Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(22)

This was his family, his entire history. I had no choice but to understand, even though I didn’t. I had to put my faith in Arys’s uncanny ability to kick some serious ass at poker and hope for the best.

Jenner swept past us. “Don’t sully yourself with the humans upstairs. The den has all you need. Come, let me show you the changes I’ve made.” He fully expected that we’d follow.

I sighed and glanced at each of my companions in turn. Before I could proclaim my intent to tell Jenner to shove it, Arys dragged me along behind the conceited vamp.

‘He has no idea what we are going to do to him.’ Arys’s voice echoed through my mind. He was seething and doing his best to keep from unleashing his wrath.

‘We? Wanna fill me in?’ I didn’t like the sound of this.

We walked as a group through the theatre and back through the fight room. Roscoe said something about having someone set up a table before he disappeared, leaving us alone with Jenner. The two wolves in the cage were going hard. Their snaps and snarls were audible despite the cheers from the crowd. There was blood on the air.

I looked longingly at the elevator door as we passed, wishing we could leave. Wishing we had never come. I caught Shaz’s eye, worried about what was to come. He mustered a small smile and a half-hearted shrug. He was fearless.

‘I knew this would happen if we came to this city,’ Arys continued. ‘It had to eventually. It’s ours. Rightfully, it belongs to us.’

‘I don’t want it.’ I didn’t. Arys had to know that. He was letting his personal feelings affect his decisions. There was no way he really wanted to run a city like Vegas. ‘I’ll never live here, Arys. It’s not home.’

A muscle twitched in his jaw, but he didn’t answer. Sure, I was his other half, but that didn’t mean I was going to take over an entire city just to prove a point to Jenner. They were like brothers, sired by the same vampire, battling for supremacy. I didn’t want any part in that. Of course, if anything happened to Shaz, I would make Jenner sorry he’d ever met me.

We crossed through the fight room to a solid metal door on the other side. Jenner punched in a security code, and it opened. Immediately, a rush of erotic energy overwhelmed me. It hit me like a punch in the stomach.

“I think you’ll find the den to be more inviting than it used to be,” Jenner announced with a snake-like smile. “Perhaps your friends will want to play.”

He ushered us in and let the heavy door close. I took one look at the den of sin, and panic surged forth. I wasn’t surprised by what was going on, but I was horrified because I knew what it was going to do to Shaz and to me.

An orgy of vampires and humans was taking place. Naked bodies covered a large circle shaped bed in the center of the room. They spilled off onto the floor, too lost in their search for pleasure to care. Sloane was happily basking in their midst. Groans and cries from so many created an eerie melody. The scent of sweat and blood mingled with the sex-soaked energy, attacking every one of my weaknesses at once. I turned wide eyes to Shaz, fearful of what I might find.

His expression was pained. After becoming addicted to the rush of a vampire’s bite and the pull of power that goes with it, Shaz had faced the hard road of going clean. However, that didn’t mean the temptation was gone. The beat of his heart grew rapid. For the first time since we’d arrived at The Wicked Kiss, Shaz was having a strong reaction.

Yet again, so was I. All I saw when I looked at him was a man that I could f**k and bleed. The influence in the room was intense and demanding. I had already fought so hard to deny the bloodlust. Now it swallowed me whole.

“Alexa, don’t.” Arys grabbed my arm with both hands before I could lunge at Shaz.

My white wolf stood there staring at me with pupils so huge his eyes were black. He shook his head, and his breath came fast. He backed toward the door, unable to tear his gaze away from the obscene scenario.

Jez latched onto Shaz’s arm, holding him tight as she dragged him to the door. Jenner’s satisfied laughter followed them out.

“I apologize,” he chuckled. “I didn’t realize he was so easily affected.”

“He’s a former blood whore, Jenner. Have some class.” Even as Arys uttered the command, he too was falling under the hypnotic spell. As his pupils dilated, stimulated by many hungers, his eyes darkened. His arms tightened possessively around me.

Jenner ignored Arys, choosing instead to join Sloane in the mass of bodies. He buried his face in her cle**age and reached beneath her skirt. In moments, they had a naked woman on the bed between them. She was terrible at staying mad, though I had let my anger melt away at the touch of a vampire lover too.

I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t look away. The den itself wasn’t all that large. A dozen or more people engaged in bloodletting and orgasms. It was a feast of body and power, one that would give even the strongest vampire a high that would last for hours, maybe even days.

“I can’t…” My head spun as I fought the bloodlust. No use. The fight drained from me.

“It’s ok. I’m right here.” With his lips pressed to my ear, Arys slid a hand up my bare arm to touch the choker hiding my throat. He held me close, murmuring words that were supposed to calm me but only stoked the fire burning between us.

“I’m not participating in this.” I had enough sanity left to state my refusal.