Fin bowed low. “Good evening, Warden.”
I schooled my features, working hard not to react to the surprising and subtle, disrespectful edge to Fin’s tone. Had my uncle noticed?
“Fineas.” Thomas made his name sound like a smashed cockroach stuck to the bottom of his shoe. His expression hardened further as he glanced from me to Fin and back again. “I am most displeased by the block on your mind, little one.”
I shot Fin a
told you so
look then nestled against his side. “We’d prefer privacy for a while. We’re getting to know each other.” I gave my uncle a mock stern look, hoping to tease him into a better mood. “I don’t need a chaperone. I’m not a kid, though sometimes you like to think I still am.” I offered him a sweet smile.
Thomas produced a faint smile that didn’t reach his green eyes. “Very well,
cara mia.
But you may have difficulty convincing Jonas of your need for privacy.” His smile disappeared. “Would you not agree, Fineas?” His lip curved into a snarl, fangs bared. “A neck is such a fragile thing. How many times might Jonas break yours before your head snaps right off?”
I bristled and produced my fangs. “That’s enough,
Thomas.
”
My uncle’s eyes gleamed with cold light. “I say when enough is enough. Is that not correct, Fineas?”
Fin stiffened in my embrace, body taut with tension. “Yes, Warden. You are correct in all matters.”
But Fin’s voice held a defiant edge he failed to mask, and Thomas power smacked him for it. “Remember your place, minion.”
Fin stumbled back. Blood trickled from his nose and he did nothing to stop it, his dark gaze fixed on my bully of an uncle. “Yes, Warden.”
I bit back the verbal attack I wanted to throw at my uncle, afraid one of my many secrets and lies might escape me in the heat of battle. But I had to shut down my domineering family before they made this evening worse. I couldn’t allow them to ruin my plans.
I pulled Fin to the middle of the dance floor, calling to my power as I moved, stoking it high until the hair I’d flat ironed stick-straight danced around my head. One by one the powerful, old vampires in my club—the ones I sensed and ignored—shed their cloak of invisibility.
Stella lounged on the stage, dangling her legs like a kid dipping her feet in a pool, accompanied by two of her male, chain-smoking vampire biker pals from Italy. The ones who tried to eat me the first time we’d met in the summer. Seemed like a lifetime ago. Or another life entirely.
Thomas and Jonas’s personal guard, the four giant bodyguard brothers oddly named Primo, Secondo, Terzo, and Quarto by an Italian mother with a weird sense of humor—or lack of imagination—stood at attention in front of the balcony bar. Deadly, dedicated warriors. When my angry gaze landed on them, all four sank to bended knee, awaiting my command. Or Jonas’s. He stood right behind me, his electric power pressing against my back. Mine snapped back, an angry tigress, tired of the macho games.
I addressed them in Italian. “Doors open soon. I expect you to behave. That includes
not
messing with my date. If one more person hurts him… Let me remind you, my fire power likes to fry undead things.” I met each powerful vampire’s gaze, one by one and lastly, pivoted to stare down Jonas. “We clear?”
He stepped close, so close we almost touched, so close my eyes couldn’t focus on his face, but his eyes, his lethal snake eyes held me. Fin dropped my hand and stepped back. I stood my ground and jutted my chin upward.
I spoke again, louder and in English. “Are we clear, Tranquilli
cosca
?”
“
Si, principessa
.” The reply from Stella, the bikers, and the four brothers echoed loud in the space.
I didn’t expect a comment from Thomas and didn’t receive one. As for Jonas, I should’ve known he wouldn’t back off. I dialed down my power. My fangs receded. I gave him the look I’d given him throughout my childhood, before the mind wipe, that is, whenever I wanted him to take me flying. Eyes wide, lips pouty. Blink, blink. It worked. He grasped me by the back of my head, kissed my forehead, and disappeared.
The tension in the room eased. Conversation resumed. Hand in hand, Fin and I approached my human friends at the bar.
Gen bounced off her seat. “Rina’s in the House! Hey girl, glad you’re here.” She gave me her patented bear hug. “Now the party can really get started.”
I hugged Claire, nodded at Adrian and Kat, then kissed Milo on both cheeks, this meet and greet between me and Fin as ‘the new couple’ and my friends going much smoother than our clashes with Thomas, Jonas, Mark, and Ren. In fact, Milo and Fin greeted each other like old lovers, embracing and enjoying a long, lingering kiss.
