Sunday night at the club isn’t quite as busy as Saturday was, but it’s still loud, chaotic, and exhausting. I’m glad for it, because it doesn’t give Wulf much time to hound me about Rook. Oh, he finds time when he can, just not as much. “Honey, I’m not saying you have to mate with the guy. Just hang out with him. He needs to not be scared of women anymore, and you, pip-squeak, are the least scary woman on the planet.”
I punch him in the arm for that, as hard as I can. He laughs at my efforts and winks at me before turning his flirty smile on some woman at the bar, showing more cleavage than the Swiss have Alps.
I roll my eyes and pour a small, grumpy dwarf his fourth shot of absinthe. “If you’re so worried about Rook,” I call down the bar to Wulf, “why not just find him a good she-wolf to date?”
“Because all she-wolves are just trying to snag mates.” Wulf shivers in horror. “Rook would never give one the chance to get close.”
“So I’m supposed to go in all undercover-like, disguised as a nonthreatening female who just wants to be friends?”
“And then win his heart without him realizing it? Yeah. Basically.”
“Human! Hey, human! Girl! What’s a guy have to do to get a drink around here?”
I shake my head at Wulf one more time and then smile at the elf man waiting to be served. The condescending asshole—elves are the worst when it comes to respecting my human status—orders his drink, and as he saunters off, that intuition of mine hits me like lightning, nearly making my knees buckle. Tingles shoot down my neck and into my whole body, making me feel alive and alert, and yet paralyzing me at the same time. Dread washes over me so strong that I gasp and grip the counter to keep from falling. Whoever my gift is warning me about is close by, and they mean business. Death is on my doorstep. “Wulf!”
Even though it’s loud and busy, Wulf is at my side in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone here is going to try and kill me.”
Wulf doesn’t like that comment. He snarls, and his eyes glow as he lets his wolf come to the surface. “How do you know?”
“How do I do any of the things I do?” I glare at him, but it’s mostly my anxiety making me lose control. “I just know. I can feel it.”
Wulf shoves me behind him and glares at the crowd around us. “Who? Where?”
“I don’t know. It’s only a warning.”
“Well, that’s helpful.”
“It’s better than nothing.”
He harrumphs and pulls out his cell phone, ignoring all the annoyed customers shouting for drinks. “I’m texting Terrance. Tell me if you see anyone suspicious.”
I’m in a club full of supernatural monsters. Right now, they all look suspicious. It’s especially impossible to tell if anyone means me harm right now, because both Wulf and I have stopped serving drinks and people are starting to get pissed.
“Come on.” Wulf grunts, gruffly grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the end of the bar. “Terrance says to take you to his private suite. It doubles as a panic room.”
He refuses to let go of me as he drags me away from the bar, yelling at his other bartender to hold down the fort until he gets back. We push through the crowd toward the back of the club, where a stairway leads to a set of rooms on the second floor. The hallway is open to the large room, but Terrance’s suite is toward the end of the row.
I can’t help feeling like heading upstairs is a mistake. The dread in my stomach is getting heavier, not lighter. “Are you sure we should be going upstairs? Have you ever seen a horror movie, Wulf?”
“It’s a panic room, Nora. It’s the safest place for you in the club while Terrance and I figure out who wants to hurt you.”
“You’re going to leave me alone, too? You really don’t watch horror.”
“You’ll be fine.”
We reach Terrance’s office, and as Wulf pulls out his keys, a tall, skinny woman arrives out of nowhere and grabs Wulf’s face. “Go back to the bar,” she says, staring into his eyes. “Nora is fine.”
Oh. Nora is so not fine. The woman is a vampire, and she’s just compelled Wulf. He actually smiles as he passes me, heading back for the stairs. I scream his name and grab his arm, but he keeps walking. I try to run after him, but the vampire lady grabs me. I scream Terrance’s name at the top of my lungs, while the woman drags me into the nearest room and throws me to the ground.
Stars burst in my vision as my head hits the ground, but the woman slams my head again for good measure. “Shut up!” she hisses.
