A growl rumbled from Caroline. The ghost image of her wolf shrouded her, the first sign of a shift.
I shoved forward before the situation could deteriorate further. "Kat, how disappointing to run into you again. All out of parties to organize?"
There was a sadistic gleam in Kat's eyes as she focused on me. She looked happy, much happier than I typically made her. She was up to something.
Not surprising really. She'd had it out for me since our first meeting.
"Aileen, I've been waiting for you to do something I could punish you for." She smiled. The first real one I'd ever seen from her. Usually, the smile she gave people was a political one, meant to manipulate or deceive. Not this one. "Looks like you finally have."
I paused, thinking over everything I'd done lately. Nothing came to mind.
"What exactly have I done?" I stopped next to Caroline so we faced Kat and her two henchmen together.
Kat's blood red lips curved up. "You never asked for blood rights. Hunting without permission is a punishable offense. Not even your master can save you."
Oh.
I glanced at the human I'd been prepared to turn into a slurpy straw. He waited on the edge of the crowd, confused and a little angry I'd left him hanging.
"I wasn't aware this place was part of Clan Davinish's holdings," I said, stalling.
It was one of the reasons we'd chosen this club as opposed to Asylum, Clan Davinish’s main club.
Kat couldn't have looked happier. "It's not. It's Clan Glaise’s."
Last I'd heard, Kat didn't have the power to enforce Clan Glaise's will.
"As the master's right hand, it's my job to ensure his rules are enforced even in another clan's territory," Kat explained.
Caroline flicked an uneasy look at me. This wasn't good and we both knew it.
No one had told me anything about blood rights in the training sessions I'd conducted with Liam and his enforcers. It was something you'd have thought they'd make sure I was aware of.
With no other options, I decided to bluff. "I never bit him. Can't really punish me for something I didn't do."
Kat's eyes narrowed. "These aren't human rules, honey. Vampires don't need proof."
To the two at her side, she ordered, "Grab her. If she fights, hurt her."
Caroline tensed, claws sliding out of her fingers.
"Bring the mutt too." Kat flicked her hand, already preparing to leave.
"She's not a vampire; you can't touch her," I said in a harsh voice.
Kat's look was chiding. "Our rules apply to everyone. She strayed into territory she doesn't belong. She can pay the price like the rest of the dregs."
I lunged forward, only to bump into Connor's back as he appeared between me and the rest of the vampires. Power rolled off him in waves. Scary and intense, carrying with it the feeling that you were about to be sucked under a heavy undertow.
The two male vampires stopped, caution entering their postures.
Vampires respected those who could inspire fear and right now those two radiated it. Even Kat eyed Connor with a wariness I hadn’t been sure she could feel.
"What are you doing?" Connor asked calmly as if he hadn't cowed the trio of vampires with merely a look.
Kat recovered first. "The yearling trespassed against blood rights. She needs to be taught a lesson."
Connor made a thoughtful sound, his expression still carefully blank. "That's strange. I put in a formal request for hunting rights for my house to the master of the city this evening. He granted my request."
