Page 11 of The Daughters of Nyx

The buttons of the elevator were faded, too, but I punched thedownarrow and waited.What the fuck am I doing?The wolf paced within me, tortured and trapped. It wanted out, but not to run, not to howl at the moon, or to fight.

He wanted something—someone. Someone he shouldn’t.

When the elevator doors opened, I didn’t hesitate; I jumped in with an elderly couple who smiled politely. They’d already pressedground floor, so I stood back. Trapped in such a small space, I could sense everything; her heart racing, his limping along, out of rhythm, his scent bitter while hers was laced heavily with cheap wine and heavy lavender perfume.

The elevator dinged and opened up to the lobby. I offered the couple a tight smile and held the doors open for them. She thanked me softly, and her husband nodded in my direction, but my stare had already been caught onher.

She sat with another woman now, but I could only sense her. The sweet, intoxicating scent that belonged to her, the flutter of her heart as she laughed with the old couple passing by on their way out. The smile that brightened her eyes.

“Fuck me.” The elevator tried to close, but I escaped its clutches, moving through the shadows of the lobby.

“Okay, you can clock off in five.” The other woman stood and smiled gratefully. “I just need to hit the bathroom first. And Moe should be here too.”

“I’m fine here, go!”

The blonde woman laughed and disappeared through a side door. Her scent hit me, dimmed byher, but I caught the reason why she was leaving—probably not for the first time tonight.

She was pregnant.

Shifters and bloodsuckers tended to pick up on those signs first. The heartbeat of the foetus, the mother’s scent changing to accommodate the life growing within her. Mages and the Fae usually controlled the medical system, but if someone wanted to know immediately, they’d seek out one of us.

I pressed into the shadows and watched her for a moment. It pissed me off how easily Archer was able to talk to her, and yet, I had no idea why it bothered me so much.

I waited until the other woman was back so that I could hear Ivy speak one more time. I needed to know if what I was feeling was something I should be concerned about.

I wasn’t here to fuck around. Archer might have been able to walk around with his heart on his sleeve, but that’s not a luxury I could afford. My mother wasn’t the Queen’s right hand. I wasn’t the Prince’s best friend. I might have been second to Grey, but I’d worked my entire life to get here, and I couldn’t risk it because ofher.

“Night, Kacie!” she said, picking up her phone and coat. I could finally take her in; curves that lasted for days, framed by a softness that begged for worship, which she quickly hid with her jacket, and thick, beautiful thighs. I shook my head and closed my eyes.

If we’re right, then she’s about to be my new Queen.I couldn’t think about her like that, and yet, something stirred within me as her scent tickled my nose again.

She passed my hiding place, and I stiffened. She paused a foot away and checked her phone, lips pulled down in a frown. Exhaustion highlighted her features, darkening the circles beneath her eyes.

I swallowed hard as she released a breath. “Everything is going to be okay,” she whispered to herself. Even her voice sent shivers up my spine.

But why?

My heart crashed against my ribcage and the wolf howled as she disappeared, crying for the woman he could never have.

4

IVY

THE smell of cigarettes tickled my nose and burnedthe back of my throat. I coughed and covered my nose as I walked by the group of people passing around cigarettes, and rushed to catch up to Thea, who looked about ready to pass out as she leaned against the alley wall.

She didn’t look up as I approached, staring down at her avocado and flour covered boots. “Do you think I’m standing in piss? I think I am. Itreeks,and whoever left this behind should go see a doctor because I really don’t think—”

“I saw him again,” I butted in, sucking in a breath. “The guy I ran into on the street? The red-head? Really cute? He just checked in.”

Thea’s head snapped up, her eyes widening. “What? Really?”

I nodded. “He was our late check-in. Came in with three otherreallyattractive people. A blonde guy who looks like an angel, a scary handsome brunette, and a smoking hot Irish chick.”

Thea’s lips formed an ‘o’. “So, Polly, one of our servers, had to run room service tonight, and said she delivered to a room filled withreallyhot people. A cute blonde answered the door and a chick was behind him in the room. She wassodisappointed because she thought he was taken. Room 512, right?”

“Yes!”

Thea leaned back, but grimaced and stepped away from the wall. “So, either they’re models, or porn stars.”

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