Page 5 of Master Bistrita

I give her wide eyes, pouring two glasses of Descallia Red, a mixture of wine and blood, for one of the vampires who frequents the club and is heading our way with his slinky looking pet by his side. “Thank you, Chara. We’re going to be in the lower level.” He leans in close, stroking the naked skin of his mate’s shoulder as she daintily takes a sip of the drink he’s given her. “Push the alarm if you need help tonight,” he tells me, guiding her away.

I swallow hard. Everyone in the vampire community knows something is going to happen. Everyone is on edge tonight, and I know exactly how they feel. How Taylen can be so calm is beyond me. We watch as the vampire tycoon leads his mate away, the leash attached to her collar loose in his hand as he parades his model-perfect mate through the club and to the door that will lead them downstairs to play in the dungeon rooms.

Taylen jabs me. “Lucky girl. I’m jealous.”

I laugh. “You know I talk so smart when it’s just me and Natalia. Before she moved in with Master Oradea, I would tell her about all the sexy couples who would come through the club. I can’t say that I’m not intrigued with what goes on down there. I just haven’t met the right person, you know. After all my relationship blunders, I’m still on a sabbatical. At least for a while. Besides, who has time to date? I’m trying to pick up as many hours as I can so I can find a new apartment. The one I had with Natalia is hard to swing on my own.”

Her eyes widen. “They’re hiring for the lower-level rooms. They’ll train the right person, and you’d be a shoo-in for the job. Those girls make four times what we make,” she says, taking a sip from her water bottle.

I suck in a deep breath. “The bosses have asked me. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it. A lot. I’m just not sure if I’m cut out to be that girl, you know? I don’t know if I have enough self-confidence, or the body, in all honesty, to pull it off.”

She laughs. “You have the body, and the self-confidence we can fix.” She slides onto a bar stool, glancing at some of the couples petting in the corners. “The bosses would hire you in a heartbeat. They trust and respect you and know you would take good care of the customers downstairs.”

I wipe down the counter and glance at the clock. “It’s never this slow. Do you feel the charge in the air, like something electrifying is about to happen? Or is it just me?”

Taylen’s eyes shift, and I track her gaze to the door. Michael Benzini and his brothers approach, all in their signature dark suits, weaving their way among the empty tables of the lounge. Michael reaches me first. “Some of our men said they saw you over at the Oradea estate earlier. Did you see my sister?”

I swallow hard. It’s not every day the syndicate brothers single you out, but they know me, we’re friends, but still, they always make me uneasy. “I went to see her because I was worried about her, but Natalia seemed like she was ready for whatever is happening tonight. She was geared up to fight, Michael. All the vampires were, and I just seemed to be in the way.”

His eyes go pitch black. “The fucking rogues are coming. Lucas wants to send me Natalia’s head in a box for siding with the purebloods instead of the rogues. They’ll pay for what they’ve done, make no mistake. We’ll want our pound of revenge too.”

I shake the image of Natalia’s disconnected head from my mind as soon as it appears. If I think like this, I’ll never make it through the night. “The vampires pretty much told me to keep my nose out of it and come back here. They had it under control. But she’s so new to their world. She doesn’t know how to fight like them. I can’t help but worry.”

Michael, usually the calm one of the four, nods. “It’s taken me time to come to grips with it, but she’s safer with Oradea. We’ll do everything we can to protect her and help them in any way we can, but when it comes to head-to-head battle, the vampires have powers we don’t. That doesn’t mean we can’t try to stake the fuckers back to an ashy grave, and you know we’ll try like hell.”

I nod. “I know. I just worry about Natalia.”

The pull of someone watching me draws my attention. I look to the door to find Gregor watching us. His dark, intense, and soulful eyes meet mine. I turn back to Michael. “Gregor’s watching you. He’s probably not sure if you and your brothers came to make trouble at the vampire club or are here to check out the action downstairs.”

Michael laughs. “Last time I checked, it was open to anyone with enough money to play,” he drawls, but he’s not looking at me anymore. His eyes trail a heated path up the length of Taylen’s legs. Gregor shifts by the door, his hands turning to fists by his side, his eyes reddening like fire, absorbed in Michael’s interest in the beauty who most find hard to resist.

Taylen smiles at Michael, always the professional face at Club Descallia, but her face drops as a sudden chill runs down the full length of my spine. I turn, just as the door bursts open, throwing Gregor forward as a group of at least ten gray, mangy wolves leap through the air, snarling and ready to attack anyone who stands in their way.

Chapter 5

Bistrita

The journey to the base of the mountain is the easy part. As long as the syndicate and their soldiers have the city surrounded and don’t let any other wolves into the area, or anyone out, we have a sealed and contained battlefield, in which the vampires intend to win.

Master Romano holds up a hand as we make our way through the dense shroud of the night, navigating the terrain where animals of the night often make their beds. The scurry of critters running for safe haven can be heard in the distance, the dried leaves from the trees creating a crackling sound as they make their way over their brittle surfaces in their attempt to be somewhere that we’re not. I hold the others back, not liking the look on Romano’s face. I gesture to the gem around Raven’s neck. “The stones are starting to dim.”

Raven strokes hers and shakes her head. “It’s no use. Something or someone is either blocking the powers, or it isn't the right path to take. Everything has to be precise for things to align with destiny. We’ll know when the time is right, and that’s when the stones will lead us to victory.”

My jaw tightens with aggravation. First one thing and then the other to deter us from our goals, but if living among the witches in Bistrita has taught me anything, it is that there is truth and things we simply do not understand in their powers, whether we like it or not. “Then we have patience and wait until the timing is right to battle. But that does not mean we sit idly by and waste our time. We use the time to gather information and explore.”

Lucianna’s eyes glow and Overmaster Descallia puts an arm around her, drawing our future queen closer to his side as the sound of someone making their way through the forest captures our attention. Lucianna lets out a breath. “Silver.”

The young man with piercings glances around, taking in the fierce looking group, the vampire masters all wearing dark black turtlenecks and leather vests, with dark jeans and big black boots, leaving nothing to stand out or attract attention except the glint of their swords.

Silver looks around. “I’ve walked the perimeter. The syndicate are in place along the lower roads, and nothing looks out of place, but yet, something is very off. I can feel it.” He looks to Lucianna. “I just can’t figure out what it is.”

Lucianna walks toward him, her eyes kind and questioning. “You were looking for Embry?”

His eyes meet hers. “I was.”

Overmaster Descallia scowls at the young psychic vampire whom his mate has taken under her wing to mentor. “If we find her, we find Lucas. That is the goal. You found nothing?”

Silver shakes his head. “Not a thing, just…”

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