The Hunters Saga #2: The Wolfsbane Rubies

Chapter 2: The Wolfsbane Rubies

   "Shit," I groaned. "Henri."

   "Shh. Play along, ma cherie," he murmured into my ear, his voice too low for anyone else but me to hear. He'd called me darling...

   And in French!

   With one last sniff, Henri pulled away, but his hand remained on my wrist. When I stayed silent and acted submissive, the vampire grinned at the bouncer. "Jack, this is my pet, Toni."

   The were – Jack – grunted, sounding unimpressed. "Your pet?"

   "A vampire's slave for blood, entertainment, the works. I thought you knew the term."

   "I do," he growled, then gasped when he saw my throat. "You Mark all your pets?"

   "This one's special, Jack," Henri grinned, pulling me even closer, until his cheek rested against mine.

   Jack didn't look convinced as he put his cigarette out. "Special?"

   "Yes."

   With a final grunt, the bouncer moved aside so we could see the door that led to the club. "Enjoy yourselves," the were said, waving as Henri yanked me by the arm until we were completely inside.

   "Oh we will!" Henri called back with a sinister laugh, and soon I couldn't hear anything but the music. Loud, pounding, earsplitting, stop-your-heart music overwhelmed me. For a second, the strobe lights hurt my eyes, but I quickly got used to them as they illuminated the place.

   The Wolfsbane Rubies was a two-story club, complete with a small bar, gigantic dance floor, and even a DJ. Everything looked shiny and colorful.

   Beautiful, even, if that were possible...

   "This place makes The Blood Diamond look like a dump!" I screamed at Henri over the deafening bass. He didn't say anything in response, but the annoyed look he gave me was enough.

   The place was packed from the look of it, and we squeezed past multiple werewolves and witches, some of which had human... pets, I guess, just like me. Very few vamps were present.  

   "Well, that makes this easy," I said aloud between songs. The DJ paused a few minutes before putting on a new track. Most of the music was instrumental rock, meaning there weren't any vocals, just overwhelming instruments. How was I going to get through the night if I couldn't handle the music?

   Henri gave me a hard look suddenly, and I frowned. "What?" When he didn't answer me, I sighed. "Is the rogue female or male?"

   "I don't know," he said softly.

   "Then how-"

   "Shh!" he whispered harshly. Henri was actually shushing me? In a loud place like this?!

   As if reading my mind, Henri said. "Vamps and weres have excellent hearing. We can hear a heartbeat miles away. Be careful what you say, okay? The rogue could just hear us." With that, he pulled me up the stairs that led to the second level, an open area that looked down on the centralized dance floor. It gave us a great view of the lower level, and the vantage point was...

   "Henri?"

   His usual sigh hit my ears. "Yes... Toni?" The music wasn't as loud up here, but there were more supernaturals present. Was the rogue vampire up here?

   "How will we find them if you don't know what they look like?"

   Henri took my hand in his, and squeezed it. The gesture caught me off guard, that's for sure. I looked down at our hands and my heart felt light all of the sudden. The Mark woke up again, and I groaned inwardly.