Page 15 of Caution

Most of them.

It took a moment to notice it, but some of them…weren’tmoving, actually.

They were perfectly still, and staring.

At… me.

There were those familiar eyes again.

Red-rimmed, set into pale faces.

No one else seemed to notice them, but onceIdid, they were all I could see.

They were locked onto me like I was some sort of satellite; they couldn’t escape my gravitational pull. Internally, I sought the connection I’d felt a moment ago with Cassius.

I… couldn’t find it.

What was it he’d said to me before we walked in here?

Welcome to your awakening?

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

Had he left me here to fend for myself?

Should I run?

Shit.

If I ran, tried to escape from here, that would just put me back outside in the dark, and Istilldidn’t know where I was. I’d rather take my chances inside among the crowd, where at least I had the advantage of—

“Excuse me…”

I reflexively startled over the sound of a voice to my left and immediately backed away.

“Shit, my bad, beautiful, didn’t mean to cause any alarm,” the owner of the voice added, practically yelling to be heard over the pounding music.

“I’m not here alone,” I informed, trying to get ahead of whatever pickup line he might be about to throw my way. He was handsome, sure, smooth pecan skin, fresh haircut, all the usual stuff, but it was a really,reallybad time.

The worst, as a matter of fact.

“It’s not uncommon to walk in on one arm,” he replied, sidling closer to me. “And leave on another. So what would it take?”

“Excuse me?”

“What would it take,” he repeated. “Formeto be the one to give you what you came for?”

I frowned. “You don’t know me; how would you know why I’m here?”

He smirked, then leaned in to speak against my ear. “There’s onlyonereason humans come here.”

Humans.

I processed that choice of word at the same time I felt the brush of something sharp against my neck. Pushing away from him, I caught the glowing red of his irises, the beautifully polished white of spiked fangs protruding past his bottom lip.

Neither had been there the moment before.

“Ahhh!” I screamed, glancing helplessly around me for assistance as the man—monster—stalked toward me.

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