as the rush-hour traffic, but with the extra moms and dads on the road he could allow five cars to get between them. Erzsebet seemed to not really know exactly where she was heading.
Erzsebet made a left on a yellow light and he tried riding the white line dividing one side of the road from the other to get around the cars in front of him, but a car came at him head first with horn blaring. Hunter dipped back into his lane, letting the car, and the others behind that one, pass.
He wanted to tail her, but not at the expense of smearing his brains on the pavement.
He had no choice but to wait until it was his turn to make a left—legally. By the time he turned down the street, Erzsebet’s truck was out of sight and because of the different smells from automobile fumes and humans walking around, he’d lost her.
Hunter cursed under his breath and made a U-turn, heading back to Dark Wolf Enterprises. If he hadn’t known any better, he would’ve thought that she’d lost him on purpose. But he quickly shook that thought from his head. Erzsebet was straight-laced. The only job Hunter pictured her in was as an accountant. She was quiet and sweet, shy to anyone who wasn’t family or Pack and, even then, reserved.
No, she hadn’t lost him on purpose. He’d just caught a bad break.
* * * *
Asha stifled a yawn, making sure not to open her mouth and inhale. She’d long since learned how to hide when she was fatigued. She would get no sympathy from the company she kept. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep, but the lubricated drops she’d put in before the others had woken up ensured that at least they weren’t agitated and red. No one would have ever guessed that she’d only gotten two hours of sleep. She’d had years of practice at appearing well-rested.
“Tired?” asked Clarissa.
“No,” Asha stated, not giving into the lure of false empathy.
“You’ve been up for quite some time. You’ll need to put in long hours while we’re here. Have you at least taken a nap today?”
That she’d put in long hours was an understatement. Asha’s job hadn’t started when their private plane had touched down at the small terminal at Sawyer International Airport. Asha had worked with the executive realtor to find suitable housing for her and the Vampires during their stay. She’d finally settled on a model home seven miles from Dark Wolf Enterprises. She liked that she’d been able to find something close to the company, but it had been the make-up of the neighborhood that had swayed Asha to rent the property. There were only four other houses in the proposed new development and they were all demos. That assured Asha they didn’t have to worry about the nosy neighbors of a thriving community.
After securing the house, Asha had then coordinated their schedule with Andras, the CEO and Alpha. She’d also made sure that Andras agreed to their working space accommodation.
Although Clarissa had sent her to a private high school and, afterward, paid for her to finish an online master’s degree in information technology and accounting, Asha was nothing but Clarissa’s personal assistant slash protégé. And the most important part of her job was to ensure that everything about this trip ran smoothly.
“Yes, I was able to rest a few hours. I’m fine.” Fitful sleep the night before and a twenty-minute power nap hadn’t really done the job, but seeing the satisfaction on Clarissa’s face when they’d arrived at the rental property had been well worth it to Asha.
Clarissa turned to stare at her. The blue contacts that she wore over her blood-red eyes made her long eyelashes stand out even more. “Do you think that I worry if you are ‘fine’ or not? I care only that this job runs smoothly and there are no incidents like the one that we experienced at the Packer Corporation.”
And there it is.
This time, the dig at her inadequacies didn’t hurt Asha as it would’ve if she’d thought for a second that Clarissa had truly been concerned about her. Clarissa only cared if she was personally inconvenienced or not. No matter how big or small that inconvenience may be. And in the case of the Packer Corporation, that inconvenience had not been Asha’s fault. The CEO had decided not to stop production of the auto parts assembly line because he had a deadline to meet. But that fact hadn’t stopped Clarissa for punishing her just the same.
“Andras has assured me that there will be no unnecessary personnel in the building while we are there.”
“I sincerely hope so.” Clarissa turned to stare out of the window again. “It’s bad enough that I’ll be trapped in there smelling leftover animal for hours on end every night. I don’t want an entire building full of mangy mutts scurrying around me.”
Asha wanted to remind Clarissa that, as a Vampire, the need to breathe wasn’t a necessity, but she wasn’t prepared to get her neck snapped for pointing that fact out.
“Why did you even agree to allow them additional security?” Francisco asked. “Now instead of having one mongrel in our presence we’ll have three.”
When Asha had first met Francisco, he’d reminded her of an old math teacher she’d once had. He appeared to be in his late fifties and, although he didn’t have a need for glasses, she could easily picture that he’d worn them in his previous life. Nothing was flashy or glamorous about him, not like the other Vampires who she’d met. It was as if someone had turned Francisco purely for his abilities as a forensic auditor. It would’ve been a silly reason to turn a human, but Vampires were not known for their thoughtfulness or levelheadedness. She could see one of them deciding that they needed him and, just like that, he’d been changed on a whim.
“It couldn’t be avoided. They whined about me bringing Ricko and Rocko.”
Asha peered at the twins, who Clarissa had gotten from a side-show circus in the early 1900s. They’d been billed as the strong men and one of their shows had featured them chewing glass and bending metal with their teeth. Clarissa liked to use them for intimidation purposes. Everyone already feared Vampires, but the twins made humans, including Asha, have nightmares.
