The waiter came with their food and Ayden paid before they both shuffled back into the hotel lobby without drawing attention.

  “The party involves The Circle. Doesn’t it?” Izzy asked quietly as they got in the elevator.

  Ayden was quiet for a moment. “We believe the Circle is running a human trade.” He swallowed. “That’s the only reason we have for the humans disappearing.”

  “And how is it connected to the Elites being killed?”

  Ayden shook his head. “I don’t know, but you need to go back now that we know Markus is here.”

  “We’ve already talked about that. I’m not going home. I’m going to stay here with Crystal and Sam and complete the mission.”

  When they got out of the elevator, Izzy started down the hall, but Ayden grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. “Did you see that woman with the other vampire?”

  She nodded. “She’s a bound human, I assume.”

  “Yes, James’ bound human. She’s an example of what he’s capable of doing to a human. If he’s here, then he’s probably doing a demonstration.”

  Izzy raised a brow. “Every bound human is that way.”

  Ayden shook his head. “No, they aren’t. Look at Tegan at the Disappearing Act. She’s Lucius human, and she’s not a broken… pet.” He hesitated at the words. “I don’t want to see James get his hands on you.”

  “It’s not James that I’m worried about, it’s Markus.”

  “They are one and the same.” Ayden stopped with her outside the room door.

  Izzy unlocked the door, and they walked in. Ayden sat on the bed next to her. She tried to recall Tegan at the bar. She seemed to be badass. She always had her eyes covered, but in the few times Izzy had encountered her, she didn’t act like a beaten human.

  “I’m sorry, Ayden. I can’t just leave. If you’re that worried about it, just come with us.” Izzy shoved some food in her mouth and watched him.

  He pressed his lips together. “Harper and I have invitations inside. I have to go in to watch her back. If I can, I’ll come out with you after. We won’t stay long. We just want an idea of who’s running the show other than Markus and James.”

  Izzy raised a brow. “How did you get tickets inside?”

  “We have connections to the vampires, remember?” He tried to make it a joke, but all she did was cross her arms.

  “I want in. We could gather so much more information.”

  “No,” he said easily. “You don’t have a ticket in, and they would know exactly what you are the moment you got in there.”

  The door opened and Crystal walked back in with a to-go bag. “Oh um, sorry for interrupting. Do I need to go?”

  Izzy shook her head. “No, Ayden was just telling me he and Harper have tickets inside the party and they believe that it’s a human slave trade for the vampires.”

  Crystal raised a brow. “I knew Harper had tickets in, but not Ayden.”

  “I told him he should get us in.”

  Crystal shook her head. “No, too dangerous. Neither you nor Sam have finished your vampire politics class. You could screw it up too easily and end up dead.”

  Ayden gave Izzy a look that said ‘see?’.

  “Okay, fine, we stick to the original plan then.”

  Ayden let out a frustrated sigh. “You need to go home.”

  “Is this what he wanted to talk to you about?” Crystal asked.

  Izzy nodded. “Pretty much. We saw Markus and some vampire named James in the breakfast place.”

  Crystal froze at that. “Did James have a woman with him?”

  Izzy nodded. “His bonded human.”

  Crystal put her bag down. “I need to go make a phone call.” She walked out without another word, and Izzy wondered what the hell had triggered her. Then it dawned on her. “James must have been the vampire who attacked her.”

  Ayden nodded. “Seems so. That’s two Ancient vampires at one party. Seriously Izzy…”

  “I’m not leaving Adyen. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She resisted the urge to hug him. She held on to her anger so she wouldn’t give in to the affection she wanted to show him. Now it was clear he was only going to hold her back.

  Ayden stood. “I’m sorry Izzy, I wanted our next meeting to be under better circumstances.”

  Izzy snorted. “Yeah, that would have been nice. But here we are, two Hunters.”

  “From different worlds.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  Izzy sat down on her bed and hung her head. She wanted to follow him, but that meant leaving the Society and everything she’d worked for.

