Dani snorted. "I guess when you're that powerful, you don't have a lot to worry about. Except blood demons, apparently."
"Apparently, though that thing tucked tail and ran when Lucius showed up." Orion mused as he pulled the car into traffic. "Unusual for a demon to back down in a fight."
Dani watched as the businesses and traffic gave way to mountains. "Lucius is in the mountains like the Hunting society." She stated. "We all thought he lived out east."
"No, not enough tree coverage there for the shifters. Not enough deer or anything to eat either. I suppose we could hole up in Black Forest if needed, but even that is becoming more populated." He eased the car onto the highway, his eyes never leaving the road. "You have to swear that you won't tell the other Hunters where this is. I'm not even sure what Lucius is going to do to me for working with you."
Leaning back in her seat, she admitted to herself that she never thought about the consequences that came with Orion helping her. Though she imagined they were probably going to end up being much worse for her. "Why would he want me to come with you?"
"You pulled a gun on a demon, you saved Kass, and I'm sure he knows that you are a Hunter just by how you handled yourself." Orion shrugged. "My hope is that he wants your help, my fear is that he's going to kill you. If I was you, I wouldn't mention who your partner was."
"Cody? Why?" Even saying his name made her tense.
"Because he is working with Markus, a vampire of the Circle. He attacked our people a couple months back."
That was news to Dani, as far as she knew Cody had moved out of the state. "This sounds like it's going to be a terrifying experience."
"For both of us." He promised and then picked up speed.
Chapter Four
Orion tried to calm his pounding heart as they approached the manor. Dani's eyes were locked on the huge building with its ancient oak doors. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She'd neglected her normal black clothes for tight blue jeans and a baby doll t-shirt that clung to her ample breasts. Her toned arms had goose bumps from the cold and if he hadn't been holding Kassity, he would have wrapped his arm around Dani to keep her warm.
He shook the thoughts from his head. They were in big trouble and he needed to push away such thoughts. Sleeping with Dani wasn't going to happen, it would ruin working with her.
The blonde in question opened the door without a second thought and waltzed right in. She paused at the sight of Lucius lounging on his throne, one leg crossed over the other and his long pale fingers caressing the chair arm. He was impeccable with his black hair and eyes, and pale skin. He'd changed from the normal clothes he’d worn to the club to some type of old fashioned suit, complete with ruffles at the neck.
Orion pursed his lips when Renee walked out from behind the throne. "I wasn't aware this was going to be an official meeting."
"It isn't for you." Lucius motioned to the door. "Take Kass to Jaxon, he is pacing her room wondering what happened."
Orion snapped, "you didn't tell him and you're going to send me in there with his unconscious mate?"
"Yes, now go, I have some things to discuss with your human." He gave a wicked grin, showing fangs.
Orion wasn't surprised to see Dani remain relaxed. He had to remind himself that she was trained to deal with vampires and if anything, he was giving her what many hunters would have loved: a chance to meet the vampire who ran the territory.
Dani nodded to him. "It's okay Orion, I'll behave and I promise not to shoot him." She winked at him and it warmed his heart.
He kissed her cheek, something he hadn’t planned on doing. "I'll be back as soon as I'm done dealing with Jaxon."
Walking to the hall on the left, he looked over his shoulder to see the brave Hunter face off with the vampire. He took a deep breath and disappeared down the corridor with the unconscious woman in his arms.
Jaxon was already in the hallway snarling, his eyes the yellow of his cat counterpart. The male panther had perfect control, the eyes showing proved to Orion just how upset the cat was.
He braced himself as Jaxon rushed them, taking Kass out of Orion's arms. Stroking back her red hair, he examined her the best he could. After laying her on the ground, he spun around and grabbed Orion by the throat, slamming him into the wall. "What the fuck happened?"
"Put me down, I'm really tired of being slammed around. I didn't hurt her, calm your cat and back off." Orion snapped, but Jaxon's hand tightened. "Don't make me use my magic, you won't like it. I'll turn you into a fluffy black house cat."
