by Trina M. Lee
I kissed him, a desperate act that exposed how weak he made me. I didn’t care. “I can’t imagine how you leaving me can ever be a good thing.”
“I know,” he murmured against my lips. “That’s why I have to.”
Chapter Ten
I lay in Kale’s bed, staring at the dust motes playing in the stray beam of light that found its way through a small crack in the blinds. It was nowhere near enough to be a danger, just a mockery of what I’d lost.
After a minute of staring at the shard of light, my eyes began to sting, and I looked away. Kale had fallen into a fitful sleep beside me. He’d tried so hard to reassure me, insisting that maybe Arys’s idea wasn’t so bad after all. No, it wasn’t bad, just cruel.
Arys wanted to separate me from Kale. My dark vampire was so headstrong, so certain that he knew what was best. He didn’t stop to consider what I wanted. He so rarely did.
I pondered his motives, wondering how he’d gotten Jenner to agree to take Kale back to Las Vegas. It didn’t strike me as something Jenner would voluntarily do. The thought of Kale in Jenner’s club didn’t sit well with me. Yet I knew there was trouble in Sin City and that Kale would be a valuable asset there. I was torn, hating that my reasons for wanting him to stay were entirely selfish and despising that I knew deep down it was better for us both if we parted.
The more I lay there thinking about it all, the more crazy I drove myself. Finally I slid out of the bed and went to fetch my phone from my shoulder bag in the living room. There were several missed calls from my sister and a handful of voice messages that I ignored. I selected a number from my contact list and listened to it ring.
“Did you miss the memo that said vampires usually sleep during the day?” Jenner’s voice was thick with sleep. “Damn, girl, it’s only noon. What do you want from me at this ungodly hour?”
“I want to see you. Tonight. Alone.” I paused so he could absorb that. “Do not tell Arys. If you do, I’ll do something dreadful to you.”
Jenner made a sound somewhere between a snicker and a scoff. “You mean like enthralling me so I crave you until my eventual demise? Oh wait, you already did that.”
“Get over it. Will you meet me, or do I have to spend the rest of the day plotting to harm you?” I had already reached my capacity for guilt with Kale. Perhaps one day I’d have some to spare for Jenner.
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “When and where?”
After we hung up, I listened to the messages from Juliet. In a frantic tone she demanded to know if I was aware that Arys had killed several FPA agents and wounded Briggs. She insisted that we speak and begged me to return her call.
I rubbed my forehead, stressed out by the panic in my sister’s voice. Whatever Arys had been up to recently, it wasn’t any saner than what I’d been doing. He was losing it, and I was willing to bet he didn’t even realize it. At least I knew I was going mad.
As nice as it would have been to plead ignorance and go on as if I knew nothing, I couldn’t leave Juliet hanging. So I called her next, hoping that she wouldn’t pick up. Very chicken shit of me, but other than Shaz, she was the one person I feared most seeing me now, as a vampire.
“Alexa?” She answered on the second ring. Awake and alert, there was nothing in her tone to indicate she’d been asleep. “Is it really you? Are you ok?”
“Yeah,” I said, cringing as my voice cracked. “It’s me. I’ve been better. Tell me what’s going on.”
Juliet didn’t require any prodding. She began to talk a mile a minute, detailing Arys’s recent behavior. Apparently he’d been busy. Not only had he baited Briggs into a deadly trap, he’d manipulated her into sharing some info, which she would not disclose to me.
“He messed with my head, Lexi. He made me tell him things and—” She broke off, swallowing audibly. There was disgust in her tone when she continued. “He made me want him. Like sexually. It was sick.”
I smothered a laugh. It shouldn’t have been funny, really. Arys was clearly up to no good. But it was just so obvious how little experience Juliet had with vampires of Arys’s caliber. Her telling of it bordered on comedic.
“Was that your first time being enthralled by a vampire?” When she only made a noise as a response, I added, “If it makes you feel any better, you got off easier than most who encounter that side of Arys. He’s not a threat to you, Juliet.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Did you miss the part where I told you that he bit Thomas?”
