Page 25 of Bite of Sin

Gia raised an eyebrow at her tone before her gaze slid to me. No one talked to us like that, and Gia was waiting for me to correct Kali’s behavior. But I was biding my time. I was curious to see how far she’d go before she learned who I was.

As for Pax’s question about what I was doing with her—I had no fucking idea. All I knew was she elicited emotions in me that I hadn’t felt in seven years. And in the short time she’d been in my presence, it was becoming addictive.

I wanted to keep her near me, and until I grew bored, that’s what I was going to do.

Chapter10

Kali

The redheaded vampire was still shooting me curious glances as she and Zan spoke in whispers low enough that I couldn’t hear. I was on edge, my foot bouncing as I scanned the room again. Zan had called this place Impulse, and it was so different from anything I’d ever experienced. We had music in our city, but people played it in private. Only on holidays was music played throughout the city’s loudspeaker to celebrate.

The atmosphere here was electric, full of fun and chaos. The vampires were all laughing and having a good time. It was a stark contrast to the somber mood of Project Hope. Although the cages around the room were a cruel reminder that humans didn’t belong here. There were men and women locked inside the cages, and terror twisted my gut. I’d be in one of them if they realized I was human.

I found myself looking at Pax again. He was still staring at me, his eyes dark with suspicion and anger as he slowly sipped his drink. I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t blurted out the truth. He knew I wasn’t one of them, but he hadn’t outed me yet. Maybe he was waiting for the right moment.

Viggo was still gone, and I hoped it stayed that way. I couldn’t tell them apart at all. And while I was sure they were both deadly, Pax didn’t seem as bad as his twin. Danger lurked in Viggo’s eyes, where Pax seemed less intense. Although right now, he looked anything but happy that I was here.

With every second that passed, I became more panicked about being stuck here. I didn’t have my bag, and even though the lotion was supposed to last twelve hours, I was worried about it fading. With so many vampires surrounding me, I was fucked if they caught the scent of my blood. I’d never felt so vulnerable in my life.

But I was also confused.

I thought I knew everything about vampires, but it was obvious I knew absolutely nothing. How many more secrets did they have? I wondered if I could learn from them and bring it all back to Tim. I lifted my gaze to see Zan watching me, and my heart stuttered. No way could I stay here. It was too risky. I’d already learned new things that could be helpful. The second I had the chance, I was leaving. But I really hoped I had a chance to use my stake on Zan before I ran.

He was an arrogant asshole, and his smug grin had me seeing red. He was used to his orders being followed; that much was clear. Others here respected him. No one came to this little corner where we were sitting. Glances were coming our way, but no one except the vampire named Gia spoke to us.

“Here.”

I startled when Viggo stepped up beside Zan and dropped something in his hand. Before I could get a look at it, Zan slipped it into his pocket and focused back on me. Viggo retook his seat while waving someone over.

“You’re going to work here,” Zan announced as Gia strode away. “Every night. After the sun goes down, you come straight here.”

I bit back my refusal, crossing my arms and staying silent instead. From the way it sounded, he was going to let me leave. If that was the case, I wasn’t going out of my way to piss him off.

“Hi, Viggo,” a girl purred, coming up and jumping into Viggo’s lap. “I missed you.”

“Mm, my favorite girl.” Viggo wrapped an arm around her while grabbing her wrist with his free hand. “I’m starving tonight, Dee.”

I watched with rapt attention when the girl he called Dee giggled before kissing him on the neck. Viggo brought her wrist to his lips, and a weight fell on my chest when his fangs came out. He bit into her wrist, and she didn’t even flinch. I sat there in disbelief as he fed on her, not believing what I was seeing. She was human. And was willingly letting him feed. She had to be entranced.

“You look surprised,” Zan murmured.

I tore my eyes from Viggo to see Zan leaning close to me. I jerked back, my spine hitting the back of the chair.

“You have humans here,” I muttered, curious to see what else I could learn before I made my escape.

Zan cocked his head. “How do you think we eat?”

I stayed silent, my eyes going back to Viggo. There was a place in all human cities where we could go to donate blood to give to the vampires. And there were also people who refused to live in the safe havens, deciding to risk living near the vampires. But I’d never expected to see this.

“She’s not entranced,” Zan said, as if reading my mind. My chest tightened for a moment. Could vampires read minds? We’d learned they could only use mind control, but after tonight, I wasn’t sure what else there was that I didn’t know. “She’s here because she wants to be.”

Before I could stop myself, I looked at Pax. He’d told me the same that night in the woods, and I hadn’t believed him. Pax didn’t say a word. His jaw clenched as he stayed sitting at the edge of his chair.

“And the people in the cages?” It took everything to keep my voice neutral. A new vampire wouldn’t care about the lives of humans. I needed to keep playing the part.

Viggo chuckled, pulling his mouth away from the girl’s wrist. Blood dripped from his lips as he took a cloth from his pocket and put it over Dee’s bleeding arm.

“Some humans stay here because they want to. Like Dee,” Viggo explained. “Others are here to be punished. They either stay in the cages or are entranced.”

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