God Save the Queen

CHAPTER 7

STRAYING LATE AND LONELY“This won’t hurt a bit,” Ophelia said, as she positioned the syringe over my flesh. The sharp tip pierced my skin and the vial quickly began to fill with rich red blood. My sister glanced up from her work to give me an arch look. “Just a little prick.”

“Aren’t they all,” we said in unison, then stared at one another, unsure of how to react. Fang me, we really were sisters. For a moment I wished things were different – that Ophelia wasn’t a traitorous bitch and that we had known each other before this. Blood – family – was important. It was sad that I hadn’t even known her well enough to recognise her when we first met.

I didn’t want to feel any regret when it came to Fee. As she slid a second vial into the tube, I turned to our mother. She stood a few feet away, watching.

“You’re not mad, are you?” I asked, voice shamefully hoarse. After years of wondering if I’d succumb to the same dementia, I needed to know. Though she had to be at least half hatters to be part of this lot.

Her blue eyes clouded. “No. I might have been, though. Once.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “You have to know that I wanted to contact you. I’ve watched you from afar whenever I could.”

Oddly enough, I believed her. Something inside me melted at those words. I was such a fool. She was only telling me what she thought I needed to hear to soften me up. “Of course you couldn’t trust that I would keep your secret.”

Ophelia pulled the needle from my arm and placed her thumb over the tiny hole. “Can we trust you?”

“For now,” I replied honestly. But once I was outside these walls …

Ophelia stared at me for a moment, as though trying to gauge my sincerity. She looked almost sad. I wasn’t fooling her. Dede and my mother maybe, but not this one. We were too much alike for her to believe I’d keep quiet.

“Here, take this with you.” She handed me one of the vials of my blood.

“What’s that for?”

“For you to get tested yourself,” she replied, and dropped the used syringe in the small bin by her feet. “So you’ll know we aren’t lying about the results. Take it somewhere discreet. And for the love of God, don’t tell anyone it’s yours.”

Her words raised anxiety in my chest. The vial was warm against my palm. I slipped it into my coat pocket. It seemed so strangely earnest a gesture that, for a moment, I actually wondered if maybe – just maybe – they really were telling me the truth, and all my convictions were horribly wrong.

“Fee, love,” came a familiar voice from the door. “Are you almost … Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to intrude.”

I turned. It was the doctor from the morgue – the one who had been in there when Val and I identified that charred body that wasn’t Dede. He looked much more approachable in trousers and loose shirt. I fancied I could smell the warm salt-musk of his blood.

“Nothing to be sorry for.” I forced a smile. I felt stupid knowing he’d been in on the deception. It was exactly the boot to the arse I needed to get out of there.

“Xandra.”

I paused on the threshold and turned my head to meet Dede’s gaze. I didn’t speak. I simply waited. Finally she spoke. “Thank you.”

The four of them stared at me. I held their fate in my hands and we all knew it. I could turn them in and distinguish myself, or I could keep my mouth shut and protect Dede, and possibly condemn myself. One way or the other, I had to find out the truth. Who could I trust?

“Don’t thank me yet,” I said, and walked out the door.

I took the Met to Covent Garden – one of London’s “neutral” zones that catered to aristos, halvies and humans. It seemed the logical choice of destination when I wasn’t ready to return home.

Once I was certain I hadn’t been followed – fairly easy when on foot and sniffing for the scents of Bedlam – I stopped at a privacy box and stepped through the bright red door. The smell wrinkled my nose. There was a glistening smear of something on one of the walls. I did not want to know what it was – though the bare breasts and spread legs staring up at me from the laddie rag on the ground gave me a good idea – and kept as far away from it as the small space would allow. F*cking pervs.

I pulled my rotary from my coat and dialled Church’s number. It rang several times before going to his message service. This wasn’t anything I had planned to tell him over the aether – you never knew who might be listening, even on supposedly secure connections – but not getting him irked me all the same.

“It’s me,” I said after the annoying beep. “Call me as soon as you’re able. Church … it’s important.” I pressed the button to disconnect and stared at the gadget for a moment before dialling Val as well, with the same results. Church not answering I could understand, but where the hell was my brother? He was on bereavement leave and had no social life that I knew of.

Sighing, I tucked my rotary into my pocket and threw open the door. The smells of smoke, night and exotic food greeted me – a welcome reprieve after the skankiness of the box.

I had no idea what to do and was as restless as f*ck. I contemplated going to one of the city’s opium dens – the smoke would mask any other scents clinging to me and calm me down – but thought better of it. I’d chased the dragon before, but I’d never really enjoyed it – it made my head too fuzzy.

