“What are you doing?” Maxwell hissed behind me. Genuine fear laced his voice, and I almost felt offended. What did he have to be scared of while I was obviously protecting him?
I ignored Maxwell. “Seriously. First my brother-in-law’s store gets robbed, and now this?”
“Theo!”
“What? Oh. Well, yeah, I guess he’s not really my brother-in-law, is he? Since they’re not married. But still, he counts as family.”
The mugger got closer. He unfolded the knife and Maxwell whimpered.
What did Maxwell have to be afraid of? Did he forget I was a vampire? Increased strength and speed and all that?
I sighed and stepped closer to the mugger. “Look. Why don’t you buzz off? This isn’t a fight you can win, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
The man actually paused now, completely startled. Through the mask I saw his eyes widen, and then he started laughing. Maxwell squirmed uncomfortably behind me.
Thatpissed me off. I was getting less worried about hurting him now. My lip curled into a small snarl.
“You?” He waved the knife at me. “You’re just a kid. Why don’t you go home to your mommy?”
I narrowed my eyes. How original. Like I’d never heard that one before. Even though I was turned at age twenty, and I’d technically spent thirty-five on this planet, I still had others judging me for my appearance. Little did this guy know I’d look exactly the same even long after he was dead and buried.
“I’m not joking,” I said seriously. “Take your knife and get the hell out of here, asshole.”
But after laughing at my expense, the man lost any scrap of respect he had for me. It was obvious that he didn’t see me as a threat.
Maybe he was right. I didn’t look asalphaas my brothers did. I wasn’t thin and gangly by any means, but compared to Pierce and Adriel, I wasn’t as tall, or broad-shouldered, or muscular.
Some of the mind-altering fog dissipated as I grew angrier. The dhampir girls, Lark and Luna, had not yet grown old enough to manipulate it themselves even though they produced it--but us adult vampires could twist it enough to suit our needs, like puppet masters pulling the strings.
Maybe it was reckless of me, but the longer this went on, the more annoyed I became. My fangs slid out, elongating enough to poke out of my lips, and my nails became sharp claws. The man could have blinked and missed the minor transformation. In fact, that’s exactly what he did, since he was too busy laughing at me.
Maxwell must have noticed a change in me. His throat tightened as he whispered, “Theo?”
“Just stay back here and don’t move,” I told him.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret!” he urged.
I wasn’t going to. Probably.
With long strides, I approached the mugger. He stopped laughing when he saw me coming. His stupid grin turned into a frown and he clutched his knife.
“Look, kid, I don’t want to hurt either of you,” he muttered. “Especially not the doctor.”
My suspicions were correct. Using the cover of darkness, this man had followed Maxwell out of the clinic. That just confirmed my paranoia that the city wasn’t truly safe for humans.
“Let me guess,” I growled, “you want money.”
“The doc especially should be loaded.” He flipped the knife in his hand, nodding. “Make it easy and hand it over.”
He was speaking to Maxwell, not me. With my sharp hearing, every rapid beat of Maxwell’s heart resounded in my ears like a tiny drum. He was scared out of his wits. My heart broke for him.
A dark thought wormed into my mind. What would he have done if he was alone? What if I hadn’t been here tonight? Maxwell could’ve been robbed, at best, or seriously injured at worst.
My sympathy for this pathetic human was waning fast.
“This is your last warning,” I growled, raising my lip to reveal both my fangs. “Get the hell out of here.”
He paused and stared at my mouth. Behind the mask, what I could see of his expression faltered between humor and incredulity. “Are you wearing costume fangs? It’s not Halloween.”
