OmegaMine (21 page)

Still, as he’d studied her that night, she’d taken him in as
well. He was tall, lean and muscular, with an extremely masculine countenance.
He’d been dressed entirely in black, the long leather trench coat concealing
what she was certain was an arsenal of weapons.

Three words had come to mind: Sexy, mysterious,
powerful
.

After a moment he’d stood and started making his way over.
He’d moved like the predator he was, all muscles, intent and determination. His
shoulders had shifted as he prowled, strides smooth and graceful.

When he’d stood within a few feet of her she’d gotten hold
of herself, did the only thing she could and phased just before he made it to
her table. He hadn’t known that she hadn’t left the club but changed locations,
able to view him as he’d seen her disappear and comprehended what she was. A
strange expression had crossed his face, but before she’d been able deconstruct
it the look had quickly been replaced with revulsion.

While her heart had wilted at his cold response, she’d
forced herself to accept and understand that while rejection was a cruel bitch
that carried a harsh sting, it was to be expected.

Although she wasn’t cold-blooded as folklore depicted, or
without a heartbeat, she was unable to walk in the sun for long stretches of
time or sustain herself on food alone. Calories, while delectable, didn’t
provide the sustenance her kind required. It was all about the red stuff, the
source of all life. Plain, simple and rich—when you needed a boost, blood
couldn’t be beaten.

To a shifter, drinking blood was repulsive. Because of that
they considered vampires a scourge on the city, bottom feeders as it were. Not
that their tendency to hunt live prey and devour it raw was all that appetizing
to her or her kind.

Give it a rest
.

Shifting her weight, she studied the bar, knowing she
shouldn’t have come but once again discovering she was unable to leave. She had
her own responsibilities and obligations, which didn’t include her pairing with
anyone of her choice in the near future, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
Trey was the ultimate poison, the one she could never have, and for some
reason, even knowing that, she was captivated by the man.

Several of the pride Alphas exited the building with their
seconds-in-command, bringing her to full attention. She watched as they walked
to their expensive Jaguars and limousines and suddenly had the urge to phase
closer to ruin the shiny paint with a nice scrape of her nails as they drove
by.

Of all the breeds littering the city, cat shifters were the
ones she cared for least. Once they had been of a great use to mage vampires,
who used them as familiars, but that was before the world changed, became
technologically advanced, and feline shifters decided they no longer needed
protection from the hunters searching for them. Automatic weapons, large
bodyguards and a deity known as an Omega provided their safe haven from harm.

The door to the bar opened and, just like that, there Trey
was, standing across from her in all his glory.

Over the course of her obsession, she’d often ventured to
Trey’s favorite hideaways, anxious for a glance or a wispy breeze that allowed
her to bask in his scent. On occasion she took it a sinful step further,
touching him while veiled, allowing her fingertips to travel along his skin. He
seemed to luxuriate in the caresses until he realized what he was doing.
Afterward she always moved away to give him space, to whisper in his mind like
a fucking ghost.

Smell but don’t taste. Look but don’t touch
.

As she watched his jerky motions now, her instincts told her
something big was going down. Something she would have noticed if she hadn’t
been so fixated on the sexy slice of man who haunted her dreams. Trey’s sublime
face was heavily shadowed and his whiskey-colored irises were bright in the
dark. He adjusted the leather jacket around his shoulders, slid his hand into
an inside pocket and retrieved his phone.

If she moved a bit closer, she could see who he was
contacting. It was just a matter of keeping her hands to herself.

She pushed away from the glass and walked to the edge of the
sidewalk, separated from him by a few measly yards, and stopped.

Damn it, I shouldn’t be here. If he sees past my
shielding spell, he’ll mark me immediately. All it’ll take is one good sniff
and I’m fucked
.

While she didn’t do so often, it wasn’t difficult to get the
information she needed in another way. Concentrating, she focused on his
thoughts and froze when she plucked a name from his mind.