An absinthe bar was out of the question. Much as I could tolerate the green fairy, it wasn’t the sort of thing I wanted to imbibe in large quantities, and large quantities was what it took to get me pissed. Once there, I had to keep drinking to maintain, so I’d learned that the best stuff was a high-proof grain alcohol. Vodka, preferably.

I thought about what Dede had said about the Freak Show, and decided to go there. I hadn’t been in a while, and it was a place I could find distraction. It had been opened in 1877 on the site of an old theatre, and had been run by only three generations of halvies, thanks to our long lifespans.

The building was a huge circus tent made of pink-stuccoed stone with paintings of old spectacle posters on the sides. It looked kitschy and camp, but it was one of the hottest clubs in town. A long queue stretched around the corner from the velvet-roped entrance. There were still several hours left of night and these people – mostly under the age of five and twenty – were eager to get their party on. I almost felt guilty for flashing my badge to be let immediately inside, but if anyone was in desperate need of a drink at this moment, ’twas me. A few line-waiters cursed me, but I flipped them off and crossed the threshold without a flicker of guilt. Most of them were human anyway.

Inside the big top the bar was a series of small stages and one large platform in the centre – that was where the headlining acts performed. There were tables in front of each area, and not one of them was empty. A large sign just inside the door warned – in a very sideshow script – that touching the performers was strictly prohibited, as was any form of harassment, and that any persons committing such acts would be ejected from the club immediately, and subsequently banned from returning.

Everyone was dressed for a night on the town, glittering under the dim coloured lights. I hadn’t seen so many short bustled skirts or brightly coloured corsets in a long time. Aristo women generally stuck to the old way of wearing corsets as undergarments rather than sporting flashy ones over their clothes. They didn’t show quite so much stockinged leg either. The gents in the club wore kilts and long trousers. Some had mutton chops, which were back in vogue, while others were clean-shaven right down to their skulls.

I must have looked like some gothic mortician in my funeral kit – a grim reminder of all that had happened since I woke up. I removed my long coat, feeling cooler and more comfortable in my halter-style corset and trousers. Plague me, but the world felt shaky beneath my feet, and yet … yet I was oddly calm, as though some part of me had been expecting this. I had known deep down that Dede wasn’t dead, so it wasn’t really a surprise to find out she was into something bad. Why else would she disappear?

The things Dede had showed me were just too awful to contemplate, and something had obviously happened to those poor people. However, I wasn’t going to condemn all aristos based on the word of some human-f*cker – and that was what Ophelia was.

I found a seat at a small table, near one of the side stages. On the glossy black platform a young woman in a sheer red body-stocking – with solid panels in just enough places to keep her act from being X-rated – rested her chin and upper body on the surface of a table. Her hands reached behind her on the wooden surface to grip the sides as she slowly brought her long legs up to curve over her head and dangle in front of her face.

When we were young Dede had loved to dance and do gymnastics and tie herself in knots. She should have gone on to become a performer of some kind rather than part of the Peerage Protectorate. I think she would have been happier that way. She might have avoided Ainsley if she’d followed her heart rather than expectations.

Me, I had always wanted to be RG. Though at times I felt like there was more to me – some potential I had yet to reach – but it hovered just out of arm’s length. I wasn’t what I was supposed to be, and I didn’t know how to get there.

“Hellooo, gorgeous.”

Smiling, I glanced up at the tiny Asian waitress in a magenta Marie Antoinette wig standing before me. She was dressed in a corset, short bustled skirt, fishnets and high boots. I wished I had her legs. “How are you tonight, Miss Penny?”

Penny Dreadful batted her false eyelashes, dark eyes sparkling. She was one of Val’s siblings, and that made her family in my mind. “Delicious as always, duckie. The new busboy is all up in my business, desperate to sample my charms.”

“But you’re playing hard to get?” I guessed with a grin.

She rolled her beautifully made-up eyes. Penny was halvie, but she was also one of the most popular drag queens in all the Empire. “Of course. A lady can never be too careful. You look like a girl who wants to drink the day away.”

Now would be the perfect time to ask her about horror shows, but I simply couldn’t do it, not when there were so many people around. “I need a bottle of something potent, Penny my love.”

She eyed me intently from beneath high drawn-on brows. “Going to need more than a bottle to fix you up, lovey.” She glanced around the club, and a smile curved her red lips. “Miss Penny has found just the thing to brighten your day, gorgeous.”

I followed her gaze against my own better judgement. Oh. My. God.

It was Vex MacLaughlin.