Jaxon threw him to the ground. "She is my mate and she is hurt."
"Then maybe you should focus on that first instead of freaking out on the messenger. It’s not my fault that Lucius has neglected to tell you things."
Jaxon went to Kass when she groaned. He knelt by her and took her hand, kissing it. "I'm right here." He whispered.
Orion could feel the worry and pain coming from the two. He wanted to share that with someone and for a brief moment he realized he didn't have that with Tegan. He would only have it with his true mate.
Jaxon turned plain hazel eyes towards him. “Tell me what happened."
"I only know what happened when I got to the bar. I saw her outside—"
"Lucius has us doing security since something is killing people. Other than Kass.” Jaxon elaborated. "She has been run ragged, but he still insists that she's out every night in one way or another."
Orion nodded. "He's doing the same thing with Coran and I. I'm sure some of the underlings are doing the same, but Kassity was fine when I saw her outside. While I was there a blood demon showed up." No need to mention the visit from the Fae Queen, there was no doubt Mae had already told Lucius about it. "Kass helped us fight it and Danielle threw a chair at the demon when he had his teeth locked around Kass' throat."
"Remind me to thank her when I calm down." Jax's eyes never left Kass' face. "I could feel her beast call out to me, I thought I was losing her. I never want to experience that again. Lucius and I are going to have a talk."
"I suggest waiting until Tegan gets back, Lucius is in no mood to deal with anything like that right now." Orion sighed and rubbed his throat. "Take care of her. She fought hard."
Jax kissed her head. "I know she did. Maybe now she'll get the rest she needs."
"Hopefully.” He glanced at the two and found himself wondering what it would be like to have a true mate. “I have to get back before Lucius kills my Hunter." Orion cursed before he could cover it up and Jaxon started laughing.
"Your Hunter? Have you claimed her, Orion? Have your powers unlocked? Because you still seem the same to me."
Orion shook his head. "A slip of the tongue."
"Sure." Jaxon picked Kassity up. "I'm going to go baby my mate for a bit."
Orion didn't miss the sad tone in Jax's voice. "She's going to be okay."
"Yes, but only because someone else was there. Had no one else been there, she would have been another victim of the demon. I don't want to live without her, she's the only thing that makes my beast and I happy." Jaxon let out a low grumble.
"I'll let you two be." Orion turned and headed back to the foyer.
Dani watched as Orion left. She didn't really want to face Lucius alone, but as a Hunter, she could keep those emotions in check and focus on the problem at hand. She spread her feet further apart, taking more of a defensive stance. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"Whom do you ally with?" Lucius asked. "Renee assures me that you are human, but you are with Orion, which means you know about the supernatural world. You took on a blood demon without a second thought. You didn't shudder, stare, or even blink an eye when I appeared. So you must be allied with someone in our world."
Dani swallowed and pulled out her Hunter's badge that had been hooked to the back of her pants. She threw it to Lucius so he could see it. "I'm surprised Coran didn't tell you about me. I was Renee's roommate."
He caught the badge and examined it. "He told me she room
ed with a Hunter, but I had never bothered asking for names and descriptions. Normally if I stay out of your way, you stay out of mine. So why are you hanging around with my Fae?" He tossed it back to her.
Dani caught it and clipped it to the front of her pants this time. "I've been handling the victims of the Blood Demon at the society. I asked Orion to help me because it looked like a vampire attack. I wanted to make sure it wasn't you or anyone in your territory before I started a hunt."
"And why would you give me that luxury? Most Hunters would jump at the chance to take me down for something so...simple."
Renee stepped up. "Because I'm here."
"That's part of it." Dani nodded, because God knew that she wanted to take out all vampires. "But I also have to follow the rules of the Society. I had no proof that it was you. I was hoping Orion could shed light on the situation, and he did. I happened to be driving past The Disappearing Act on my way home and I could hear the commotion from my car. I thought it best that I stop, I didn't know what I would find there."
