Half Blood Rising novel Chapter 13

I suddenly felt like someone had just dropped a bucket of ice-cold water over my head. The vampire was hard as he rubbed himself against me, and his lips caressed my neck. Damn it, was I slowly losing my mind? Did he just hypnotise me? Use his glamour?

I pushed him off me, which required a lot more self-control than I’d expected. My mind was racing, and the world around me was spinning.

“Thanks, but I’m fine,” I said, my voice hoarse. My core was throbbing with need, and I was so turned on. He must have used his abilities to weaken me. That’s what vampires did when they wanted to drink from someone.

Vlad was in the club and I had to keep an eye on him. It was the main reason that I was here. The vampire looked baffled and pissed off, but I didn’t care. Seconds later I grabbed my drink, remembering I had my knife with me.

Last year, I’d killed a vampire who’d turned small children into half-breeds. He was vile, and a lot of his victims hadn’t survived. As soon as I’d showed Tristan the corpse, he’d given me a lot more than I’d expected, so I decided to invest in a selection of knives afterwards. I’d never regretted spending money on them.

I was surprised to learn that Oldman had managed to ship our weapons to Dimitry’s house, but my sword wasn’t in the package that came from Kiev.

“Don’t you want to taste an ancient?” the vampire asked, grabbing my hand. “I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.” Then electricity raced down my spine. My panties were soaked as I wiped a bead of sweat off my forehead. I had to take a deep breath to gain control of my bloodlust. I had a job to do, and this damn vampire was distracting.

“I do, but not the ancient who’s using his abilities to make me want to bite him,” I spat and then walked away.

Vlad was talking to a beautiful blond Russian, whose dress was barely there; you could almost see her arse. He looked exactly like his photograph: older, taller, and probably wiser than any other vampire in here.

Karina was sitting across from me. I’d only just noticed her, she was talking to another shifter and winked at me when our eyes met. She was wearing a fitted black leather dress, and she looked bloody gorgeous. All the human men were eyeing her. I just wasn’t confident enough to wear things like that, especially with Lachlan around. He was disrupting everything, and I had to ignore the way I felt about him.

I sat down at a table and sipped my cocktail, not taking my eyes off Vlad. He shook hands with a few other vampires, even the one who’d tried to hypnotise me earlier, but luckily, he didn’t talk to him for long. I was a little worried that my cover had been blown.

Sometime later Karina vanished, most likely following her own subject, and I was still stuck in the same spot. The craving for blood returned again, and my fangs extended. I was surrounded by so many vampires, and it wasn’t really helping matters. Before I’d met Lachlan, this had never happened to me before.

Men kept approaching me, trying to flirt, but it just irritated me even more. I sent them all away, nearly growling that I wasn’t interested. This whole world was new to me, and it was difficult to know how I was supposed to act in certain situations. I’d been anonymous before, possibly because I’d always looked like a vagrant. Vlad kept his eyes on the women who were performing. He kept taking small sips of his drink, and I wasn’t sure what it was—most likely blood. Ten minutes later, he pulled out a cigarette and then asked the guy next to him for a lighter. The human pointed at the door and Vlad stood from his seat, appearing annoyed.

It surprised me that he smoked. Vampires didn’t have the same cravings as humans, but the other day, Marco admitted that he, too, was addicted to cigarettes, or maybe it was the whole act of smoking. I wouldn’t know. I’d never smoked a day in my life as a supernatural. Right then, I had no other option but to follow him outside the club. When he stopped nearby the busy road, I pretended to be with a group of girls who were trying to hail a taxi.

Vlad didn’t end up smoking that cigarette after all, he was just staring ahead. Was he waiting for someone? Time was ticking, and something felt off. Maybe he knew I was here. Maybe each one of us was being watched. A cold shiver crawled down my spine as I stepped out of the way, trying to think on my feet. There was a small takeout shop next door, and I decided to blend into the crowd of Russians who were queuing to go inside. The group of girls had already left, and I didn’t want to look suspicious.

I felt drops of rain as they fell on my face, the temperature was decreasing, and I was just about to call Dimitry, when a split second later, I saw Ramona and Lachlan walking up to Vlad. I was shocked to see them here, asking myself why the hell they were approaching my subject.

Ramona smiled, then leaned over to Vlad and whispered something in his ear. I was furious and baffled at the same time. This was definitely not the plan, and they were going to ruin everything. Pretty Boy seemed a little apprehensive, but a moment later, he shook hands with the vampire. My heart started thumping loudly inside my chest. I dragged my hand through my hair, wondering what the hell was going on.

I needed to find Karina, but she probably wouldn’t have a clue why Ramona and Lachlan were talking to my subject. It seemed to me that he knew them well.

The tiny voice inside my head told me I needed to head back to headquarters and speak with Dimitry straight away. Maybe Lachlan was following another order, but that didn’t make sense. I would know about it otherwise.

I started pacing around, watching them, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do right now. They appeared to be having an intense conversation. Vlad didn’t seem happy, he kept shaking his head, and Ramona continued talking like she was trying to convince him to do something or go somewhere.

Lachlan kept glancing around, and for a moment, I thought he spotted me inside the takeout, but I quickly hid behind someone. Soon, it started raining, and when I glanced back, I couldn’t see them any longer. I left the shop in a panic. When I finally spotted them again, Ramona, Lachlan, and Vlad were crossing the road. They were heading towards the town centre.

Anger was pumping through me at that point. I felt betrayed that no one had filled me in on this new plan. For some reason, I decided not to call Dimitry right now. Those two were up to something, so I decided to follow them, anyway, thinking that they were going to lead me somewhere in the end.

I pulled up the hood of my sweatshirt from beneath my leather jacket and ran to the other side of the road. I just had to remember to keep a safe distance. It was my first mission of this kind, and I didn’t want to screw anything up. Lachlan was much more experienced, but I didn’t trust Ramona at all. Minutes later, the rain started pouring from the sky. Cars were speeding down the road as I followed the three vampires. Not once did they glance behind, and the entire time, my heart was pounding like a drum inside my chest. I normally trusted my intuition, and this time, I was getting a strong feeling that the warlock’s daughter was near.

I carried on walking until it seemed as though they had vanished inside the park. As I approached the unlocked gate, I realised that they must have gone inside. The chain was broken, but there was no living soul around.

By that time, I was soaked and miserable. I followed the path to the main entrance to the park, getting lost a few times. It was getting cold, too. Finally, on the edge of the park, my senses picked up another creature—a warlock.

I didn’t want to stop, convinced that the creature had nothing to do with why I was here, so I continued walking. Finally, after half an hour, I caught up with them, but Lachlan had disappeared somewhere. They had just reached the industrial area and entered one of the red brick buildings. This was completely suspicious. He wouldn’t leave Ramona alone with someone so dangerous. I didn’t wait then; I pulled out my phone and dialled Dimitry’s number.