September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)

“We should join you,” Kale volunteered. “It’ll give Jez a reason to go out. She’s been lying on the couch staring at the television since we got to her place.”


“You don’t have to do that. Take her to a movie or something. And make her eat something healthy.” It was a poor attempt at keeping them busy, but I didn’t want to risk either of them over this.

“Why don’t I let her decide?” There was a pause as Kale relayed my plans to Jez. I could hear her voice muffled in the background. Then Kale spoke again. “She wants to help you. Where should we start?”

I eyed the liquor bottles stacked behind the bar and licked my lips. Not tonight. I needed to be alert and fully functional.

“We’re all splitting up. Why don’t you two take the south side since you’re there already? Check in with me in a couple of hours, unless you find something. Not that we even really know what the hell we’re looking for.” Frustrated, I twisted a lock of hair around a finger, shooting glances toward the back. What was taking them so long back there? And did they really need to go together?

“I had my suspicions about this too,” Kale said, sounding so much like the calm, cool Kale I used to know. It was uncanny. It was also an illusion. “Still, Shya didn’t start to really look for this thing until Lilah was bound and almost out of the picture. It’s got to be worth finding.”

“Yeah, I know. I just think there’s got to be a better way. Someone has to know something.”

“Well yeah, Lilah did. And now she’s gone.” Kale turned away to speak to Jez who was whining about needing a drink. “I have to go wrestle a wine bottle away from this wild cat. Talk to you in a bit.”

An icy cold sensation stabbed through me, sharp and sudden, giving way to the familiar pang of bloodlust. The rise of vampire hunger hit me fast and hard, without warning. “Right. Talk to you later.” I ended the call before Kale could detect the breathlessness in my voice. It felt like I’d been punched in the stomach.

I stuffed the phone into my pocket and spun on the barstool to face the crowd. Eyeing the human patrons like they were helpless gazelle grazing unawares, I scanned them each in turn with predatory intrigue.

The need to devour someone was strong. Before I could slip from the stool and melt into the throng of lively prey, a vision flashed behind my eyes. Blood, blue eyes, Jenner. Arys’s voice whispered through my mind, calling me to him.

The hunger was getting stronger every time it hit me. My conscious control was growing fragile, along with what remained of my mortal strength. Shya was right. The power was harming me. It was running rampant through me, consuming the last part of me that was remotely human.

It should have been a sad or terrifying realization. As I glided down the back hall with an undead grace that was not yet my own, I felt only eager anticipation. My dark vampire called me, and I responded.

Arys and Jenner were in Harley’s old room at the far end of the hall. The room had been given a makeover, but that didn’t stop me from hesitating outside the door. It was impossible to go into that room without remembering everything that had taken place inside.

What was I doing? I came back to myself long enough to question how I’d so quickly gone from the club to the back rooms. It was a blur.

I backed away from the door, unwilling to discover what was going on inside. I knew Arys well enough to know walking away was safer than opening the door. Somehow I found the strength to retreat.

The sound of the door opening stopped me in my tracks. With building apprehension, I turned to find Arys in the threshold. He beckoned to me with a finger and a wicked grin.

Another step back. If I could just keep moving.

“Um, any chance you’re almost done in there?” My words were hollow, lacking conviction. Even as I inched away, my lungs filled with the cloying human scents of blood, fear, and lust. It was as nauseating as it was enticing.

“Come inside.” Arys stared at me, perplexed, as if he couldn’t decide if I were prey or predator.

“I don’t want to. Not with Jenner.” Fear rose up to suffocate me, choking off my reply. Anxiety crushed me as I faced my future. It terrified me. “Try not to spend the whole night in there.”

Arys’s eyes were a deep, drowning black due to his dilated pupils. He was walking on clouds, and I was quaking, torn between bloodlust and the struggle for control. Without moving from his place in the doorway, he reached out to me with a metaphysical touch, draping me in the midnight velvet that was his thrall.

“Don’t,” I whispered, eyes wide as I fought the urge to go to him. He was luring me in, seducing me without a touch. It was mesmerizing and held the promise of pleasure and satisfaction.

Shame slapped me like an unseen hand. This was what Kale felt in my presence. I wanted to feel bad. I knew that I should. Instead, I felt empowered. And then guilty.