Page 5 of Feral

Eros growls slightly, but Justice just laughs.

“Calm down, lover. You know I’m only into you, but seriously, Tiago has that older man, silver fox, Daddy vibe the gays love.”

“How do you know what the gays love?” Eros asks, now amused.

“Forums. I’ve learned so much.”

Amused, I say, “Tiago focuses on the job while he’s here. Just like I do.”

“As long as he enjoys it,” Eros says.

“I do.” Tiago places two glasses of our vampire’s kiss cocktail on the bar. “I get to interact with every person who walks in here and get a read on their energy and intentions.”

“Ah, that’s your sensitivity,” Eros says.

“Yep.” Tiago leans on the bar. “Besides, with Hale here now, we make a good team. He’s the face of the club and I stand back here making sure things stay cool.” He shifts his gaze to Justice. “And who says I don’t have to kick people off me to get my work done all night?” Then he winks, and we all laugh.

“Good crowd tonight,” Tiago continues. “No troublemakers.”

“The energy feels great,” Eros says. “Any loose mortals?”

Tiago nods toward the back. “Twins visiting all the way from California. Rhett found them and gave them tickets and bracelets.”

“Excellent,” Eros says. “Come on, darling. Twins will be fun for us.”

Justice slams his drink back. “Let’s do this.”

I watch them walk off and sigh as the familiar longing spreads through me. That’s the real reason I said no to Ellis. He’s just a fling, and I’m not looking for that. I want what the Orpheus guys have found. A mate. A forever love of my own.

How I’ll find that is anyone’s guess, but I don’t plan to give up. I can feel it in my bones that there’s someone out there just for me. Until then, I have plenty to keep me busy. The club takes up a lot of time, and outside of that, I’m still adjusting to modern life. I don’t plan to waste energy on flings. My one true love is out there, and someday, when fate is ready, our paths will cross.

Having lost Nathan still stings, but I now believe he wasn’t my mate. He couldn’t have been if he was killed. Fate isn’t that unkind. At least, I don’t think so. My chest is heavy with sad memories of the night I lost him. Perhaps that’s my other reason for not falling into bed with another. A part of my heart still grieves for the love I lost. An innocent mortal who died because of his association with me. I won’t let that happen again.

I’m not sure whether my mate will be mortal or supernatural, but I know he’ll be worth the wait.

Chapter 2

Yannis

This night is boring as fuck.

Club after club and nothing going on. I thought New Onyx was supposed to be popping wherever you went but so far, I’m calling dud.

It’s only my second week in town, so some would say I should give it a minute, but I didn’t haul ass from small-town Ohio to still do nothing on a Saturday night. I want music and drinks and exciting people.

“Hey, handsome. You looking for fun?”

I swing around at the sound of the deep female voice. Sure enough, there’s a woman standing behind me, leaning on a silver sports car. She’s wearing torn jeans and a black tank top with lots of flesh and tattoos on display, her long, bright green hair wrapped on top of her head. Now she looks like she knows where the fun is.

“I am. You know where I can find it?”

“Sure do.” She saunters toward me and dangles a business card between long red nails. “Follow the directions on the back. If you’re the right type for the club, you’ll have no trouble getting in.”

I take the card and glance down at it. There’s nothing but an outline in black of what appears to be a medieval building. It looks kind of like a castle in a vampire movie. I flip it over, expecting an address, but instead find directions telling me to head north on foot. Interesting.

When I look up to ask the pretty woman what to expect, she’s gone. And I mean, gone, gone. Like was never here. I look up and down the sidewalk but find no trace of her. The car she was leaning on is still parked in front of me. If I weren’t holding the card she handed me, I’d think I imagined her. Weird.

Even more curious now, I follow the directions on the card, hoping I meet the mysterious criteria to get in. As far as I know, I’m a good-looking guy, at least by Ohio standards, with my wavy dark blond hair and fit build. I chose a tight white dress shirt tonight, rolled at the elbows to show off my arms, my favorite jeans that hug the thighs I torture myself to get, and stylish ankle boots. It seemed like what city guys wear when I looked online.

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