Authors: Winter Pennington
The thing was it didn't always work, especially not close to the full moon. The moon calls to the beast, and a werewolf has no choice but to shift. A werewolf can't stop it. Trust me, I spent months trying.
Lenorre stood and offered me a hand. I stood without taking it, pulling the fishnet T-shirt down over my hips. Her eyes flicked to the pentacle scar above my sternum, and then to my face. I stared at the hand she continued to offer.
The corner of her mouth twitched. "I promise you, little wolf, that I will not bite. I am only offering my aid."
"Oh, well," I said sarcastically, "since you promised."
She frowned. "You do not believe me?" Her shoulders rose in a slow shrug and suddenly my ears were ringing with the sound of the music blaring. My eyes widened in surprise as I felt the wolf's response, her furred body pushing against my shields.
I didn't take Lenorre's hand-I snatched it. I didn't care if it made me appear weak. The moment her cool skin touched mine, it was like she'd blocked out the entire world, so that we stood in a bubble of energy containing only the two of us.
"You may not be as prideful as I thought," she whispered and made to step closer to me.
I backed up a step, keeping her hand in mine, but putting some distance between us. "Don't test your luck," I said in a low voice.
The look in her eyes was one of amusement, not anger. "As you wish," she said. "Come, so we may talk."
She made to walk toward a large staircase along the southern wall of the club and I dug my heels in, unmoving.
Lenorre's head tilted curiously to the side and I watched as she thought about it, her grip tightening like hardened steel.
"I don't like commands," I said. "You may be a countess, but I'm not your bitch."
She went very, very still.
I felt her look go through me like a knife, and forced myself not to flinch. Why did I get the feeling that pissing her off shortened my life expectancy?
And then her look turned quizzical. She gave a slight nod, amethyst jewels glistening like purple tears in her raven hair. "Very well." She moved, bringing the train of her long dress to drape at the crook of her arm. "Would it help if I said please?"
"Yes."
Slowly, her grip loosened.
I was waiting for her to say please when Rupert coughed. We both looked at him.
"I am afraid," she said, "that this is a private conversation." She turned her surreal eyes to me.
"You should have brought another wolf with you before coming into a club, Kassandra." She dropped her voice, and the music, in our little energy bubble, sounded like it was underwater. I could hear her words clearly, but I sensed that others could not. "Is it the first time you've tried your hand at shielding from this much?"
I thought about it and shook my head. "I don't know," I answered. "I've had to shield pretty strongly before."
"As strongly as this?" she asked. "You are surrounded by other preternatural beings and humans.
You have dealt with both at the same time?" She didn't look like she believed me. Put that way, no, I hadn't. I'd never been around so many vampires, humans, and a few werewolves in one enclosed space like this.
"Now you know," she said. "Were you part of a pack, then the wolves would have come to your aid." She stepped into my personal space. "As you are not. . . " She laughed at the look on my face. "Oh, Kassandra, I have many spies in this city. I know you do not belong to a pack. Why do you think I am here, helping you?" She gave a coy smile. "I do not need the bad publicity."
"I'm glad to know you care."
She frowned. A second later she was against me. Her arm slipped around my waist as she pulled me to her. I put a hand on her shoulder, feeling the line of her like cool silk. I was suddenly very aware of the fact that only fishnet and bra were guarding my skin.
"You taste of power." She was tall enough, probably almost six feet, that she had to bend at the waist to whisper in my ear. Her breath tickled those tiny hairs, causing goose bumps to break out across my skin. "You have honed some of that power, Kassandra, but tonight, tonight you are drowning and your hold on the wolf within has slipped." She lifted our clasped hands between us, drawing back and gazing at me with intensity. "I care very much what would happen if your hold was to slip entirely."
I swallowed, breathing carefully to slow my erratic pulse. "Fair enough."
"So I thought," she said, and this time when she led the way, I went with her.
I spared a glance at Rupert and held up a hand.
I mouthed, "Wait."
He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head like he couldn't believe I was actually asking him to wait while I went off with a vampire.
