I shove at two men trying to get closer to the bar. When they don’t move, I leap into the air and land on the nearest dance stage. The male dancer scrambles away, whimpering, but I turn my attention back toward the bar.
I can’t let him get away.
“FOXX!” I shout again, cupping my hands around my mouth.
My sire turns to scan the room, then freezes. His confusion turns to rage the moment he sees me.
“You!” he roars. “You’re behind this?”
“You won’t get out of this, Foxx,” I say. “The place is surrounded. It’s time you stop hurting people!”
He shoves at another employee, trying to get by.
Raising an arm, I aim a fireball at the wall of liquor bottles behind Foxx. The shelves collapse on impact sending over three dozen bottles crashing to the ground. Flames erupt from the alcohol, casting bright blue and green hues above the crowd. Terror-filled screams dominate the small space. People shove harder toward the exits, causing a deadly blockage by the doors.
Foxx shoves the nearest employee aside, then another, and another, inching his way closer to the door. Out of sheer desperation, I shoot two more fireballs across the room, each of them hitting the wall above his head. Glass shatters on impact, and I watch in horror as flames lick up the side of the wall, fanning out over the crowd in a whoosh of smoke and embers. The wood shelves ignite, leaving mere seconds before even more alcohol bursts into flame.
Fuck.
“It’s open!” someone cries.
I glance back at the door as people cheer and shuffle toward the exits. My fire must have broken through the binding spell. Good. At least they can leave now.
When I turn around, Foxx is dangerously close to the exit. “Foxx!” I shout, but he’s already gone, slipping through the crowd in a flash.
“FUCK!”
Immediately, I begin scanning the crowd for Evan when the scent of blood hits my nose. I look down and am taken aback by the sight.
The young dancer who I’d startled when I’d jumped up is still here, trying desperately to get away. He can’t be more than twenty-two, and has a look of pure terror on his face as he claws and scrambles against the hardwood. He is dressed in black designer underwear and a sheer top, and his blue eyes are outlined with charcoal eyeliner.
But none of that is what catches my attention.
It’s the metal shackles around his wrists, cutting into his skin and making him bleed.
I hold my hands up in a placating gesture, but it only seems to terrify him more since they’re still smoking. He screams and pulls at the chains, tears streaming down his face.
“P-please, d-don’t!”
“I won’t hurt you,” I say.
I reach for the chain on the floor and yank, but it doesn’t budge. I try again, and still nothing. A tingle of electricity vibrates through my palms, crackling against my heated skin. When I look closer, I see a bluish hue embedded into the steel of the shackles.
Shit. My vampire strength won’t do any good if the steel is infused with magic. I need Red. He’ll be able to break the spell and free this guy.
“I’m going to get you help!”
“Get away from me!” a woman shouts nearby.
I look up to see Willow aiming a broken bottle of liquor at a wolf. Not just any wolf—Ivy.Ivy is snapping at her, teeth bared.
“Ivy, don’t!” I shout, making her jump. “That’s Willow! Kaine’s friend!”
Ivy pauses, glancing between me and Willow, her tear-streaked face riddled with confusion and fear.
“Where’s Evan?” I ask Willow.
“I don’t know!” she tells me. “He was following me and then—ahh!” She screams as another wolf runs by. “He ran off when the fire started.”
