“We… we can go without pay if we have to. I can’t speak for all the omegas, but we like working for Kuroha and—”
“You’re not slaves,” I said with a rumble. I looked up, both Kuroha and Nerine nervously waiting for me to act. Waiting for me to turn them upside down and shake to empty their pockets, roughing them up as a warning to anyone who’d ever think about crossing the Oniguros.
I was going to rough somebody up, alright. But it wasn’t a couple of victims.
“Is he here now?”
Nerine gave me a tentative nod. “Yes, he has a standing reservation for the Ruby Room. He’s here most nights.”
I cracked my neck as I stood, rolling out my shoulders. Maybe I should have worn a few of those rings. “Take me there.”
Nerine hopped up, leading me out of the office and back into the lounge. A hallway on the other side housed three private rooms - Sapphire, Emerald, and Ruby.
She looked at me, her eyes questioning.
“Do it,” I ordered.
Knock, knock, knock.
“What is it?” snarled a voice from inside.
“Bottle service,” Nerine replied. “Compliments of the house.”
The door opened, and I barreled through, slamming him backwards onto the table behind him.
A werewolf omega, her eyes glassy and neck bleeding, stumbled as she rose, and Nerine quickly got her out of our way as I grabbed the vamp’s shirt with one hand and drove my fist into his face with the other.
Bone crunched, and his head snapped sideways, fangs clacking together hard enough that one chipped. He hit the table again, bottles rattling, liquid sloshing over the edge as he gasped more in surprise than pain.
“Oni—” he started, blood already spilling from his mouth.
I slammed him down harder, the wood splitting beneath his spine. “You don’t get to say my name.”
He lashed out blindly, nails raking my arm, vampiric strength finally kicking in, but I was already past caring. Fire surged under my skin, heat rolling down my veins as I hauled him up and drove him into the wall this time, the impact shaking the room.
“Four a week,” I growled, gripping his throat just hard enough to remind him how fragile he really was. “Did you think no one would care?”
His eyes flicked to the door, like he was waiting for help to arrive at any moment.
“I pay,” he snarled. “Your family protects—”
My knee came up into his ribs, and he folded with a wet wheeze, coughing red onto my suit. I let him drop, then crouched, grabbing his hair and forcing his head back so he had to look at me.
“The omegas pay,” I said quietly. I could see it finally register in his crimson eyes, the understanding that this wasn’t a negotiation. “And my family protects them, too.”
He tried to bare his fangs again. Brave. Stupid, but brave.
I slammed his head into the wall once more, cracking plaster, then leaned in close, my voice low.
“You step foot inRipped Laceagain, and I won’t stop at your face. I’ll drag you out into the Circle and let every alpha there see exactly what you are. A fucking animal.”
I released him and stood, adjusting my jacket as he slid to the floor, clutching his side and sucking in shallow breaths.
“Nerine,” I said without turning. “Call medical. For the omega. Then tell Kuroha her problem is handled.”
Lucien laughed weakly from the floor. “Your father will—”
I looked down at him, heat still rolling off me in waves.