Lenorre led the way up a curling staircase, past rows of low tables and velvet couches, to a door in a darkened corner of the room. She held the door open and I went through.
I felt her withdraw her power as her fingers uncurled from my own. I took a deep steadying breath as she shut the door, drowning out the obnoxious music. The walls were soundproof, how nice. I took a deep breath and drew in her scent. Beyond that airy scent, she smelled of cinnamon and cloves. It made my head reel, but it didn't call to the beast.
The wolf didn't consider vampires to be a food source. Good to know.
I had a moment to give thanks to the lycanthropy that allowed me to see in the dark. The room was dark and empty. Everything looked like a black-and-white movie. Against the far wall was a long black couch facing a white leather love seat. The carpet was soft beneath my boots. I moved to watch as Lenorre plucked a box of matches from a table and began lighting the candles that lined the room's perimeter, bringing the color gradually back to my vision.
An opera cloak the color of dark plums graced her shoulders, falling down her back and bringing out the gray stitching in her corset. The corset was tight to her body and had enough lift to offer a demure amount of décolletage. She unbent her arm and let the train of her dress slither to the floor in a fall of silk.
Her eyes outlined in dark eyeliner were steel gray in the candlelight.
She sat on the couch, crossing her long shapely legs. A line of fishnet and pale skin peeked through the slit in her skirt. I was beginning to feel a little trendy. She placed her elbow on her thigh, resting her chin upon a slightly curled fist.
"You said you were trailing Rosalin Walker?"
I nodded, sitting opposite to her on the love seat. Against the blackness of the couch, her pale skin seemed even more unnaturally pale. She sat like some terrible beauty wrapped within the folds of a darkly delicious dream.
"Do you know her?" I asked.
Lenorre's red lips curved into a mysterious smile. "Yes," she said. "Though I've yet to figure out why you're trailing the woman who hired you," she added. "Surely she did not hire you to spy on her?"
This time, I was the one who went very, very still.
"How do you know that Rosalin Walker hired me?" I had not told her that.
"Who do you suppose told her about you?" She smiled deviously.
For a moment, I just stared at her.
"You know," I said, "I get that you have eyes and ears all over the city. I get that you may have heard of me. I don't get how, but I get that you might've. What I don't comprehend is why you would send Rosalin? What I don't fathom," I said, cocking my head, "is how you know Rosalin."
"How long have you been a werewolf?" she asked, and it seemed to me she was changing the subject.
"Why?"
"I suppose," she said, flicking her wrist negligently, "it is not that important. What is important is that I knew you were not intimately involved with the preternatural community." She leaned back, watching me. "Rosalin's brother went missing and neither I nor any of my vampires could find him. How I know of you is of little importance. What matters is that I advised her to approach someone outside of pack, where her alpha would not find out. You are outside of pack.
You are not within the reach of the local alpha werewolf."
"What do the vampires have to do with the wolves?" I returned her unwavering stare. "What do you have to do with Rosalin Walker?"
She gave me an irritated look. "If you would listen, you would hear that I am getting to that."
"Fine, I'm all ears."
"Every city has a power structure," she said. "The more dominant community is the more powerful. The more powerful the leader, the more dominant the community. Most of the time,"
she said, "we, the vampires, are the ones that dominate the rest of the community. We keep the rest of the preternatural community," she hesitated for a moment before saying, "in check." The corner of her mouth curved. "If you hadn't noticed, we have quite the effect on lycanthropes."
I remembered the wash of cool energy, calming and soothing the beast.
"Oh, no." I smiled despite myself. "I hadn't noticed."
Lenorre laughed and my stomach did a little flip.
"So," I said, "the vampires pretty much govern the rest of the preternatural community? That's your connection to the wolves?"
She dipped her head. "Precisely."
"How do you know Rosalin?"
"She works for me."
"Here?" I asked.
Lenorre gave me a look. "Where else?"
The door opened and I had one of those speak-of-the-devil moments as a woman came in, talking in a familiar voice.
"I did what you suggested," she said. "I. . . "
I met Rosalin's honey brown eyes.
"Kassandra," she said.
"Rosalin."
