The Sleeper's Harp (The Arcane Artifacts, #1)

Chapter 2 - Watch Me Dance

I turned cold. Was that what'd happened with Professor Miller? My hand went to the medallion pendant at my neck, the one she'd stolen from the university and given me.

We stopped behind Eaden's door. Zach knocked. It was quieter here, but the walls still throbbed with the pulse of the music on the club floor. Eaden's voice was muffled. Zach, no doubt, heard it perfectly as he opened the door and let me through.

Eaden's eyes lingered on his phone a moment before he looked up at me. His office was almost like a study. Plush rugs, a gas fireplace, a wall of books, and nature paintings in gilded frames. When I blinked, his transparent wolf form overlaid his human form, but only briefly. He had dark skin and muscles for days. When we stood side by side, he towered over me.

"Candy," he said, his voice a deep rumble, "there you are. Zach, that'll be all."

"Right." Zach backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Everything good?" Eaden asked, eying me. I didn't know much about shifters, but one thing I did know about all supernaturals, they were smart at clueing into human behavior. Lying wasn't easy around them.

Forcing a genuine smile onto my face, I shrugged. "Good enough, I guess. What's up?"

Eaden and I had a decent relationship. Professional, with a touch of friendliness. He looked out for his club employees as if we were pack. I supposed it was his alpha nature, not that I knew where he sat on the food chain. If he wasn't an official alpha, then he was definitely alpha material.

He hesitated a moment, eyes tracking over me. His scrutiny left me heated, even if it was to merely catalogue me. His broad shoulders relaxed, eyes finding mine again. "I need you to dance tonight."

I opened my mouth, then closed it, then frowned. "I'm on the floor tonight. Don't you dare, Eaden."

"Micky didn't show up. I'm short a dancer."

I drew in a breath and released it, forcing my voice to calm. "Well, did you call her? She's probably just running late." He gave me a look—one of his famous cut-the-shit looks. Of course he had called her. I probably wouldn't be here if he knew where she was. It was unlike Micky to miss work without warning. Not only that, she was a shifter. Eaden kept a tighter leash on his people. So...where was she?

"I need you out there, Candy."

I sighed. "Eaden...you promised. I need to make rent." Tips were always better hustling the floor. Perhaps not in other clubs, but Eaden served expensive alcohol and entertained a higher echelon of clientele than most. They tipped well.

"I need you dancing tonight. I'll give you a hundred an hour. Give me two hours and two solos. I've got a couple of high rollers on the balcony tonight. I want you out there."

I want you out there translated to, you're the best dancer I have. Paired with my vibrant hair, I was an attraction for all sorts of clientele, especially inhuman.

My shoulders fell. "Two hundred?!"

"As I said. Two hours. Two solos."

It was his tone that had me saying, "Fine. Fine."

"Good. Go get ready. I want you on in thirty."

***

After popping by the staff locker room, I made my way to the empty cage at the center of the club's floor. There were ten platform cages in total, all gilded in gold and ridiculously lavish, with poles running through their centers. They were filled with scantily clad males and females, most of which were exotic supernaturals. I supposed I was meant to be the exotic human specimen.