Page 21 of 12 Months of Mayhem

Feeling helpless, I watched as a handful of the club members, including my uncle, left with Séamus. Though I knew I should go to my mom and my son, my feet were frozen to the floor.

“You look like you could use this,” I heard a woman say before a glass was held in front of my face. I turned and found myself face to face with a stunningly beautiful woman with sleek golden-red hair. Her green eyes were bright and kind.

“Who are you?” I asked. I didn’t remember seeing her before, and I certainly didn’t hear her approach.

“Name’s Davina. I’m somewhat of the bartender around here,” she gave me a half grin and wiggled the glass in front of me again.

“Hell, I’ve already guzzled one. What’s one more?” I muttered before throwing back the golden liquid.

Coughing, I handed the glass back to her since she reached for it. She chuckled. “So what did you think of ol’ Séamus?”

“The shadow daddy?” I replied with a crooked grin. It seemed the two large shots of whiskey had hit my empty stomach hard.

“Shadow daddy? Oh, that’s priceless. I can’t wait to call him that,” she said before busting out laughing.

“Do you know anything about a succubus?” I asked her, unsure if it was the right thing to do, but with the courage of a bit of alcohol, I did it anyway.

She curled her lips. “Yeah, I know a little. Nasty little bitches. They stay young by fucking the life out of men. It gives them a burst of power that’s almost like taking a drug for a human.”

“A human… not us humans? So, umm, what are you?” I whispered as I shivered.

As she stared at me, she rubbed the tip of her tongue over one of her canine teeth as if she was debating whether or not to tell me.

In the background, a few of the club members were playing pool in the corner, and the crack of the balls as they broke startled me. Trying to play it off, I laughed. “Never mind, you don’t need to tell me.”

“Actually, with you being Killswitch’s niece, I don’t mind you knowing,” she replied with a shrug as she brushed the long strands of her golden-red hair over her shoulder. Then she leaned in, and her canines elongated, and she snapped her teeth at me playfully.

My eyes popped wide in surprise.

It was then that it dawned on me that her canines were incredibly sharp. How had I not noticed that before? Without thinking about what I was doing, I pressed my hands over my neck.

She chuckled. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’re safe. I’ve already eaten this week.”

“This week?” I squeaked. “Don’t you have to, um, eat every day?”

Her pretty green eyes rolled. “Your uncle really needs to educate you.”

“I’ll say,” I muttered. “I should probably go check on my mom and my son.”

“They’re both sleeping. I could hear their breathing when I went by the room,” she told me, causing me to blink rapidly. She motioned to the empty bar along the back wall. “It’s not like I have anything else to do at the moment.”

“Um, okay.” If I was honest, in that moment, I was thankful for the distraction she’d provided.

This would go down as the strangest day of my life.

Either that, or I would wake up.

Chapter Ten

Dalton

“Afterglow” - Smash Into Pieces

I was pretty sure that Annette had made me forget each day I was there. Evidently, with the “day of reckoning” upon me, she wasn’t worried about what I remembered. She’d left last night after feeding me and chaining me back to the bed, telling me she didn’t trust herself in the same bed with me.

Thank fuck for small favors.

Though I knew she was in the house because I’d never heard a car leave last night.

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