White Raven (10 page)

Chapter 10

“Welcome to the Atmosfear,” Zach grinned, holding open his arms.

What a lovely name for a club. Cheery.

However, this was not a club. At least not like the ones I’d been to in Chicago.

It was…

Spellbinding. My eyes didn’t know where to look first. There was so much activity and none normal.

It was a black light party, the lights dazzling and cascading over the mob of thumping and bumping bodies in rhythmic intervals. At first the flashing was dizzying. Good thing I wasn’t prone to seizures and my eyes were used to the erratic beams. The dance floor was packed with bodies, mostly half-naked girls. Their skin shimmered as if they had been dusted with golden glitter, but it was their veins that set them apart. They glowed. Blue. Red. Black. Pink. It was a network of rainbow bodies.

I was mesmerized, unable to take my eyes off the action.

The Twilight Zone
didn’t have shit on my life. “A club, huh?” I murmured. “Just what I need.” A pick-me-up. My step became a little bit lighter.

Zach grinned. “I knew you were cool.”

Glad someone thought so. One thing was certain as I scanned the crowd; everyone in this joint had a mark similar to what I’d seen on the entrance—like I’d seen on Zane. Except this time, I knew there was nothing wrong with my eyes. The marks, they were moving. I kept my expression blank, because the last thing I wanted was to be shown the door. The detective in me was dying to uncover answers, and this club was a perfect place to start. Zoe and I were going to have ourselves a girl chat.

Zane shook his head, glancing from me to Zoe. “You’re responsible for her. Don’t make me say I told you so.” Then he took off in ground-eating strides, leaving me with the twins.

“What a prick,” Zoe mumbled under my breath, taking the words straight from my mouth. I instantly loved Zoe. She didn’t take shit, and that said a lot having three overbearing brothers.

The bitter scent of alcohol was pungent in the air, along with the stench of sweaty bodies and strong perfumes. A mist of color water vapors was pumped into the center of the dance floor.

“Come on. Let’s get a drink,” Zoe leaned in and yelled in my ear.

Weaving us in and around the crowd, I trailed behind Zoe, doing my best not to knock into anyone. She grabbed two drinks from the bar, handing me one. I had the glass to my lips when I noticed the cloudy green liquid that filled the cup. Now I’d seen some pretty strange mixed drinks, but not like this. Lifting the glass to my nose, I sniffed. It had a sweet scent like apples with a hint of cinnamon, reminding me of fall. For a brief moment, I missed my home, but then Zoe was clicking our glasses together.

“Bottoms up.”

Zach lifted his glass in a toast, and the three of us downed our drinks in one big guzzle. I was going to pay for that later. I had just broken my cardinal rule. No liquor. I was going to blame that on Zaney as well. If he hadn’t come across as such an asshole, I wouldn’t need something to take the edge off. One thing was certain; Parker wasn’t going to be here to save me, so I needed to keep it together. I was switching to water.

“Let’s dance,” Zoe said, grabbing my hand.

I barely had time to set down the tumbler, sloshing water over my hand, as she tugged me onto the dance floor. My body did what it did naturally at the sound of a really good beat, swayed with the music. I threw my head back, spinning and laughing, a sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in forever cascading through me. As we danced, Zoe lifted her arms above her head. That was when I noticed the mark. It was identical to the one I’d seen on Zane, my shock causing me to stumble. I knew it was going to be impossible to communicate over the roaring music, but it didn’t stop me from asking, “You have a tattoo?” I watched her mouth move in confusion, so I yelled out again.

“What?” she screamed a second time.

I gave up, waving a hand that it wasn’t important, but I couldn’t help thinking she was dodging the question like her brother. Too bad they didn’t know me well enough to know that I never gave up.

After that I just let loose, tucking the little tidbit about the tattoos away in my brain. My hair flared around me as Zoe and I shook our tail feathers. She was quite the mover and the shaker, although, not to toot my own horn, I was a tad better.

