Bangers was a sleazy place in a bad area of town. Mystic wrinkled her nose as she climbed out of the car and the stench of alcohol, sex and unwashed human bodies assailed her. The smell came from the open doorway, from the cars around them. It even seemed to be baked into the asphalt.
"Looks promising," she said.
"Stay close to me," Hawk growled.
"I may stand right behind you so I can bury my nose in your shirt."
"I've smelled worse. At least there's no death here, not at the moment anyway."
Hawk moved around the car to place a proprietary hand on Mystic's hip. His wolf didn't like this. It paced and snarled and would have charged down the bond to bite Mystic's slumbering wolf until it woke if Hawk hadn't kept his beast caged in a place where she couldn't feel it.
The wolf wasn't at ease with the situation. It wouldn't be until others in its pack were present, and even then it hated having its mate locked in a human form.
If Hawk hadn't been worried about Mystic's safety himself, he would have been amused by the strange sensation of being slightly at odds with his beast. For most of his life they'd been one, a cohesive unit working and hunting together. But then, early on he'd had the power and control necessary to shift between forms without the added boost of an adult, an alpha, or the moon.
"Places like this can erupt into violence quickly," he told Mystic. "Stay alert."
"I will."
Both wolf and man were tested as soon as they got to the entrance. The bouncer's eyes roamed over Mystic. His hand went to his crotch and his tongue glided over thick parted lips. "You're a fine piece of ass, baby. There's no cover charge for you. Twenty-bucks for your friend but I'll let it go for a look at those tits."
Hawk's muscles bunched. He nearly launched himself at the other man when Mystic moved forward, crowding into the bouncer's personal space and forcing his gaze from her chest to her face. In the blink of an eye the bouncer's expression went slack. "You'll let us both in for free," she said.
A shiver of awareness slid up Hawk's spine. The hairs stood on his neck like a wolf's raised hackles. He was immune to the compulsion in her voice and yet he could hear it clearly. He hadn't expected her to have that ability.
The bouncer stepped back and gestured for them to pass. Hawk guided Mystic through the door and into the dark club.
Nice parlor trick, Hawk murmured along their bond.
She laughed silently. It's one advantage of having two vampire fathers and very little wolf blood to dampen the effect, though I think I've also gained from Roman's blood. It took almost no effort at all to capture the bouncer with my eyes and compel him to let us in.
Hawk only barely avoided growling a protest at her easy dismissal of her wolf. He knew they couldn't afford to be distracted by an argument over her true nature. His hand tightened on her waist in order to direct her attention to the right. There's Gabe.
They fought their way through the sweaty mass of drugged and drunk humans. Even with their bloodstreams polluted by intoxicants, the men reacted to Mystic's presence, crowding her, eating her with their eyes, fucking her in their fantasies.
Barely clad women writhed and gyrated against poles as others stripped on a stage. Cocktail waitresses wearing little more than thongs and tassels tolerated drunken groping and fingers sliding cash past the elastic of their panties.
"I should have handed you off to Roman instead of bringing you here," Hawk said when they reached the booth where Gabe and Gabby waited. A quick jerk of his head and Gabe slid out so Mystic could slide in and be against the wall.
"As if I would have let you," Mystic shot back, purposely twisting away from Hawk's hand and sitting next to Gabby, refusing to be forced against the wall of the booth.
"Mystic," Hawk growled.
"Oh man, trouble in paradise already?" Gabe said, deflecting Hawk's attention from Mystic and earning himself a dark look along with a snarl.
Mystic took advantage of the interruption. "So where are they?"
Gabby leaned forward. Her excitement made the air crackle. "When Gabe called you guys, there were two Weres who seemed off to us, a male and a female who both make me look like an uber-alpha-bitch-in a pack sense of course. But a little while ago another female joined them.
"The new one has been taking money from some of the human males and they've been disappearing into the private lap dance booths with the weaker female. Her body language says she's not happy about being pimped, but she's too scared of the alpha bitch to refuse."
Gabe risked a glance at Hawk before sliding onto the bench seat he'd just vacated. "It's got to be them. Or at least three of the seven we're hunting. The profile fits what the tracks in the woods told us. The apparent nonconsensual sex, plus a weak male and female who like to separate from the rest of their pack when they can but who are both completely dominated."
