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

“Get moving,” I said, feeling his heart in my mind, knowing I could crush it to dust with only a thought.

I dropped the pool cue and ushered him out. Unable or unwilling to take his eyes off me, he walked backwards while I advanced on him. Willow called an apology to the bartender who rolled his eyes as if a good fight was part of a normal night for Willow.

Once on the street, all bets were off. I slammed a fist into the vampire’s smug face, letting him take the anger I’d swallowed back at the church. He tried to fend me off, but I was too pissed. His face was a bloody mess when Willow called me off.

He still held the other vampire though now he had the guy on his knees with his arms behind his back. “Do you want to kill them?”

I did. But that would only prove to them and the other so called rebels that I was a dictator willing to wipe out anyone who displeased me. I was better than that. Wasn’t I?

“No,” I said, clearly surprising the blond one. “I want to talk to them.” I stared at each vampire in turn, forcing them to look into my eyes. “Let’s get something straight. I am not Lilah. I don’t want to be worshipped or served or whatever the hell else you guys think. I want only to be respected.”

I paused, letting that sink in. When neither of them spoke, I continued. “There’s no reason we can’t all just go about our business without shit like this going down. Arys and I can protect this city. That includes you guys. It’s your choice. We can all play nicely in the sandbox. If you don’t want to, then I will be forced to defend myself.”

“Sounds fair to me,” Willow quipped, wearing a grin. He was enjoying this.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” The dark haired one on his knees gazed up at me in defiance.

“You don’t. But there’s only one way to find out. Does my reputation have me painted as a liar?” I challenged. I was many things. A liar was not one of them.

The blond scoffed but said nothing. His buddy continued to glare at me, but his determination seemed to die.

“We aren’t human,” he finally said, finding his courage again. “You can’t police us. We’re beyond that shit.”

“A sense of order has to be maintained. It’s the only way for us to continue our existence without the human government hunting us down. The FPA is watching us. All of us. Is that what you’d rather have?” My hand fell to the black jade handle of the dagger on my hip. It was a comforting habit. “I’m the one who’s been dealing with them. If you’d all prefer that I stop and let them come for you, that’s fine with me.”

The two vampires exchanged a look. This was news to them.

“I suppose it makes sense that it’s best for us all to keep a low profile,” the blond grudgingly admitted.

“It sure does. We’re going to let you go now. Tell your rebel buddies what I said. It’s common sense really. The next vampire to jump me or my friends dies a horrible, slow death. I promise.”

Willow stepped back, releasing the vampire he held. The two of them hesitated, probably considering another attack. They proved they had a sense of self-preservation when instead they slunk off into the night.

I sighed, relieved that I’d been able to send a message. I wasn’t about to hold my breath, but I hoped it helped them see that they had it all wrong.

“Those assholes don’t deserve to have an ally like you, Alexa,” Willow said.

“Yeah,” I nodded, feeling overwhelmed with the entire evening so far. The tequila haze had burned off, leaving me light headed and in need of coffee. “I know.”

Chapter Eleven

Less than an hour later, I was standing outside a dance club, staring at a corpse. This night just kept getting better.

Willow and Juliet stood on each side of me. The FPA agents Juliet had brought were busy keeping the occasional curious passerby from getting a good look. Receiving the call from my sister stating that there had been another public vampire kill had really been the shitty icing on an already craptacular cake.

It had been painfully tempting to ignore her call. I knew my sister though, and ignoring her would only have her showing up at my club unannounced. I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

“Do you have any idea why they’re doing this?” Juliet inquired, studying me with an uncharacteristic hardness to her brown eyes. “I mean, why now? Is there something going on that we should know about?”

“There’s never anything you should know about,” I snapped, harsher than intended. “I swear half the problems in this city are because of the FPA constantly digging around where they aren’t needed.”