When Ricko caught her eyes on him he smiled, showing a mouth full of teeth. His wasn’t the type of smile that one would respond to. She turned her head. It was best not to engage him or his brother. Clarissa wouldn’t let them use their teeth on her—she didn’t fear that. Clarissa liked looking at pretty things, and if the twins got a hold of Asha, she wouldn’t be pretty any longer.
“Why do we even need them?” Angelica asked. She turned up her lip and glared at them.
Rocko flashed his canines at her and she flashed hers back.
“For show. I want to see the mongrels squirm. Asha, I respect you more than I do them.” This time, it was Clarissa who smiled. “In fact, feel free to do all the talking. Look them directly in the eyes and give them direct commands if you have to. They’re just like dogs. When speaking to them, be firm and direct.”
Asha wanted to snort. Clarissa had more respect for her than she did the Shifters? Well, they must’ve been pretty low-class, then. “If you don’t like the Wolf-Shifters, why did we accept this job?” As soon as she’d finished the last word, Asha snapped her mouth shut. She hadn’t meant to say that thought out loud.
“First of all, we didn’t accept the job. I did,” Clarissa said. Even though her voice was sing-songy, Asha felt the warning behind every word. “And it’s not about liking them or not. This is a job, and they’re paying well. Mongrel money spends just as good as any other.”
“You’re right, Clarissa,” Asha said, trying her best to cover for her mistake of talking out of turn. “Please, forgive my forwardness.”
Clarissa didn’t respond verbally. She just reached over and ran cold fingers across the inside of Asha’s wrist. Asha’s heart sped up at the touch. The familiar anxiety began to loom over her like a black cloud. Asha tried hard not to let the others feel her fear, it would only rile them up mo
re.
Asha complied with the nonverbal command and lifted her wrist up to meet Clarissa’s mouth. When Clarissa’s canines pierced her skin, Asha winced but held her breath. She closed her eyes as Clarissa’s lips pressed against her. Clarissa mewed and slurped as she fed.
Asha tuned out the others, not daring to glance their way for she would see their eyes locked longingly on her—a treat that Clarissa was not willing to share.
One day, Asha wouldn’t have to feed anyone anymore.
One day she would be above this.
One day she would be a Vampire and take care of herself.
One day.
Chapter Three
Hunter, Daniel and Gergo stood in formation behind Andras and Kristof. They all waited in the lobby for the Vampires’ arrival. Forty-five minutes prior, Andras had received a call that the Vampires were on their way and would arrive shortly. Apparently, the Vamps didn’t know what the word shortly meant.
“I think they’re keeping us waiting on purpose,” Kristof said. “Maybe you should negotiate another discount for the waste of our time? Something tells me this won’t be the first time they make us play the waiting game.”
“I got lucky that they readily agreed to a discount already. I’m not going to push it,” Andras replied. Then he said over his shoulder, “Hunter, did you have any problems with getting everyone out of the building?”
“None at all. Most everyone seemed more than happy to leave well before the Vamps came a-calling.”
After he’d returned from his failed attempt to follow Erzsebet, it was to find the other employees packing up for the evening. Some of the younger Shifters had tried to linger—they’d never seen Vampires before and wanted to catch a glimpse of the guests. Excitement was in the air.
If only they knew, Hunter had thought to himself.
Instead of being intrigued by the Vamps, it would’ve been better if the younger Shifters remembered the Vamps for exactly what they were—dangerous predators. Normally, the Vamps didn’t see the Wolf-Shifters as a food source—the den that had attacked his family had been outside that norm. It still didn’t stop Hunter from throwing them all in the same boat. He hated every last one of them.
He hated that they relied on others as a food source.
He hated that the Vamps thought they were better than anything else that walked the earth.
And most of all, he hated their paranormal abilities. They could do things to an unsuspecting mind.
They had the ability to enthrall anyone by planting thoughts and taking control of a person. Wolf-Shifters could push their thoughts onto humans, but the powers that the Vamps had were very different. What Shifters did was considered persuasion. The Vampires manipulated the brain. They could make their victim think they were jumping into a pile of leaves when in fact they were jumping off a twenty-story building to their death. The Vampires could also make their victim move, say or do anything that the Vamp wanted, making the victim a puppet.
No one was immune to their enthrallment—it didn’t matter if they were human or paranormal and, because of that, Andras didn’t want any problems. Even though enthralling any Dark Wolf Enterprises employee was forbidden, per the contract, Andras hadn’t wanted to take chances since the Vampires clearly had a problem with following the contract. After the initial meeting, the Vamps wouldn’t have regular contact with any other staff but Hunter, Gergo and Daniel.
“Good,” Andras said. “I really want this to go as smoothly as possible.”
“Me too,” Kristof added.
“How is Trudy holding up?” Andras asked Kristof.
“You know Trudy, she’s tough as nails. She doesn’t want to condemn an entire species because of the act of one. She’s says there are bad apples in all species.”
When Andras and Kristof hadn’t been able to find or stop the embezzlement, they had hired Trudy’s accounting firm, Hollander Accounting. The ring leader who they’d found out later was a Vampire had disclosed that he was taking money because he wanted revenge on the Farkas brothers. The Vampire had hired a Russian Shifter Pack to attack Trudy in order to throw Andras on the wrong trail. But when the Vampire had found out that Trudy was life-mated to Kristof he had intended to torture and kill Trudy to cripple Kristof and the Pack.
