Page 37 of Seduced By Moonlight

Lance managed a curt nod. “Mari.”

“Enjoying your evening?” Mari directed her gaze back toward Kayden and Mika, giving them each a nod of acknowledgement.

“So far,” Lance said.

“How lovely. Won’t you introduce me to your friends?”

“I’m Kayden. That’s Mika,” Kayden said, saving Lance the trouble. And he didn’t bother to add their last names either. Not that it would do any good. If she really wanted to find out who they were, it wouldn’t take much digging.

He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but his best friend was absolutely struggling with his tiger, and Kayden didn’t know what to make of that.

“Nice to meet you both,” Mari answered. Then she inhaled slightly, another smirk crossing her lips. “Well, well, how interesting. My name is Marianna Crescente.”

What’s so interesting about us? Nothing, that’s what.Kayden nodded to her, noticing that she waited for a reaction from him and Mika after introducing herself.

She was going to be sorely disappointed because her name meant nothing to him. He knew the San DeLain paranormal leaders’ names, and she wasn’t one of them.

And what was all the deep breathing about? She wasn’t a shifter, of that he was positive. She smelled too much like magic, and shifters were the only ones he knew who did the sniffing thing.

Disappointment darkened her gaze for a moment, and he wondered if she was going to take offense that they weren’t bowing and scraping before her perceived greatness. Or maybe she was great, and they were too stupid to know it. That was a distinct possibility as well.

“Nice to meet you,” Kayden responded, then glanced at his watch. “Oh, would you look at the time? Wow, how did it get so late? Sorry to chat and run, but we really need to get going. It was lovely meeting you.”

Not.

Kayden stood and dragged Lance up with him. Mika quickly jumped to his feet.

Mari chuckled softly. “A teek, a cat, and a dog walked into a bar.”

“What did you say?” Kayden asked. Oh, he was totally aware of what she said. He just wanted to see if she would say it again.

Both Mika and Lance glared at her.

“I said have a nice evening. Hope to see you soon,” Mari replied as she moved out of their way. “Have a safe trip home.”

“Have the night you deserve,” Kayden tossed over his shoulder, practically dragging Lance away from her, Mika covering the rear.

“I certainly plan to.”

Bitch.Kayden didn’t bother responding as he marched his friends out of the club.

They waited silently for their vehicle, no one saying a word. At least Lance had stopped growling. After Lance tipped the valet, he eased his vehicle onto the streets of San DeLain.

“What the hell wasthat?” Kayden demanded once they were moving.

“Dog?Dog? I’m a coyote shifter, not a damn dog,” Mika snarled from the back seat. “And she called Lance a cat? He is not a damncat. How dare she?”

“Well, technically—”

“Yet she called him a white tiger, too, which he is,” Kayden pointed out, interrupting Lance. “So what gives, buddy?”

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose as he switched lanes. “That? That was Marianna Crescente, the High Priestess of the Sisters of the Crescent Moon. Which is a coven of witches here in San DeLain, in case you didn’t know. Very bad witches.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN –WARD

AFTER THE day relinquished its grip and freed Ward from his stone prison, he made his way back to his room. In the dimly lit corridors, shadows flickered around him, casting a dance of light and dark across the walls.

The new lighting would eliminate the mysterious atmosphere. Privately, he could admit he would miss it, but he was trying to be a more modern gargoyle.

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