  Ayden walked out of the hotel room and saw Crystal in the hall.

  Crystal paced as she walked. “Ayden is warning us to go home, but with Markus and James here, I think he might be right.” She paused and looked up at Ayden. “Two Ancient vampires? Both connected to the Hunters sent? How is that not suspicious, Professor Belle?”

  Ayden had expected her to be talking to Isaac or Joey, not a different Master. He started down the hallway, but Crystal put her hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her and she held up a finger, asking him to wait.

  “Isaac isn’t answering his phone, which is why I defaulted to you, but if you think we should continue our plan, we will.” Crystal made a few more noises in agreement before hanging up the phone.

  “Did you need something?” Ayden tried to keep his annoyance to himself.

  “I need to know why that information wasn’t passed on until now.”

  “Because we weren’t really told exactly what you guys were coming here for. I didn’t know details until Joey called me and said I needed to make sure Izzy went home.” Ayden motioned to the door in frustration. “She won’t go home, and although I know she fears Markus more than anyone, she’s going to stay here and let fate decide if she’s going to face him or not.”

  Crystal nodded. “Something’s going on and I think Isaac and Professor Belle are in on it. I don’t know where you came from, or why you disappeared, but I have a feeling you know more about all of this than you’re letting on to.”

  Ayden studied her for a moment. “You had me pegged as a stranger the moment I moved in. I come from the vampire world. I’m an independent Hunter that sent to the school to locate some old families. Isadora’s turned out to be one of them.”

  “Why?” Crystal crossed her arms. “I want to know why if I’m expected to trust you.”

  Ayden glanced at the door and then motioned for her to follow down the hall. He didn’t want Izzy to know, not yet.

  “Isadora’s family was supposed to be the Keeper of an Original Vampire. Each vampire had a family tasked with watching over them and waiting for them to rise. A few of them have fallen off the map. Izzy’s family fell off the map about the time that the American Hunters broke off from the European Hunters.” Ayden hesitated for a moment. “Most Keepers are bound humans because they’d be able to sense when the vampire wakes.”

  Crystal shook her head. “The Originals are nothing but myths. Keepers… our records hold very little about them.”

  Ayden shrugged. “I’m telling you the truth. There’s not much else I can say.”

  “Ayden Blackwell.” A voice sounded down the hall, and Ayden stepped in front of Crystal, hoping to keep attention on him.

  “James Koller, what on earth are you doing here?” Ayden felt Crystal tense behind him.

  James stood there with his human at his side. His human lifted her head just slightly, her lips formed into a little ‘o’ of surprise, but before she could speak, James laughed. “I could ask you the same thing, a long way from Nuala, aren’t you?”

  “You know I’m never far from her,” Ayden said easily. It was a way around a lie. He didn’t want James to know he’d left Nuala. The sleeping places of the Originals were secrets, so the Circle didn’t kill them.

  James glanced at Crystal and then back to Ayden. “Be careful the company you keep, Ayden. I’d hate for your friends to end up like your sister.”

  Ayden locked his jaw at the low jab. His sister had lost her life to the slave trade. He’d failed to nurse her back to health, and she’d died in his arms. James had been the vampire in charge of the camp. “Fuck you, James.”

  “Astel, come along. We’re not welcomed here.” James turned to leave, but the woman with him stood there, watching Crystal for a moment. “Now, Astel.”

  She jerked her head around like she hadn’t heard him the first time. She turned away from Ayden and Crystal and walked back down the hall with James.

  “So, you have a history with James too, then?” Crystal asked, her voice soft.

  Ayden turned “He’s the reason my sister died.”

  “That’s my mother at his side,” Crystal whispered and then turned around. “I would be grateful if you could watch our backs tomorrow night. We’re just supposed to observe, but who knows what might happen.”

  “Your mother?” Ayden asked gently. Crystal nodded. “Don’t mention it to the others, please. It was painful enough just to see her. She doesn’t remember who I am. She never has.”