When I scream for Terrance again, she hits me so hard across the mouth that my jaw shatters. Pain explodes through me like roaring fire. I can’t scream now. I whimper, and tears leak from the corners of my eyes.
“I don’t know how you bewitched my sire,” she says, “but I’m going to save him from your wretched curse.”
The woman is a stranger to me, but I know she’s talking about Henry Stadther. Henry is the master of the largest vampire clan in Michigan. He’s also completely obsessed with me. The FUA warned him to leave me alone, but he doesn’t do a good job of it. I guess his vampire whores are getting as tired of his infatuation as I am.
This crazy vamp-bitch is out for blood. Her eyes are red, and her fangs are on full display. Hopefully Terrance heard me and gets up here fast, otherwise I’m dead.
“I used to be Henry’s favorite, you know. He was mine until you came along, and now he doesn’t even remember I exist. All he cares about is his precious Nora.” She gives me an evil smile. “We’ll see how long he cares about you once you’re dead. I’m going to enjoy drinking you dry.”
“NNNOOOORRRAAA!” Terrance bellows, shaking the entire club. His voice is completely guttural. I’ve only heard it like that once before—when I’d been kidnapped and he found me chained and bleeding on a sorcerer’s altar. He’s totally in raging troll mode.
I can’t speak, or smirk, so I narrow my eyes at the shocked woman. That’s right, bitch. You’ve done it now. I’m his clan, and you’re a dead woman.
As if she can see the smugness in my eyes, the woman growls at me. “I was planning to make you hurt for a bit first, but I guess I’ll just have to make this quick.” She lifts my wrist but pauses before biting me and smiles again. “Still. I can make you suffer a little.” She looks into my eyes and whispers, “Fear me.”
Immediately, I’m overcome with terror so strong I can’t breathe or think. I try to squirm and thrash to escape, even though every move causes my jaw more pain. I get one more command before she begins to drink. “You will feel pain instead of pleasure.”
Agony tears through my whole body when her fangs pierce my skin, and she begins to pull the blood from me one swallow at a time. I’m on fire from the inside out. I thrash, but it does me no good. Pain and fear, that’s all I know. It’s all I feel. There is nothing else.
I can’t tell how long it goes on. It feels like an eternity. And then it stops. Just as my vision fades, my massive angry troll friend rips the woman away from me. He grabs her and tears her head from her body. Blood flies everywhere, splattering us both, and that’s the last thing I remember.
. . . . .
When I come to, my mind is foggy, but not enough that I don’t remember what happened. I’m still lying on the floor where I passed out, and I’m still a bloody mess. My jaw is healed but really stiff, and I know I must have been drained nearly dry of blood because I’m so weak I can’t move.
The shaman kneeling over me is one I recognize. He’s a freelance healer that is usually on call for the FUA. He’s healed me several times before. “Enzo,” I croak. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
He gives me a pained smile. “Just lie still, Miss Nora.”
I pass out again, and I’m kind of glad, because I still hurt like a bitch.
When I wake up the second time, I feel a lot better—weak still, but not like I’m on death’s door. I’m also not still lying on the floor splattered in vamp blood, which is nice. I’ve been moved to a large, comfortable bed in a smallish but lavishly decorated room. I’ve also been wiped down, and someone has changed my clothes. Enzo is sitting by my side in a folding chair, looking pale as a ghost and exhausted, but he smiles when he notices I’m awake. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. Thank you.”
I try to sit up and quickly rethink that decision. “Okay, only a little better. But still, thank you.”
He gives me a humble bow. “You’re welcome, Miss Nora. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”
Is he kidding? “Hey. I’m alive. I’m sure that’s thanks to you. You are, once again, my favorite underworlder.”
I love making him blush. It’s so easy.
Over half a dozen other faces cram into the room when they hear us talking. Wulf, my best friend Oliver, Nick Gorgeous, Parker, Cecile, two unfamiliar men, and Terrance all crowd into the small room, hovering behind Enzo with worried expressions.
Terrance pushes everyone out of the way and crashes to his knees beside my bed with a thump that rattles the room. “Hey,” I say softly, recognizing that while he might not still be lost to his rage, he’s not entirely calm yet, either. “You saved my life. Thanks, T-man.”