It was weird to hear her call Agent Briggs by his first name, as if he were a person and everything. I didn’t like to think of him that way. He might have been human but that didn’t make him any less monstrous than me. The man was hell bent on policing the supernatural and, even worse, controlling it.
“Is he ok? I mean, is that all that happened?”
“Is that all?” Juliet’s voice rose. There was a slam in the background, as if she’d pounded a fist on a hard object. “Arys threatened to turn him. I’d say that’s pretty goddamn serious. We can’t just act like this never happened. Thomas is outraged. I’ve never seen him so upset.”
“Does he make you call him Thomas?” I blurted. The man seemed so tightly wound. Eventually, he was going to snap. “Never just Tom?”
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” she snapped. Then, suddenly calmer, she said, “Lexi, we need to keep this from getting worse than it already is. I’ve been trying to keep your kills under wraps by redirecting the blame, but Arys has screwed that all up. I don’t think I can protect you anymore.”
My poor sister had taken on too much responsibility too young. She should have been a university student chasing the dreams of normal people, living a normal life. Cleaning up my messes and bearing the burden of a government agenda was going to age her or get her killed.
“What does that mean for you?” I hedged the question, not really wanting an answer but needing one anyway. “Are you going to get in some kind of shit for all this?”
Her moment of silence lasted a little too long. “Don’t worry about me. Just stay off Thomas’s radar, ok? Arys too.” A muffled voice sounded in the background. It sounded like Briggs. When Juliet spoke again, it was hushed, as if she didn’t want to be overheard by him. “Can we talk tonight at your nightclub? Please, Lexi, I need to see you. After everything that’s happened, you shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“I’m not alone.” My gaze strayed down the hallway toward the bedroom. A heavy weight dragged on my heart. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea for us to meet right now, if things are shaky there.”
Blowing off my sister wasn’t going to be easy. She wouldn’t allow it. “You fucking died, Alexa. Give me a reason to believe that it’s still you in there. Because all I’ve seen are the bodies I’ve been cleaning up.”
The use of my whole name meant she was in ruthless little sister mode. She wouldn’t be deterred. An argument with her would never end. There could be no winner when the two of us locked horns. I was meeting Jenner anyway. What was one more?
“Fine. I’ll meet you. Come alone and come armed.” I didn’t have to tell her why. If I lost control, I would want her to stop me before I could hurt her.
When I ended the call, I looked up to find Kale standing in the hallway watching me. Clad in only sweat pants, his bare chest drew my gaze. “Come back to bed.”
There was something in the way he said it, like it was more than a casual statement. It was the plea of someone who knew time was running out and wanted to grasp each moment left until they had all slipped away. He was really going to leave me.
The gravity of it was more than I could bear. It wasn’t like when Shaz had left. He had needed to do that for himself. It was hard, but I had taken solace in the fact that he’d been on a personal quest. Though I questioned it, in my heart, I’d known he would return.
With Kale it was all so different. He was leaving because we turned each other into the worst kind of vampire. Leaving me was the only wa
y he’d find even a shred of freedom from the hold I had on him. He would always be mine though, which meant returning would always be dangerous for us both. He might never come back.
I’d always expected that Arys would bring out the worst of what I was. I found no pleasure in being wrong about that.
With a nod I rose and went to Kale. Slipping into his arms, I pressed my face to his shoulder and basked in his honey-sweet vibe. He coaxed me back into the bedroom where we shed what little clothing we wore and became entangled in one another.
Was it right? Was it wrong? It didn’t matter. It was the beginning of goodbye.
My hair hung long and loose; my makeup, a blend of dramatic dark lines and shadows. I kept pulling my hair up into a ponytail before dropping it against my back in frustration. I was nervous about seeing Juliet. Midnight-blue eyes didn’t make me look or feel any more like myself.