  Crystal walked back down the hall and Ayden took it as his sign to head out. He waited a few minutes to make sure that James had time to leave before he took the elevator down and headed back to Harper’s house.

  Lucius looked up from Mae when Tegan walked into the room. “None of the wolves could come?”

  Tegan shook her head. “And all of our humans are spread between my club and The Corner. That leaves me.”

  Lucius looked at Mae as her body calmed. She’d rise in a few minutes, ready for her first true feeding. She’d be his fledgling and his mate. “Tegan, you now I wouldn’t ask if she didn’t need it.”

  Tegan nodded, but Lucius could feel the fear just below the surface. “I know. It’s just for her first feeding.” Her voice shook a little. “After that, we can get her on a schedule with the donors.”

  “If Kassity was well enough—”

  “Well, she’s not,” Tegan shot back. “And I need to get back to her, so the sooner I can feed Mae, the sooner I can go nurse my friend back to health.”

  Friend. That wasn’t a word that Tegan used lightly, and it surprised him that Kassity had earned the title already. “I’m sorry, Tegan.”

  She didn’t say anything as Mae’s eyes fluttered open. Tegan rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and kneeled next to Mae. “Drink,” she whispered.

  Mae looked up at Lucius in confusion, and he nodded. “Please, Mae.”

  Mae hesitated, and Tegan sighed and pulled out a knife. She drew it across her wrist.

  Mae’s hand shot to Tegan’s wrist, and she yanked the arm up to her. Without grace of movement, Mae struck with her fangs.

  Tegan cringed, and Lucius felt her panic. He placed a hand on her shoulder, letting their bond calm her. Reminding her that Mae wouldn’t try to bleed her dry. She wouldn’t leave Tegan on the floor begging for death.

  “Time to pull back,” Lucius urged Mae. She looked up at him with red-tinted eyes, but she unlatched herself from Tegan.

  Tegan stood and walked out without another word. Later, Lucius would have to check on her to make sure she didn’t fall victim to her memories, but right now he needed to worry about Mae.

  “How do you feel?”

  Mae looked at her hands and then at him, her brows creased in worried. “What have you done to me?”

  “Josh tried to kill you. I… couldn’t allow that to happen. I changed you to save your life.”

  Mae shook her head. “I don’t want to be a vampire. I’m a hunter.” She growled. “I was chasing after the crimes you committed against Kassity with Josh’s help.” She ran her hand over her eyes. “Why is everything so bright?”

  “You have heightened senses now. You’ll be able to hear things you couldn’t before as well. You’ll get used to it. You’re faster, stronger.”

  She closed her eyes. “Why?”

  “Why what?” Lucius asked. He wanted to hold her and sooth away the fear that he could hear in her voice.

  “Why did you want to save me?”

  He tried to think of anything to say to her other than ‘you’re my mate,’. “You are too strong to die at the hands of a vampire like Josh.”

  “And where is Josh?”

  “Dead. I killed him.” He wouldn’t go into details. That’s all she needed to know. “Welcome to my territory, Mae. I’ll teach you to be a vampire, as my sire did for me.”

  She glanced up at him again. “And what if I don’t want to be a vampire?”

  The words hurt. He didn’t want to think about her wanting to walk out into the sun or have some stake her. “Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I know it’s scary at first, but you must give it a chance.” For every selfish reason in the book, he needed her to live.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Where’s Sam?” Izzy asked as she picked at her eggs.

  “He hooked up with someone last night, so I wouldn’t expect him down for breakfast.” Crystal chuckled. “Whatever works for him, as long as he keeps his mind on the mission.”

  “Don’t worry, my mind is right there.” Sam sat down next to Crystal. “And I’m not late because of the hookup, I’m late because Isaac called me. You two should be getting a text with an update for tonight’s plan.”

  As if on cue, both Izzy's and Crystal’s phones dinged. Izzy didn’t pull hers out. “Why is Isaac giving you updates on the mission when Crystal is the lead?”