Lucius pressed his fingers together in a point and glanced at Renee then Danielle. "I don't like the fact that there is a Hunter working with Orion, but I will let it go in light of the fact that you saved my panther's life. That being said, Orion can continue to work with you, because it'll work in my favor and make up for the problem I had with a Hunter a few months ago.”
Cody. Dani inclined her head. "Thank you, he's a great asset, I would have continued to blame vampires if it not for him."
"I, of course, had the best interest in mind for the territory." Orion interrupted as he came back in. "I would never do anything to hurt your territory."
Lucius shot him a vicious look. "You and I have other things to discuss, but first, Danielle, I want an oath that you will not betray this location to your Society. I've worked hard to keep that knowledge from them."
"I'll give you that oath for a piece of information." She needed to use this to her advantage. She smirked. "It's very simple and would help me out. You and I could be good allies, Lucius. I'm not very trusting of my Society, but I am very good at what I do."
"Do not bargain with him, Dani." Orion put a hand on her arm. "You won't like the price."
Lucius laughed. "Let her do what she wishes. What information do you want, little human?"
"More of a confirmation, but I need to know if the Originals are just vampires of myth, or if they exist. Same goes with the Father."
Everyone in the room seemed to pull in a breath and hold it. Dani tapped her foot and met Lucius' gaze, she wasn't going to back down from this. Lucius finally nodded. "This is something you won't find in your books. If you want a crash course in vampire history, return here tomorrow night and I will be happy to give it to you. No myths, Danielle, just straight from the vampire's mouth."
Her heart skipped a beat at his willingness to give her more information than she could find at headquarters. "Then you have my word I will not betray your location. I know there are untrustworthy people in my society and I would not put you in danger. As much as I hate vampires, I know that you personally have not harmed me."
Lucius crossed his arms. "You are much more logical than most Hunters. Renee will show you to the media room while I speak to Orion, then he can take you back."
"Thank you." She smiled at Renee. "Like old times, eh?"
Renee grinned and stepped up to Dani. "Yep, except now I know the monsters are real, which makes mocking horror movies that much more fun."
Orion watched them go and he couldn't help but admire Dani's ass as she walked off arm in arm with Renee.
"Taken with her, are you?" Lucius interrupted Orion's daydream.
He shrugged. "Hard to say, but that doesn't matter. Clearly you and I have things to discuss." He turned to the vampire.
"Mae said that you had a visitor mere moments before the demon appeared. Said it was the Queen."
Orion crossed his arms and met Lucius' gaze. "Yep. She has apparently known where I've been all along. She wanted me to break my alliance with you."
"Did she say why?"
"Because the Circle came and offered her an alliance, which she declined, but she doesn't want anyone of royal blood to have ties with the vampires." Orion snorted. "She even offered to let me go back."
Lucius' brows shot in the air. "Really? She’s desperate then." He murmured. "Did she say anything else?"
"She said she left me a present and that's when the demon showed up." Orion closed his eyes and pinched his nose. "You don't think?"
"It's possible and that's the only lead I have." Lucius shrugged. "It almost took out Kassity and we need to kill it before it kills someone else."
Orion pursed his lips. "Well, if I'm the target then I'm sure we'll be seeing it again. The question is, what do we do to defeat it?"
"You chop off its head and burn it, you know that."
Orion resisted the urge to punch the vampire. "Easier said than done. How do you expect me to trap it?"
"I don't know Orion, use your human as bait or something." Lucius snapped and put a hand against his head. "I should punish you for going behind my back with the Hunters, but I will deal with you later. Get out."
It was clear that Lucius’ mood was starting to deteriorate. Orion rushed down the hallway to find Dani and get her out of Lucius' mansion.
Dani leaned back on the couch and looked at the big screen TV. "So, this is where you live now?"
"No," Renee snorted. "I live at the townhouse still, but I seem to be spending more and more time here." She reached for the remote and pressed a few buttons. "Lucius was concerned that you weren't human, so he wanted me to be here for the meeting. He didn't tell me it was you though. He just said 'some woman with Orion.'"