Until the alcohol kicked in. With my blood pumping, the small amount of liquor I’d consumed started to cloud my vision, and the dancing gave me a buzz. I had not a care in the world. It was glorious.

But not part of the plan.

Forgetting my problems and having a good time with new friends was uplifting, but that hadn’t been the reason I’d risked sneaking out. I was supposed to be uncovering dirt on Zane and on my family.

My Sherlock Holmes skills sucked.

Zoe leaned into my ear. “I’m going to get another drink. Do you want one?”

I shook my head, running the back of my hand over my brow as Zoe sashayed to the bar. My feet moved from side to side while I people-watched, curious. Zach was whispering into a pretty little redhead’s ear. I had caught a glimpse of Zander earlier in the evening, but he was nowhere in sight. Zoe was fighting off the advances of some young guy. And then I was suddenly aware of someone’s eyes on me, prickles skirting down my spine. I knew who it was. Only one person in the entire universe made me feel like this.

Zane.

My eyes were drawn to him on their own accord.
Bam
. I was hit by the intensity in his eyes, sucking the air straight from my lungs. He was with a group, but it didn’t really matter. They were background noise compared to Zane. At first sight, he always stunned me, knocking me off my feet.

I was ogling, but so was he.

We were caught in some parallel spell, my body still moving on autopilot, until a pair of pretty fabulous boobs brushed up against Zane. I saw red. The skank placed a hand on his arm, angling her body toward him.

Oh hell no.

I scowled, ready to kick some ho ass.

There was a giggle behind me, halting my irrational butt kicking, and before I could strut my shit across the floor, a brunette swayed forward, mimicking my moves. Her face was radiant with sheen of perspiration that only emphasized her attractiveness. She brushed damp pieces of hair off her neck, smiling. “Your mind better catch up with your body, girl, because your body totally wants to have sex with him.”

It was impossible to not be envious. She had everything going for her. A slender, killer body. Long, lush hair that whirled as she danced. Graceful, fluid movements. “That obvious, huh?” I replied.

“It’s inevitable. The definition of a Hunter: tall, dangerous, strong, and sexy. The female population is unable to resist.”

I laughed. “You nailed it.”

The crop sweater and low-rise skirt exposed her midsection. “Did I see you come in with him?”

I nodded. “But we can’t really stand each other.”

She smiled beautifully. “Yeah, sure. I’d almost buy that, maybe if he wasn’t constantly scoping you out in the crowd.”

“He is not,” I argued. Risking a glance back at Zane, our eyes collided. I whipped my head away.
Note to self: do not make eye contact
.

Drop-dead Gorgeous tossed her hair, laughing. “Right. And you aren’t daydreaming about what you are going to name your kids.”

“Do you know Zane?”

“I know his type. And that clinging ginger, Venus, is not it.” Her slender nose scrunched. “I can’t stand that whore.”

My eyes twinkled. “And you are my new best friend.”

She held out her hand. “I’m Aspyn, bestie.”

“Piper.” She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. “Don’t tell me, you already knew that.”

She just smiled. “Guess you’ve been getting that a lot, huh?”

I winced. “You have no idea.”

“It’s not every day that a Raven returns to the Hallow.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said, pretending I knew what she was talking about when, in fact, I was clueless. What I needed to do was figure out what a Raven was and why everyone thought I was one. Could be another nickname, but I didn’t think so.

“Let me give you a little piece of advice,” Aspyn said, the beat of the electronic music vibrating the floor. “You want to get his attention? Dance with his brother.”

I chewed on my lip. It was a wicked, troublesome plan… I loved it. “I just might try it.”

Aspyn grabbed both of my hands, lifting them over our heads. “I like a girl who isn’t afraid to go after what she wants.” She sent me into a whirl and yelled, “Good luck!”

