Page 2 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
A gasp escaped my throat as it spread through me, igniting my nerves with a delicious hum that went all the way down to my toes.
“Not possible,” the monolith of a man gasped. His other hand gripped my chin and forced me to look at him.
As our eyes connected again and I felt something snap into place. It was like a revelation.
A goddamn epiphany.
Mate.
But that was fucking impossible. I was a human. And he was... what? I had no clue.
My body instantly became alive beneath his touch, and I suddenly craved everything he could give me. But I couldn’t give in. I had a plan and I needed that Diadem.
“I’m sorry.”
His brow descended in confusion before his eyes widened in realisation.
My hand whipped out and I grabbed the delicate crown but whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t what happened.
Pain coursed through my body as soon as my fingers touched it. My vision blurred as a thousand knives carved the flesh from my bones. As the world faded to black, a roar of anguish and pain serenaded me on my way to death. My heart stuttered and broke for the man I’d only just met. I didn’t even know his name.
My last thought as I faded was wondering if it had all been worth it. Now, I guess I’d never know.
I was a fucking idiot.
Chapter One
Roux
Gettingintoaheatedargument wasn’t how I planned on spending my Saturday night, but when a rogue vamp was being a jackass to another woman, what’s a girl to do?
I just wanted to enjoy my night at the hottest club in town. The music was thudding up through the floor from the basement below and I’d just been getting my first drink when I spotted this asshole pawing at a human woman. This was a vampire bar and a hotspot for humans who liked to make direct blood donations. It wasn’t against the law – unless the vampire got a little too excited and drained the human – but it wasn’t exactly normal, even by today’s standards. Most vampires got their blood from the blood bank, unless you were filthy rich and could employ a human to see to your needs, but there was so much paperwork and red tape involved in keeping your own human that not many vampires did that. Hence why this club was always teeming with humans and vampires.
I turned to the vampire who’d thrown a derogatory slur at me. A weaselly looking man with greasy hair and pointy facial features.
“Why did you have to go and ruin my night? All I wanted to do was have a few drinks, make a few friends, maybe get lucky, and you had to spoil it by hitting on a woman who clearly wasn’t interested in you.”
Said woman was still cowering in the booth behind the vampire. I hated that because this was a vampire territory, they thought they could just take what they wanted. No meant no in any damn territory.
“Who do you think you are?” the vampire whined. God, he even sounded like a weasel.
“I’m one step away from being your worst nightmare, pal.”
He scoffed. Yeah, I wasn’t much to look at right now, being only five foot three with bright red hair, pale skin that made me look like a porcelain doll and dressed in the skimpiest outfit I owned – this was my night off after all – but that smug looking smile of his was going to drop if he didn’t piss off.
“You do know you’re in a vampire bar?” He stepped closer, his cocksure attitude plastered across his face.
“I do actually, and you’re currently giving them a bad name.” Not all vampires were assholes. “Look, if you apologise to the lady and leave now, I’ll give your free pass for calling me an interfering whore. I mean, what is this, the nineteenth century? If you don’t apologise, well, you probably don’t want to find out what I’ll do to you.”
These vamps could tell I was a supernatural, they wouldn’t know what type, because my kind were supposed to stay under the radar. If I were a human, he’d probably have tried to glamour me and move on.
Mikey, the bartender, was trying to catch my eye. Probably wanting to beg me not to make a mess. Again. I didn’t get a night off very often, but somehow, I always managed to make them memorable.
“What you gonna do, bitch?” The weaselly vamp stepped closer again and slammed his hand on the bar next to me. The wood cracked beneath his fingers, and I heard Mikey mutter a few curse words.
My patience started to wear thin. “I’m the bitch that’s going to drag your unconscious ass to your king if you don’t do what I ask.”
The vamp had the audacity to laugh in my face. “Really?”
