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watched
me, with a bit of wariness in their eyes, as I passed a few
customers sitting in booths to my right. The music was fast and
modern. Dancers were already gyrating on the floor in the center of
the room.
    The bouncer removed the red rope and allowed
me to exit without a word. He turned to a young vampire couple and
asked for identification before allowing them access to the club. I
walked around the side of the building searching for anything out
of the ordinary on my way back to the Hummer.
    The night was cool and quiet. The sky was
cloudless, and the moon was only half full. My senses were on high
alert. Someone was hunting us and, from what I’d seen, they were
serious about taking one of us out. As far as I was concerned, no
one was going to hunt the woman inside that club…
    No one!
     

Chapter 5

    Lydia
     
    Ashby had only been gone an hour, and I
couldn’t concentrate. He possessed my mind and body. Whatever
happened back at the Krieger estate was more than just sex.
It was a claiming. The sweet ache between my legs was welcomed, and
I didn’t want to lose whatever connection we had.
    I rubbed absently at my chest and frowned at
the tightness there. Stress from the attack the night before
must’ve been getting to me, because I felt strange. Humans, out of
all of the species that hated us, were out to get us. I didn’t want
to be on the wrong end of a stake ever again.
    My neck still burned slightly from the
bullet that had sunk in the flesh there. Ashby said it had been
enchanted by a witch. My immediate thought was to call Kai Laveau,
our witch friend from Maple Hills, who helped Charity formulate a
potion to cure the Lycan victims a few months ago.
    A knock on the office door brought me back
from my thoughts. Meadow entered, and I saw the red tinged tears
rimming her pretty blue eyes.
    “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” I said, standing up
from my seat and opening my arms to her. She was new to her powers
of precognition and had arrived just in time to see me shot and
staked out back behind the club.
    “I was almost too late,” she sniffled and
squeezed me a little too hard for my liking. Although we were
vampires, we still needed time to heal. We still felt pain.
    “You did fine,” I assured her, pushing her
away carefully. “Why are you here? Aren’t you off tonight?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” she smiled. “I’m on my way to
the support group Krieger Dragus and Lady Charity enrolled
me in for my abilities. I just wanted to stop by and check on
you.”
    Every vampire had some ability. Usually, it
took a good ten years for that talent to manifest. We had support
groups for the new vampires to help them harness their special
talents. Charity asked Dragus to get Meadow into one, and I’m glad
that they took care of that before they left on their
honeymoon.
    “Well, I’m fine. Now, get out of here and
have fun!”
    She laughed and gave me another bone
crushing hug before bouncing out the door. Her brown hair swayed in
time with her steps as she walked down the hallway leading toward
the front of the club.
    The night had been very productive. I was
able to get a few things accomplished that I’d been putting off for
the past few weeks. My chest ached periodically throughout the
night. It wasn’t enough to disable me, but the tenderness stayed
just under the surface, reminding me it was there. I called Dr.
Mason at the hospital, and he told me that I shouldn’t be hurting
or in any discomfort except for maybe some burning around the
wounds.
    This was different. The dull ache felt like
someone was pulling on my chest. It was like, if I let go and gave
in, I’d be pulled to whatever wanted me. I imagined an invisible
entity dragging me out of my office and through the streets to
wherever it wanted me to go.
    Finally, right at closing time the pull
lessened. I took a deep, satisfying breath of air, tasting the
unique scents of everyone who’d passed through the club tonight.
Jackson, one of the