"What are you doing here?"
I crossed my legs, turning to look at her. "What were you doing earlier tonight?" I asked.
"Stuff," she said.
"What kind of stuff?"
"You're not a member of the pack," she said, smiling.
"I know where you were," I said.
Rosalin swallowed loud enough that I could hear it.
I patted the couch. "Sit down," I said, "I think we need to have a little chat."
Rosalin sat at the far end of the couch, away from Lenorre, away from me.
"What do you want to know?" she asked. "You know there's stuff I can't tell you."
"I know," I said. "Lenorre told me that she suggested you hire me." I rubbed my temples. Rosalin hadn't committed the murder, but someone in her pack could have. There was a chance, a slight chance, that it was a wolf outside of the pack. Yet Rosalin and her little werewolf buddies had been in the woods near the scene of the crime.
"How close are you to your pack?"
"We're close," she said. "Why do you seem so worried?" She leaned forward and reached out toward me. I looked at her hand and she stopped. "This isn't just about my missing brother, is it?"
"No," I said, "not entirely. Does your pack hunt in those woods?"
"Yes," she admitted freely. "Why?"
"How many of them like to munch on humans?" I gave her a hard look.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "None," she said defensively. "My pack mates didn't eat my brother, if that's what you're implying." The edge of a growl rolled out of her mouth.
That growl did it.
I felt the wolf pushing against the wall of my shields. My lips parted and a trickling growl fell from them, echoing Rosalin's. It was a call, a challenge from one wolf to another. Rosalin's growl deepened. Mine held the edge of a warning.
"I'm second in command to the Blackthorne Pack," she said confidently. I felt the energy of her beast rise, as if I could reach out and touch it. Her energy called to my beast and it rose to the challenge in a rush of energy.
Rosalin moved forward, and that was all it took. I'm not a bully, but in that moment I understood what the wolf understood, what I'd carefully avoided for the past three years. One wolf is always more dominant than the other.
I was not about to let myself get dominated.
I looked the second in command in the eyes and felt my hair stirring in its ponytail, in the heat of energy that emitted from my body. Rosalin stood from the couch with a growl. The beast rose, standing at the surface, at the brink, ready to push forth. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten. I was not going to allow myself to shift just because I couldn't control my temper. I felt my nails lengthen, felt my canines sharpen against my lips. I curled my lips back and growled.
For a second, I felt her wolf hesitate and then she didn't. Her shoulder connected to my stomach, knocking the air from my lungs. My back hit the wall, knocking another lungful of air out of me.
I had a heartbeat to take the upper hand. I put my foot behind her heel, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pushed. It would've worked, but Rosalin grabbed a handful of my ponytail and pulled me down with her.
She snapped at my neck in a half sitting position and I thrust my elbow out, hitting her in the eye with its point. Her human nails clawed at my chest. I pushed out with my arms, trying to keep her away from my midsection. She grabbed my shoulders and pushed and I knew she wasn't using all of her strength. She could've knocked me across the room, but what she did was shoved me on my back. I brought my left knee up until it met her stomach. I'd succeeded in returning the favor of knocking the air out of her. She gasped and I thrust her off me, rolling on top of her. We were close in size, she and I. Rosalin was only a few inches taller.
I dug my claws into the back of her wrists and pinned them to the floor, giving one last warning growl to the wolf below.
Finally, Rosalin whimpered her submission. When she didn't move, I stood.
"Do that again," I said carefully, so that my words were clear, "and I can't promise you I won't rip your throat out, Rosalin."
She gave me a considering look. "You know I didn't mean it like that."
"Yeah, well," I said, closing my eyes and focusing on my breathing, replacing the bars with bricks, "I don't like being provoked, let alone fucking attacked."
"We had to establish where we stand with one another at some point," she said.
Lenorre spoke, and her voice crept like a chill throughout the room. "Rosalin, Kassandra can partially shift and you cannot. That should have told you where you stand with her." She stood from the couch, tossing the train of her dress over one arm and looking down at the other woman. "As should the fact that Kassandra bears the mark of an alpha, which you do not."