The ache in his stomach became fatigue in his bones. He had to drop the blade and let it become nothing more than a patch of gray on the mat once more.
The light in the room was brightening. The shadows were receding. A perpetual snarl was on Roger’s lip, and he drew a ragged breath when he forced his gaze to Nell.
When she rushed him, he rolled onto the mat and grabbed the steel knife. Lightning speed was exhilarating, and he found a pace faster than before. He swung, and Nell moved out of range with less than an inch to spare. She was toying with him.
He gave in to the rage. He was a fighter. Had been since he’d had mortal breath in his lungs over three hundred years ago. He fucked and he fought, and he was damn good at both. His body knew the movements, knew to counter, knew to strike.The magic dulled any pain he would’ve felt from the injuries she inflicted in return.
The cold burn and deep ache grew. He couldn’t keep it up.
Snarling and growling, he kept going. Shedoubtedhim. He had played by her rules, and now she believed the worst of him and attacked. He would show her he wasn’t a pawn. He was strong. He wasRoger, the vampire pirate, the gentleman thief, the goddamn terror of the night.
Nell flipped him onto the mat and then pounced on him. Before he could sit up, she slammed her blade through his shoulder and pinned him to the mat. When he dropped his knife to grab its hilt, she took that one, shoved down his free shoulder, and nailed him to the mat with it.
“Enough!” Nell declared.
“You started it!” Roger spat.
“You can hardly blame me! We’ve been training for two months, and you’ve never shown me a quarter of what you’ve just done.” Nell leaned back, though she continued straddling his hips. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
Roger swallowed. Saliva was an odd sensation, something that happened when his hunger was rising. The swift change in tempo between them was disorienting. Nell’s anger seemed to have evaporated, but he didn’t believe it was entirely gone. Seamus hid his for weeks at a time when it suited him.
“Neither did I,” he said, and his voice was rougher and colder. Hollow.
“Good that you finally discovered your power,” Nell said. She pulled the knives from his shoulders and let his clatter to the floor beside him. She kept hers in her hand as she stood. The fight had taken a toll on her. Her dark skin had a pallor he’d never seen in her, and her eyes remained brighter red. Spots of blood, hers and his, dotted her suit, and there were rips and tears from Roger’s blade and the need to move.
He’d driven her to the defense, and though he was starving, he’d nearlywon. Slowly, he grabbed his knife and stood.
“Where does this leave us?” Roger asked.
“I have yet to decide,” Nell replied as she made her way toward the door. The frost in the room was melting, causing little pools of water everywhere. “At least you are more than a pretty face, Roger. I was beginning to worry you weren’t.”
Somehow, being honest had made Nell lose her trust in him.There is no winning against an elder vampire. Roger started to run his hand through his hair but realized he had tied it back. He undid the ponytail and let his black hair flow down around his shoulders.
The dull ache of hunger persisted. He’d need more blood to recover the strength he used. Which would cost more money, which could be something he’d need to be more careful with.How many more ways can I be fucked?
CHAPTER 4
Having coffee at Sugar Moon wasn’t the same since Blake went back to Chicago. Her replacement always had his friends at the counter that Zack used to take over with his research. Though coffee was life and the Wi-Fi was reliable, the black-and-white-tiled coffee shop just didn’t hold the same cozy feeling it’d once had.
Plus, as the locals became more familiar with him, the greater his presence was. When he first came to Taliville, he could set up in the coffee shop and write down every scrap of rumor he heard floating past him, and no one noticed what he was doing. Anymore, people avoided him. Some people scowled at him, though that was rare.
Others stared and whispered. Despite their efforts, Zack still caught a word here and there. Visitor. Hunter. One ofthosepets. They talked about him like he was something between a trophy and a plaything. Taliville was a place where the supernaturals were an open secret, and people with collars or some symbol of belonging to a vampire were common.
In Chicago, there would be people who wouldn’t know what Zack’s collar meant. They’d assume he was being edgy or it wasa sex thing. Whenever he was on a bus or train, people would stare.
Like you’re going to take the bus. Everything you do has to be “in style.”Zack closed the lid of his laptop. He’d only had it for a month, and it was far more expensive than what his parents could have bought him. Between it, the leather messenger bag, the collar on his throat, and the phone in his pocket, he was clearly kept. And that was before his clothes, hair, and general appearance.
He’d always been the kid in the back of the classroom with all the answers, the cousin left out of the games, the brother laughed at, and the son left behind. Now he had to be the center of attention—physicallyanddigitally.
He opened his social media apps on his phone. Supernaturals had two for themselves that required invites: the Fang app and Night Deets. Posting on other platforms worked, but Zack had decided to focus on gaining views in these two places.
Making videos for the Fang app was annoying, but Zack was seeing some views on his newest ones. He wasn’t sure he could call it a success, though. Zack was sitting at … he double-checked for the second time that morning. Six hundred and twenty-six followers.Not nothing, I guess. But is it great for the “head pet” of a GLC captain?
Vincent Talmadge, Seamus’s head pet, had a 100k following, which was huge on the app. He’d posted a new video, and Zack couldn’tnotclick on it. The pursuit of knowledge demanded he know what Vincent was doing.And maybe if I watch enough of them, I can figure out how he’s made this a success.
Vincent was a young pasty white guy. He couldn’t have been any older than Zack, but his videos went back three years, all of them as Seamus’s pet. Eyeliner brought out his blue eyes and makeup or a filter made his features flawlessly smooth. In thisparticular vid, he was primping for the camera and prattling on about his ideas for his Halloween costume to dress as Cupid. The background of his shots was hard to follow, but he looked like he was in Seamus’s mansion.
Too bad his videos are too short to start making a map of the place.Zack sipped his coffee. He took out a pen and pad of paper and restarted the video. Any of what Vincent said might have a detail he could pick apart later. He made a quick transcription on his next watch.
