Why he thought having me interact with Aries was a good idea, I did not know, but he wouldn’t have ordered me here if he didn’t have a good reason.
I took one last deep breath, then entered the main room of the club, immediately swerving left, making a beeline for the bar.
Humans avoided me as I made my way through the crowd, and I couldn’t help but feel pleased at this development. The older a vampire got, the more humans were able to feel the difference. Ohh, they didn’t know what the difference was, but they tended to find vampires creepy. Or so I’d been told. I was still way too young for anyone to find me creepy, but apparently I was getting old enough to register as “other.”
Aries was standing behind the bar, polishing a glass while overlooking the crowd.
It was barely eleven, but it was already getting busy.
The music was thrumming, alcohol was pouring, and vampires were discreetly feeding in the shadows.
Shaking my head, I zeroed in on Aries.
The fucker smirked when he saw me, showing me the barest hint of his fangs in a clear warning. My hands balled into fists, my nails digging into the skin, but the pain didn’t even register. My vision bled red as I remembered Finn’s unfocused gaze, the way he’d been unable to keep steady. The way he’d passed the fuck out as soon as we’d entered the car.
“Do we have a problem?” Aries said, instead of greeting me. He looked pointedly at my hands, then raised an eyebrow as he took in my face.
“No,” I answered, but it was more a growl than a word.
“Good.” He appeared relaxed, unbothered by my anger, as if I were no match for him. More rage bubbled inside me, but I managed to keep a lid on it. Barely, but I did.
Vampires were arrogant fuckers, and if this guy really was a couple of hundred years old, he’d earned the right to be.
“Come on, youngling, your equally young sire is waiting in my office. He had a couple of very… interesting questions for me.” He gave me a one-sided grin that sent a shiver down my spine.
Protect Finn, my insides screamed, though he wasn’t anywhere near here. When he’d told me to leave, he’d been waiting for his gastroscopy, and they’d certainly keep him overnight once they had the results of his blood panel.
Still, Aries had me on edge with his cryptic words.
Why had Bennie askedhimof all vampires?
I reluctantly followed Aries through the door to the back, but instead of following the hallway all the way to the end, where a green neon sign showed off the exit to the back alley, he opened a door to the right, revealing a staircase that led us up a floor into another hallway.
Was Bennie even here?
Well, I guess torture chambers were usually reserved for basements. Preferably hidden behind fake walls and stuff.
“In here,” Aries said, opening a door to his right and entering without a second thought. I slipped in through the heavy steel door behind Aries, immediately caught off guard by the wall of windows giving a prime overview of the club. From up here, you could see everything—the bar, the dance floor, and the small stage for the DJ.
“Neat view, right?” Aries preened. “But not what we’re here for, youngling. Have a seat.”
I turned around just as he gestured at an array of black leather couches and matching armchairs.
One of the couches was already occupied by Bennie.
“Finally,” he breathed, patting the smooth, shiny leather next to him. “Sit. I guarantee you’ll want to hear this.”
I grumbled a little but followed his wish. “I sure hope so. I had to leave Finn at the…” I stopped myself in time, casting a wary look at Aries, who grinned at me like the cat that’d gotten the cream.
“Ahh, yes, I believe your little… infatuation with the human is the reason we’re all here,” he said, turning his back on us like he was completely unbothered by our presence. He opened one of the cabinet doors behind the massive black desk and revealed a small fridge filled with bags of blood.
“Want one?” he asked us, but his eyes were trained on me.
Was this some kind of weird test?
“Uh, yeah,” I said as a sharp hunger started burning like fire in my stomach. I couldn’t smell the blood, but seeing it was enough for my fangs to elongate.
It’d been almost a week since I’d last fed, and I had to admit, it hadn’t been a very satisfactory meal.