Dani crossed her arms. "I wasn't planning on making a visit here. I happened to get roped in when I stopped at the bar."
"Lucius said there was a demon on the loose." Renee shook her head. "This whole world is crazy. I've hardly wrapped my mind around the creatures I've met so far."
Dani laughed. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this, but I'm glad they are keeping you safe. How have you been? I’m sorry I missed the wedding.” But they all knew it had been safer for her not to come.
"I'm okay. Tegan is missing and that's hard because she's really the only one around here I talk to. I'm worried Kass is going to eat me half the time, Orion's been out searching every night, or working, Coran's been busy."
Dani nudged her. "Sounds pretty crazy around here. You're dealing with everything okay?"
"As best as I can." Renee smiled. "Coran helps me through a lot of what I don't understand. My mind, body and soul just don't like it when he is gone."
"That's the mating instinct from what I understand. It's rare that humans feel it that strongly, but it's a good sign." Clicking her tongue, she glanced at the door and then to Renee. "Do you know what Tegan is?"
Renee blinked a few times. "A bonded human to Lucius."
"No, she's more than that, but I can't put my finger on it. I was hoping you knew."
"I'm not here to give you information." Renee snapped. "I don't know what she is, they keep her guarded, and that's all I'm going to tell you."
Which meant that Renee knew more. Dani sighed. "I'm sorry, you're right, I shouldn't push you for information."
They both looked up when Orion walked in. "Ready to go back to the real world? Lucius wants us out."
Dani stood. "Of course, I need to pick up my car and get back to work anyways." She pulled Renee up and into a hug. "You need anything, anything at all, call me."
"Okay," Renee stepped back.
Orion gave her a gentle smile. "Any news from your brother yet?"
"None. My parents are starting to worry, but they don't know what they can do about it."
Dani saw the sadness in her eyes and wanted to pull Renee in for another hug. She was about to speak when Orion cut her off. "I'll see if I can hack into any systems and figure out if he's checked in anyw
here."
"Thank you." Renee hugged the Fae before going back to the couch.
Orion pulled Dani out of the room before they could talk further. She noticed the dark green in his eyes, clouding them up. "We need to go."
"What's up?" Dani ran her hand down his arm, trying to resist the urge to hold his hand. "You're tense."
"You don't know the half of it. I worked tonight and I haven't had a chance to get any of that energy out. With the fight with the demon, I'm even more on edge than I should be." He started down the hall. When they reached the foyer Lucius was gone, but Orion didn't slow down until they were outside.
"What do you mean?" She asked, grabbing his arm and spinning him to look at her. The green in his eyes was now flecked with silver as he bent down and captured her lips. She wanted to resist, but her body reacted. Wrapping a hand around his neck she pulled him closer as his tongue slipped into her mouth. They explored each other with lips and teeth until he pulled back.
A shock went through her, a power beckoning her to go back to kissing him. Dani gasped as her body shivered and she resisted reaching for him. "What the—"
"That's what it's like Dani, that's my power weaving through you from a mere kiss. You said it yourself; you know that I thrive on sex and sexual energy. I'm not an incubus, I don't feed from it, but it sparks my powers. Every night after work, I normally go home with someone. I haven't been able to do that since Tegan disappeared. I need to get you back to your car and out of my sight."
She swallowed and held her ground. "So you can what? Go masturbate? Take a cold shower? How do you solve this?" The heat from his kiss spread through her body. She met his gaze and knew what she wanted. She'd desired him from the first time she'd laid eyes on him. That had been at the strip club for her Hunter graduation ceremony. She and a few of the other female Hunters went out for the night and she'd seen him on stage. They had a brief moment of eye contact and that's when she knew there was something different about him.
"I don't solve it, and yeah, essentially I take a cold shower, and I go to the gym to work out until I'm exhausted, or I get drunk." He ran an angry hand through his hair.
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