Succubus Unchained - Heather Long Page 0,30

steady slam of wolf hearts thudded like its own beat. The near rasp of air being forced in and out as the vampires gave the illusion of continued life provided the counterpoint. Most did it out of habit, not necessity.

To be honest, I’d always thought fight club things were kind of gross. Too much blood, sweat, and tears. Frankly, broken, jagged bones erupting out of skin were probably the least sexy thing ever.

What I had enjoyed about fight clubs was the pungent bloodlust that flooded the place. I could get high off of it and had. The buzz of sexual lust inside the club rapidly dissipated for the rising temperature of fury and rage.

Both sides wanted the standoff to tip. Currently, Varick and David were locked in a staring contest, going all primal and shit on each other.

What was kind of funny was they were both ignoring Fin. He was clearly the largest threat in the room.

Aww, Beautiful, you’re going to make me blush. Are you sure I can’t convince you to go back to your table?

Does she look like she’s dancing anymore?

The particular wolf in question stood less than a foot from me, all sinuous lines and taut muscles. At my glance, she shot me a wink, and I couldn’t help it. I smirked.

Sue me, she was very much my type.

Or had been.

Just, not now.

Ugh.

That thought took root, and I glanced away to scowl at the vampires blockading us. Had they brought an army?

Maybe they were taking Fin seriously after all.

The air was electric with the need to spill blood. Primal. Demanding. And beneath all of it—rage.

Pure, unadulterated rage.

The hunger snapped at me, licking along my flesh like a huffing beast in the darkness.

Hunger.

This was more than lust perfuming the air. It was real hunger, and I recognized it. The posturing and verbal threats faded to the background hum of heartbeats, panting breaths, and buzzing from electronic equipment. What few humans had been in the place had all evacuated. There had been a table of witches celebrating something, but they were gone, too. No one really wanted to get between vampires and shifters when fights went down.

It just wasn’t good for the health.

The anger in the room climbed a notch, and despite the icy temperature, it only seemed to get hotter.

I ignored David, Varick, and the others. I registered Fin and Elias. The dancer. Mellie. One by one, I noted and discarded the others.

Something else was in the club with us, and it wasn’t any of these fools getting ready to tear each other apart. Any other time, I’d probably grab a glass of wine and go find a comfortable spot on the bar so I could soak up the lust. I could probably fill my need for weeks in the sheer volume roiling amongst this crowd, but it broke as it rolled over me, parting like I was a stone in the middle of the raging stream.

The splash of it left me damp, but unmoved. Like water, if I stayed here, it would eventually erode through the surface levels, but I didn’t want to consume this ferocity. Not at the moment.

Not when someone else already feasted on it.

And was still feasting…

Beautiful…

Not now.

To my shock, Fin only spared me a single studying glance before he nodded and focused on the enemy in front of us.

And they were the enemy.

I didn’t make the mistake of thinking Varick’s whole pack was on our side. They were protecting us because we were in his bar. Elias was my friend. He’d protect me regardless, the same way I would him. That they were extending it to Fin was just politics.

Fuck it, I didn’t need to sort that shit out. I needed to figure out what was feeding on the rising bloodlust and magnifying it. The rising tide of the argument needed only one spark to strike. The taste of magic in the air curled up like smoke from a cooker.

Witch?

Wizard?

No…

Demon.

Scorch lay heavy under it. Brimstone. Fire. Battle.

Daevas.

A daeva was here.

I hated daevas. Greedy little things. They were minor demons. Old functionaries. They fed on one thing or another, but whatever it was they lusted for, they could magnify a thousand fold. They enjoyed nothing more than chaos.

Don’t get me wrong, chaos had a time and a place.

It wasn’t here.

It definitely wasn’t now.

The moment it registered, all hell broke loose. David lunged, as did Varick. The clash of wolves versus vampires sprayed blood across the room, but I turned away from the battle. Three