“Screw it,” I muttered, turning away from my reflection. It wasn’t getting any easier to see myself with Arys’s eyes and fangs. Many times I had to stop myself from slamming my fist into the mirror.
Kale was already gone. He’d gone to see Jez, most likely to tell her about his intent to join Jenner in Las Vegas. She wasn’t going to take it well. She relied on him more than he realized. With Jez’s recent drug abuse issues, she was going to need me as much as I needed her. Which was a lot.
I was glad they would have some time alone together. Our group dynamic had been screwed up in recent months, and it had been hard on Jez. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to go see Jenner alone. I had a few things to say to him that I didn’t want any witnesses for.
With a spritz of vanilla perfume, I was ready to leave. Black leggings and a long, loose tank top with the Stark family wolf let me move with comfort and precision. I brought my long leather coat to hide my dagger, not because I needed it. I barely felt the cold these days.
Kale’s house was quiet, dreadfully so. I hated the way it felt without him. It gave me a grim sense of foreshadowing. My pace quickened as I vacated the lonely house.
However my step neared a skip as I approached my big red beast of a car sitting at the curb. I was eager to get my hands on the Dragon Claw. I retrieved it from the trunk, a happy sigh escaping me as I ran my hand along the flat part of the blade. It hummed beneath my touch. Damn, I’d missed it. Fear had kept me from touching it, but as I did, Shya’s words rang with the truth. The dagger was no more of a threat than it had ever been. Unless it was turned on me by an opponent with great aim, I had little to fear.
Murmuring sweet nothings to the shiny blade, I slipped it into its sheath and tossed it on the floor on the passenger side as I got into the Charger. Turning the local rock station on loud, I pulled out of Kale’s neighborhood, wondering when it would be for the last time.
As I drove with the raucous sound of Alexisonfire filling the confines of the car, I tapped a finger on the wheel in time with the beat and began to ponder. I pondered what exactly I would say to Jenner. I pondered the FPA backlash that I knew was coming. And I pondered if perhaps it was time to go home. Or at the very least, to leave Kale’s house.
Home. Such a funny word. It could mean so many things. People lost it, found it, built it. And in an instant, the entire meaning of it could change. My home had changed many times, the physical structure anyway. It had even been burnt to the ground. Currently, it sat in downtown Edmonton with a stylish new sign that beamed the words: The Wicked Kiss.
Funny how a place I’d once loathed had become something of a comfort. I hated that.
I felt fine as I strode across the parking lot to the front entry. Maybe even a little cocky and invincible. The sign above the door flickered as I passed beneath it, then I crossed the threshold and was immediately hit with the scent and energy of many human bodies packed into one place.
Being new meant facing the bloodlust nightly until I mastered it. Arys and Kale no longer had to feed every night. They could abstain several days if needed. I was in newbie hell. Lucky for me, I was in the right place to find victims. I just needed to somehow avoid killing them and breaking my own rule.
I passed Justin with a smile and nod, not wanting to give him the chance to see how fragile my control was. Right away my gaze went to Willow’s spot at the bar. Disappointment crushed me when I saw it occupied by someone else.
Where are you, Willow?
Jenner wasn’t there yet. Momentarily I worried that he would bring Arys. That moment quickly passed as a cute twenty-something with a heartbeat caught my eye. He was watching me with a dark brow raised, trying to decide if I was predator or prey. I flashed him a flirty smile, broadly revealing fangs. It was all the encouragement he needed.
He broke away from his group and came toward me. Tall, with chiseled good looks, he was handsome, though that didn’t matter much. What I wanted from him was beneath the surface of that nicely wrapped package.
Before he reached me, I felt something move inside me, an awareness of sorts. My senses picked up another energy source so much like myself, and I knew Jenner had arrived.
I turned to see him sweep into the nightclub with an arrogant stride and a cocky sneer to match. A black t-shirt showed off the tattoos on his arms: a large spade with L.V. inside it and script written in a language I didn’t recognize, among other things, on one arm and a mash of images that made up a full sleeve on the other. It appeared to contain roses and blood.
