Page 94 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“It’s possible to prevent, but it requires practice. You want to blank your mind, think of something impenetrable, like a bank vault door, or a brick wall. Wolves can’t feel it, but you might be able to if he tries. We won’t know until we’re in there. The best you can do is just blank yourself out and try not to think of anything you wouldn’t want to share with him.”

“I can do that,” she said with a defiant jut of her chin.

With that settled, we went in.

Noise, flashing lights, and the sharp tang of the many different types of alcohol on offer barraged us as we stepped through the doors, while tuxedoed waitstaff danced through the crowd on nimble feet.

It was a familiar atmosphere anywhere on the Strip. Here, though, was something different.

The customers were typical humans, buzzed with cheap drinks and the excitement of the bet, but the staff, the watchers, and those you couldfeellingering in the shadows just out of sight?

Vampires.

And if you looked closer at the clientele, you could see the twin punctures adorning necks and wrists, the hazy afterglow of a fresh vampire bite. Those who weren’t buzzed were still fresh, yet to be whisked away to a dark recess to be feasted upon.

The back of my neck prickled as I guided Fiona deeper into the nest, a protective hand on the small of her back. We were barely past the craps tables when the sickly-sweet scent of death clouded my nostrils.

“Alpha Monstru, Madame Valentine—if you would follow me, Carmine is ready for you.” This vampire didn’t wear the standard tuxedo, but a ten-thousand-dollar suit, perfectly tailored to his eternally fit form.

“Darick.” I acknowledged Carmine’s second-in-command with a nod, resisting the urge to physically react to his sudden appearance by shoving Fiona behind me.

The negotiations had already started, and I couldn’t afford to put a toe out of place. My Alpha needed me to get this deal done, and I was ready to get the fuck out of Vegas.

He led us through swinging double doors to a back room, where a high-stakes poker game was in progress.

No one even looked up as we skirted the table, so focused were they on the cards and the pile of light blue chips in the middle of the green velvet.

Darick escorted us out of the room as efficiently as he’d led us in, and then up a hidden flight of stairs which wound up to the second story, where there was an entirely different atmosphere.

It was a broad, open expanse of space, a simple black railing all that split the top floor from the open casino floor below, giving anyone up here a bird’s-eye view.

Low booths lined the far wall, with dark curtains available to enclose each cubby, either for business or pleasure.

Only the highest-ranking members of the nest were allowed up here, in Carmine’s personal playground. Every eye turned to fixate on us as we stepped off the top stair and into the sacred space.

The vampire himself was lounging against the railing, looking down over his kingdom with a bored, thirsty expression, despite the frosted glass of clear liquid in his hand. My nose told me it was vodka.

“Carmine, your special guests have arrived.” Darick’s tone was smooth, unbothered, even as no other creature on the landing moved.

It was one of the things I found most unnerving about vampires. They were unnaturally still, in a way that only the undead—who didn’t require oxygen—could be. It was like being in a hall full of threatening marble statues.

Cold, dead, and ready to eat you alive.

Carmine’s dark chuckle preceded his turn toward us, the knowing expression proving that he had been listening in to my thoughts. When he turned to face us, the light played over his golden-tan skin, contrasting with the dark shadow of his beard over his jaw. But his handsome façade was given away by his eyes, their black-rimmed red irises chilling as they locked with mine, even to another predator.

I intentionally blanked my mind, imagining a stone wall, the kind that used to line my parents’ fields in the old days.

“Welcome to Las Vegas, Reed, Fiona.” He nodded to each of us in turn, and I instantly hated the way his eyes lingered on Fiona in her gown. She was a work of art, but she wasn’t his to admire.

I tamped down the frustration, focusing again on the dark, stacked-stone wall. It was an effective distraction, even if frustration still simmered beneath my skin.

“Thank you, Carmine. We greatly enjoyed your hospitality last night.”

“Oh, that was your restaurant!” Fiona cooed, glancing up at me with a bright smile before pinning her gaze back to Carmine. “The food was divine, and so was the service.”

“I’m glad to hear it. That booth does tend to encourage people to get up to naughty things. My staff tells me you abstained. Although”—he inhaled, clearly scenting us, as a slow smile spread across his face—“I see you didn’t abstain for theentireevening. Good food is such an aphrodisiac.”

Fiona blushed, her cheeks pinking at the blatant talk about our all-night sex-a-thon.

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