Was this a coincidence? It had to be. It only seemed strange because I’d seen him a lot over the past few days. My heart bounced off my ribs at the sight of him standing by the bar talking to a pert halvie girl. Aside from being somewhat intimidating, he was one of the most stunning examples of aristocratic lineage ever born. Tall and muscular, he had short dark hair, intense light blue eyes and a grin that showed off big white teeth.

“All the better to eat you with,” Penny drawled sweetly, as though reading my mind.

I shook my head with a chuckle, and that was all it took to tear my attention away from the Scot. In addition to being a supreme fighter and fair leader, he was one of Good Day magazine’s sexiest aristos. There weren’t a lot of royal bloods who looked as good as he did.

So of course I snuck another peek at him. He held a bottle of beer in one large hand as he leaned his opposite elbow on the bar. He stopped in mid-conversation and sniffed the air. How he could pick up any one scent in a place like this was amazing, even for a were.

When he turned his head and stared right at me, I froze. Why did he look at me like he thought I’d be good on toast? Why did he look at me at all? I was a halvie, he was an aristo. He could have any woman he wanted. Did he smell Fee on me and wonder how and why? Did he know she was a traitor and now suspect me as well?

The wolf scared me a little, with his intense grey-blue eyes and rugged good looks. He had that imperious air about him that came with being alpha. He was dangerous, and could make some real trouble for me if he wanted.

Something inside me responded to that danger. My gums stretched as my fangs pushed themselves out. I wanted to walk right up to Lord MacLaughlin and sink my teeth into him.

As if he sensed that, the MacLaughlin moved away from the bar and walked toward me with long, purposeful strides, leaving the halvie he’d been flirting with blinking in bewilderment.

“Bitch,” Penny said slowly. “You are my f*cking hero.”

My mouth was as dry as a desert. “Whisky, Penny,” I rasped. “A bottle.”

“You lucky sow,” she retorted with a grin, as though she hadn’t heard me, but she bounced off in the direction of the bar, passing the MacLaughlin on her way. He said something to her that made her laugh.

I stood up when he reached my table. Despite the trembling in my knees, I began to curtsy.

“Don’t,” he commanded with a bit of a wince, and held out his hand. “That’s an archaic custom. I’m Vex.”

I straightened and accepted the handshake. “I know who you are, my lord. I’m—”

“Alexandra Vardan,” he interjected, gently rolling the Rs. “Our paths seem to keep crossing as of late. May I join you?” He gestured towards the other chair at my table.

I was wary but not stupid. “Of course.”

He waited for me to sit before joining me – those aristocratic manners kicking in. A few curious patrons glanced our way, but the sky didn’t fall nor did the ground open up.

As bizarre as the last few hours had been, this had to be the cherry on top of the madness. Obviously the world had gone arse-up-hatters and no one had thought to send me the notice.

“So, Xandra,” he began, his low growl of a voice carrying easily over the crowd and performers, “has anyone ever told you that you smell like running through heather in the rain?”

I might have rolled my eyes if he hadn’t smiled in a self-deprecating fashion that I found utterly sexy.

“Oddly enough, a fellow said that to me just last week,” I replied with a grin. “Must be my shampoo.”

He laughed and I breathed a little easier. Maybe he hadn’t come over to eviscerate me, or question me about Fee.

Penny arrived with the whisky – a top-shelf brand that I would never have thought to ask for – and two glasses.

“Put this on my tab, Penny love,” Vex commanded. I liked that he was nice to her. So many people weren’t.

“You don’t have to do that,” I told him. “I ordered it, I can pay.”

He gave me an amused glance, but I didn’t spot any condescension in it. “That bottle of Springbank is older than you are. I know, because it was made in Kintyre by my people. Consider it a point of pride and indulge me, please.”

Why not? Better his wallet than my own. I shrugged, but softened it with a smile. “Consider yourself indulged, my lord.”

Penny set the bottle on the table in front of us. I caught her not-so-subtle glance as she slid a crystal glass towards me. She waggled her painted-on brows – subtlety was not in her repertoire – and patted Vex on the shoulder of his dark grey greatcoat. “When are you going to have a drink with me, duckie?”

The alpha grinned. “Whenever you command, Miss Penny.”

That got a smile out of her. “Have fun, my sweeties.” Then she sashayed off in a rustle of petticoats and bustle.

“I adore her,” I said.

“She’s rather something. Whisky?”

I nodded. He poured a glass for each of us and raised his in salute. I took a sip from mine – the whisky was smooth, with a vaguely smoky, earthy flavour.

