Page 8 of Reign of the Beast

Before I knew it, I was downing the rest of my drink, then heading on up to the office of the infamous Lucian Black.

It took me a full ten minutes of navigating my way through his insanely crowded club floor, before I made it to the staircase at the rear.

I sprinted up the steps, taking them two at a time.

When I pushed on through the door to the hallway outside his office, I found Anton Rowan, Head of Security, stationed outside his door.

He smiled when he saw me, a genuine reaction, not merely the forced politeness he employed with everyone else.

He stepped forward and we shook hands.

“Ryker.”

“Anton,” I returned. “How’s your night been?”

“Eventful. Too much so,” he said, running his hand over his blond buzz cut, then shaking his head in dismay.

I offered him my sympathy for the bullshit he’d had to endure.

The last three months with Draco’s determination to invoke chaos throughout the supernatural world had made everyone more than a little nervous.

Many of them were running scared, but there were also those who had begun to react in a much more destructive manner. Rampaging, attacking innocents, going after beings with great power to raise their own standing in an ill-advised attempt to protect themselves from Draco’s wrath and his penchant for targeting the weak and bending them to his will.

Unfortunately, as an Ancient and a very public figure in the supernatural world, Lucian was a chief target.

His insistence on keepingPolarisopen wasn’t helping and it’d had me on edge knowing he continued to make himself such a brazen target. But he believed that he was providing a much-needed service to the community, one even more necessary during such unsettling, dark times.Polarisoffered an outlet to supernatural beings, a sanctuary where they could blow off steam and have their deepest desires fulfilled, their needs catered to without judgment.

I had an idea about something I could implement to make things easier on Anton that would deter the troublemakers, but I had to run it by Lucian first. I didn’t want to interfere with his business and overstep. When I sawsomething that needed fixing, my natural instinct was to take care of it, but I had to curb the impulse here. Lucian was a proud man and very protective of his club.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I told him.

“I appreciate it.”

I took another step closer to the office door when voices reached my ear.

So that was why Lucian hadn’t come down to the club floor. He was in a meeting.

Moving away, I told Anton, “I’ll come back later.”

To my surprise, he stepped into my path. “That won’t be necessary. Go ahead.”

It was strange enough that Anton had left his position by the door at all. He was very protective of Lucian and his privacy. But to actually encourage me to interrupt a meeting was downright shocking.

“What’s going on?”

His face was an impassive mask.

When he refused to offer up an explanation, I blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine,” I muttered as I opened the door.

He followed at my back as I stepped into Lucian’s office.

What was happening? He always stayed outside, never coming on in with a guest. What was the root of his urgency and his uncharacteristic behavior?

My questions died an instant death as the scene inside stole all of my focus.

Lucian was lounging back on his leather couch, a drink in hand, smiling that alluring smile of his. He was dressed to the nines as usual in a designer pinstripe suit, his silky hair falling in ebony waves about his broad shoulders.

Of course, none ofthatwas out of place.

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