by K. Rea
“The Kensley brothers are in the VIP section, and Ciara is on the dance floor attempting to get the siren’s attention. The Kensley siblings are overrated; Alex is a womanizer, Ciara is wicked, and Aiden—well, I recommend avoiding the lot of them. They bring in the tourists and liven the place up, but not much more. Which friends told you about them?” Ben asked.
“My ex-boyfriend, he used to bring me around to different clubs until he decided I wasn’t his blood type,” I lied. I’d never date a Court lackey, much less a vampire. The bloodthirsty predators only want to sink their teeth in. No, thank you. I wouldn’t date a man I couldn’t trust to not bite me. Well, unless I wanted him too, which I wouldn’t. Only humans or a moon shadow from another pack for me, thank you very much. Alphas from other packs had regularly invited me to visit since I graduated, hoping I’d settle down with them or their pack members. When I dated Mason, they stopped asking for a while.
“That’s a shame. You look like anyone’s type. You’re better off without him. Perhaps I could pour you another drink when Amy starts her shift? You can forget what’s-his-name, and we can get to know each other,” Ben suggested. I looked into his green eyes and regretted it immediately. His attractiveness distracted me. He was a well-crafted predator. I smiled and leaned back, downing the rest of my drink, the pistol a painful yet grateful reminder of why I was there.
“Ben! Stop hitting on the woman and pour me a drink!” someone else bellowed from down the bar. Ben smirked, flashing a little fang, and winked at me. My wolf wanted to teach him a lesson. I smothered my snarl with a smile.
“For now, can you put this drink under Evie? Thanks,” I murmured, mentally pushing away the blanket of charm he was smothering me under.
I quickly rose and blended into the dancing throng of people before Ben could try to charm me back. I made my way to the back of the club, away from the flirty bartender. By the time I looked back, Ben was serving a blonde man at the other end of the counter.
The music pulsed an enchanted beat. I felt compelled to dance, but fought down the urge. Everything in this building seemed engineered and designed to seduce its occupants. It oozed sex, money, and an escape from reality.
From where I leaned against the wall, I could see Ciara Kensley through the mass of people. She danced in front of the DJ, enthralled by the music, yet not like the humans surrounding her, more like her heart wasn’t really in it. I could see the DJ’s dark tan skin and the shells strung around his neck even from this distance. The DJ was definitely siren; the music was unnaturally captivating. Silently, I thanked him. The youngest Kensley would be busy, at least for a little while.
The wolf in me perked up, and a tingle echoed down my spine. Across the dance floor, stormy blue-gray eyes watched me. I stared back, his dark short wavy hair perfectly unkempt. From where the vampire leaned on the wall, he smirked and raised his glass to me. His dark jeans, undone dress shirt, and tie, out of place with all the glitz and glam around us. I took a step toward him, his vampire charm stronger than I had felt before. The club could have been burning down around me, but I doubt I would have noticed with how that single look made me feel. He downed his glass and pushed off the wall as if to walk to me. The movement broke the moment, and the bustle of the club came rushing back to life around me. A group of humans dolled up in pink and glitter surrounded him. The bride-to-be hid him from view. I could hear their peals of laughter over the music as they encircled him and showered him with favors. With another whispered prayer of thanks to the Goddess, I turned around and walked away.
The club was larger than I realized, with multiple levels but only two exits on this floor that I could see. There was the main entrance, and one behind the bar; no windows on this level, probably to prevent exposure, and a hallway leading to the VIP section. I turned the corner toward the hallway, only to collide with a youthful woman. We both stumbled and almost ended up on the tacky floor. She fixed her auburn hair to cover a pair of puncture wounds on her neck as she righted herself. Tears rolled down her face. The smell of the sea clung to her skin as she passed.
“Hey, are you okay? Who bit you?” I asked as she walked off.