“It’s good,” I said.

Vex smiled. “I would hope so.” He took another drink. “I heard about your sister. I am very sorry for your loss.”

I risked a glance at him and saw sincerity in his blue-grey eyes. So, maybe he didn’t know about Fee’s traitoresque activities. That was good, I thought. He had the look of a man who had lost someone dear himself. His words touched me, because even though Dede was alive, I would spend the rest of my life knowing she was out there, lost to me for ever.

“Thank you,” I replied hoarsely, and took another deep swallow from my glass.

He leaned back in the chair, his arm hooked over the top of it. His jacket pulled taut across his bicep. I wondered just how strong he was with that build. Weres tended to be more physical than vamps, though vampires were often faster.

“I want to thank you for coming to Ophelia and Niall’s aid the other night.” He poured himself another shot and topped mine up as well. “The pack might have lost them both if not for you.”

What would he say if I told him I wasn’t so pleased with myself for saving Fee? I’d never really wished anyone dead before – except for the bastards who killed Rye – so thinking that the world might be better without Fee in it brought a sliver of guilt with it. I blamed her for Dede’s leap off sanity ridge, blamed her for the mess I now found myself in. Most of all I hated her for having the last decade-plus with our mother.

“You know the Yard is looking for Ophelia?”

His flinty gaze met mine over the rim of his glass. “I’ve spoken to an inspector, yes. I’d like to say it’s all a misunderstanding, but I haven’t seen the girl since that morning. Have you?”

I couldn’t be certain how much of Fee’s scent lingered on me, but I also couldn’t tell him the truth without outing Dede as a traitor and admitting that I had been to Bedlam. Then I’d have to explain why I was at a club, drinking, when I should be at the Yard filing a report.

“No,” I lied.

He smiled, and leaned forward, bracing his forearm on the table. “I didn’t come over here to talk about your sisters.”

Of course he knew my relation to Fee. Her aristo father – the Earl of Blackwood – was part of the pack. Still, it unsettled me a little that he so obviously knew so much about me.

“Why did you come over here, my … Vex?” I asked.

White teeth flashed, bright beneath the dim lights. “Because finally I’ve found you in a place where neither of us has a duty to perform and you don’t have that old leech hovering round.”

He meant Church. The two of them had something of a rivalry, but I couldn’t tell if it was friendly or whether they both delighted in getting in each other’s faces.

Years ago, MacLaughlin had come to the Academy to check on Rye and some other were halvies who had been sent to London to study and train. He and Church had disagreed on something and ended up physically fighting. Rye had stepped in – and got a broken nose for his pains. I think it was Church who had accidentally struck him. Regardless, the students watching had had no idea what had happened. We only knew that Vexation MacLaughlin was one – if not the only – man who could match Church in a fight.

Every girl in that class had a bit of a crush on Church, but that day we all fell for Vex as well, especially when he did the gentlemanly thing and offered Church, and the entire class, his apologies. Rye used to tease me about him – and now I was to believe that he’d had his eye on me for some time?

I wouldn’t have been more surprised if Church had got down on one knee and asked for my hand. But I didn’t find the old man nearly as sexy as I did the wolf across from me.

“Would you like to go upstairs?” he asked, seemingly unperturbed by my stunned silence. “Maybe do a little dancing?”

I hadn’t been dancing since Avery’s birthday, when we’d all gone out and got completely sauced. We’d danced until the club closed. Even Dede had had a good time.

“Sounds fun,” I replied, and let him take my hand to guide me to my feet. He carried his glass and the bottle in one hand – two long fingers twining around the neck – and held my hand with the other. I followed him up the flight of stairs near the wall to the first floor. He pushed open the heavy door and we entered a world of darkness pierced by bright lights and pulsing sounds. A man in a ringmaster costume showed us to a table in a darkened corner – apparently it was Vex’s usual haunt.

Vex set the bottle on our table and drained his glass in one gulp. “Shall we dance?”

I drained my glass as well and returned his grin. “Promise not to step on my toes?”

“On my honour.” He offered me his hand and I took it, liking how warm his fingers were around mine. Were metabolisms ran even higher than those of halvies. He pulled me out on to the dance floor as the DJ started a song with a thumping beat and electric violin – like an orchestra on acid.

It wasn’t the kind of music easily danced to as a pair, but Vex hauled me to him and began to move, gracefully matching the rhythm. His shoulder was hard beneath my hand. He was over six feet of solid predatory muscle and heat – and grin. I couldn’t forget that grin.

“I keep thinking you find something about me terribly amusing,” I told him as his hand slid down my spine. I shivered – just enough to embarrass myself.

