Page 30 of Stalked By Seduction and Shadows

“No.” Penn was suddenly behind the counter, her gaze sharp and arms crossed. “It’s run by bloodthirsty thugs. The mortals are treated like cattle, and there’s a near daily occurrence of clan violence or assault. That place is not safe at all.”

“Yes, it is,” Snow said defiantly. “I’m just a server. I don’t give anyone my blood, and if anyone were to try to hurt me, they’d be thrown out or far, far worse. Unless there’s a case of bloodlust, most vampires are on their best behavior. It’s Rune’s place after all.”

This certainly piqued my interest. If this club was as high profile as Snow said, then there had to be vampires there with useful information—distracted vampires, easier to manipulate. Maybe even mortals who would be willing to help me, who’d been affected by the flesh trade too. Where warning bells should’ve rung, the low buzz of fate enveloped me instead.

“It’s only been a week, and I’m making a killing. They’re picky, but once you’re in, you’re taken care of.” She assessed me. “You could do it. They’d hire you. My witchy senses and I are betting on it.”

The only time I’d ever been close to a vampire was when two of them were dragging my limp sister across the front porch. I’d only glimpsed their feet and heard gruff voices.

Then, Snow told me how much she’d made this week, and my destiny was sealed. If I landed this job, I’d make rent with ease. I’d be able to eat too, and maybe even afford some furniture.

Most importantly, I’d be right in the center of the aboveground vampire world. I would lean on all the traits my sister hated about me—the ones that had kept a roof over our heads and food on the table—and I’d land this job. I’d talk to anyone I could. I’d flirt. I’d manipulate desire. I’d draw attention to myself.

And eventually, I would find the stairs to the underground. I’d take back my sister and bring her home, and I’d tell her all about how I rescued her—by being a harlot, a whore, a parasite—before I left her forever.

The sun was only beginning to crawl lower in the sky when Snow led me to Odessa. She’d helped me buy essentials at the local shops today and shown me around, and I’d never been more grateful for a friend. Lumina, the mostly mortal district I now belonged to, was right in the heart of the city. Odessa was a fifteen-minute walk, in the main turned district, Nyx.

I saw my first vampire, and then my second, then my third, before I lost count. I tried not to stare as I passed them, a few with bare, flawless skin and many more with the most gorgeous, otherworldly whorls of tattoos marring their flesh.

“Are there unmarked turned vampires? Unaffiliated with Rune’s clan?”

“Yes, but it’s rare in Valentin,” Snow said. “There are other turned clans in Ravenia, apparently.”

“Well, don’t you smell delicious,” a vampire in all black with tattooed arms said, pushing off a wall on the narrow cobblestone alley to leer at us. His eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, I was lost in the gorgeous, inhuman features of his strong, masculine face.

I was used to being prey. But I wasn’t used to the predators being this alluring.

Snow’s voice cut through the shock and magick. “Come on,” she said in my ear.

I’d never been more tense as we passed the man just two feet away from me. He inhaled loudly and chuckled to himself.

Couldn’t vampires hold on to the scent of a human and use it to recognize them forever? Or was that just a scary village myth? I was too afraid to ask.

“Woah,” I said as we entered an area that oozed wealth and glamour.

A glittering onyx statue of Lillian towered in the center of the square, and fountains and meticulous landscaping of black flowers and bushes surrounded the impressive fixture.

Street lamps were bright, illuminating the spotless white cobblestone, and the restaurants, taverns, and cafés with twinkling string lights hung all around. Both vampires and mortals flooded the streets—beautiful, powerful, and so strikingly alive.

“You’re city struck,” Snow said with a grin. “I wish I could see Aristelle through your eyes.”

She’d lent me a silky red dress, shutting down my initial protest against its revealing decadence. If only Isabella could see me now.

I shoved away that thought. I was doing this for her. My body and the darkness that cursed my soul were the only assets I had in a city of deadly, beautiful predators.

The fabric accentuated my every curve, bunching around my hips and dipping low on my back. I wore matching red lipstick and cat eye eyeliner to make my blue eyes pop even more than they already did.

“This is perfect,” Snow said. “Seraph, the manager, said a position opened up yesterday.”

“Why?” I asked. “If it pays so well.” My eyes widened when I saw a woman in a dress of shiny black material that barely covered her ass, leading a man around on a leash. Her arms were covered in the turned clan’s signature tattoo style. He appeared human, only pretending to be a dog. I had to bite back my surprised laugh.

Snow’s lips twitched. “Look, the job is safe. Safe-ish. But this city isn’t always. No city is. You need to be careful, especially if you’re going anywhere alone at night. A server, Kara, was killed on her way home. We don’t know if she’d been followed by a patron, or if it was entirely unrelated. But these things happen sometimes. She had a vampire boyfriend. It’s possible it could’ve been him, too.”

My heart sped up. “She was human?” I asked. “And dating a vampire?”

Snow threw me a look, as if she was surprised by my question. Perhaps I hadn’t focused on the bit she’d assumed I’d focus on.

I already knew this city was dangerous, especially for someone like me. What I didn’t understand was how a human could ever be with a vampire—even if I’d already seen multiple examples of the two species intermixing. Like the woman and her dog-man.

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