Hawk's gaze captured Mystic's. Don't think I'll let your challenge to my authority go just because your friends ran interference and we have other business to attend to, he growled into her thoughts.
I'm not a wolf nor are the four of us officially a pack. I am your mate. Your equal.
In some things but not in situations like this.
She looked away rather than to continue arguing with him. True, she wasn't trained, but she could certainly manage the humans and there was very little danger to be found in a booth!
That's what you think, Hawk said. He reached across and tangled his fingers in her hair in order to force her gaze back to his. Take a deep breath. Smell beneath the sex and sweat. Go beyond the stench of unwashed clothes and dirty bodies. What do you find?
Mystic grimaced. She'd been trying very hard not to inhale most of what was assaulting her nostrils. But she knew what he was getting at. Okay, there are guns and knives, probably other weapons as well.
Hawk released her hair and stroked downward until his fingers curled around her neck in a gesture that was possessive and protective as well as threatening. Without the tattoo of a hunter you are nearly as vulnerable as a human. A stray bullet or misaimed knife could kill you as easily as it could kill one of them.
I know.
Then obey me without question while we're hunting, Mystic. Your other mates will stand with me on this.
Okay, she said, knowing he was right.
One of the reasons the Angelini were such frightening hunters was because their children remained extremely vulnerable in the supernatural world they lived in until they'd finished their first hunt and gained the tattoo. Neither Angelini parent nor child easily forgot what it was like to live as a human and have human fears. They never forgot how fragile the beings they'd been created to protect were when it came to vampires and wolves.
Mystic lifted her lip in a silent snarl then laughed at herself for doing such a wolfie thing. She didn't doubt every one of her mates would be more than willing to keep her naked and in bed 24/7 if she'd let them or they could find an excuse to do it.
Hawk's chuckle slid down her spine and made her nipples tighten. Credit us with a little more imagination than that. Naked, yes, but even within Christian's sparsely furnished house there are many, many places other than the bed where we would enjoy mating with you.
Delicious images shivered through Mystic. She wanted to believe it was just the newness of sex that had her so easily craving more of it after she'd already had so much of it. But she suspected the men in her life were always going to have this power over her. She guessed it would always take very little on their part to make her forget what she was doing or thinking in the moments before they tempted her with the promise of pleasure.
It took more effort than she'd ever admit to in order to force the sensual scenes parading through her thoughts away. When she did she noticed the scene taking place in front of her and frowned.
A human male was standing next to the table with the three Weres. He was heavyset and greasy-haired, clad in leather with a chain tethering his wallet to his jeans. But it was his eyes that bothered Mystic the most. They were mean and small. Pig eyes.
His head jerked toward the weaker female and she cowered. The noise in the club drowned out any possibility of hearing the whimper of protest but Mystic knew one had come from the female's lips.
The alpha bitch said something. The human spat on the floor. The alpha shrugged and turned her face as if dismissing the human. He glowered at the weaker female then reached back and yanked his wallet out of his pocket. Several bills landed on the table.
Mystic stood when the weak female stood.
No, Hawk said, rising and grabbing Mystic's wrist before she could take a step toward the Weres. "This is not our fight." Do you want to risk your friends among a drunk and heavily armed crowd? A crowd that will erupt into violence with little provocation? We cannot shift here and we are outnumbered.
The human and the female Were approached the row of booths set aside for private lap dances. A bouncer leaning against a nearby exit pushed away from the wall and moved to intercept them.
More money changed hands.
Mystic's stomach turned. She knew Hawk was right. Gabby could hold her own in her fur but in human form she wasn't much better at fighting than she was at being stealthy.
I'm a lover, not a fighter. It was their shared motto, their shield against the failure others wanted to assign them.
The human and the female Were entered one of the booths and closed the door.
Everything inside Mystic screamed she should do something. Pack life could be brutal, especially for members of lesser standing, she knew and accepted that, but to abuse a female like this, to sell her...
"How long?" Hawk asked.
"Fifteen minutes," Gabe said. "If they're not out the bouncer will open the door and collect more money or tell them to leave."
Hawk squeezed Mystic's wrist. "Sit. You're starting to attract attention and unlike the alpha female, I won't tolerate a human male either touching or talking to you."
