Now she knew that tonight was the night they would find the vamp who had murdered her father. She’d been working on trying to break out of the stronghold for a while, but she’d known tonight was the night she had to go. She’d buried her anxiety over the prospect of being on the other side of the walls that had encompassed her for most of her life, and put her escape plan into motion.
As a hunter, she’d been trained on how to kill a vamp, but as a female hunter, she’d never been allowed to actually fight a vamp or to mingle with humans. This was the first time she’d been out of the hunter stronghold in twenty years, and the last time was only because they’d relocated from Virginia to Massachusetts when an upswing of vampire activity drew them to the area.
Most times, she understood why she was kept so sheltered, but she resented it all the time. There was so much of the world to see, so much to explore and learn outside of the thousands of books she’d poured through in her lifetime. She knew hunters were vital to keeping the human population safe from the monsters that came out at night, but did that mean her life had to be sacrificed?
Kadence sighed and her shoulders hunched forward. Yes, that’s exactly what it meant.
As her dad had always told her, one life was nothing compared to the billions of lives relying on the hunter race to continue. Yes, they could recruit humans, and they did, but it was necessary to continue the pure hunter line as well. However, it was often difficult for a female hunter to conceive so the women were protected and the men fought.
She’d been privileged to be born into her role as a future wife and mother—or at least that’s what she’d been told, repeatedly, over the years. She didn’t think being locked away to the point of claustrophobia and already betrothed to Logan was all that lucky, but her opinion didn’t matter.
Next month she would be living out her purpose as a wife. Kadence’s skin crawled at the reminder of her impending nuptials. Logan was a good, strong, capable man, but he was more like a brother to her than a husband. There was no spark between them, at least not on her end.
She had no idea what a spark with a man felt like, but she’d read about it in some of the romance novels in the stronghold. In those books, a spark was extremely important. But those were books and this was reality, and in her reality there were no sparks with her soon-to-be husband.
Because her father had been the leader of the hunters and her brother now was, she’d been paired with the strongest available hunter. And as Nathan’s second-in-command, Logan was one of the best.
Kadence blew out a breath as she watched the unmoving line. She had no idea what one had to do to get inside, but she hadn’t managed to escape the stronghold to be deterred now. It had taken a lot of planning to break free. She hadn’t been prepared for this, but she would figure it out.
Thrusting her shoulders back, Kadence brushed her braid over her shoulder and slipped from the shadows. The January air chilled her cheeks as she approached the mountain of a man holding the rope. At first, his chestnut eyes ran dismissively over her, but then they became more leisurely in their perusal of her. Kadence frowned at him before waving her hand after where Nathan and the others had gone down the steps.
“Nathan is my brother,” she said.
“Is that so?” the man inquired with a smirk.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you enter with him?”
Kadence grappled to come up with a response. Glancing down the line of people, she noticed most of them were focused on the phones in their hands. A few were watching her, some with interest, others with hostility.
“I forgot my phone at home and couldn’t call to let him know I was running late. He probably assumed I’d changed my mind about meeting him here,” she lied with ease and flashed the man her best smile.
The man’s eyes ran over her one more time. Kadence stilled her fingers when they fidgeted with the edges of her sleeves. She was so far out of her element here, awkward in a way she’d never been before. If she’d been a human woman, she would be comfortable with talking to this man, she would know what to say, but all she knew was what she’d been raised to know, vampires, marriage, babies.
Fresh resentment shot through her. Life could be worse. She told herself this a thousand times a day, but it had yet to fully sink in.
She should be grateful for all she had, instead of resentful of everything denied her. Still, she wanted to push this guy out of her way and stroll into the club instead of standing here like a moron with a growing group of humans peering curiously at her.
“Next time, come with him,” the man said and lifted the rope before he stepped aside.
“Oh, come on! This is bullshit! Nathan is my brother too!” a chorus of voices shouted from the line.
Kadence ignored all of them as she hastened down the steps toward the thumping beat coming from behind the closed door below. Before she could open the door, it swung inward to reveal a woman holding it for her. The woman smiled at her as the music increased to the point where Kadence’s head pounded in rhythm with it.
“You can check your coat,” the woman said and waved her arm at a window behind her. A man stood there resting his elbows on the wooden windowsill, but he straightened when he saw Kadence.
“No, thank you.” Kadence pulled her coat closer against her as she turned away from the woman. She didn’t know much about humans, but her books, her family, and other hunters had told her enough about the human world to know the weapons tucked into her coat would not be welcome here.
Hurrying down the hall, she walked toward the music. She worried Nathan would discover her here, but she couldn’t deny the thrill of excitement running through her at being free and finally seeing something of the human world.
Granted, it was for the worst reason possible that she was out of the stronghold, and she had no idea how to interact with this world, but she was free.
Stepping out of the hall, she found herself standing at the edge of a dance floor. Kadence gawked at the spectacle of all the humans moving and jumping around before her. She and her friend, Simone, had spent a lot of time dancing in each other’s rooms over the years, but she’d never seen anything like this.