Terrance grumbles something unintelligible while he rakes his thick fingers through my hair.
“I’m okay now, Terrance. Promise.”
He grunts and walks out of the room to resume his furious pacing in the hall. So…he’s going to brood a while, then. “All right. Where am I?” I ask everyone else in the room. “Whose clothes are these? Please tell me Cecile changed me. And what are you all doing here?”
Cecile flashes me a smile. “You’re still in the club. This is my private suite. Those are my clothes, and don’t worry, I cleaned you up and changed you. I even kicked all the men out first—Terrance excluded. I couldn’t get him to go anywhere, but he turned his back.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Thanks.” Again, my gaze circles the room. “And you guys?”
Oliver makes a face like duh. “I was worried about you. I left work as soon as I heard what happened.”
I give him a smile to let him know I’m grateful.
“I’m just checking in on my favorite human,” Nick says. His favorite human? I’m probably his only human. Not that I’m his. You know what I mean. As if he can tell what I’m thinking, he flashes me a grin that could light up a room and shows me his badge. “I’m also here on official business. When stuff happens between the different factions, they send in the FUA. I’ll need to get a statement from you.” He points a thumb at Parker and the two strangers. “Since the vamp was a member of Henry’s clan, his enforcers were also called in as a courtesy to him.”
My blood turns cold in my veins, and my stomach churns. I may trust Parker some, but I don’t like that those other guys are vampires. And enforcers from Henry’s clan, no less. I wish they would leave. Hell, after tonight, I wish even Parker would leave. I could go forever never seeing another vampire again, and it would be too soon.
As if he can read my thoughts, Parker’s face crumples. He steps toward me, longing in his expression. My heart speeds up as he comes closer, only it’s not stemmed from my fear of vampires. There’s a physical connection between us that ignites like wildfire when we get close.
“It’s good to finally see you again, Nora,” he murmurs. “I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
He takes my hand in his and softly rubs his thumb over the back of it. I shiver at the contact, and heat flares in his eyes. I get caught in his gaze and can’t look away. My mouth dries up, and I swallow thickly.
I focus on his thoughts in an attempt to get my body under control. Parker’s relieved that I still react this way to him. I’ve been avoiding him since the Henry thing a month ago. He thinks it’s because I fear his kind. I do fear vampires, but that’s not why I’ve been ignoring his calls. I’m afraid of my attraction to him. The feelings he stirs in me are intense and dangerous, and I’m not ready to feel those things.
“Nora, this wasn’t Henry’s fault,” he says, loyal to his master to a fault. “He didn’t know about Josephine’s instability. In fact, if she weren’t already dead, he’d have killed her himself for this. He’s devastated that you were hurt because of him. Our whole clan is upset.”
He’s not going to convince me that his clan is full of wonderful people tonight. I pull my hand from his, because he’s making it hard for me to think straight. “Just forget it, Parker. Damage done.”
Parker steps back, disappointment bleeding from his eyes. I look away, hating that I’m hurting him. If I knew how to give him what he wants, I would.
I try to sit up again, and this time I almost succeed. Oliver moves forward and puts a few pillows behind my back to help me stay sitting up. After I’m situated, I look to Nick. “Is Terrance going to get into trouble for killing her?”
“Nah. She had it coming.”
I smirk. Justice in the underworld takes some getting used to.
“Do you know why Josephine attacked you?” one of the nameless enforcers asks.
I flinch at the sound of his voice and give Nick a pleading glance. I may not fear Parker, but I want the other vampires out of this room and far away from me. Both Nick and the vampire who spoke frown.
“I understand your history with vampires isn’t pleasant,” Enforcer Dude says, “but you need to overcome your fear of us. We can sense it, and it sets off all of our instincts. Perhaps that’s why Josephine lost control and attacked you tonight.”
I scoff. “Seriously? You think she lost control? No way. She came here for no other reason than to kill me tonight. She even said so. She monologued as she tortured me. She kept ranting about how she used to be Henry’s favorite and how he didn’t pay her any attention anymore because of me. She thought he’d love her again if I were dead, or something like that. Real nice lady. A lot in common with Henry, actually. They both broke my face.”