Aldon Frost.

Trey kept his voice low but she clung to every syllable she
could hear. “We need to talk.”

Trey paused for a moment to listen, nodded instead of
speaking and snapped the phone closed. Then he lifted his head, flared his
nostrils and stared directly at her.

Panic kept her from moving, freezing her in place for a
split second. Then the world sped up and she came to her senses. Sure he was
looking in her direction but there was no way he could see her. Her veil was
impossible to break unless she willed it or she was injured. Thus was the power
of vampires.

Vampires.

She was tempted to laugh. For her, the implication behind
the terminology was all wrong. Her kind weren’t corpses from the grave or
fanged harpies who stole children from their beds at night. That didn’t mean
her ancestors and relatives weren’t a form of evil—their very existence came to
being when a witch and a demon procreated and created the first of her race—but
rather, their role was to keep the peace and protect the innocent from those
who embraced the darkness within, corroding the streets with tainted blood
drinkers and aberrations.

Without her kindred, shifters would soon learn
exactly
how bad vampires could be.

Trey sniffed the air again and appeared to stare directly at
her, seeming to catch her eyes. The pain that arose from her desire to make it
so was one she was familiar with but, as there was nothing to be done about it,
she forced her wants into an invisible box and closed the lid.

She couldn’t have Trey Veznor. No matter how much she yearned
for him. He was the forbidden fruit that would bring about her destruction, the
proverbial apple that sent Adam and Eve from Eden.

A frown etched into Trey’s face as he pocketed the cell,
turned on his heel and started walking down the street. She waited until the
last limo drove away before she crossed the road, keeping a safe distance as
she trailed him.

Due to an unexpected shift in events, Trey Veznor was the
least of her concerns. He was going to see Aldon, which meant that now it
wasn’t personal.

This was all business.

* * * * *

After Diskant left to return to the bar, Ava soaked in the
large, swirling hot tub. The warm jets soothed her aching muscles as well as
the sore, throbbing flesh between her legs. She’d meant what she’d told
Diskant. It did feel as if he’d left her branded, but only in the most
fantastic way imaginable.

Who could have known just how damn good it could be to meet
a gorgeous, insatiable man, share the best sex in this world and find out in a
matter of hours that he not only wanted to keep you forever, but he would love
you for the rest of your life?

Pretty damn good, if she was being honest.

Once she climbed out from the tub she quickly toweled
herself dry before getting dressed. As exhausted as she was, she was still
coasting on too much adrenaline and excitement to sleep. She took her time
exploring the space, starting in the bedroom and moving to the living room and
kitchen. The furniture was entirely masculine, various hues of dark brown and
cream, with splashes of red inside the throw pillows, matching the curtains. It
screamed affluence without being stuffy or uptight. A perfect lair for a man
like Diskant.

A muffled sound drew her back to the bedroom and she stopped
inside the doorway. She eyed her duffel, placed the sound and groaned.

Damn
. She’d been sure her cell would be deader than a
doornail by now.

There were a handful of people who could be calling her, the
most obvious being Brett and Thomas. Her boss and friend, understandably,
because she left his place of business without an explanation and he was
probably worried, and Thomas because he wanted to harass her about what he
considered a “sneaky loophole” in her parents’ will which allowed her to
purchase the cabin at half the price.

The sound died only to start right back up again. It was
either shut the damn thing off or answer. After she managed to pull the
annoying device from her bag she scowled when she saw
unknown caller
flashing in time with the abrasive ring. Bracing herself for anything, she
pressed the tiny green button to the left and placed the speaker to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Ava,” Craig said, his voice as silky and smooth as
butter.

“How did you get this number?” Her tone, understandably, was
not as cordial. She’d told Craig never to contact her again. Yet here he was,
overstepping boundaries as if they never existed.

“You of all people should know that for someone like me
obtaining a phone number is as easy as asking.”