The complete inhibition, lack of clothing, and energy of the place fascinated her as much as it unnerved her. The aromas of sweat and alcohol intermingled so completely with each other that she could barely separate the two. There was nothing like this in the stronghold. Simone would be in absolute awe when Kadence went back and told her what she’d seen here.
Went back…
Kadence shook her head to clear it of the sadness creeping through her at the thought of returning to the stronghold—a place that was a beautiful prison for her and so many other women. Granted, most of the women there didn’t think of it that way, but she’d give anything to spread her wings and break free of her gilded cage.
Not the time, she told herself sternly. You are here for a reason. Her gaze scanned over the crowd as she searched for the vampire who had murdered her father. She also kept an eye out for her brother.
Ronan’s gaze honed in on the woman who emerged from the hallway to stand at the edge of the dance floor. Her silver blonde hair, dangling in a braid over her shoulder to her left breast, reflected the colors flashing over her in an array of reds, blues, and yellows. The lights played over her delicate features and lit the awe on her face as she stared at the humans.
A smile tugged at the corners of her full mouth when a group danced close by her. Many of the people below displayed more flesh than they covered, but Ronan found his gaze riveted on her fully clothed body in its form-fitting black pants, which were tucked into ankle-high, black boots. Her calf-length, black coat pushed back as she settled her hands on her hips to watch the crowd. Beneath the coat, she wore a black turtleneck that hugged her breasts, slender waist, and rounded hips. She looked to be a good five inches shorter than him at about five-seven.
Her smile slid away and her hands fell from her hips
as she surveyed the crowd with a far more serious eye. Then her head fell back, her gaze locked onto his, and he was treated to a full-on view of her striking beauty.
The image of her body, naked beneath his and moving in a sensuous dance against his sheets, caused his cock to harden. He felt like he had when he’d been twelve and first discovering the joys of the female body, before the enjoyment of sex had faded away over the many years of his death-filled life. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d desired a woman, but it had never been with this intensity.
For the first time in centuries, he lusted after a woman, and he would have her.
Chapter Three
The air rushed out of Kadence’s lungs when she spotted the man above. Though his eyes were shaded with sunglasses, she knew he was focused on her. Butterflies fluttered to life within her stomach as she drank in the details of the man.
Not handsome, she wouldn’t define him as that, but definitely intriguing. Her fingers itched to trace the contoured planes of his high cheekbones and the stubble lining his square jaw. His sable eyebrows drew together over the bridge of his roman nose as he watched her. She had no idea why he was wearing sunglasses inside, but she would give anything to pull them off and reveal the color of his eyes.
Sparks. For the first time in her life, she understood the romance novels as she was hit with the urge to get closer to this man, to touch him like she’d never touched another. To slip that coat from his shoulders and run her hands over him before rising on her toes to kiss him. The possibility of those arms wrapping around her and drawing her close had her taking a step forward.
A woman bumped into her, knocking her back and tearing her attention away from the man. Kadence blinked as she was jarred back to reality. Her gaze ran over the humans before she retreated from the dance floor to hover on the edge. She refused to look up again for fear she would be lost to the strange pull that man had over her. She’d come here for a reason, and she would not be deterred from it.
It had seemed odd the man wore sunglasses inside, but that faded when she realized some of the other men and women also wore them. Must be some human fashion thing, she decided.
“Hello, sugar,” Declan purred from beside Ronan. “I think she might make a very tasty treat.”
Ronan didn’t have to look at him to know Declan had also spotted the woman. In a crowd of nearly a hundred humans, she stood out as clearly as the full moon from the stars. Declan leaned forward to inspect the woman more closely.
“Don’t,” Ronan snarled, half tempted to throw his friend over the railing.
He had no idea where the impulse came from. He was not an easy man, but he was tolerant. He’d learned centuries ago that giving into anger and having a temper were pointless. However, the way Declan looked at the woman, as if he could see straight through her clothes, had Ronan ready to punch him.
Declan’s head turned toward him. “Claiming her for yourself tonight?”
“We have a mission,” Ronan bit out. The thick sunglasses may be shading his eyes, but he knew Declan was aware that he remained focused on the woman.
“After the mission then?”
Ronan tore his attention away from her to look at Declan. His friend’s casual air vanished; he straightened away from the railing and took an abrupt step back. Ronan didn’t have time to contemplate Declan’s reaction to him before the rancid stench of garbage wafted through the air. His gaze returned to the dance floor as he searched for the source of the smell.
The crowd of people flowed away from the corner as Joseph glided out of the shadows from the entryway. Yet even as the humans moved away from him, some of the women and men practically tripped over themselves to get closer to him.
A vampire’s innate ability to lure someone closer drew the humans to Joseph like a bee to nectar. Their instincts told them this was no nectar, but a Venus flytrap set to spring and devour them whole. Unfortunately for these humans, Joseph’s lure won out over their flight-or-fight instincts.
Ronan looked to the woman only twenty feet away from Joseph. His lips skimmed back when the woman’s gaze locked on Joseph strolling through the crowd. Unlike the other females, she didn’t saunter toward the vampire. Instead, her hand went to something at her side.