“If you know what’s good for you, make sure you stay the hell away from nobles. They’ll just use you like all the other vampires. At least mermaids and werewolves are loyal. Good riddance to the bastard Kensley if Alex thinks he can get away with this!” she screeched, her green eyes fairly glowing before she stormed down the hall. As she disappeared, I considered whether it was a good thing Alex had fed off a mermaid or not. He could be stronger, or he could be slow. I hoped it was the latter. I followed the mermaid’s salty scent down the hall. Her aroma ended in front of a navy door. I paused and then knocked.
“Rory? I thought you said you were never coming back until the seas froze over?” a carefree voice laughed from within. I twisted the door handle and walked into the room. Facing away from me, a shirtless man sat on a black couch. I could only barely see the tops of the tattoos across his shoulder blades and the golden hair on the back of his head in the dim light from the doorway. Rumor had it, Alex Kensley had wings tattooed across his back, as if he was anybody’s angel. The smell of blood, saltwater, and sex still hung heavy in the air.
“Rory, I don’t have all night to play your games. What do you want?” he asked, not looking back over his shoulder. Rory’s scent masked my own. Silently I approached the leather couch, letting the two daggers slide down my arms, along my wrists, and into my hands. When I was within arm’s reach, he turned to face me. I saw the surprise in his green eyes before I lunged.
“Vengeance for my family,” I demanded in a rushed whisper as I plunged one dagger toward his heart and hooked the other toward his abdomen. Alex’s face transformed into a nightmare of fangs and black rage.
Alex’s eyes turned to the darkest black of night as he moved faster than I had seen another supernatural move. He twisted, blocking the dagger to his stomach while deflecting the dagger intended for his heart to strike his shoulder instead. His snarl matched the growls escaping me as we struggled. Alex knocked me to the ground. He roared as the tungsten affected him. Black veins spread along his shoulder where the dagger embedded firmly in his flesh. He grabbed the hilt and ripped the blade free with a slight grimace, laughing as he did. I gripped my remaining dagger tightly and looked for the right moment to strike.
“You are most definitely not Rory. Daring, but not quite werewolf, are you? Half-human? Beautiful, I’d remember those blue eyes. The smell of your blood, you’re a real treat. I know we haven’t met before. Why are you trying to kill me, she-wolf?” Alex asked. Blood oozed from his damaged shoulder. His vampire charm pushed me for submission, like a pulsing, red hot vice pressing on my mind. He tried to force his way in and demand submission.
“You murdered my parents; you left your signature card with their bodies,” I said, clenching the dagger in my fist. The veins around his shoulder receded quickly as he healed. My window of opportunity slipped faster through my fingers.
“Doll, I’ve killed more humans than I care to recall, for a multitude of reasons. I’m the second son of King Gaius, the vampire king of the Court of Shadows. It’s one of my many dark birthrights. Put down the dagger, and we can have a conversation like civilized people, maybe even enjoy each other’s company,” Alex suggested with a smile. If possible, his charm became even more oppressive, as if his fist pounded on the door to my mind.
“No,” I refused. His countenance grew dark at my response.
“What gives you the right to attack me?” Alex hissed. All pretense of charm faded from his demeanor, his mental attack falling away. Able to focus, I lunged at him with a growl before he could defend himself and pushed my tungsten blade deep into the bone of his wounded shoulder. I heard a crack as black veins spread, darker and quicker than before. He screamed. His fangs were within inches of ripping my neck to shreds.
“Wolfriks
bow to no vampire. You should have left my family alone!” I growled as I twisted the blade until I could hear the bone crack again. I hoped the dagger shattered and riddled him with tungsten poisoning. When the inky veins reached his heart, he would die. A string of curses poured from Alex’s lips as he tried to dislodge both my hold and the blade from his chest.
“Get off of me, you bitch!” Alex yelled as he thrashed, and with inhuman strength, he backhanded me across the face. My jaw cracked, and I felt something pop before I fell to the floor—the taste of blood filling my mouth.
I crawled away from Alex and watched as he moaned and struggled to remove the dagger. Blood continued to leak from the wound even as the poison in his veins continued to spread. It would only be a matter of minutes before he was dead. The door behind me opened with a bang as it hit the wall. A blur ran past me to where Alex lay struggling to breathe, the poison already in his lungs.