Mystic's eyebrows lifted. "Talking? Don't you think that's a bit extreme? I am part of this hunt and as you saw with the bouncer at the entrance, I do have certain abilities you do not." Her chin went up slightly. It might be an overstatement but she did feel as though she'd gained from Roman's blood. "I bet it would take me only a few minutes of leaning against the bar and questioning the men who came to me for us to know a lot more about the Weres. Surely you don't intend for us to sit in the booth and do nothing other than wait for them to leave so we can follow them."
The muscle in Hawk's cheek spasmed.
"It's not a bad idea," Gabe volunteered.
Hawk shot him a lethal glare. Mystic tried to pull out of Hawk's grasp. His teeth flashed in warning but she didn't back down. "You can go to the bar with me," she said, "but I imagine we'll have better results if Gabe or Gabby go instead."
Her gaze flicked to the private room where the human male and the Were female were no doubt engaged in sexual acts. "I understand why we can't interfere now. But I can't sit and do nothing."
A frustrated growl vibrated in Hawk's chest and throat. He should have passed her off to Roman. Better yet, he should have found a way to convince her other mates to agree with him and send her back to the Zevanti compound where she'd be safe.
Her upbringing hadn't prepared her to deal with violence, with situations and places like this one. The stink of human anger and despair mixed with drugs and alcohol and hidden weapons was a combination guaranteed to erupt at some point.
"I don't like the idea of you making yourself available to the men here," Hawk said.
"I know." Mystic took a step so she was standing next to where he sat.
Her scent assailed him. Her heat curled around his cock. When she placed her hand on his forearm he knew he was going to lose the battle.
"I need to learn," she said, her eyes soft and pleading. "What better way to do it than with you and Gabe and Gabby here to watch over me?"
Instinct warred with reason. Wolf battled man. But in the end he nodded sharply and said, "Stay close to her, Gabe."
Mystic squeezed his arm. Reluctantly he let her pull her wrist from his grip.
It nearly killed him to watch her walk away from the booth. The sway of her hips, the sultry attraction of Mystic alone was enough to draw hungry male eyes to her. The erotic allure of the Angelini only served to make the humans moths to a compelling flame.
He partially rose from his seat when a man grabbed her arm. A ripple of anger and possessiveness streaked down his spine like raised hackles.
Gabby's hand on his wrist stopped him from following Mystic. Her urgent, "She'll be okay. Give her a chance," reined in Hawk's need to sever the human's hand from his arm for daring to touch Mystic.
"She should go back to the Zevanti compound. You both should."
"They'll all be at the Howl."
A muscle twitched in Hawk's cheek. Gabby was right. By now the heady fever to pair up and breed would be riding the pack members. The females would be in heat and the males eager to cover them. He didn't think the Angelini magic would rise again and demand Mystic claim a fourth mate, but in the midst of a fog of lust... His teeth snapped together with a frustrated growl. They would see to her safety here.
He settled into his seat. He watched as Mystic escaped the human and got to the bar. Immediately the bartender came to serve her. Even in the dark, smoky club, Hawk saw the instant when Mystic captured the man in her eyes.
Pride filled him. The wolf inside snarled but subsided. He relaxed enough to look away from Mystic in order to study the Weres.
The alpha female was dangerous. The lesser male was an unknown. But if they could separate the weak female from her companions they could probably gain enough information to capture them-or kill them. He was fairly certain these were the wolves who'd hunted the fledgling vampire.
Hawk preferred to capture them and hand them over to a jury of Weres and vampires. Either way, he would do what was necessary. He was an alpha strong enough to petition for a pack of his own, he would see this hunt to its conclusion.
His attention shifted to the private booth where the weak female was entertaining the human male. The easiest way to get the Were alone was to pay for her company.
According to the tracks they'd found in the woods, she and a weaker male had hung back as the others hunted. And given the way the alpha bitch was selling the weak female against her will, it was possible she would latch on to him as her savior.
His gaze flicked to the emergency exit. An alternative would be to intercept the female and hurry her outside and into one of the cars.
He looked at his watch. Five minutes remained before the bouncer would expect to be paid for additional room time. His eyes found Mystic. She was talking to a second bartender. Gabe was several stools away, nursing a beer and leaning casually against the bar.
Hawk smiled in approval. He was impressed with both of Mystic's friends.
