Page 3 of Thirst
I met his eyes. Brien wasn’t just my alpha, he was my friend, and he was in danger, too. But I knew he didn’t give a rat’s ass about that, so I went for his weak spot. “You want them to come for Twilight again? Or Eden and the baby?”
“You know I don’t. It’s the only reason I’m allowing this.” Brien dragged a hand over his wheat-colored hair. “Check in every few days, understand? Or I’m coming after you myself. I won’t lose you over this.”
“Chill, would you? I can handle myself. I’ve saved your skin a time or two, haven’t I?”
Didn’t he know my life didn’t matter? The only people I cared about were in this room, and I’d gladly take a stake to the heart for any one of them.
Brien just shook his head and stepped back into the birthing suite. I took a last look at Talon. The guy’s happiness was almost indecent, the kind of joy that didn’t leave room for anything else.
He’s still your best friend. Your blood brother.
Nothing could erase that. But things had changed, and we both knew it. Eden and the baby were his whole world now. They came first. They should.
And I was okay with that.
Or I would be. Eventually.
What I couldn’t stomach—what had me wanting to chew nails, in fact—was a rival enforcer kidnapping a pregnant Eden to strike at the syndicate. She’d nearly died, Talon’s spawn along with her. As it was, we’d almost lost them both to blood slavery.
I headed for my quarters, jaw tight. Time to end this. Nazaire had been behind Eden’s kidnapping, and we all knew it. The same Nazaire who’d tried to buy Twilight at an illegal blood-slave auction.
The man was a fucking thorn in our side. Every time trouble crawled out of the shadows in the past few years, the Quebec City Syndicate enforcer was either lurking nearby or pulling strings from a distance.
But going after another syndicate’s women? That was gutter-level even for him.
Still, without proof, we couldn’t take him out. Not unless we wanted a blood feud with the QCS.
So I intended to get that proof.
2
Nyx
A lead-filled balloon sloshed around in my insides.
My first major show—and it was in Paris.
I pressed my hands to my stomach, eyeing myself in the hotel suite’s floor-to-ceiling mirror. My eyes were wide and uncertain, my mouth pulled into a worried line.
“What were you thinking?” I asked myself.
The elite of the European vampire syndicates would be in the gallery tonight. Sure, I’d sold a dozen paintings in the past couple of years, but all had been handled privately through my gallery rep.
Tonight was different. This was Paris, the beating heart of the vampire art world—and it was judgment night for the mysterious artist who’d exploded onto the scene a few years ago. The one who never appeared in public and signed her work, “The Haunt.” Not even my gallery rep knew the name I was born with.
The lead-filled balloon expanded. Pressed against my lungs.
I didn’t have to go to the opening. No one knew I was the artist. I could stay tucked inside this candy box of a hotel, sipping blood-champagne and eating handmade chocolates and calling it self-care. Hiding somewhere pretty enough that I could pretend it wasn’t hiding.
But that would mean my father was right. The man who had no clue I was The Haunt, yet never missed a chance to call me weak—a mistake, a blemish on his precious bloodline. A dhampir, my human half supposedly dragging me below even the lowest vampire in his syndicate.
That didn’t stop him from hauling me out when convenient. Even broken tools can be useful if you don’t care how they crack.
I pushed the thought from my mind and reached for the black velvet choker on my dresser. Its metal studs caught the light like secrets. Cheap, yes—but it meant more to me than all my diamonds and rubies and emeralds combined.
I rubbed the velvet between my fingers. When a vampire wrapped jewelry around your throat, it wasn’t just decoration, it was a claim. A declaration that you were his. That you were wanted… special.
Luna, I hoped he’d be at the show. It had been so long since I’d felt his mouth against my skin, heard that cool voice saying my name like it tasted good.
