“Damn, Kilsen,” a bald vampire leaning against the balcony railing drawled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were actively looking to be turned.”

I let my gaze sweep over Liam Quats, one of Eadric Allcot’s vampires. He was short and stocky with a bit of a potbelly, wearing skinny jeans, a red vest, and a green velvet jacket. My shimmering silver gown was a lot more appropriate for the gala going on inside. This guy looked like he’d stepped off the pages of a cookie advertisement. “And if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were impersonating a Keebler elf.”

His amused expression turned to a scowl and hatred blazed back at me. “Why do you always have to be a bitch? No wonder you’re always panting after that mutt.”

I followed his gaze through the double doors into the large ballroom as his stare landed on Dax Marrok, the handsome, dark-haired shifter who was my former lover. He was my current partner at the Arcane—the paranormal investigation agency we both worked for. We were part of the secret Void branch where we hunted rogue vampires. Too bad Liam wasn’t on my list of assholes to apprehend. Though I was certain that if I looked hard enough, I’d find something to pin on him. He was slimier than most.

“You jealous, Liam?” I trailed two fingers down my neck, stopping at my pulse. “Think you’d like to get your fangs in me… again?”

His dark eyes started to glow gold as he stared at my neck, practically drooling. “Fangs aren’t the only thing I’d like to get in you.”

I reached out and grabbed a fistful of his vest and yanked him up until his toes were dragging on the ground. He let out a snarl and I snarled back, “Don’t ever call me a bitch again, got it?”

His didn’t—couldn’t—move a muscle as his eyes blazed with fury. “What the fuck did you do to me?”

My snarl morphed into a self-satisfied smile. The paralyzing spell was definitely working. And there was no better vamp to test it out on than Liam Quats. “Feel that, Liam? Like how you’re helpless, unable to fight back?”

“Let. Me. Go. Bitch!”

I tsked. “Didn’t I already tell you to never call me a bitch again? You’re a slow learner. This is just payback for that little stunt you pulled last month.” Hatred burned in my gut as I recalled his fangs sinking into my shoulder, rendering me momentarily paralyzed before my magic kicked in and I blasted the little fucker unconscious. He’d been trying to protect the vampire I was apprehending for feeding from an unwilling human. “If you ever bite me or anyone else without permission again, I’ll stake your ass, understood?”

“Phoebe?” a soft voice called from the doorway. “Problem?”

I glanced over at my best friend, Willow Rhoswen. She was standing in the open doorway, her strawberry-blond hair swept back and her blue eyes clouded with concern. I shook my head. “Not on my end.” Turning my attention back to Liam, I cocked my head to the side. “How about you? Do we have a problem we need to work out?”

“You’re crazy,” he said, his tone icy and laced with venom. “I already paid my debt to the Arcane.”

“True, but you still owed me.” Thanks to the influence of Eadric Allcot, the most powerful vampire in New Orleans, the Arcane had let Liam off with just a fine and a warning. Usually vampires had to serve time for attacking an agent, but Allcot had information the Arcane wanted. No doubt a trade had been made. But no one had consulted me, and I was still pissed as hell.

I shrugged one shoulder, then tossed him backward. He landed on both feet but stumbled and awkwardly crashed into a hanging fern that sent him sprawling to the ground. Laughing, I shook my head and sashayed back into the benefit ball, linking my arm with Willow’s as I went.

“Was that necessary?” she asked, her transparent fairy wings fluttering in slight agitation.

“Yes. He was being a douche.”

“Phoebe…” She sighed. “Can’t we just get through one event without an altercation?”

“I’m gonna say probably not.” I gave the fairy a bright smile. “But since we’ve gotten that out of the way, hopefully the rest of the evening will be uneventful.”

She snorted. “Right. Because ‘uneventful’ is definitely the term I’d use to describe your evenings when vamps are around.”

“It’s not my fault most of them are assholes.” I grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing tray.

“They’re not all bad,” she said, following my lead.

I clinked my glass with hers and ignored her comment. She was right. They weren’t all bad. Unfortunately, the ones who worked for Allcot had proven otherwise with one hundred percent accuracy. When it came right down to it, they always rejected any shred of ethics in order to serve their leader. And tonight the ball was hosted by Allcot and his merry family of vamps, which was why I’d accepted the invitation to attend. Someone needed to keep an eye on their sorry asses.

“Forget Liam,” I said. “Tonight is your night. Don’t let anything ruin it. Not even me.”

Willow took a sip of her champagne and smiled at me. “You could never ruin my night.”

We both knew that was a lie. Before Willow had gotten married and left the Arcane, she’d been my partner. She had a unique ability that let her feel when a vampire was around, which was enormously helpful when tracking the clever ones. But she’d recently left the agency to focus on her marriage and starting a family. I glanced down at her flat belly, wondering just how soon we’d be seeing a little fae make an appearance in our lives.

Her gaze followed mine and she chuckled, apparently reading my mind as she said, “We have big plans later tonight. I’m testing a new herbal recipe designed to encourage fertility. I’m calling it Some Like It Hot Chocolate.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seems like tequila shots are what worked for most of my college girlfriends.”

“If that worked for us, we’d already be pregnant.” Willow came to a stop next to her husband and placed a light hand on his back to let him know we were there. But I was willing to bet Talisen knew exactly where Willow was every second they’d been here, considering we were surrounded by vampires. He automatically reached for her, wrapping a protective arm around her waist.