His focus shifted to the alpha bitch and the male. He measured the distance from their table to the booth and then to the emergency exit guarded by the same bouncer selling time in the lap-dance booths. He considered the risks as he worked various scenarios out in his mind. His gaze lingered on the bouncer and his stomach tightened with thoughts of sending Mystic to see if he could be used to help them separate the weak female from her two pack members.
Hawk took in the crowd. It was almost exclusively human though several of them wore black and smiled with vampire-like fangs.
"Have there been any other Weres here?" he asked. He wondered if the rogues knew how to spot others like them. If they'd been created rather than born, they might not know, just as they might not have known the fledgling wouldn't disintegrate with the dawn.
"I felt something earlier," Gabby said.
"Did you and Gabe check all the way around the club?"
"Yes."
He nodded toward the emergency exit and the bouncer leaning against the wall. "Any idea what's on the other side of that door?"
"More parking. While we were back there a guy was screwing a hookup against the wall. Guess he was too cheap to pay for a booth and too high to care that one of the bartenders was having a smoke and watching the action."
"Where's your car?"
"On the other side."
Gabe and Mystic returned to the booth. "What'd you learn?" Gabby asked.
"There are seven of them, just like we thought," Mystic said. "Usually there are only two or three here at a time. They've been coming around for the last month." She leaned forward. "And get this, lately they've started asking about a woman named Marta, a guy named Hugh, and another guy-Todd."
"The fledgling," Gabby said. "He wasn't a random kill."
Mystic nodded. "That's what it looks like."
"Did you get a description of Marta and Hugh?" Hawk asked.
Mystic shook her head. "The bartenders only vaguely remembered the names. One of them thought he may have seen a picture. But they wouldn't have admitted to knowing anything at all if I hadn't compelled them."
Hawk stroked Mystic's cheek. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her to demonstrate how pleased and proud he was, only he worried over whether to acknowledge her victory or not. She was Angelini. He would have easily accepted her as a hunter if she'd already been one, but the idea of her becoming one didn't fit comfortably with his need to protect her.
"You did well," he finally said and was glad he did it when he felt how much it meant to her.
They turned their attention back to the Weres. The bouncer checked his watch and pushed away from the wall. He opened the door to the private booth. The female emerged with the dead eyes of a habitual victim.
A muscle spasmed in Hawk's jaw. "I'm going to buy fifteen minutes with the female. If I can be alone with her in the booth I may be able to turn her with a promise of safety. But failing that, when our time is up, I'm going to steer her to the exit."
He glanced at Mystic. "Once I'm in the booth, I want you to go over to the bouncer. See if you can compel him to help us, or at least not to hinder us. Stay there while Gabe escorts Gabby to their Jeep."
His attention shifted to Gabby. "Position the car just outside the exit and be ready to open the back door. Gabe-"
Hawk cursed as he watched the Weres stand and slip on their jackets. Frustration rippled through him.
He opened his mouth to tell Gabe and Gabby to position themselves outside the front door but before he could get the words out a human approached the Were's table. His wallet was in his hand before he arrived.
Where the other man had been heavyset and bull-necked, this one was thin and lanky. The alpha bitch smiled a greeting and sank back into her seat. The male Were followed her example. The weak female remained standing as money changed hands.
Money changed hands again with the bouncer.
"We're in luck," Gabe murmured as this time the bouncer indicated the booth closest to the exit door.
"Walk Gabrielle out to the car then come back inside," Hawk said. "Gabby, make sure the car is where it needs to be in fifteen minutes. Leave the engine running. Once we come out, open the back door and then get back in the front seat. Be ready to drive."
Gabe and Gabby left after checking their watches. Mystic covered Hawk's hand with hers. "Thanks for not using me to talk to the bouncer then sending me to the car where you think it's safer."
He flipped his hand over and captured hers. "I'd like to send you to the car. Better yet, I wish you were somewhere else, with one of your other mates."
"Or the Howl?"
His nostrils flared. "Only if I was there to mount you."
A flash of heat spiked through Mystic's pussy. The Weres thought nothing of mating in the presence of others during the Howl, though it was an entertainment reserved for adults only.
Gabe returned a few minutes later. Mystic glanced at her watch. She was nervous but excited. What she'd told Hawk earlier was true. She had gained from Roman's blood. Not only had it been easy to draw the bartenders to her, but it had been easy to question them and guide them through the fog of their memories. She'd never been able to hold another's mind so long or probe so deeply into thoughts that weren't her own, especially in a stranger who had no blood link to her.