“Rip it out!” Alex snarled with a gasp. The man quickly yanked the blade from his shoulder. I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door.
“Stop!” the man ordered. The authority in his voice caused me to hesitate a moment before I sprinted for the hallway.
FIVE
“Get the girl. She’s armed with tungsten!” Alex yelled, his voice echoing behind me over the music. As I ran through the complex, I didn’t risk a glance behind me. All that remained between me and freedom was a mass of dancers—until Ben leaped over the bar. He landed, surefooted, between me and my path to freedom, his face calm and even friendly.
“Evie, what’s the rush? Where do you think you’re going?” Ben coaxed. He attempted to smother my mind in vampire charm. The wolf within me snarled.
“Get out of my way,” I demanded of the dark-haired vampire.
“No,” Ben stated. His fangs grew, and his eyes darkened.
Ben stepped closer to me, positioning himself to herd me back to the hallway. From beneath my jacket, I drew my gun and pulled the trigger. The shot left a perfect hole in the wooden floor between his cowboy boots, the smell of burned wood bright in the air. He snarled and lunged for me, and I dodged him as best I could. The second shot barely hit him in the shoulder, but he managed to knock the gun from my hands. It skidded away as Ben cursed. He grabbed me by the arm; his fingers dug in through my jacket as he attempted to drag me away from the exit. I struggled and fought to get out of his grasp. My ring caught him in the face. Ben screamed and brought his hands up to his eyes. I ran into the skittish crowd as he fell to his knees.
The calm before the storm. I recognized it at that moment, the moment people stopped dancing and moved to stare. This night had gone truly, horribly wrong. I could feel the black tempest of rage behind me as it approached. It slammed against my mind, demanding submission. I felt sheer panic; my wolf whined at the mental impact of the forbidding force. I almost threw myself to the floor. Instead, I felt an iron grip dig into my shoulder and twist me around.
“You,” the man growled, his stormy gray eyes full of rage. This time I didn’t hesitate. I hooked my fist into his rugged jaw and kneed him in the groin. Surprised, his hold weakened slightly as red blood poured from his nose. It was enough. I pulled myself from his grasp, my leather jacket peeling off my back and left hanging in his hands as I changed into wolf form. Exile and secrecy be damned.
A collective gasp echoed around me as I let my wolf take over.
Run, she growled fiercely in my mind. Be it my self-consciousness or the Goddess herself, but I didn’t question that internal voice that guided me over the years; that instinct was never wrong.
I ran.
I ran over people, over tables and chairs, and through countless objects before I reached a closed door. I threw my body against the door at full speed, and it gave way with a groan, allowing me to flee in a tumble. Bruised and battered, I landed in the street, rolled to my paws, and ran. I needed to get away—far and fast.
I failed.
Run, she commanded.
Alex Kensley still lived.
Run, she pushed.
I revealed myself to the vampires.
Run, she barked.
Going home wasn’t an option; I refused to bring death to my brother’s doorstep. I wove through the streets, heading to the docks. I could sneak aboard a ship and disappear. I’d work my way around the world until I found one of the multiple moon shadow packs hidden across the globe. They would protect me. Mason would take me in; he would never turn away a fellow wolf. He’d never turn me away after everything we had. The sound of the club was nonexistent. Only a few more miles to the docks, I’d stop there.
I made it to the edge of the docks. My sides heaved, my breath barely a rasp between my vulpine jaws. Concentrated deep breaths helped to cool the burn in my lungs. Beyond the cargo ships bobbing in front of me, the horizon was already lightening, a hint of purple-pink hinting at the quickly approaching sunrise. The murmur of dock workers beginning their day and the water lapping at the pier made for a reassuring, calming melody. Focusing on my breath, I took a moment to calm my racing heart and plan my next move.
The air around me trembled a moment before my pursuer appeared, tackling me from behind. The unseen attacker knocked the breath out of me and pinned me to the ground before I could even fully register the move.
Fight! Run! Escape!
