When I looked up again, he was gone. Asshole was just going to lurk and make me twitchy. I said goodnight to the host and left at the same time as a larger group. Thankfully, they seemed to be happily drunk and didn’t notice my trailing behind them.
When they eventually turned into the lobby of a hotel, I continued on to the bridge back across the river. In the wee hours of the morning, the bridge was empty. If he was going to attack, it’d probably be here.
Monitoring him in my head, I loosened my jacket so I could grab the axe quickly. I doubted he was expecting an axe or claws. A normal wolf took time to shift. I was a Quinn, though, the origin line of werewolves, and could shift with a thought. Of course, I was still recovering from my last brawl with a vampire, so I wasn’t getting delusional about my chances.
When I reached the center of the bridge, I braced for him to fly at me, but instead he kept pace, half a bridge away. Why the hell was he just following me?
My thigh was throbbing, but it felt a little stronger after I’d rested and eaten. I could make it back to the asylum. I decided this time I’d just climb the fence and deal with the barbed wire. Or maybe I should wait for my vamp stalker to catch up so I could trail him back into the Guild. Presumably, he knew a way.
He didn’t attack and I didn’t stop. By the time I made it back to The Bloody Ruin Asylum & Taproom, I understood the name. The former asylum—current Guild headquarters—loomed on the hill, high above the bar, with broken windows and walls stained with what looked, from the distance, like blood. It rose over the surrounding trees like a zombie lurching toward town.
I’d almost walked past the ruin bar because, though the sign had said it was open until three, that was clearly just one of its many possible closing times. It was a little after two and the place was locked up and dark. Super.
Checking again, I found the vamp moving closer, though still a block or so away.
I was just reaching for my phone to call Clive when I heard angry Hungarian words snarled at me. Damn it. My focus had been on the vampire tailing me and the creepy building haunting me, not the stupid wolf rolling up on me.
Like the asylum, he loomed. Unlike it, he didn’t scare me. “I don’t speak Hungarian.”
He was probably six foot four, with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. Voice deep and menacing, he sneered, “Get. Out.”
I nodded. “Understood. I’m in your territory. Sorry about that. I didn’t know there was a pack in Budapest. It’s not like I can consult a directory of European Wolf Packs, though that would be super helpful.”
His anger seemed to be tilting into confusion. Perfect. It was my goal in life to keep my enemies off balance.
“So you see, I couldn’t call and ask for permission, as I wouldn’t have known who to call. Let’s just get this over with now. Can you tell your Alpha I’m visiting with my husband, and we promise not to start any shit with the wolves. Okay?”
Growling, he reached out to grab the front of my jacket. I blocked his arm while grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind his back. I shoved him down and leapt on his back with my knees. He roared quietly. I think we were trying not to call attention to ourselves. There were lots of apartment windows overlooking our dustup.
He tried to buck me off but I wasn’t moving, and neither was his arm. In fact, I jammed it farther up to get him to stop struggling.
“Listen, you don’t like me in your territory.” I leaned down, dropping my voice even more. “I get it. I won’t be here long. You’re going to need to relax, though. Okay?”
When I smelled another wolf, I straightened up and found a gun leveled at my head. Shit! No wonder that takedown had been so easy. I stared into the eyes of the wolf with the gun, letting mine lighten to gold. I was fast and I knew it. Still, a gun aimed at your face was off-putting.
I grabbed the gun, yanking it out of his hand while backflipping off the downed wolf to give myself some room. If I had to fight two or more wolves, I needed some space to evaluate the situation.
Pocketing the gun, I drew the axe over my shoulder in my right hand and unleashed the claws on my left. They could come at me if they wanted, but they’d leave bloody.
The vamp was nearby, because of course he was. My gaze flicked to the right and I saw him in the deep dark between two buildings, leaning against the wall and watching.
The wolf I’d had pinned was getting to his feet. Neither had noticed the vampire. Both were staring at my claws with looks of disbelief.
The new wolf, who’d recently been divested of his gun, was shorter than his buddy, with light hair, a thick beard, and close-set brown eyes.
The taller one whispered something and then the bearded one finally tore his eyes from my claws and said, “Kin?”
Kin? As in family? “Quinn? Are you asking if I’m a Quinn? Because yes, I am.”
The bearded one took out his phone and swiped through it. A woman answered and they spoke in Hungarian for a moment before she said, “I am Viktoria. László, the Master of Budapest, asks that I find out who you are and why you’re here.”
“Sure. I’m Sam Quinn. I’m from the U.S. My husband and I are just on a quick trip. He has business here. I won’t cause trouble in your territory, and we’ll be gone before you know it.”
She translated my response into Hungarian. László, the taller one, asked something and she said, “Which hotel are you staying in?”
My gaze darted to the vampire. He’d moved farther into the dark, but he watched, eyebrows raised, no doubt waiting to see if I’d spill vampire secrets. “We’re not. We’re staying with friends in a private residence.”
Hungarian in both directions and then, “Where?”
