Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)

My face grew hot with anger. My fists clenched. “It doesn’t have to be. That’s not what I’m trying to do here. I’ve given you all more than enough chances to play nice. I know that’s not really in our nature as blood hungry killers, but if we don’t all learn to get along a little, I promise I’ll dictator the fuck out of this city.”


The strained silence that followed brought a smile to my face. I really did want to do this the nice way, but if they wouldn’t meet me halfway, then I was left with no choice but to throw down and show them how stupid they were to fuck with me. I’d spent many of my mortal years being kicked around by others. It had taken me years to come to a place of being able to do some serious kicking myself. I was aware that they were forcing me to be the person they assumed me to be. But I was done with asking nicely.

Kale slipped in close to stand just behind me, showing himself as the second in command that he claimed to be. Jez lurked against the far wall, watching our backs from a distance that allowed her a full view of the building.

The blond vamp stared hard at me, taking note of Kale at my back and the two werewolves beside me. Nobody came to his side, but neither did they show me any acceptance. Not a single one of them said a word.

Finally I swung my gaze to Dayne and our wolves shared a conversation without need of words. I offered him the vampire, and with a slight tilt of his head, he indicated that he wanted me to do the dirty work. Fine with me.

It was tempting to use the Dragon Claw in a show of brutality. However, I felt it was best to show them the power that flowed from me always like a continuous breeze. No mortal limitations here. Not anymore.

A slight smile made my lips twitch. “You had your chance to play nice. Now you’ll just have to serve as an example to the rest.”

All it took was a raised hand to direct the force. In my head I felt the heart of every vampire in the room like a throbbing pulse. I was certain I could’ve killed every one of them with little effort. Narrowing my focus, I sought out the heart inside the defiant vampire and crushed it with a mere thought.

My hair moved in an invisible wind that flowed out from me, over the many bystanders, to ruffle their hair and clothing as well. It swelled inside me, leaving me feeling elated.

The vibe blasting forth from me found his heart and boom, he was dead. His heart exploded inside his chest with enough force to blow his body into several pieces. A scream rang out from several of the humans present. His remains dissolved into dust and ash. It had taken such little effort that I found myself grinning. So there was an upside to this whole vampire thing after all.

I turned to Dayne with a shrug. “Are we cool now?”

He sucked away on that stupid cigar, his wolf staring out at me with a fierce intensity. “Yeah. We’re cool. For now. If it happens again, Alexa, I start killing vampires. Shit will escalate. You’ll be forced to pick a side. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that you probably want to try to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”

“Understood.” Though I did find Dayne’s Alpha gaze intimidating, I met it head on, unflinching.

Our wolves shared another silent exchange before he nodded and turned to leave with Owen falling into step beside him. I gestured to the band to start playing again, and the tense crowd gradually began to resume their activity. Not a single vampire dared to protest what had just happened. I hoped that was a good thing.

“Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Kale said from behind me. “You need me here.”

I turned to face him, forcing a neutral smile onto my face. “You’re sweet. But I can handle things here. Don’t make choices based on what just happened. It’s handled.”

Though I’d already dismissed the rest of the vampires present as non-threatening, Kale looked them over with open suspicion. If he was seeking reasons to stay, he would find them in abundance. I wanted him to stay, but I knew I could not be the one to encourage that choice. This was all on him.

“What the fuck was that all about?” Jez sidled over, eyes flashing with curiosity. “I mean, it was obvious, but is Dayne serious about starting a war with vampires? Why the hell would he do something so stupid? That’s a war he can’t win.”

“We both know that, but I’m not sure Dayne would agree. I think someone is trying to fuck with me by targeting his wolves. But I hope I’m wrong about that.” Now that the small commotion was over, I was free to wonder where the hell my sister was. Checking my phone again was useless. She hadn’t called. “Juliet was supposed to be here by now. I have a bad feeling about this. I need to go make a call.”

I retreated back outside with Jez at my side, chattering about how bad she needed a cigarette. I doubted that was all she craved. She and I needed to talk about the darkness I’d discovered nestled away inside her. Having a demon for a father had to do something to a person. It worried me that it would do something awful to her.