"I should go," she said, squeezing Hawk's hand but waiting for him to release her rather than pulling away from him.
"Go out ahead of Gabe. Get in the front seat and get your door closed. Gabe and I'll handle the Were. We'll come back for my car later."
"Okay."
He let her hand go despite his reluctance and his misgivings about her involvement. She slipped from the booth and headed for the bouncer.
A waitress blocked her path as she was passing close to the Were's table. Mystic frowned as their aura prickled uncomfortably against hers. Usually Weres felt warm and smooth, a continuous heated flow of energy her blood recognized. She resisted the urge to look at them when she felt their attention on her as she waited for the waitress to move out of the way.
The waitress wriggled and laughed as money was slipped beneath her g-string. She finally shifted her position, leaning over another patron so closely her breasts brushed against his hairy forearm.
Mystic hurried past her and toward the bouncer. His gaze was hungry and hard, locked to her as the front of his pants tented in reaction to her approach.
She captured his eyes as soon as she got close. "Will you help me?" she purred and heard Hawk's growl along their bond.
"Anything you want," the bouncer said.
Mystic licked her lips.
The bouncer's hand cupped his crotch and rubbed.
Don't press your luck, Hawk said in a voice that promised retribution if her actions resulted in the bouncer touching her.
How much time is left? she asked, not wanting to lose eye contact until the last moment.
A couple of minutes. Gabe and I are walking past the Weres' table. They're nervous. Tell the bouncer to open the door and pull the female out.
"My friend's in the last booth," Mystic said. "I need her out of there right now."
The bouncer didn't hesitate. In three steps he had the door yanked open. The Were was bare breasted and on her knees with a cock in her mouth. That didn't stop him from grabbing her arm and jerking her out of the booth.
Go! Hawk commanded, suddenly there, his hand circling the Were's arm, his mass pushing Mystic toward the exit.
Mystic had no time to recapture the bouncer's mind as she was herded out of the club and into the parking lot. And then there was no time to do anything but react as the two remaining Weres exploded through the door and attacked.
Hawk fended off the male with kicks and punches while trying to hold on to the prostituted, omega female. Gabby rushed forward to grab the female's other arm.
A knife flashed in the alpha bitch's hand, her attention wavering between Hawk and Gabe for an instant before settling on Gabe. She slashed with deadly precision, driving him away while at the same time maneuvering closer to Hawk's exposed back.
The prostituted female stumbled and fell, dragging Hawk and Gabby with her. The bitch saw her opportunity. She whirled, intent on plunging the knife into Hawk.
Gabe and Mystic both reacted. They launched themselves at the alpha female and took her to the ground.
She screamed in rage and stabbed wildly. Gabe grunted as the blade connected.
The bitch writhed and twisted, bucked and snarled as she fought. Mystic tried to pin her wrists, but Gabe's blood made the Were's arm slick.
With a savage lunge the bitch slammed her forehead against the edge of Mystic's eye socket. Mystic's concentration was lost in an explosion of pain as she fell away. The shock of a knife slashing her chest and stomach made her scream.
Hawk was there instantly. His fists connected with the sound of flesh striking flesh.
The bitch rolled away and scrambled to her feet cursing. She grabbed the omega female by the arm, then with an order to the male, the three of them ran, leaving her knife on the ground next to Mystic.
Gabby's breath was heaving in and out of her chest as she crawled over to Mystic. She took her shirt off without hesitation and pressed it to the deep cut across Mystic's belly, trying to stop the worst of the bleeding.
Hawk knelt down, wadding up his shirt and pressing it against the gash below Mystic's collarbones. Despite the pain radiating through her, she could feel his agony, his anger, his guilt. "I just need Roman," she whispered. "His blood will fix me right up."
"Where is he?"
Mystic didn't have to reach down the link to find him. Both Christian and Roman had known the moment she was hurt. Both of them were demanding answers.
Roman was already feeding her pictures of how to get to Brann's estate. She let the information pass through her mind and into Hawk's.
A sob escaped when Hawk lifted her and placed her on the backseat of the Jeep. Gabby remained with her, keeping the bloody shirt pressed tightly against the wounds.
Mystic was vaguely aware of Hawk talking with Gabe. Then the car was moving and great waves of pain were crashing down on her.