Shift Happens(18)

John’s chest rumbled. One look from Wick stopped his growling. The Vampire wiped his hands off, as if touching the doorknob had soiled him. He looked around the room with obvious distaste and sneered at John. “It appears you still need to house train some of your pack.”

I frowned. The Vampire stole lines from my insult book, though it didn’t sound so witty coming from him.

The need to defend the Weres concerned me more. They’re not pack.

Eyeing the Vampire, I decided he wasn’t Lucien, but probably high up in the horde hierarchy. He was also one of the biggest Asian men I’d ever seen. Not sumo wrestler big, either. His muscles strained under his well-tailored suit. Black hair cut short and chiseled features made him more handsome than he deserved.

The Vampire moved to stand in front of me, beside Wick. “Are you going to introduce us?” he asked.

I stood after he spoke; not out of respect, but necessity. Sitting down wasn’t a good defensive position.

“Allan, this is our prisoner, Andrea.”

Wick used my full name. Thank the beast Goddess! I didn’t want to be on familiar terms with Allan.

“Allan?” I asked.

He dipped his head in acknowledgement. His gaze travelled up and down my body, assessing me.

“Doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of fear,” I stated.

Allan flashed his fangs. A Vampire smile unnerved me no matter how many times I saw one. “Is that what you would like, little girl?” His voice offered promises I didn’t want.

I shrugged and refused to look away.

“Do you have a Chinese name?” I asked, purposely making a mistake. With his high cheekbones, strong jaw and large eyes, his features appeared more Japanese. I bit my tongue from laughing at his expression. He looked like he’d bitten into a rotten apple.

“I’m Japanese,” he said with a flat voice.

“Oh? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

All three Weres snapped their heads to me, scenting both lies. Wick wasn’t pleased. He stepped forward, like he wanted to throttle me.

Allan’s hand on Wick’s chest stopped him. “Easy, Wick.”

Wick glanced down at Allan’s fingers like he wanted to bite them. He must’ve thought better of it because he rested his weight on his heels.

Assured of Wick’s compliance, Allan turned back to me. “You’re not and you did,” he said.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You’re not sorry and you knew I had Japanese ancestry,” Allan stated.

I crossed my arms. “Vampires can’t scent lies.”

“True. But we’ve had years and years to read humans.”

“And masters gain powers as they age,” Wick added, his voice warning.

“I like to think we’re like fine wine. We get better with age.” Allan examined his nails.

Oh shit. Please don’t be a mind reader.

Allan flashed his fangs again.

“Ah fuck,” I breathed, visualizing a forest with birds chirping away.

Allan laughed. “At least you’re not an idiot. What a delight. Keep thinking of your sanctuary, Shifter. While you checked out my muscles and thought about my handsome face…” He lifted his eyebrows, daring me to contradict him. My cheeks flamed. Someone growled. “I got what I needed,” Allan finished.

“And what was that?” I asked.

Allan ignored me and turned to Wick. “She deliberately antagonized me in hope I would harm her. It would delay her meeting with Lucien and give her more time to escape.”

He’d read well past my surface bitchiness. Allan glanced in my direction and smiled. His fangs descended a little more—the Vampire equivalent of a hard on. Gross. He kept his gaze locked on mine while they grew longer.

Wick’s chest rumbled, sending vibrations across the room. Or was that me?

“And if I accidentally killed her, at least it would be fast and not the slow, tortured, drawn out death like the one Lucien has planned.”

I shuddered. Allan went deeper than I knew possible. What else had he seen?

“Don’t suppose you’d like to clue me in on why I’m here? When did Lucien concern himself with hits on mere norms?”

He shook his head.

Jerk.

Allan’s fanged smile broadened before he nodded at me and turned to Wick.

“What piques my interest, wolf, is why you shield so tightly.” He leaned in. “What is it you don’t want me to see?”

Wick directed an unfriendly smile at Allan. “You’ve groped enough nerve endings here. I think it’s time you got your perve on somewhere else.”

“The night is still young,” Allan agreed. “One week,” he said, glancing at me before gliding toward the exit. “Then we’ll see how deep I can go.”