Page 57 of Destined for Dreams
“I assume I’ll be giving her compulsion protection when I do the tattoo?” she asked, casting a sympathetic gaze at the woman. Her skin was still sallow from blood loss. Cori guessed the human couldn’t be more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but she looked older at the moment.
“You will,” Derrick confirmed.
“Okay.” She ran her gaze across the assembled crowd, doing her best to hide her nervousness. “I’m going to need most of you to take a seat in here. I work in a room in the back that isn’t very big, so I can’t have more than two extra people in there at a time. Derrick can be one of them, and the rest of you can rotate.”
The alpha lifted his brows. “I don’t recall approvin’ this.”
“My shop, my rules,” she said firmly.
It was difficult enough that Cori had to prove herself, use an ability she’d only recently discovered, and make sure she didn’t screw up. If she was going to do it right, she had to make some of her own rules for this experiment.
“Alright, I’ll allow it.” Derrick pulled a sheet of paper from his back pocket. “This is the tattoo you’re givin’ to the humans who get immunity to compulsion.”
“That confident I can make it work?” she asked.
He smiled, revealing a row of white teeth that reminded her of the wolf side of him. “I haven’t got any doubts on that. It’s more like I’m worried whether you can keep from givin’ the same protection to the humans who aren’t supposed to get it.”
“Will I be giving them the same tattoo?”
“No.” He shook his head. “They’ll get somethin’ else in case you do the job right.”
She didn’t bother to say anything to that. Instead, Cori beckoned the red headed woman and had her follow her to the back room. The vampire victim settled on the plastic-covered chair, gaze unfocused. It was strange but not entirely unusual. Maybe these people were nervous about the experiment as well.
Cori studied the paper with the design, noting it was basically a path of shooting stars. She glanced at Derrick. “Where should I put it?”
“On the inside of her right wrist.”
He certainly had it all planned out. “If this works, you’re going to require I do this same tattoo and in the same place on whichever humans ask for it, aren’t you?”
“You catch on quick,” he said, nodding.
Lucas came in and observed while she copied the tattoo so she could set the outline on the woman’s skin. Cori kept waiting for the vampire victim to say something, but she didn’t. All she did was lie in the chair and stare at the ceiling.
Her suspicions were rising. “Is she under compulsion now?”
“Yep.” Derrick crossed his arms. “I had Kariann do it, so we can see if you break it while doin’ the tattoo.”
Cori gave the alpha an accusing look. “How do I know she’s given consent for this?”
“I wouldn’t make her do it against her will,” he said, annoyed. “In fact, she was more than willin’ when I offered her the opportunity.”
Melena trusted the alpha, swearing he was honorable if a bit uptight, so Cori would just have to take Derrick’s word for it and hope she wasn’t marking a woman for life who might not want shooting stars on her wrist. This whole situation was becoming even more nerve wracking by the minute.
“Fine.” Her voice came out clipped. “I’ll find out soon enough if you’re telling the truth.”
His eyes darkened. “Are you accusin’ me of lyin’?”
“Sit down and let me work.” She pointed at a chair against the wall. “I don’t need you growling at me and causing me to mess this up.”
The alpha hesitated, obviously not liking her ordering him around, but he did eventually sit down. Then he looked at Lucas. “I can see why she’s Melena’s friend now.”
“Also the reason I tolerate her,” the nephilim replied with a hint of pride.
Cori ignored them and finished prepping the tattoo. She’d already done most of the setup hours ago, but she still had a few things left to do, including choosing the right ink. Derrick had told her which design to do, but she’d choose the colors that best suited the person.
She was only halfway through the tattoo when the woman’s eyes lost their glossy appearance and became focused. She jerked under the grip Cori kept on her arm. “What’s going on? Where am I?”
“It’s okay,” she soothed the woman. “You’re in my shop, and I’m doing a tattoo on your wrist that is giving you resistance to compulsion.”