Jenner didn’t just walk. He sauntered, exuding power that cloaked him like a fragrance and drawing stares from those nearby. He was hot, and he knew it. God, how I despised him.
“This better be good.” He greeted me with a grin and some blatant ogling. “I’m missing out on some quality male bonding at a hockey game right now.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I frowned, trying to discern whether or not he was messing with me.
“Not at all. Shaz wanted to go so Arys went with him. This seems to be kind of a thing now, the two of them spending time together. Arys is very protective of your wolf.” Jenner cast a glance at my would-be victim, who hung back, uncertain now at the vampire’s appearance. “What’s this? Your playmate for the night? You don’t actually think you can stop yourself, do you? I heard about what you’ve been up to. You’re a fucking killing machine.”
I’d been lost in the idea of Shaz and Arys doing something normal together. Well, doing anything together really. It was baffling. Jenner’s last remark struck deep though, and I grabbed him by the throat, dragging him close.
“What the fuck did you call me?”
Completely unfazed, Jenner chuckled. “Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”
Against my better judgment, I let him go. “Watch it. My temper is short, and my fuse is always lit.”
“You don’t say.” Jenner’s pupils dilated dangerously as my high-strung energy washed over him. He motioned to the human I’d picked out. “Are you going to hit this or what? I can make sure you don’t kill him.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I studied Jenner, finding his interest to be piqued but his control firmly in place. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
“Yeah, actually. I would.” His gaze darted around the club. At first I thought he was criticizing my décor, but then I realized he was seeking out his own victim. “Just give me a minute to find my own playmate.”
I shot him a cautionary look and shook my head. “You’re not getting down and dirty with someone in a room with me. This is about blood. Not sex.”
He fixed me with an icy-blue stare. “Is it ever only about blood?”
Not for our bloodline it wasn’t. As folklore would have it, vampires were descended from demons, having various aspects of demon power. Vampires in our bloodline had the power of the succubus and incubus. With just a look we could have a victim in a state of desperate arousal and, in many cases, each other as well.
“Jenner.” His name was a warning.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
I laughed,
amazed that he could look so serious when asking. “Of course not.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded and looked pointedly toward my chosen prey. “But do you trust yourself?”
Fuck. He had me there. I’d come here to have a chat with him, one that involved a few threats and dark promises. Surrounded by the sweaty bodies and the pheromones that flavored the atmosphere, all I wanted to do was bleed people and make them beg for it.
“No.”
Admitting defeat was tough, but Jenner didn’t make me feel weak for it. He merely caught the eye of a leggy brunette and beckoned her over. After exchanging a few words, she was all his. With an arm slung around her shoulders, he led the way to the back rooms while I trailed along with my chosen victim.
“What’s your name?” I asked him, finding that I didn’t really care. Going through the motions of pleasantries just seemed like the right thing to do.
“Hayden.” His reply was short, clipped. He was nervous. It trickled from him like a slow drizzle of rain, taunting me with each drop that splattered against my aura.
“Alexa,” I said, sticking out my hand. “Is this your first time here?” His hand in mine swarmed my senses with his delicious, human essence. I licked my lips in anticipation of tasting his blood.
“No, I’ve been here before. A few times. I wouldn’t say I’m a regular or anything.”
“So you know how this works?” The last time I’d thought to partake of the willing victims at The Wicked Kiss, my victim had ended up dead. Thanks to Kale.
Hayden eyed me as if he wasn’t sure if he should be afraid of such a petite blonde vampiress. “I do.”
“Good. I don’t do so well with first timers.”
As expected, Jenner led the way down the hall to the very end, Harley’s old room, the room that I’d awoken in as a vampire. The room mocked me; it represented everything I hated about this place and the fact that I’d become one of those things.
I closed the door behind me, the sound particularly loud in the sudden quiet. The steady beat of the music from the heart of the club could still be heard, though it was muffled, sounding farther away than it was.