“I’ve already told you to keep the locket. Put the damn
thing on display if it makes you happy. Just leave me the hell alone.”

She heard him
tsk
through the line. “You’ve never
been one to make hasty decisions without hearing someone out. I see running
with shifters has brought out the worst in you.”

A huge and extremely powerful surge of protectiveness arose.
So Craig knew about her and Diskant. She wasn’t surprised. He had his eyes and
ears posted all over the city.

“Listen to me, you smug son of a bitch. I don’t care if you
hold the secret to the location of the Holy Grail and can offer me an unending
supply of money and eternal life. Don’t call this number again. You’re right, I
don’t make hasty decisions. It takes almost getting killed to help me decide
what kind of company I do and don’t want. FYI, you rank somewhere in the latter
category.”

“Even if it could benefit your new family?” He posed the
question as if he were discussing something simple, like what color to paint
his bathroom. The tone pissed her off but the words managed to cool her temper.

“You have one minute. I suggest you start talking.”

“Rumor has it that Shepherds have come to town and that
they’re targeting a member of Trey Veznor’s pack—his brother, to be specific.
I’m offering you a chance to listen in on the enemy from a distance they can’t
possibly fathom. You wouldn’t even have to worry about initiating a meeting.
You’d know where they’ve parked their vans, as well as where they’re currently
bunking down. The warehouse was only meant as a message. There is so much
information I can provide if you’re willing to negotiate.”

It was so damn hard not to reveal just how strong her
telepathy was, but as if he were already aware he said, “Being around your new
mate will increase your ability but not to the extent the locket will. There’s
a reason your parents kept you—and the locket—under lock and key.”

Once again he flaunted knowledge he knew she wanted. Her
parents’ car accident had been neat and tidy. A flat tire that resulted in loss
of control that sent them over a metal barrier, down a ravine and directly into
the unforgiving embrace of an ancient oak. The police said it was an accident
but as soon as Craig started dropping hints she had started to wonder. They’d
always been so secretive, telling her only so much about their private jaunts
around the world.

Even her ability was something they’d worked diligently to
keep hidden.

“Are you finally planning to tell me what you know?”

“I’m prepared to offer you an exchange. If you can sweeten
the pot, I might be persuaded to toss a family heirloom into the bargain.”

Damn him
.

The pendant didn’t matter to her but Craig knew just how
much sway the information about her parents carried.

“What is it that you want?” She knew what he wanted but
feigned ignorance. There was only one thing he could possibly have an interest
in—direct information about the shifters and, since he was an Omega, Diskant.

“Don’t play coy.”

“Forget it.” The answer was easier to bestow than it had
ever been in the past. “Goodbye.”

“The Shepherds won’t forget about Diskant Black when they
go. They might leave the rest of the shifters in peace but if you did the
research you’d learn that they have one weakness when it comes to hunting.
They’ll single out the shifter who carries the most power. In this
circumstance, that shifter is the man you’re sleeping with. If they get a yen
to come back and finish what they’ve started you’ll be able to see them coming
before anyone else can.”

Her stomach churned and a knot of tension built in the back
of her neck. As huge an asshole as he was, there was one fact that was irrefutable—Craig
never lied. He threatened and sometimes bullied but he never manipulated the
truth.

She couldn’t believe she was considering it, but this wasn’t
entirely about her. “What
exactly,
” she emphasized the word and paused
for good measure, “do you want?”

“What I want, specifically, is a meeting with you and
Diskant Black.”

“There’s no way. He’ll never agree to it.”

She could just imagine Craig shrugging in that arrogant
manner of his as he replied, “Have you had any vampires sniffing around
lately?”

She was shaking now, seething in outrage. The night of her
attack, she’d wondered why Craig had specified a time so late in the evening,
in a place that no one would be around.

She hadn’t thought he’d set her up but now…

“I hate it when you ask questions you have the answers to,”
she snapped. “It insults my intelligence.”