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𝐓he chandelier was bigger than her car.
Tali had a difficult time keeping her mouth shut. It was huge; pure sparkling diamonds that took up half the foyer. She was sure that if she stood up on the lounge and jumped, she would be able to grab one of the precious stones and rip it free.
Just one diamond would fetch her a pretty penny at a pawnshop, but stealing wasn't something Tali condoned.
If there was one thing Tali knew for sure, it was that she did not belong here, in the foyer of a high-end hotel that had streaks of genuine gold running through its pure marble floor. Just standing on the beautiful flooring made Tali want to take off her scuffed-up combat boots and put on a pair of designer heels just to hear them click. Unfortunately, she didn't own any heels, much less designer ones.
Seeing all the men in their tailored suits and the women in prim and proper clothing made Tali feel incredibly out of place in her faded black jeans and pastel pink turtleneck. By her standards, what she was wearing was a nice outfit – no tears, no dirt, no bloodstains – but sitting here, surrounded by the richest of the rich, she found herself feeling insecure.
Tali didn't like it.
Bouncing her knee impatiently, she glanced at her watch again. 11:28am. He was late. Of course he was.
They had agreed to an eleven o'clock meeting at this hotel. Nearly forty minutes ago, one of his minions had greeted her at the door, instructing her to wait in the foyer, and that she'd be invited up when he was ready. He knew she was there, and yet he continued to make her wait.
Tali wasn't used to be being told to wait. Since her teenage years, she had been the one making others wait for her. She did things by her schedule, her way, and no one argued, because she was in charge. But today, it appeared she wasn't.
No, today he was in charge. Or at least, that's what he wanted her to think. He wanted her to wait for him, to understand that he held all the cards here.
Tali could respect that, but running thirty minutes late just to prove a point was a bit pathetic.
But she supposed it was working. Slightly. The longer Tali spent waiting in the foyer of this rich-person hotel, the more insecure she felt. But it wasn't like she was going to tell him that. No, she was going to look him in the eye and let him know that he did not intimidate her.
She was Tali Anderson, and no privileged asshole would take her power from her. Not again.
Fortunately, Tali didn't have to wait much longer. The same minion who had greeted her before walked out of the elevator. Though her senses were dull without the full moon, he just radiated vampire. But there was a part of him that her soul recognised. Wolf.
It was still disorienting, feeling someone bear both curses at once. But it also amazed her, how both sides correlated against each other. And yet, Tali refused to join. One curse was enough for her.