“Intriguing,” he replied. “Not amusing. You know, most women I meet view me either as a potential mate or a threat, but you … I get the feeling you can’t quite decide.”

I arched a brow – that spastic thing again. “Humility passed you by, didn’t it?”

Vex laughed – deep and sharp. A few heads turned at the sound of it. He pulled me closer so that almost every inch of us from chest to toes touched. “It’s not considered a good trait for an alpha,” he informed me good-naturedly. “But you’re the first to point out my lack.”

Most people in his immediate circle would undoubtedly be too afraid or too devoted to do anything of the kind. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I’m not offended, sweetheart. Not at all.” And then he twirled me around so fast the club continued to spin even when I had stopped. Delighted laughter spilled from me. After the night I’d had, it felt like a monstrous relief.

When my vision cleared, I found him watching me with that same amused expression, but there was a hint of curiosity in his gaze. He lowered his head, so that I could feel his warm breath on my neck. He inhaled deeply, held it, and then let it go in a rush of heat over my skin. I shivered.

“You smell good,” he murmured against my ear.

‘So do you,” I replied. And he did – like sunlight and cloves. Was this really happening?

We didn’t speak for the remainder of our dance, just moved to the music, touching and breathing each other in. He went to my head quicker than the whisky. When the music ended, he led me back to our dark table and poured another drink for the both of us.

I reached for my glass, but he stopped me, his hand cupping the side of my face so I had no choice but to turn towards him.

“Forgive me,” he said. And then his mouth was on mine and he tasted even better than he smelled. My fingers curled around the open neck of his shirt, tugging at him as though it were possible for the two of us to get any closer. His hands pressed against my back, holding me tight against his chest as he slid his tongue between my lips. I hadn’t been this … desperate for a man in a long time. Either I hadn’t met one who inspired this need, or I hadn’t allowed myself to feel it. Regardless, the MacLaughlin turned me on something fierce.

The kiss ended too soon. He released me and reached for his glass, downing it in one swallow. Then he turned to face me. His eyes were bright, touched with wolf-gold, his expression uncertain.

“Can I take you home?” he asked, and though the question sounded innocent enough, there was nothing innocent about it.

“Only if you come inside,” I replied, lifting my glass to my dry mouth. What the hell was I doing? As right as this felt, it was also setting off alarms in my head. Church had warned me away from Vex. He was tight with Ophelia. There was a very good chance he just wanted to use me.

Then he couldn’t complain if I used him as well.

“Make no mistake,” he rasped, fingers curving around the back of my neck as he placed his face in the curve of my shoulder and drew a deep breath. “I plan to come inside.”

I shivered as that moist heat fanned over my flesh. I was so randy at that moment I could have taken him right there in the booth. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

Another glimpse of his golden eyes, and then he was on his feet, tugging me by the hand to join him. We went downstairs and I retrieved my coat. Thankfully there was no sign of Penny. I couldn’t face her raunchy pleasure on my behalf.

Outside the night had cooled, the breeze sweet. The shiny black Swallow pulled up in front of us. The valet climbed out and handed the keys to Vex, who slipped him a generous tip in return. My escort opened the door for me and I slid inside.

Moments later we were thundering through the streets towards Wellington. When we reached my place, he parked out front, seemingly unconcerned that someone might notice his shag-mobile.

The drive had only served to increase the tension inside me. My knees shook as I climbed the steps. When Vex pushed me against the front door and kissed me thoroughly, I thought I might literally combust on the threshold. Regardless of each of our motives, there was no denying we were honestly hungry for one another.

I managed to unlock the door. He was right on my heels as I stepped inside. No sign of Avery – good. She must be at Emma’s. I jabbed at the alarm with clumsy fingers, trying to ignore the fact that Vex’s own fingers were already loosening the laces of my corset. It unhooked at the front, but it seemed so much more … wicked to have him unlace me.

I ran upstairs, the wolf giving chase. My room wasn’t too bad, only a pair of stockings and bloomers on the floor. He didn’t seem to care, and neither did I. In minutes we were both naked and he … he was so very impressive with his clothes off. He seemed equally enamoured of me, which was arousing in itself. Nothing like seeing worship in the eyes of a lover to make a girl forget her flaws.

Vex flashed a grin in the darkness as he braced himself above me on my suddenly small bed. I reached up and ran my thumb over his bottom lip, over the smooth white of his teeth.

“All the better to eat you with,” he said, and I knew he had heard Penny at the club. I didn’t even have time to blush before he slid down my body and made good his word.