  “He said he couldn’t get a hold of Crystal. I called him last night when I saw two Ancient vampires walking around.”

  Izzy glanced at Crystal.

  “Isaac didn’t answer the phone when I called him last night. I had to call Professor Belle last night to tell him. Isaac never tried to call me.” Crystal grabbed her phone and checked the message.

  She read it out loud. “Plans have changed, do not explore during day, get in and out quickly tonight.”

  Izzy frowned. “Going during the daylight was going to give us an advantage on the terrain.”

  “When we talked this morning, he was concerned because some of the Ancients are rumored to be daywalkers. We don’t want to face two Ancients who having nothing to do to entertain themselves. Do we?”

  Crystal nodded. “That’s one rumor we don’t want to find to be true and then be caught off guard.”

  Izzy leaned back and studied Sam. “Where did you see the two Ancients at?”

  “I saw them in town when I was getting dinner.”

  Izzy glanced at Crystal. “Did you see them?”

  “No, I didn’t know they were here until you said something.”

  Izzy had a feeling Crystal was lying, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up. She texted Joey and Susie to confirm the change in the plans. “I feel like Isaac should have contacted all of us.”

  “Like I said, he couldn’t get a hold of Crystal, so he came to me. I still outrank you Izzy, so it makes sense.” Sam shrugged. “But that means we have an entire day before we start our mission.”

  Izzy wrinkled her nose. “I’m going back to bed then.”

  “Didn’t sleep well?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah, had bad dreams all night.” She shrugged.

  “Our contacts will meet us here in just a few,” Crystal stated. “I thought it was important that we get everyone on the same page. It turns out they have more information than we were originally told.”

  Izzy raised a brow. “When did you make this meeting?”

  “This morning while you were in the shower.” Crystal smiled. “I think it’s best that if we’re going into this, we go in with as much information as we can get.”

  Sam snorted. “Isaac says not to trust our contacts too much.”

  “Isaac isn’t here to guide this mission, I am. We’ve already had them prove their worth with a situation last night, so I want to make sure we use everything to our advantage.”

  Izzy nodded and tried to prepare her brain to see Ayden. She didn’t know what happened when Crystal was in the hallway and Ayden left. She looked up as Ayden and another woman walked in.

  She smiled and held her hand out. “Hi, I’m Harper. You must be Isadora.”

  Izzy shook her hand and the two of them sat down, Ayden scooting into the bench next to Izzy. He put his hand on her knee, and she wrapped her fingers around his. She wanted the comfort because last night shook her confidence just a little. She was still going to go through with the mission, but her confidence just wasn’t there.

  “Crystal invited us here to tell you what we know about the party going on tonight,” Harper started. “How much do you know about vampire politics?”

  “Izzy and Sam haven’t finished their politics class yet.”

  “I started mine, but there’s not enough information to really get me through a vampire-hosted event.”

  Harper nodded. “There are rules you have to play by so you don’t die. They outnumber you. Ayden told me you’re not planning on going in, but if a vampire comes out and approaches you, you need to leave immediately.”

  “We’re not cowards, we’re Hunters. We don’t abandon a mission just because we’re spotted. We’re trained to take out vampires, same as you.” Sam said and raised a brow. “Or are you working with them?”

  Izzy’s gaze slide to Ayden, but he remained silent, letting Harper take the lead.

  “We’re not working with them, but we’ve dealt with the Ancients in town before. Going against one of them would be poor odds, two of them impossible. Markus runs the underground human trade, and with James’ help, they sell perfectly broken humans. James loves to break Hunters.”

  Crystal bristled at that. “We’re just going to observe. We’re not going into the party.”

  “They’ll know you’re there. The best option is after you complete your mission, you lie low for a while. Don’t leave campus when you get back.” Ayden squeezed her hand. “And even then, be careful while you’re there.”

  Sam looked at Ayden. “What do you know about the Hunting Society?”

  Ayden laughed, and it wasn’t a friendly laugh. “More than you care to know, but I’m not sharing that story with you right now.”

 

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