Ronan’s eyes narrowed at her unusual reaction. The black-haired, male hunter emerged again at the edge of the dance floor, drawing the woman’s gaze to him.
Kadence wanted to kick herself when Nathan spotted her from the other side of the dance floor. She’d finally succeeded in breaking free of the stronghold, finally made it here, and she’d been busted within five minutes of walking into the club. So much for being a stealthy hunter.
She’d completely blown it, and now she would never have another opportunity to be free again. Nathan would make sure of that. If the monster didn’t die tonight, she’d never be able to witness it.
Going by what she’d been told about him and the odor coming from him, she’d known the minute the vampire who killed her father came into eyesight. She’d also forgotten about everything else as her blood thrummed with the need to see the monster slaughtered.
For a second, Ronan watched as the hunter and woman locked eyes, and then the male was moving toward her so fast that the humans didn’t register his passing. The born hunters may not be vampires, but they certainly weren’t entirely human either.
Ten feet before the hunter reached the woman, he stopped in the middle of the dance floor. His head swiveled and his nostrils flared as his gaze locked on Joseph. The hunter’s eyes darted between the woman and Joseph before he closed the distance to the woman.
Ronan couldn’t hear what they said to each other over the thumping music, but when the man snatched the woman’s arm, she yanked it away from him and planted her hands on her hips. A low growl rumbled up Ronan’s throat. Joseph was right there, yet he found himself thinking about breaking the hunter’s hand for daring to touch her when she obviously didn’t welcome it.
For daring to touch her when it was all that he wanted to do.
The woman’s hands moved through the air as she spoke; the man’s followed suit as they faced off. Then, the crowd parted and Joseph moved within feet of them. Joseph’s attention remained on the women at his sides as he walked by the male hunter. The man and woman stopped speaking as they focused on Joseph. Their faces filled with a hatred Ronan suspected ran deeper than a hunter’s normal animosity toward vampires.
When Joseph was out of sight, the man took hold of the woman’s arm and led her over to join the three other hunters standing beside the dance floor. The woman moved with the same lethal speed as the man, confirming her as what she was. Ronan shoved aside the disappointment slithering through him at the realization the woman was completely off limits.
“A female hunter,” he murmured.
“I thought they were a myth,” Declan stated.
“Apparently not,” Ronan said as his gaze returned to Joseph. It didn’t matter who or what the woman was, all that mattered was ending this tonight. He only hoped the hunters stayed out of his way.
He’d prefer not to have to kill them too.
“Let’s go.”
He stalked toward where Killean and Saxon stood at the top of the stairs. Lucien, one of his best fighters, was on his way to meet them, but Ronan didn’t think he’d make it in time for this battle. Lucien had reluctantly agreed to take over the running of the training facility after Joseph turned Savage. Ronan had expected to destroy Joseph sooner, so he hadn’t bothered to move the training facility out of New York or find someone else to run it yet, but that would change if Joseph wasn’t brought down tonight.
Stepping off the last stair, Ronan paused to survey the crowd before following Joseph’s stench through the club. Any vampire who killed a human took on the aroma of trash and decay. If they didn’t kill again, eventually the smell faded away. The more a vampire killed, the more rotten they smelled. Roadkill mixed with feces and month-old bodies sometimes became preferable
to the odor some Savages emitted. However, only a purebred vampire could detect the odor.
Joseph had been having more fun than Ronan realized, judging by the scent of him.
Winding through the crowd, Ronan caught another glimpse of the black-haired, male hunter on his left. His gaze instinctively sought the woman, who now stood with one of the other men. That man had his hand around her slender bicep while she glowered at him.
Kadence considered kicking Logan in the nuts to break free of her fiance’s hold, but she was afraid if she made a move now, she would scare the vampire they hunted away, or worse, get Nathan killed. Logan’s displeasure beat against her. She didn’t care that he was mad at her; he would have to get used to her not doing what she was told once they were married.
Logan had to know she wasn’t the proper, well-behaved hunter she was supposed to be. Everyone in the stronghold knew that. She’d gotten in more trouble over the years than all the other women combined.
At one time, Nathan and his friends had laughed over her antics. They’d stopped laughing years ago, and they certainly weren’t laughing tonight. Jayce and Asher both stared at her as if she were a ten-legged, alien cat who had dropped on their heads from a beam above. Nathan refused to look at her as he tapped his foot and ran a hand through his black hair.
She tilted her head back to look at Logan. Unlike the man on the balcony, Logan was definitely what most would consider handsome with his pine-colored eyes, light brown hair, and refined features. Unfortunately, his handsomeness did nothing for her. She tried to tug her arm free again, but his hold on her only intensified.
“Let me go,” she commanded.
“No.” The simple refusal set her teeth on edge.
Ronan watched the woman trying to break free of the man’s hold on her. He almost detoured to yank her away from the hunter, but there was no time for that, and the last thing they needed was a fight with the hunters tonight. Slipping through the shadows, he tracked Joseph to one of the back doors.
[The Alliance 01.0] Eternally Bound Page 2
