Eyes that slowly scanned the dark room. That paused when they found Maya’s table. Eyes that narrowed slightly.
A quiet buzzing escaped her pocket, and Maya quickly turned away. This place was getting to her head. Women with a healthy dose of attitude had always been like catnip to her, so it wasn’t surprising.
But it didn’t explain why she had to force herself to look at the message lighting up her phone screen rather than the woman still staring at her.
Diana
Alley. Outside.
Thank fucking God.
Keeping her eyesawayfrom the bar, Maya hurried for the exit, all but falling outside onto the sidewalk. She took a deep breath, letting the late January air fill her lungs.
It was fine. She’d just gotten overwhelmed. That was all.
Rolling her shoulders, she walked towards the corner of the building. A narrow alley came into view, the Lucky Penny’s back door near its end.
Diana was standing right by it, arms crossed. Like Maya, she was performatively dressed for the winter weather in jeans and a padded leather jacket. Neither of them needed the warm clothing, since Diana ran hot and Maya did the opposite.
“I’m here,” Maya said, making Diana flinch.
“Fuckinghell.” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Even in the dark, the streak of white at the front was clearly visible. “I hate when you do that. We need to put bells on you or something.”
Maya managed to shrug rather than cringe. “I’ll stomp harder next time. Did you find something?”
“Not just something. Look.”
The wall around the entrance was covered in cracks and poorly done graffiti. But one piece stood out.
On the door leading into the Lucky Penny, a human skull was painted in white. A red wolf’s head framed it, teeth clamping down on the bone and leaving red trails that made it look like the skull was bleeding.
Maya steppedback. “Well… shit.”
“You got that right. I picked up a scent earlier, but figured it was just someone passing through. Then I spotted that symbol by the parking lot, and now here, too.”
“Are they still around?”
“If they are, they’re hiding. But theywerehere, clearly. And they want people to know that.”
The supernatural world, though bloody and brutal, wasn’t a free-for-all. It was ruled by several different Courts, with their own rules and customs, but all of them were subject to the laws of secrecy. The Court of Chains was one of them. An unpopular one, due to its unyielding tenets and diverse nature of its members.
Since secrecy was in the interest of all supernatural creatures, Courts handled threats of discovery internally, but sometimes they needed to engage in diplomacy. For that reason, a few cities were dedicated neutral zones, unclaimed by any faction.
St. Louis was one such city. The only one of its kind in a thousand-mile radius. And it had been marked with a wolf brand so fresh that the paint still looked wet.
“It’ll be fine, though. Right?” Maya said. Diana kept staring at the door, shoulders tense.
“Yeah. It’ll be fine.”
Her tight tone didn’t sound convincing. The Court of the Wolf was one of the most widespread Courts in the world, split into hundreds of smaller packs. Each had a unique brand they considered theirs, used to mark territories and warn off outsiders, and while they shared several customs, they were divided on just as many. Some of them were peaceful. Others ferocious.
In Maya’s experience, that matched the practices of most Courts. They may favor secrecy, but only because it let them more easily get away with heinous behavior. That the Chains saved theirruthlessness for their enemies was the only reason she was still with them.
That, and the fact that she probably wouldn’t be allowed to leave. She was unique, after all.
The muffled music from inside the Lucky Penny increased in volume. The front entrance had opened, releasing a heavy aroma of sweat and sex into the winter air.
Maya leaned against the wall as a man in a wrinkled suit staggered past the alley, but she shouldn’t have bothered hiding. His eyes were glued to his phone, not even watching where he placed his own feet.