Jesus, they were gorgeous. It was almost obscene just how blessed they were in the genetics department. The fae species has an ethereal quality about them that makes them appear incandescent. Tall and slender with glowing skin, they were almost painful to look at sometimes. Me, on the other hand? It wasn’t that I was disadvantaged in the looks department, but I was the gritty sort with dark hair, black eyes, and all of five feet two inches tall. No one was ever going to hire me as a cover model. Not that I’d want the job anyway. I was too busy kicking vampire ass for anything else.

“Phoebs,” Talisen said, smiling at me. “You clean up nice.”

I glanced down at my sequined silver dress and exposed cleavage. “It isn’t too much?”

He chuckled. “This is a gala hosted by Allcot. You could be wearing a clear plastic-wrap dress and it wouldn’t be too much.”

Proving his point, Pandora, Allcot’s consort, strolled by wearing a see-through, lacy black bustier and a skirt that had a slit up to her hip.

“Damn, Wil,” I said to my friend. “You look downright conservative in your green velvet dress.”

She smoothed the formfitting, off-the-shoulder number and nodded. “Someone needs to be the grown-up in the room.”

Considering she was the host of this fundraiser to benefit a new supernatural hospital in the city and would have her picture splashed all over the local papers in the morning, she’d chosen well. Everyone else, vampires and shifters alike, appeared to be trying to one-up each other in the outrageous department. So much female skin was showing it was starting to look like a Victoria’s Secret party.

“When does the auction start?” I asked Willow.

“In about fifteen minutes.” She grabbed a crab puff from a passing tray and popped it into her mouth.

I raised my glass in a toast. “May their wallets be as loose as their inhibitions.” As Willow laughed at me, I waved and strolled across the room, stopping only when I was side by side with Dax.

His hand landed on the small of my back, sending an electric shock of heat straight up my spine. I fought to stay perfectly still, to ignore what his touch did to me, while he continued to discuss the state of New Orleans football with a couple of young shifters. Dax and I had engaged in a short-lived, smokin’-hot affair a few months back, but I’d abruptly called it quits shortly after I’d learned he was my new partner at the Void. Dating your partner isn’t a good idea. Especially when you’re sure it’s never going to go anywhere but the bedroom.

That didn’t mean I’d stopped wanting him. No, far from it. Every time he touched me, my skin burned. I took a step to the side, putting distance between us. “Excuse me,” I said, cutting in. “I need to talk to Dax for a second if you don’t mind.”

The young shifter who’d been talking jerked his head in my direction and his mouth fell open as he stared at me. His eyes widened then he shook his head, his too-long locks falling into his face. He brushed his hair back and asked, “You’re Phoebe?”

“The one and only. And you’re…?”

“Leo.” He blinked and stood there, mute, until his blond friend nudged him in the gut with his elbow. Leo cast the other young shifter a glare, but when he turned back to me, he was all smiles and googly eyes. “Sorry. This is my friend Dali. We’re… ah, friends of Dax.”

My lips twitched with amusement. “I can see that. It’s nice to meet you both. Is this your first time attending one of Allcot’s galas?”

They both nodded. Then Leo leaned in. “It’s a little strange for shifters to be at a vamp-sponsored party, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but it’s all part of the plan to end the tensions in the city,” I said. Vampire and shifter relations in the city had deteriorated rapidly after Allcot had been apprehended by a rogue group of shifters a few months ago. Since then, both shifters and vampires from all over the city had started going missing and both groups were blaming each other. It was only after Dax had stepped in to facilitate a truce that they somehow managed to come together for Willow’s cause. And because vamps and shifters alike had a vested interest in a neutral supernatural hospital, they’d both been invited.

The only question was could they make it through the evening without any bloodshed?

“Ladies and gentleman,” the emcee started, but my attention was diverted when Dax stiffened beside me.

“What is it?” I asked him, scanning the crowd.

“Leo. He—”

Both of our phones beeped simultaneously, indicating we’d been called to track down a vampire. “Shit,” I muttered when I glanced at the screen and read the text. There was a description of the mark. Approximate age thirty years old, one hundred sixty pounds, six foot tall, bright red hair. Last seen on Bourbon Street entering Peaches. I rolled my eyes. “It figures it’d be a strip club.”

Dax let out a barely audible growl of frustration, his gaze still locked on Leo. The young shifter was surrounded by five vampires and the conversation didn’t look friendly. Worse, Leo wasn’t keeping his cool. He had a snarl painted on his face and his muscles were rippling as if he was getting ready to shift right there in the ballroom. Dax turned to me. “I have to deal with that now before this gets any worse. Can you go ahead and I’ll meet you down on Bourbon?”

I waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this one. You just keep them from turning this into an all-out vamp-shifter brawl.”

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“I better be, because it looks like another one of your shifters is getting ready to join the fray.”

“Shit.” Without hesitation, Dax took off and jumped right into the middle of the circle. The vamps immediately backed up, but they didn’t disperse, and Leo wasn’t anywhere near calm. Still, if anyone could defuse the situation, it was Dax.

My phone buzzed again. I typed back a response, letting our handler know I was on my way. Then I turned on my heel and headed out to do what I did best.