I looked the question at Gen.
Bisexual
, she mouthed.
I knew Milo’s sexual preferences but Fin had neglected to mention that detail about himself. Not that we’d shared much about our pasts, but still, if we were pretending to date I should know his proclivities, especially if old flings were in attendance tonight. Such as my headlining DJ, Milo.
Couldn’t fault Fin for his taste in men. Milo was a gorgeous, lanky bit of male with his brooding brown eyes, pale skin, shaggy dark hair cut to frame his face, and kissable full lips. The only imperfection was his nose, broken long ago in a bar fight I witnessed, but that middle dent and slight curve gave his face an extra boost of character in my opinion. Others agreed—the man always had some smitten fans following him around, such as Shane and Bobby, who bounded over to greet me on their way to Milo.
“
Oh là là
, Rina, nice rebound catch,” Shane whispered as he sauntered past me to sit with Milo.
“Yeah, we heard about that two-timing rat Alex.” Bobby gave me a commiserating pat on the shoulder. “He didn’t deserve you, honey.”
I smiled but an invisible knife twisted in my gut at their words.
Fin came to my rescue, cuddling me from behind. “Let’s get you some food, my love.” He escorted me to the seat by Gen, apart from the rest of the crowd. Smart man. Minimize the chatting. Gen, I knew, would leave us be, content to give the new couple some space.
She shoved two takeout containers and chopsticks in my direction. “Here. Saved you this.”
I opened the first container. Pad Thai with shrimp. Yum. The smell actually encouraged me to pick up the chopsticks and take a bite. I ate on autopilot while Fin watched. I caught the attention of the bartender and waved him over with my chopsticks. “Two bloods, please. Room temperature.”
Fin bowed his head. “Thoughtful.”
“Necessary.” I didn’t want to risk blood lust adding to my already off-kilter emotional state.
The murmur of conversation lulled me into a state of almost-relaxed while I ate my fill of Pad Thai, took a token pass at the basil tofu in the second container, then switched to blood. Kat and Adrian approached, and the time passed quickly as we discussed business.
Fin remained close, one hand resting on my leg, mid-thigh, just below the hem of my black dress, a soft, clingy number with straps crisscrossing down my back, from shoulders to waist. Black boots completed my outfit, custom-made to hide the knives I included tonight. If Dixon jumped me again I’d slit his throat. Or dagger his heart. Wouldn’t kill him but it would feel damn good.
Party time arrived quickly and guests started to trickle in at a steady pace. Adrian and I hovered near the door for a while, greeting people, with Fin a silent sentinel at my side. Unlike Haven where I knew most everyone by name after so many years, the majority of the faces at Destiny were new to me. Adrian, as usual, seemed to know everyone and picked up my slack.
Everything was going smoothly. All I had to do was smile. Shake hands. Nod. Exchange pleasantries. Laugh. Wave…
Until the wolves arrived.
Funny thing about power. It comes in all flavors. Stella’s feels like biting ants. Jonas and Thomas share a similar electric shock feel. Others hot, cold, prickly, stinging, burning.
The wolves were different. Their power rolled over me before I saw them, flowing around my legs as if I stood in a stream of rushing water rising higher and higher up my body. When it reached my head, I caught its scent—mountain air, freshly turned earth, spring grass. Earthy, natural scents. Made me want to relax on a hillside and watch the clouds float by in a sunny sky.
Fin, on the other hand, scowled and hissed. Stella appeared at my side with her biker boys, both men with their impressive fangs bared. Primo and Secondo flew from the balcony, landing in front of me, growling with aggression.
Adrian gave them a perplexed look. “What’s with the hostility?”
“I don’t know,” I replied as Jonas appeared and whisked away Adrian in a blur of vampire speed, leaving me surrounded by snarling vampires.
I peered through the gap between Primo and Secondo. Mark and Ren blocked the doorway now with two other burly security guys, barring access to our newest arrivals. Kat scurried over and joined them, pointing at what I assumed was the VIP list on Mark’s computer tablet, then jabbed her manicured finger in my direction. Mark and Ren scowled at me.
I elbowed Stella. “What’s the problem? I thought the wolves were your friends.”
“Hardly,” Stella scoffed. “It is you who should make friends with the wolves, these specific Scottish beasts.” A cruel smile curved her lips. “As I told you before, the Youngling will suffer from it.”