Trudy had been trapped in a warehouse with the Vampire and about to die a painful death, but Kristof and Hunter had saved her just in the nick of time. Hunter and Kristof had both thought they had recognized the Vampire’s scent but neither had been able to place where or how they knew the Vampire.
After her ordeal with the Vampire, Kristof had expected Trudy to be scared of them, but surprisingly so far, Trudy hadn’t let on that the Vampires being in Marquette bothered her.
Kristof looked at his watch. “I want this meeting over as soon as possible. I have a mate to get home to.”
“Whipped already,” Andras murmured.
Kristof didn’t turn to his Alpha but growled low in his throat.
While Hunter found the brotherly exchange funny, he also knew that the Alpha was the only one who could talk to Kristof like that and Kristof was the only one who could growl at the Alpha. Brothers—siblings—had a bond that went deeper than Pack.
A pang of guilt settled in Hunter’s heart. At first, he’d been so relieved when Erzsebet had stopped bugging him. Now, he missed her company. Why had he wanted to push her away in the first place? Space? God knows it wasn’t because of a woman. Hunter hadn’t taken a woman to his bed in a long time and it’d been even longer than that since he’d been on any kind of a date.
Off in the distance the metal security gates opened and tires crunched on the gravel road. Car.
“Heads up. They’re on their way,” Hunter said, although he was sure the others heard the approaching vehicle, as well.
Outside, the car came to a complete stop in front of the entrance. The first Vampire to enter through the sliding doors was tall and pale, with a large bulky build. He appeared to be the body-building type and, since Vamps had no use for a weight training regimen, Hunter guessed that he’d acquired his build well before his change. Hunter had a hard time pulling his eyes from him. On top of being able to enthrall their victims, Vampires had the gift of allure. When they entered the room, all eyes were drawn to their beauty. Everything about their make-up was meant to attract prey.
Hunter’s wolf stirred in the background. He remembered their first encounter with the Vamps and it had not been a good memory. Just to prove to himself that he could look away, he did just that.
The Vamp didn’t extend a greeting but glanced right and left then sniffed at the air. He peered at Andras and Kristof before turning slightly to motion outside the door. He then moved over to stand to one side and folded his arms.
Then came a red-headed female who could’ve been mistaken for a college kid and, after her, a much younger-looking Vampire with light-blonde hair. An older Vampire, appearing to be in his mid-fifties, came next.
“Their master?” Kristof asked.
“It’s always the nerdy-looking ones,” Andras said.
“I would bet on it,” Hunter replied.
The last Vamp was another bulky male who was a carbon copy of the first. Hunter guessed the two bigger Vamps were the bodyguards. While the other three were dressed in business suits, the twins wore matching black jeans and T-shirts. One overly muscled Vamp made his skin crawl, an identical pair made him and his wolf uneasy.
The automatic doors began to close.
“Welcome to Dark Wolf Enterprises,” Andras announced.
The doors reversed on their tracks, opening again. Another Vampire—Hunter sniffed at the air—no, not Vampire. She didn’t have the same floral scent as the others. Human.
Hunter hadn’t expected them to bring their food source to the company and from the telepathic cursing that Andras sent his way, neither had he.
“What is she doing here?” Andras pushed the thought to Hunter.
The air instantly thick
ened as the Shifters watched the female. The human wasn’t beautiful, not like the Vampires, but she was pretty. And while she didn’t have an intoxicating aroma, she smelled…nice. Her skin wasn’t the pale-ashen one of a Vampire’s, either. Her brown hue radiated with life and energy. Another dead giveaway that she was human? Her beating heart and shallow breathing. The Vampires had neither.
“I pray that she’s an accountant. I’m not watching them drink from her,” Hunter said.
He’d run into plenty of Vampire junkies before and this woman didn’t strike him as the type who would lust after a blood-sucker. While she wasn’t dressed in a business suit like the others, she still looked professional. Her dark hair fell smoothly past her shoulders. She wore it styled in a blunt cut—sharp bangs and sharp ends. She had on a cream, low-cut silk blouse that showed a hint of cleavage. His eyes were immediately drawn to her round and perky breasts. Accentuating her long and shapely legs was a dark blue pencil skirt that went to her knees and the matching blue heels.
“Trudy will freak if she finds out that we’re letting them feed here. Didn’t we forbid this in the contract?” Kristof asked.
While the others arranged themselves in a line, the human did as well, but positioned herself one step behind the Vampires. Her placement told him everything. She was part of the group, but not really.
Hunter’s wolf had lingered at the front, ready to come forth and fight if needed. But this time, instead of growling in the back of his mind and being on edge, his wolf was having a different reaction.
Curiosity.
Hunter could picture the wolf’s nose sniffing and poking at the barrier that separated man from beast, trying to find out more about the human who stood by the Vampires. Odd, since his wolf had never been interested in a human before. Whenever Hunter had taken one to bed, the wolf showed his indifference by sleeping.
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