Soul Mates 04: Secrets(19)

While the building of the actual club was delayed due to rain or equipment issues, however, they joined in with the crews that were constructing more underground passageways. We now had them going for miles and miles, all over the city. In places, they led to safe houses. Places that couldn't be burned by hunters, couldn't be accessed by anyone outside the coven.



Or so the theory went.



Our team had been . and was still in the process of being -- transformed to a more militaristic group of men and women. People hand-picked from millions of others out of the military, out of law enforcement, and a few mercenaries. We'd had bad luck with the first merc we'd brought in. Once he became a werewolf, he'd gone a little apeshit.



Wanting to eat anything, and everyone, in sight.



That sucked. As did putting him down.



Were we monsters because of it? I didn't think so. We'd offered him greater strength, a hell of a paycheck, and immortality. He'd signed on with the full knowledge that something could go wrong with his infection. The consequences of that would be death.



It was a safety measure, nothing more.



And? It was in the contract.



Oh yes. We had them for each and every new recruit. A necessary evil, you could say, to keep both parties accountable for their actions. And to save our asses if something went terribly wrong.



I finally decided on Manic, a trendy, high-energy club that I knew wouldn't disappoint.



At least while I was on my own.



I laughed to myself. And on my own I was.



* * *



The car soon pulled over to a curb and I paid and tipped the driver before getting out. I could already feel the pulsing beat of the music from where I stood. I paid the cover charge and got a stamp on my hand before entering the club.



Once I did, I stopped just inside, trying to hold back a grin. Oh yeah, this was the stuff dreams were made of. The crowd was pretty thick, people at the bar, at individual tables, and a crowded dance floor. Half-naked men danced together, some of them edging pretty close to a charge of public indecency.



The atmosphere itself could feed me, if I was experienced enough to try it. For the moment, I decided that, since I was on my own and free of any security goons, I'd just try to enjoy myself.



I spent hours dancing, laughing, teasing young guys into compromising positions, and just having a good time. It was rare that I was able to let myself go like that and I relished it, unsure of when I'd be able to get away like this again.



My guess was never.



After a while, I grew tired of playing and started looking for food. My hunger had risen up again and I had a feeling it had something to do with Mr. Anemia from the Seventies that I'd fed from earlier.



I wandered, quickly growing impatient. There were plenty of potential donors and I'd had a few tastes here and there, but none of them had that& je ne sais quoi, as Lucien put it. Nothing about them was special. Most of the men were so high that their blood seemed permanently tainted.



The women? Well, I didn't even bother. Too much tit, too much perfume, and not enough dick.



Patience was never one of my best qualities. After I was turned, however, I learned that patience wasn't just one of those virtues I wished for . it was something I desperately needed. I'd been doing okay over the past year, but there were times when patience was a little too far beyond my reach.



Unfortunately, the fates had decided that I was due a lesson.



Possibly because I'd ditched my security team about three hours back. It was hard to hunt when you had three armed guards about six feet . if I was lucky . behind you at all times. Silver was going to be pissed.



Lucien already was.



He'd been trying to connect with me mentally though our bond, trying to find out where I was. Thankfully, I'd learned how to shield just hard enough to hide my location and what I was doing, but not hard enough to ignore him completely. I just needed a little freedom; a little time to myself where I could be at ease, where I could pick out my dinner without the impatience of the security team battering against me.



Their impatience made me hurry. Made me careless. As new as I was to this whole vampire thing, that was something I couldn't afford. Something my donors couldn't afford.



Of course, if my guards had been vampires instead of werewolves, this wouldn't even have been an issue. I had the best muscle, yes. But muscle wasn't everything. Silver and I were going to have to talk about this. I needed vampires at my back, too.



Someone brushed against me and drew me out of my thoughts. I wasn't sure how long I'd been standing around thinking, but the music had changed from the upbeat rock tune to something a little more bump and grind. I took a sip of my watered down drink, letting the pump and thump of the music wash through me.