Zackery, what are you doing?Seamus asked mentally.
You want to take away what I love? I can ruin you, too. Zack sipped his wine.
Ruining me ruins you, Seamus said.
Hey, I’m a hunter turned vampire whose master just smashed his boyfriend’s reputation into rubble. Fucking bring on the drama.
Seamus was drawing closer.I am the one who should not be tested.
Says who?Zack finished off his wine and set the glass down. No one had picked up the conversation while Seamus was trying to rip him a new one in his head. “You know, I’ve got to ask. I spent a couple months as a mortal pet because that was the only way my boyfriends could bring me out in ‘polite society,’ but is that really the common practice in other covens? Should I be on the lookout for the urge to play out my violent desires on the unwilling? I mean, I haven’t managed to keep myself from killing my prey yet. Everybody keeps telling me not to feel guilty about that. Top of the food chain, apex predator bullshit. Oh, sorry, swearing’s ‘unbecoming.’”
Seamus was standing in the archway to the room, and a cold emanated from him.
“Oops, looks like I’ve pissed off daddy,” Zack said as he grabbed another wineglass. He stood and raised his glass in a toast. “If he should happen to ritualistically murder me and take back the gift of immortality he’s given me, it’s been real.”
Draining his glass again, he sought out the desires of the others in the room. The other vampires had better mental defenses. However, the mortals didn’t. A buzz of wanting to talk came from most of them.
Checkmate, motherfucker, Zack thought on his way out of the room.
Seamus grabbed Zack by the lapel and dragged him along the hallway, clearly seeking some sort of privacy. Zack waved to as many people as he could on his trek, including Katie and Anton.
With a snarl, Seamus shoved Zack into a bathroom and locked the door. He growled, “What the hell do you think you were doing?”
“Sorry, was all of that stuff supposed to be a secret?” Zack asked sarcastically. “Like maybe you shouldn’t have blabbed that you knew Nell wants me dead?”
“You ran your mouth because you’re upset that I hurt Takashi’s feelings?” Seamus scoffed. “I thought you were smarter than that.”
“Don’t fucking downplay what you did,” Zack snapped. “You intentionally ruined his fucking life, and you threatened him for something out of his control.”
“Out of—he has been seducing Anton,” Seamus replied hotly.
“Maybe if you weren’t a fucking tyrant, Anton wouldn’t be falling for someone who’s been a little bit nice to him,” Zack returned.
Seamus’s fist struck like a sledgehammer wielded by a world heavyweight champion. The blow cracked Zack’s jaw. The pain was sharp. Brief.
And expected. Zack pulled his dagger. Seamus was already in movement for another strike, but Zack slipped past his fist. He shoved Seamus up against the wall and drove his dagger toward his heart. All his excuses for not killing Seamus fell away. He only needed one reason to follow through with it.
To save his lovers.
The runes of his dagger glowed with bright red light. The tip pierced Seamus’s chest.
Then Zack stopped. With a grunt, he tried to move his arm, but he was stuck. Words died in his throat because he couldn’t move his jaw either. His whole body was frozen.What the fuck?
“You are fast,” Seamus said smoothly. He had a laugh in the back of his throat as he spoke. Off to the side, he gestured.
Zack’s head snapped up so that his gaze was on Seamus.
The whites of Seamus’s eyes had been consumed by the black voids, and his pupils were maroon. Seamus’s smile had three sets of fangs, all long, and his nails had become claws. His skin stretched across his bones, making him gaunt rather than healthy-looking. The smell that rolled off him was acrid and overpowered the earthy notes of his grave scent.
“You almost had me, son. Almost.” Seamus chuckled. He brushed hair back from Zack’s forehead. “I wonder if you were intentionally dismissing the idea of killing me just so you could have this opportunity.”
Why can’t I move?Zack screamed in his mind.
“Because my blood, my power, runs through your veins. I must admit, I wasn’t certain this trick would work. You have to absorb quite a bit for me to be able to pull this off. Or am I lying about that?” Seamus patted Zack’s cheek. “Take a step back, would you, dear boy?”
Against his will, Zack did.
Seamus fussed over his own shirt, then tched as he examined the blood drops on Zack’s. “Crying? On such a joyous night? Why?”
