Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(13)

The red carpet continued, but the entertainment had changed. The room was smaller than the main floor upstairs, leading me to believe we weren’t seeing all of it. I would have looked around for a door or hallway, but the MMA-style ring in the center of the room captured my attention.

The crowd gathered around, shouting and cheering. The noise faded into the background as I realized what was taking place. Two wolves circled one another inside the cage. Lips peeled back in a deadly snarl, they lunged, meeting one another in the middle. The snap of jaws was audible over the crowd. The wolves went hard at one another, and the blood sprayed.

I was disgusted. Shaz and Jez wore matching expressions of shock and distaste. Arys watched with disinterest. I half expected him to feign a yawn and check his imaginary watch. This wasn’t a surprise to him.

“What the f**k is this?” I turned my angry glare on Sloane, letting her see the wolf behind my eyes. My beast was not happy to be here.

“It’s exactly what people come to this city for,” she replied coolly. “Not every high roller is content to sit in the casino and play cards. Some of them come here for a taste of something a bit wilder.”

“It’s vile,” Jez said, flashing cat eyes at Sloane.

“It’s business.” Sloane’s flippant retort incited my wolf’s rage.

Shaz was quiet, but the wolf eyes he was sporting indicated how he really felt. It was impossible not to react while two werewolves were tearing each other apart for the entertainment of humans and vampires. It took all of the self-control I possessed to keep from lashing out. Acting rashly would land my ass inside that ring; I was sure of it. So I fought back the surge of power that threated to burst forth.

“Is this supposed to impress us?” Arys asked, looking bored. “So you’ve replaced the screaming blood ring victims with wolves. Why so smug?”

Sloane grew defensive. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You know how I felt about the blood ring Harley was running here. It was sick. You thought so too. When Harley died, Jenner put a stop to that. This is a business, and we need to turn a profit.”

“I see. So you’re proud of yourself for having a hand in that,” Arys observed, his tone bitter. “But we both know Jenner will do anything for the right piece of pu**y.”

The tension between them was thick. Sloane held her head high and marched across the room, expecting us to follow. Arys chuckled, happy with himself for getting under her skin.

“What the hell was that about?” I grabbed his arm, forcing him to meet my eyes. “I want to walk out of here alive, Arys.”

“No worries, my love. Nobody here is stupid enough to lay a hand on you.” With an arm around my shoulders, he guided me along, down the hall where Sloane had disappeared.

“Seriously?” Jez piped up. “Do we really want to keep following this crazy bitch?”

I sure as hell didn’t. I was ready to leave without ever seeing another inch of this place. Instead, we followed the vampire.

She was waiting for us at a door that opened into a small theatre. “Jenner will be performing in just a few minutes. Please, Arys, don’t make an ass of yourself.”

“Can’t make any promises,” he said.

Row upon row of ascending seats filled the theatre. She led us to the front row, issued a final warning to Arys and left. Many of the seats were already full. People sat talking quietly among themselves, waiting for the show to start.

Front and center was a well-lit stage. It was currently empty. The sounds of the angry wolf fight next door were gone. It had to be soundproofed down here. That did nothing to ease my growing apprehension.

Arys took the aisle seat. I sat next to him with Jez on my other side and Shaz next to her. Two waitresses made their way through the aisles, passing out drinks. To the mortals they handed out glasses of white wine. Arys, a few others and I received a glass of scarlet liquid that could only be one thing.

I tried to pass my glass back, but Arys stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Keep it. You might wish later that you had.”

“What is going on here?” I demanded, unable to resist the urge to smell the contents of the wine glass. Human blood, fresh from the vein.

“I don’t know. I guess we’re about to see a show.” Arys sat back, relaxed and waiting. Intrigue shone in his dark-blue eyes.

Shaz sat stiffly, surveying our surroundings. His energy was scattered. I could feel the frustration of his wolf. “If this little show involves werewolves, I’m taking Alexa and getting the f**k out of here.” He gripped his wine so tight I expected the glass to shatter. “After what happened with Claire and Maxwell, I don’t feel so great about this. The wolf fight next door doesn’t help.”

Claire and Maxwell were the Vegas vamps who had come to Edmonton for Shaz and me after we had killed Harley together. The way they saw it, we were their ticket to taking over Harley’s position of power in Vegas. They figured that, by handing over Harley’s killers, the rest of his vampires would reward them for their efforts. Now they were dead.

“Stay calm, pup. I can assure you, the vampires here are not missing Harley.” Arys tipped his glass up and sipped the crimson contents. His tongue darted out to capture a drop from his bottom lip, and I found myself longing to lick the scarlet smear.

“Maybe not, but if they know his killers are here, that may change. If all hell breaks loose, it’s all on you.” Shaz shot Arys a look that was all wolf, pure predator. Then he offered his wine to Jez, refusing to take even a sip. She shrugged, downed the rest of hers and accepted.