Enforcer Dude sighs but doesn’t argue. He doesn’t really look surprised, either. I bet poor, jilted Josephine complained a lot before she went off the deep end of the crazy pool tonight.
“Still,” the other enforcer says, his voice haughty as if I’ve insulted him, “I’m sorry about Josephine, but you can’t be so afraid of us. We are predators. You are tempting to us for many reasons.”
Parker places a hand on the guy’s shoulder when I glare at him. “We aren’t all monsters, Nora,” Parker murmurs.
“So you keep telling me. And yet…your kind keep hurting me. Over and over again.” I sigh. “Look, I don’t have the energy for this conversation. The bitch was jealous of Henry’s obsession with me and wanted me out of the picture, so she tried to drain me. End of story. Can we be done now?”
“I’ve got what I need,” Nick says. He glances at Parker and his cronies. “You?”
Parker sighs. “I think we’re good.” He nods to his two enforcers, gesturing for them to head out. They both look back at me, but the less rude one stops when he reaches the door. “Henry really cares about you, you know. You should give him a second chance to prove himself.”
I want to laugh—no way in hell is that happening—but I don’t want to piss off another vampire by rejecting his sire, so I shrug noncommittally and look away. Parker waits until I meet his gaze again before he follows his enforcers out. “Please call me when you’re feeling better,” he murmurs, then leaves.
Once he’s gone, I shiver. “Henry’s not going to stop obsessing over me. If his vampires are going to start going crazy because of it, I might have to quit the club.”
Terrance stops pacing the hall and storms back into the room to glare at me. “No.”
“He’s right,” Wulf says, crossing his arms and frowning at me. “You don’t run. You never run. They will chase. You stay, and you pretend like they don’t terrify you.”
“That’s not enough,” Nick says. His eyes fall on mine. “Those guys were right. You need to get over your fear of vampires. Maybe your fear is justified, but it’s also tempting to all predators—which most underworlders are. If you’re going to be a part of this world now, Nora, you can’t fear it anymore. Find a way. Hate them, fine. But get over your fear.”
Great. How am I supposed to do that? I’m making headway with most underworld species, but it seems like every vampire I meet tries to kill me. They’re the monsters that murdered my mother in front of me when I was six. It’s hard to let go of a lifetime of nightmares and fear.
“I’ll host a party!” Cecile blurts, seemingly out of nowhere. “A party for Nora.” The smile she gives me is both sincere and full of wicked delight. I’m pretty sure I have another meddler on my hands. As if my werewolf boss isn’t enough.
“I’ll invite lots of decent vampire friends of mine for you to get to know. There are some wonderful ones out there, Nora. If you meet a few who aren’t assholes, like Henry, you’ll learn to love them as much as you like the rest of us.”
“A party? Full of vampires?” I groan and close my eyes as I sink back into the pillows behind my head. “I must be really out of it right now, because I can’t believe I’m about to say yes to that.”
Cecile claps her hands. “Yay! Don’t you worry about a thing, darling. I’ll keep it small, with an exclusive guest list.”
“I better be invited,” Nick says. He’s smiling now, as if he approves of this plan.
“Gorgeous, darling, it wouldn’t be a party without you,” Cecile purrs, making the man shiver when she runs a finger up his arm. I get the feeling she only affects him because he lets her, but she’s definitely stirring feelings in him now. He closes his eyes and lets out a long, satisfied breath. “All right, enough of this.” He looks at me. “Go home and get some sleep. Lots of sleep and protein. Enzo worked a miracle, but you’re still really low on blood. Rest for a week. I’m not kidding. A full week. At least.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, Mother.”
He winks, then turns his fierce gaze back to Cecile. “And you. Keep the guest list small, and have Nora in mind when you plan it. She needs this.”
“Of course!” Cecile chirps. “It’ll be like the good old days back in England. It’ll be a coming-out party for Nora into underworld society. I’ll only invite the best of the best.”
“Small!” Terrance orders, while I groan again.
I’m in trouble. Someone has unleashed a monster.