Page 95 of Beyond the Temptation: Vol 2

I drifted after that, making sure to steer clear of any vamps or wolves, keeping to myself, trying to decide what I was going to do and how I was supposed to live out my life. I was quick to catch on, in the short time I spent with that clan, that I wasn’t going to age or die, unless someone took my head off or ripped my heart out.

And there were times I wished someone had.

One night, at a bar in Denver, I overheard a young woman talking to a man in hushed tones about “the Nighthawks.” What piqued my interest was the fact that not only were they a motorcycle crew, they were all vampires, and they were headquartered in New Orleans. I dug deep into my memory and could recall seeing a patch of bird wings with Nighthawks written on a few cuts of motorcycle gang members around town growing up. I used to wonder what they did as a club, but it was never in my sights to join one, so I would put it out of my mind as soon as it popped in there.

Now, though, I was about to pledge. I’d talked to the lady—who I learned was named Lisa—at the bar after her friend left, and quickly realized she too was a vampire. It took me a long time to identify a fellow vamp when I was first turned, but Lisa was nice enough. We ended up having a brief thing, but it was short-lived, as I was too transient to stay in one place. It was only physical, anyway. My heart would never belong to anyone but Ava.

I found my way from the address I was given and pulled up in front of a large warehouse with a nightclub situated next door. This was unlike the warehouse district I remembered growing up. This one had coffee shops and bougie businesses inside it. The minute I killed the bike’s engine outside the large structure, three men in jeans, tees, and leather cuts emerged with vampire speed. They had my bike surrounded.

I put my hands up in surrender, my keys dangling from my fingers. “Hey, I’m Colt. I believe y’all are expecting me.”

An extremely tall vamp with a full, dark beard and freaky gray eyes patted me down. He took my knife, my pistol, and my taser and pocketed them. As I was about to ask if I’d be getting them back, another vamp with dark-blond hair and a scowl approached me. His cut read Viper.

“Colton James?” he asked, eyeing me skeptically.

“Yeah. Need some ID?”

He shook his head and looked around. I noticed two more vamps sort of standing guard around us and near the door they’d emerged from.

They led me inside, and I was greeted by a large, open space with stairs leading up to what looked like private rooms. There were other doors off to the side and a big, open kitchen. What caught my eye, however, were three large… what I could only describe as animal cages. They were too short to be jail cells but they sure resembled them somehow.

The tall guy, whose name patch read Shadow, snorted at my gaping. “It’s a long story.”

I didn’t dare ask. I looked up at the walkway that led to the rooms and saw three females standing on it, staring down at me. One was holding a tiny baby.

What the…

I was led past the main area to a long, dark hallway that opened up into the nightclub called the Cobalt Room I’d seen from outside. Inside, was a roomful of vampires. There was also a wolf, who looked older, with a graying beard and salt-and-pepper hair. What the hell was a werewolf doing here?

I dragged my gaze away when his eyes flashed yellow briefly and looked back to Viper and Shadow.

“Sit,” Shadow grunted, plopping me into a chair set next to a podium that looked like the ones in the Baptist church I attended growing up.

Viper stood behind the podium with Shadow next to him, and pounded the gavel. “Church is in session.”

Church?

“We have an incoming prospect. He’s a New Orleans native, just returning back to the area after a ten-year absence after his turning. Please welcome Colton James.”

A few applauds and murmurs of welcome resonated around the nightclub-turned-church.

“Tell us about yourself.”

I stood and spitballed the best I could about my life, leaving out the part about Ava because, at this point, it was irrelevant. I thought before coming here that these dudes probably preferred their club members single, but seeing the women in the other part of the clubhouse (and the baby!), I wasn’t so sure. Still, I kept it to myself. After I was done, they told me I needed to choose a club name.

I knew ahead of time I’d have to choose a road name, but I didn’t want something stupid, so I’d already thought of this. I cleared my throat. “I’d like to just use Colt if I can. I’m pretty good with weapons, firearms especially, and the Colt Peacemaker my favorite.”

“Nice,” said a guy in the front row, smiling at me. He was huge with reddish hair, and I gasped when he ignited a small fireball on his palm, and then put it out by making a fist. His patch read Phoenix.

Viper looked around the room. “If nobody has any objections, Colt is fine with me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

AVA

I sucked in a deep breath after having my lips attached to this guy’s neck for such a long time. We really didn’t need oxygen all that much, but my human instincts were very much intact.

I guided the human to the ground of the filthy nightclub bathroom and checked the mirror. I wiped away a small smidge of blood at the corner of my lips and pulled out my lipstick from the small purse slung across my body. I reapplied the blood-red color, smacked my lips together, and replaced it back in my purse. My eyes returned to their regular brilliant blue after my pupils decreased from making my entire eyeball black. I tightened my blonde ponytail and made sure I had no blood on my light-blue dress before exiting the men’s room, with several men staring at me on my way out, confused.

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