“Hey, Storm. Did Hayden get in touch with you?” Remy asks, glancing over his shoulder at me. “There was a guy outside York Financial we were concerned about.”
“Yeah, Hayden called me,” I answer. “It’s Daniel Lumen. He’s just an investor.”
“You sure?” Uncertainty colors his tone.
“He was an investor when I worked there, so yes, I’m sure,” I reply. “Are you guys going to get paranoid every time someone you don’t recognize walks into York Financial?”
“Probably,” Remy admits. “I don’t like people I don’t know near my mate.”
“Understandable, but Ansley’s not a she-wolf,” I say, then I gesture towards the screen. “And you’re so paranoid you’re ignoring alerts.”
“Shit, I thought I was paying attention,” he huffs, leaning over and clicking the alert. “Facial recognition says… ninety percent chance it’s a vampire!”
“Where?”
“North side. We should go. I’ll call the others on the way,” Remy says, standing up.
“I’ll drive,” I insist, already walking towards the door.
Remy brings his laptop and we try to follow the vampire’s movements while I drive across the city, weaving through traffic as I do. I’m itching for a fight. The run didn’t get rid of all my stress, but a fight will. As soon as we get close to the rendezvous point in an alley behind an abandoned business, I sense Wyatt and Jaxton. They beat us here.
“Hayden isn’t coming?” I ask, glancing over at Remy.
“He doesn’t want to leave Ansley alone,” Remy says. “I agree with that.”
“Fine,” I snap, getting out of the car.
Wyatt and Jaxton are leaning against an SUV. Wyatt’s in his Third Form. Jaxton’s in his true Human Form, smoking a cigar. He flicks it towards the wall when I get closer and the embers cascade down the brick.
“Took you guys long enough. I thought that car didn’t care about the speed limit,” Jaxton teases.
“You two were obviously closer,” I retort, glaring at them. “Where’s the vampire?”
“Apartment building across the street,” Wyatt says. “We tracked him there. He’s probably feeding.”
“Could you tell how old he was?” Remy asks as he walks up beside me.
“Didn’t look ancient,” Jaxton grunts. “Might not be as young as some of the others we’ve fought, but there’s four of us.”
“And we might have immunity,” Wyatt adds, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a vial of blood. “I got a sample from Ansley before she left for work this morning. Seems like a good time to try it out.”
“Fuck that,” Jaxton growls. “Keep that shit away from me.”
Wyatt twists the cap off the vial. I tense up, because I’m concerned that a whiff of her blood might cause me to catch her scent. But it doesn’t. There’s a sweetness in the air, but it doesn’t smell that much different from human blood. All Scions are a little different, but hers isn’t that unusual.
“Am I the only one testing it?” Wyatt asks.
“You already know how I feel about it,” Remy says.
“The transfusion worked with her friend, right? No weird side effects?” I question.
“Her eyes changed colors,” Wyatt says. “But I’m just going to have a sip to test it. I’m not drinking a whole bag.”
Wyatt raises the vial to his lips. The rest of us watch closely as he takes a sip of Ansley’s blood. Nothing seems to happen. He smacks his lips a few times, cocks his head to the side, then shrugs. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a vampire fang.
“Let’s see it if works,” Wyatt says, pressing the fang to his skin. The fang makes an indentation, but it doesn’t break skin, even when he pushes down. “Huh, I think it works.”
“Fine, I’ll take a sip,” I sigh. “I fucking hate getting bitten.”