“Yes, I got that part of your memo. You conveniently left out the part where, apparently—” I pointed at Primo, Secondo, Fin, and her biker boys, all five of them vibrating with hostility “—vampires and werewolves don’t get along?”
Damn it all, I didn’t need another problem to add to my plate of horrible pie. I clenched my fists. I didn’t need to smack Stella upside her head for getting me into a new mess. Really, I didn’t.
Mark and Ren let the men pass into our space, and I instantly understood their concern. Mark and Ren were six-five and big, big, big, but the six men waiting to gain entry? Even bigger.
A boulder of nerves lodged itself in my throat. “Holy hell.”
That
was a mountain of wolf.
The wolves stalked forward, two by two. Power. Menace. Mountainous shoulders. Long, strong legs. Faces carved from granite. Shaggy, short hair. Harshly handsome. Dangerous. To think I hadn’t even noticed them in the band photo on their Web site, my attention and broken heart having focused solely on Alexander in that shot.
The power they emanated, combined with their size, intimidated the hell out of me, but their eyes were the glue that kept me frozen in place, like a rabbit afraid to move, afraid to breathe… If I twitched even an eyelid the wolves would eat me. If I ran, they would hunt me down, bring me to ground, rip out my throat, devour me piece by piece… I suddenly felt like Little Red Riding Hood lost in the woods.
I’d never seen eyes like theirs. Yellow. Liquid gold. Nothing like that evil psycho Magnas the Dark One’s beautiful and hypnotic amber eyes. These shone like sunflowers, or daisies, that is, if pretty yellow flowers were carnivorous people-eaters in disguise.
“That’s close enough, curs,” Primo growled and stepped in their path. His brother followed suit as did Stella’s boys. Stella and Fin remained at my side.
The yellow-eyed men fanned out until they formed a semicircle in front of us. Power—vampire and wolf—roiled the air, raising the hairs on my arms and calling my fire to life, which was strange, since it only worked on dead, or rather, undead things.
I didn’t want or need this wrinkle tonight. I don’t know why the vampires and wolves didn’t like each other, and I didn’t care. I had an ex-boyfriend to piss off and friends to save. The latter was truly all that mattered and that got my head back in the game. The real game. “Tranquilli
cosca
. Stand down.” I shook off Stella and Fin and stalked forward. “Make a hole.”
Thomas appeared at my side. “You heard the princess. Let her greet her guests.”
I noted the emphasis on her and the way his calm smile didn’t reach his glittering green eyes. His power blew over the assembled testosterone-laden males, quashing theirs with ease.
The vampires parted. One lone wolf stood in front of the rest, smiling. I had the distinct feeling Thomas hadn’t extinguished this one’s power at all. He’d allowed it.
The wolf regarded Thomas, expression beyond frosty. “Thomas.”
My uncle gave him back an equally frozen look. “Connor.”
Connor. Alexander’s cousin.
Connor snapped his fingers. The five men behind him bowed their heads. Thomas didn’t do anything quite that showy but all of his men bowed their heads too. Then disappeared. Just like that, the tension eased.
The wolf men relaxed, and Connor smiled at me, a genuine smile that reached his eyes. “Carina Tranquilli.” He lifted my hand to his face. “‘Tis a true pleasure to meet ye.”
Oh, holy wow, that accent. Couldn’t lie. Sexy as hell. Next to me, Fin hissed. Stella stomped on his foot, and Fin turned an interesting shade of red.
“Thanks for accepting my invitation, Mister Wallace.”
“Please, call me Connor.” His nose grazed my inner wrist, and he inhaled then hummed. “Your scent is pleasing. Ye smell…alive.”
“Um, thanks?”
He rolled his eyes up to look at me as he pressed a kiss to the top of my hand. My cheeks heated. Lovely. Was this ability to make me blush at the drop of a sultry look and compliment a Wallace family trait?
I pulled my hand away, my skin tingling everywhere he touched. I barely resisted rubbing it. His cheeky grin told me he enjoyed my discomfort. My face flared hotter. Time to take control of this situation or I’d never be able to enlist the aid of this alpha male and his band of big brutes. But it didn’t help that when he smiled he looked like Alexander, and it certainly didn’t help that he dressed just like him too. Distressed dark jeans, fashionable boots, a T-shirt stretched over his taut torso, showing off a six-pack and then some under his leather jacket. Same nose, same sexy chin, same lips… The similarities hurt my heart.