Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(42)

Dayne and Owen had stopped near the doorway, and I motioned them forward. The vampires appraised the wolves, and the air bristled with tension.

“Here’s the thing,” I tried again. “I know most of you come here for a reason, to keep the kill count down as all good little vampires should. However, someone killed a Doghead wolf, and now a life must be traded for a life. This is your chance to make sure you’re not the one who pays the price for someone else’s mistake. So, think fast about what you want to do here.”

Dayne came to a stop beside me. Arms crossed over his wide chest, he glowered at each vampire present. His seething hatred was red hot on my skin though we didn’t touch. Owen stood close enough to protect his Alpha. I was very aware of Kale and Jez abandoning their booth across the room to drift closer.

“I want no trouble with the vampires,” Dayne thundered. “But if a war is what you want, then a war is what you’ll get.”

I shot him a look, which he ignored. All the damn war talk wasn’t going to help. His wolf was close, showing in his eyes. It caused my skin to prickle and made my wolf push for release.

“My alliance with Doghead will be respected by each and every one of you. I’ll destroy anyone who threatens it.” I wasn’t being unfair. In fact, as horrible as they all wanted me to be, I’d never really given them a reason to believe that.

People believed what they want to believe. So it came as no surprise when one mouthy vampire stepped forward.

“You can’t just start throwing your power around, punishing all of us because of one. We don’t operate as a group, and we sure as f*ck don’t take the fall for each other.” Dark eyes, filled with vehemence, met mine. A smattering of dark hair on his jaw gave him a tough look that his short, blond hair contradicted.

No vampire could be judged on looks alone, so I gave him a metaphysical appraisal and found him to be stronger than he appeared. But he wasn’t stronger than me. Unfortunately for him, he’d just sealed his fate. I was done with vampire bullshit, and he was going to help me make that clear.

Dayne’s watchful wolf stare bore into me as he waited to see how I’d react. Everyone else was watching as closely, but I cared about his opinion.

“Is that right? So I guess that means you’d like to tell me who did it.” I already knew how this would go down. This guy wasn’t going to tell me shit.

“I don’t know who did it,” the vamp said, a haughty glare on his face. “And I don’t really care. Even if I did, I probably wouldn’t tell the hybrid queen nobody wants. This isn’t a dictatorship.”

My face grew hot with anger. My fists clenched. “It doesn’t have to be. That’s not what I’m trying to do here. I’ve given you all more than enough chances to play nice. I know that’s not really in our nature as blood hungry killers, but if we don’t all learn to get along a little, I promise I’ll dictator the f*ck out of this city.”

The strained silence that followed brought a smile to my face. I really did want to do this the nice way, but if they wouldn’t meet me halfway, then I was left with no choice but to throw down and show them how stupid they were to f*ck with me. I’d spent many of my mortal years being kicked around by others. It had taken me years to come to a place of being able to do some serious kicking myself. I was aware that they were forcing me to be the person they assumed me to be. But I was done with asking nicely.

Kale slipped in close to stand just behind me, showing himself as the second in command that he claimed to be. Jez lurked against the far wall, watching our backs from a distance that allowed her a full view of the building.

The blond vamp stared hard at me, taking note of Kale at my back and the two werewolves beside me. Nobody came to his side, but neither did they show me any acceptance. Not a single one of them said a word.

Finally I swung my gaze to Dayne and our wolves shared a conversation without need of words. I offered him the vampire, and with a slight tilt of his head, he indicated that he wanted me to do the dirty work. Fine with me.

It was tempting to use the Dragon Claw in a show of brutality. However, I felt it was best to show them the power that flowed from me always like a continuous breeze. No mortal limitations here. Not anymore.

A slight smile made my lips twitch. “You had your chance to play nice. Now you’ll just have to serve as an example to the rest.”

All it took was a raised hand to direct the force. In my head I felt the heart of every vampire in the room like a throbbing pulse. I was certain I could’ve killed every one of them with little effort. Narrowing my focus, I sought out the heart inside the defiant vampire and crushed it with a mere thought.

My hair moved in an invisible wind that flowed out from me, over the many bystanders, to ruffle their hair and clothing as well. It swelled inside me, leaving me feeling elated.

The vibe blasting forth from me found his heart and boom, he was dead. His heart exploded inside his chest with enough force to blow his body into several pieces. A scream rang out from several of the humans present. His remains dissolved into dust and ash. It had taken such little effort that I found myself grinning. So there was an upside to this whole vampire thing after all.

I turned to Dayne with a shrug. “Are we cool now?”

He sucked away on that stupid cigar, his wolf staring out at me with a fierce intensity. “Yeah. We’re cool. For now. If it happens again, Alexa, I start killing vampires. Shit will escalate. You’ll be forced to pick a side. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that you probably want to try to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”