Kami blew a raspberry. “Oh, please. I haven’t seen you this enamored since…Well, never.”
“That assignment is over and done with. I’ll never see him again.” Which was a good thing, too, because the more interaction I had with vampires, the greater the risk to my life. As a dhampir—the offspring of a human and a vampire—I was the one species vampires feared. Vampires were immortal not invulnerable; they could still be killed. Like sunlight, a dhampir could kill them with minimal effort. Once the sun was no longer an obstacle, vampires focused on eradicating their other major threat. Thanks to my mother’s intensive training, I learned to conceal my true nature. There was always the chance of discovery, though.
Always.
Kami smiled. “Somehow I doubt you’ll never see him again. There were too many hormones working overtime.”
“I’m thirty, not thirteen. Besides, he’s a prince and a vampire. Both of those facts make a relationship with him a nonstarter.”
She pounded a fist on the table. “Aha! So you admit you’ve considered it.”
“I admit nothing.” Just because we’d fought together to rescue his sister and recover a powerful stone with elemental powers didn’t mean we’d formed a connection.
Nope. No connection at all.
“You two are rather spirited this evening,” Simon said as he passed by with another round for the table at the back.
“Not as spirited as those guys,” I said. The werewolves seemed to grow louder by the minute.
His gaze flicked to the large table. “I’ll cut them off before they get too rowdy.”
“Let’s hope so,” Kami said. “We already cleaned up one mess tonight.”
“I think you’ll find I cleaned up the mess.”
“And I held the bins in place so they didn’t tip over. Team effort.” She held out her fist for me to bump it.
Simon chuckled and carried on.
As Kami and I finished the last of our pitcher, the voices around us grew deeper and louder. At one point I glanced at the bar to see Simon’s gaze fixed on the oval table. I got the sense he was uneasy about whatever storm was brewing between the werewolves.
Kami twisted to observe the pack. “I can’t tell what they’re getting worked up about.”
I lowered my voice. “Does it matter? If they don’t calm down soon, the paws and claws will be out.” And our night will be ruined.
Simon seemed to be on the same page. “You know the rules, fellas,” he called to them. “No fur in my pub or you’re banished.”
A broad-shouldered werewolf held up his hands in acquiescence. “Wouldn’t dream of it, mate. We’re just having a laugh.”
Not all of them. Two of them were glowering at each other and I heard a low growl. I didn’t like the sudden shift in energy.
“We should go,” I said.
Kami signaled to Simon for the bill.
“What’s wrong with you tonight?” a werewolf thundered. “Stop twitching.”
A chair flew across the table and smashed against the wall. Kami and I sprang to our feet at the same time.
Patrons scrambled for the door. They weren’t fools. An entire table of angry werewolves could get ugly fast.
“That’s enough, fellas,” Simon ordered. “Last warning.”
The warning fell on deaf ears. Two werewolves were at each other’s throats, literally. Each one had a hand wrapped around the other’s throat. We needed to separate them. Now.
“Donnie, settle down,” one of the other werewolves urged. “You don’t seem like yourself.”
I didn’t know Donnie, but his friend was right. The werewolf even looked strange, like his human face had started to transform and stopped midway.
“Harry, let Donnie go and then he’ll do the same. Nice and easy,” another werewolf said in an encouraging voice.
Harry let go.
Donnie responded by lifting Harry over his head with both hands, preparing to launch the poor guy across the room.
I jumped on my table and vaulted into the air, grabbing a string of ceiling lights with both hands. I used the momentum to swing across the large table. The heels of my boots landed squarely on Donnie’s chest and he sailed backward, hitting the wall with arms and legs spread like a starfish. Harry slammed against the wall over his friend’s head and fell to the floor with a thud.
A hush fell over the pub.
I watched Donnie, hoping he’d come to his senses.
“Are you going to behave now?” I prompted.
Fabric shred and fur sprouted as both men unleashed the beasts within. They were terrifying creatures that hovered somewhere between man and wolf.
“I think that’s a no,” Kami said behind me.
I felt a rush of remorse. I was trying to knock sense into Donnie, not escalate matters.
Donnie towered over Harry even in wolf form. They stood on their hind legs, their bodies wrapped in corded muscle and covered in patchy fur. Their muzzles were more lupine than human but their blurred nature made them appear even more monstrous. These two would never be confused with actual wolves in the forest.
Harry seemed perplexed, studying his paws as though he’d never seen them before.
Donnie released a roar at the crowd that sent shivers down my spine. It wasn’t so much fear as an instinctive response to a primal sound. I quickly collected myself. Donnie was big and furry, but I’d fought bigger and furrier and lived to tell the tale.
“Looks like Donnie don’t want to drink here no more,” one of the werewolves muttered.
Simon climbed on top of the bar wielding a stun gun shaped like a wand. “I’m warning you lot right now. Nobody else turn.” He aimed the wand at Donnie and Harry. “You two. Turn back now or you’re banned for life.”
Harry began to twitch uncontrollably.
“Harry?” One of his companions patted the wolf’s back. “Come on, mate. Everything’s cool. Just shift back and we’ll have another drink.”
Another werewolf stepped in front of Donnie with his head lowered and made placating motions with his hands. “Donnie, come on. Let’s call it a night, eh?”
The wolf’s amber eyes fixated on his friend. For a fleeting moment, I thought everything was under control. Donnie sniffed the air between them and inched forward. The smaller guy’s shoulders relaxed and his hands dropped to his side.
“Well done, Marco,” someone called.
Donnie attacked.
He lunged at Marco, lifted him into the air like he weighed no more than a pint glass, and launched him across the room. Marco smashed into the window bearing the pub logo of the gold crown, red dragon, and white lion. Whimpering, he crashed to the ground.
The window cracked and splintered and a collective gasp followed. These windows had survived the Great Eruption and were irreplaceable. I didn’t need to look at Simon’s face to know he was devastated.
Shards of glass rained down on Marco and he rolled out of harm’s way.
Donnie roared again like a beast staking his claim. In for a penny, in for a pound of flesh, apparently.
“Enough is enough,” Simon bellowed.