I snarled and snapped my jaws at anything I could reach as I writhed on the ground. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move. My lungs, already taxed from running, felt as if they were on fire. My captor pinned me harder to the ground, his body straddling mine. One of his arms trapped my front legs, a firm hand on my neck kept me from closing my jaw around his throat. His fangs flashed in the morning light before they disappeared.
“Change back,” he ordered verbally and mentally. My wolf shivered in response, confused and conflicted. I growled with what little air I had left. He gripped the back of my neck even tighter.
“Change back now!” he commanded and pushed against my mind. Even as the wolf in me snarled, I caved. I changed; I couldn’t stop it. I gave in, and it surely meant my death.
After I shifted fully, the vampire flipped me over onto my back in the middle of the street. Gravel crunched beneath me and dug into my skin. He gripped my shoulders firmly, his legs straddling my hips. His weight fully pinned me to the cold, damp ground, a sharp contrast to heat pouring off his body.
The furious man with stormy eyes; he was stronger than me in more ways than one.
According to my father, no Wolfrik that had come into their powers at twenty-five would ever submit to a vampire’s compulsion. I should have waited a few more days. My birthday was just around the corner. Maybe I could have fought him off if I had only waited. With my arms still free, I punched him in the face. He quickly pinned my exhausted arms to the ground. His face hovered above mine; his fangs weren’t even on display. His eyes were only a hint of the darkened embers they had been before. He barely used his powers now.
“Sleep,” he demanded.
“Get off of me!” I screamed. My words echoed off the containers, buildings, and water around us. Still, I succumbed to sleep.
“Rest, little wolf,” he whispered as my world turned black.
SIX
I dreamed of an icy Montana river. The same dream I had every night for almost a year before I left for college. For months I relived what it felt like being pulled downstream, unable to swim with the wolf trap around my ankle digging deep into my flesh—the phantom taste of moss, dirt, and river water in my mouth. Right as the river would have dragged me under, a pair of arms pulled me out. I’d wake up then, alone, drenched in sweat, with my scarred ankle throbbing. Only this time, I wasn’t in bed, and I wasn’t alone.
Overhead lights shone bright; the sound of two men arguing echoed in my ears. There was a soreness in my lungs, an ache in my jaw, and a dull pain radiated up my arms. My wrists were b
ound, but the cord didn’t seem to cause any actual damage. Hopefully, there was no silver woven into it.
“Do you know her real name, who she is?” a man questioned.
“No. We’re trying to process the audio on the cameras. The werewolves at the door don’t remember letting her in. I replaced them. Mitch is fixated on a blond human; he seems bewitched. A healer is checking on him and Ben. No one here knows her, but they’ve all seen her around town recently. The cameras show her walking up to the bar,” A second man spoke, his voice smooth and familiar. Alex, he still lived.
“Alone? Are there any signs she was bewitched or forced?” the first man asked.
“She was alone, no signs of a spell. She walks up, talks to the doormen, Mitch gets forward, then Ben met her at the bar. She told Ben her name was Evie. Afterward, the cameras show her and a mermaid I know crossing paths,” Alex explained.
“Have you spoken with the mermaid?”
“No, Rory left immediately after running into the girl. Evie claimed I killed her parents, a doctor, and a teacher. She had not one, but two tungsten daggers, a handgun with tungsten bullets, and this ring. The healer said the ring will cost Ben his eye. He wants to take a bite out of her. I told him to get in line,” Alex stated. The other man growled.
“No one is taking a bite out of her. Amy can take care of the club and find another bartender to help. Put Ben on paid leave,” the stranger said.
“She said something about ‘wolves bow to no one,’ I’m not entirely sure. I know she’s exceptionally pissed off, definitely not human or werewolf,” Alex explained.
“She’s no werewolf,” the man nodded in agreement. Glancing quietly around, I saw Alex sitting off to the side in a chair, shirtless. The wound I inflicted was almost entirely gone, and he hadn’t bothered with a bandage. His skin merely looked irritated except for a pink pearly scar already forming; the only evidence of a recent attack was the blood splattered on his pants.