My eyes focused on Zander who appeared out of nowhere, looking at me with irises tinged purple. I liked purple. But I wasn’t sure how I felt about the eldest Hunter, let alone using him to make his younger brother jealous. I highly doubted he would be okay with that scheme as well, and something told me that Zander was a good guy. My body tensed for a moment before relaxing as he smiled warmly and placed a hand firmly on my back.

It was too late to change my mind now. We were moving over the dance floor.

“This saves me from having to ask you to dance.” He had a pleasant timber to his voice that lacked Zane’s edge and cockiness.

Was I doomed to compare every male to him?

I even detected the same touch of Celtic accent, yet it didn’t make my pulse jump. My laugh wasn’t entirely forced. “You were going to ask me to dance?”

He shifted just a fraction of an inch. “I’ve been working on an excuse to come talk to you all night.”

“You have?” I asked, startled.

He cracked a smile. “Don’t sound so surprised.”

My stomach did a topsy-turvy thing. I wanted Zander to like me, but not
like
me. This was shaping into an awkward situation. “Well, I am.”

“You’re a great dancer. Are you having fun?”

Compliments made me nervous. I tucked my hair behind my ear. “Actually, I am.”

“Atmosfear hasn’t frightened you off?”

Zander made me nervous. Like a klutz, I stepped on his shoe.
Bet he no longer thinks I’m a good dancer
, I thought, blushing. “I’ll admit it is different, but sometimes different can be good.” I was thinking of Zane. Zander was nothing like Zane, which was exactly what I needed. Zander wasn’t the kind of guy that would crush my heart into a million little pieces and then scatter the fragments into the street.

“We should go out sometime,” he suggested. “Grab something to eat and watch the sunset.” He made it sound casual, but I knew what he was asking.

Warmth rose like summer’s heat. Zander was asking me out on a date. Too bad he wasn’t the Hunter I wanted. Yet, I found that my mouth was not saying what my brain told it to say. Just the opposite. “Sure. I’d like that.”

Holy guacamole. Did I just agree to go on a date? With Zander? Too late now. This wasn’t elementary school—no take backs allowed. I barely knew him, and I wasn’t really interested in him that way. But seriously, going out with Zander didn’t mean I had to marry him. Or be his girlfriend. And it would be nice to get out of the house.

He smiled sweetly. “Great. How about tomorrow? I could pick you up at six.”

Tomorrow? I shrugged, my gaze flicking up to meet his. The purple flecks in his eyes were nowhere near as vibrant as Zane’s. I shouldn’t be thinking about him. “Why not.”

His eyes lifted over my head, and I watched the soft lines around his mouth tighten. Curious, I looked over my shoulder, but before I saw who had put the frown on Zander’s face, he was twirling me in a circle.

Zander leaned in, his breath minty and cool on my cheeks. “I think Zoe wants her dance partner back. She’s giving me the stink eye. See you tomorrow.”

All I could do was nod.

Zoe weaved in and around the crowd, making her way toward me and looking beautiful while doing it. “What did Zander want?” she asked. “I saw the two of you dancing.”

“A date.”

She didn’t try to hide her surprise…or disappointment.

“It’s not a big deal,” I added, suddenly feeling like I had made a mistake. “Unless you don’t want me to go out with him.”

“No, that’s not it. I just got the impression you were interested in a different one of my brothers.”

“Well, then maybe
he
should have asked me instead of Zander.”

She let out a long heavy sigh. “If Zander is interested in you, then Zane would never get in the way. Bro code and all. Believe it or not, Zane isn’t always a jerk.”

Her words and disappointment hit me, and I knew I couldn’t go through with the date. Maybe I hadn’t given Zane enough credit or time. And I didn’t want to lead Zander on. I wasn’t that type of girl, because if I was being truthful with myself, it wasn’t Zander I was interested in. Searching the crowd, I had to set this straight before I got myself into a love triangle between brothers. That was the very last thing I needed.

I excused myself and sidestepped Zoe, only to run into a roadblock. I smacked into something firm. And warm. And that smelled like the first frost of winter. Zane found me before I had a chance to track down Zander.