You’ve helped him survive the first two weeks. Diskant wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. It’s up to him to decide if he wants to give life another chance.
The notion didn’t bring her comfort but then, not much did the last few days. Although the pack was out in force, the meeting at Liminality was a final farewell to their former Alpha. Tensions continued to run high and all of them were on full alert. She chanced a glance at the bar, feeling the weight of Brett’s stare. He was studying all of them closely while wiping down the counter. The tray with their drinks was ready, perched at the empty serving space.
Standing on tiptoe, she kissed the hollow of Diskant’s throat. “I’m going to get the drinks.”
“Don’t get too close to the warlocke.” Diskant’s low grumble in her ear made her smile. “You don’t want the night to end in a brawl, Pinkie.”
She laughed, warmed by the verbal display of possession and dominance. The slap he delivered to her ass as she walked away caused her to hiss and nail him with a look that promised payback. He grinned, those full lips curving at the corners in a manner she adored.
Delmar was shaking his head as she crossed the room but his good-humored smile was intact. The club was crowded, the floors flooded with people. A majority of them were human patrons but, as was the norm, there were also shifters.
Directing her attention to the top floor, she saw the prides seated at their usual vantage point high above the world. One in particular lifted his glass to her, his green eyes luminous across the distance. Kinsley had managed to bring the cat shifters together, vowing to aid Diskant in his transition to Alpha. It wasn’t an easy feat, however. The cat breeds didn’t care about any other shifting race aside from themselves. With the exception of Kinsley, they were an extremely arrogant and elitist group.
Are you calling me an elitist, Ava mine? She could have sworn she heard Diskant chuckle the thought. The nosy bastard.
She grinned but didn’t turn. If the shoe fits.
You’re so going to pay for that. As soon as I get you home I’m going to tie you to the bed and torture you until you swear to treat me as I deserve.
The thought made her wet, so hot it was difficult to breathe. He would tie her to the bed and cover every inch of her body with kisses and warm licks, among other equally delightful, pleasurable things.
Get the drinks and hurry back. It’s too distracting when you’re not at my side.
The spring in her step had nothing to do with the command but the desire to be near him, to hear, smell and touch him. Being apart from Diskant in any capacity was hell, something neither of them enjoyed. For the last two weeks she’d gotten a crash course into what it meant to be an Omega, an Alpha and the mate to one of the most important shifters in the city. They remained locked at the hip, completely inseparable with the exception of times when he met with Alphas who demanded a private audience.
Private. Now that was a laughable notion.
If only the Alphas knew that she was privy to everything, able to hear not only their words but their thoughts. It didn’t matter if she was in another room, another vehicle or another location. If she concentrated, her mental connection with Diskant was so strong they could communicate even if they were miles away from each other.
Brett glanced up as she approached but promptly went back to cleaning the bar. She didn’t pry into his head, able to sense his displeasure at her present company. When she’d ventured to the club with Diskant to quit her job a week before Brett had been stunned and demanded to know what in the hell was going on. She’d since learned that he wasn’t exactly human. She’d come clean with him in a very strange, very surreal conversation. Their friendship had been strained ever since, no matter how many times she tried to reach out to him.
She stopped at the counter, studying the drinks on the tray. The weight of the mugs wasn’t a problem but with her small size someone might notice and wonder what she was eating for breakfast nowadays.
“JT!” Brett barked and stopped cleaning.
“Boss?” JT walked from the other side of the bar, wiping his hands on the towel at his waist.
Brett grasped the tray and shoved it into JT’s chest. “Take this to booth twelve.”
As JT scuttled off she placed her elbows on the counter and tried to make conversation for the second time. “Thanks.”
Brett’s response was a grunt, a nod and the presentation of his back as he turned to the backdrop and pretended to busy himself by cleaning the shelves. Nope, he was still unhappy with her.
Releasing a dejected sigh, she’d turned to make her way from the bar when a flash of blonde snared her attention. The woman was standing near the hallway to the restrooms, dressed from head to toe in black, and her gaze was riveted across the room. Recognition struck, taking Ava back to the alley, the smoky sky and the angelic face that stood over her as Nathan cradled her injured body in his arms. Ava followed the direction of the woman’s stare until her eyes rested on Trey and Emory. She wasn’t aware she’d started walking toward the woman until she heard Diskant in her head, angry and afraid.
Stop, Ava mine.
She didn’t listen, continuing forward. If she meant me harm, she would have killed me in the alley.
At least wait for me, don’t approach her alone.
She could leave if we do that. You weren’t exactly nice to her after what she did for me, if you recall.
A string of curses sounded in her mind and she knew Diskant was tearing a path through the crowd. She moved faster, pushing aside the people in her way until she stood at the side of the tall, beautiful creature with eyes so pale they seemed translucent. Those ice-blue eyes turned until they were no longer focused on Trey and Emory but rested entirely on Ava. Their gazes caught, blue on blue, a merging of mind and wills occurring as their telepathy flared and touched. Then Ava felt the woman’s power, recognized it. She’d known she was a vampire, had listened as Nathan recounted the story of her rescue to Diskant after the Shepherds attempted to finish what they started outside Dougan’s.
Ava hadn’t known she was also something more, something different.
Do you feel it, sister kind? the vampire mused. It is how you were given the ability to read and communicate mentally, how it flourished inside you.
Ava’s heart started racing, the crazed beating painful inside her chest. “Magic?”
After a fashion. Your parents were descended from mages.
“Mages?”
The vampire clasped her forearm in a soft grip, her fingers silky smooth. Allow me a parting gift.
There was no way to describe what happened next.
One instant Ava wasn’t aware of the significance of her parents’ lineage. The next she understood everything as an instantaneous burst of information was passed along, absorbed and processed. Extrasensory perception was a white mage trait, something that was passed along through the generations. It was stronger in some than others—ranging from what people referred to déjà vu to full-blown telepathy to telekinesis—but was always present. Her parents’ gifts manifested and were made more powerful in her by the genes that passed along the trait.
The hand on her wrist vanished, the world came into sharp focus and Ava stumbled slightly. Muffled curses and angry voices brought her attention to the floor, past the heads of those moving out of the way. Diskant was plowing through the unfortunate victims in his path as if they didn’t exist. Directly beside him was Trey, and his expression was equally terrifying, his level stare locked onto the beautiful blonde vampire standing beside her.