“Don’t you think, Kyren?” Gavin looked to me. “You hate the Durands more than anyone. You certainly must see how their influence has made everything worse.”
Letting my fingers splay over the ends of the armchair, I tilted my head slightly as I surveyed him. “My hatred is for theDurands, and their new council members are hardly in the same family.”
Gavin frowned. “But don’t you think that their new rules about only feeding on the willing or paid blood donors is arbitrary? We’re vampires, for fuck’s sake.”
A few of the other vampires chimed in their agreement. It was hardly the first time I’d heard complaints about the new council and their rules. I didn’t particularly like politics and had chosen to stay out of it, unlike my sire, Kleon, who had been on the council several decades before.
Look where that had gotten him — decapitated.
“They’ve taken all the fun out of hunting,” Gavin continued with a sigh. “I miss the chase. The fear. The pumping of their blood right before you went in for the kill.”
“If you need your food afraid to feed, then perhaps there’s something wrong with you.”
The vampire in question stopped talking to gape at me. “Well, I… we’re vampires. The things that go bump in the night. They should fear us.”
I sighed, tired of the conversation already. “If you say we’re vampires one more time, I’ll make sure this is your last night as one. Good night to you.”
“Hey, wait a second.” A pretty blonde female vampire grabbed my hand, then quickly dropped it at my look. “We’re having a meeting next Saturday. Just some like-minded people. All species are welcome. We’d really love it if you could come.”
I didn’t give her an answer as I stalked away, my mind set on getting as far away from the mindless drones as possible.
The woman hadn’t wanted me at their meeting. Not really. She wanted the clot that came with my name. My sire might be dead and buried by the Durands, but his house was an old one and I was the only fledgling he’d ever made.
Vampires like her and Gavin only knew of the thrill of the hunt and the feeling of being the predator. They hadn’t ever been on the other end.
Which was unfortunate, seeing the way Gavin boasted about his kills. The hunters would have made sure the Durands were the least of his troubles, if he had been as brazen as he claimed.
It mattered little to me. The Durands. The council. The new rules for blending in to the new world. In some ways, I agreed with them. We had to evolve, or we’d be left behind, becoming nothing short of a story told to scare little children into behaving.
Each breath dragged the scent of sex and blood into my lungs. I felt my fangs aching despite myself.
I hadn’t properly fed in a few days. A few nicks and sips here and there from Tate when we played hadn’t been enough to quench my thirst.
I planned to remedy that now.
My feet were silent as I moved through the common room and into the human servants’ wing. Even though I knew which room belonged to them, I let myself follow the delicious blend of their scents together. Now it wasn’t only my fangs that ached.
The door was unlocked. There was no need to knock. Tate would know I was coming before I even walked inside.
Cloaked in darkness, the sunrise still hours away, I found Tate sitting on his bed back against the wall, his gaze on a bundle on the opposite bed.
“You lasted longer than expected,” Tate commented as I slid my shoes off and then climbed into bed beside him. “Gavin had been rambling for at least half an hour before I left to dance.”
I sat next to him, our sides pressed against each other. “He’s harmless. Mostly just enjoys listening to himself speak.”
Tate hummed.
“You were quite the gentleman tonight,” I mused, my gaze on the figure on the other bed. “Didn’t even so much as kiss her.”
“She was drunk,” Tate scoffed. “Probably her first time too. She hardly had half a beer.”
The plot thickens. Our woman could take down a werewolf with ease but felt uncomfortable at a party and couldn’t hold her alcohol.
Oh, I locked onto her the moment she’d walked into the room. All that glorious pale smooth skin on display. The usual confidence in her stance hunched over, shifting her weight from side to side on heels that I had no doubt she’d never worn until today.
“Would we be terrible if we fucked right now?” Tate shifted toward me. “I’ve been unbelievably hard since we danced. Her soft body pressed against me.” He shuddered. “Torture. Pure torture.”
His arousal hit my lungs, a familiar spice that made me groan. My fangs pressed hard against my lips. “I need to feed.”
