Chapter Twenty-Five

The next morning, the plan went off without a hitch. Almost too perfectly, in fact—there was no sign at all of the horde of ferals Mason had warned us about. They were probably somewhere underground, far from the sun’s deadly rays. But all that mattered to me was that Thorn and Xavier were en route to the hospital. She was going to be okay. And heavily guarded.

We spent the next part of the day evacuating all the guests. Mason had closed The Bran and moved those with extended books to some of his other hotels and comped them the rooms. It wasn’t safe for them to stay, but it wasn’t safe for them to know what was really going on, either, so Mason had made up something about a gas leak.

As soon as the hotel was empty of everyone except the staff and us, Rose locked the front door.

I slumped down in a chair in the lobby, watching a few support staff close up the restaurant. “That was exhausting.”

A few more staff members walked by pushing housekeeping carts and one of them caught my eye. She was wearing the Contessa black trousers, white shirt, and bow tie, with a black bib apron, but it was her earrings that drew me in. Peacock feathers in green, purple, and gold, but the colors looked faded.

I waited for the group to leave, but the one staff member kept her head down and walked in the direction of Contessa. Something about her nagged at me.

And then I remembered. It was Lissa LaStrange. Mason’s sister—the only other striga vie in existence—was still here. I asked Lucas, “Do you think you can follow her without getting caught?”

“Of course,” he replied.

“See where she goes,” I said. “But don’t engage. Watch out for ferals. And once you get there, text me the location.”

“I’m going with,” Rose said.

“She’s a striga vie,” I warned.

“Okay,” Lucas said. He looked at Connor. “I’ll be back before moonrise.”

I’d forgotten. There was a full moon tonight.

“The rest of us will go upstairs, stay locked away,” I decided. “Connor, is there anything you need from us to help?”

“I’m not going to start howling at the moon at the first need to shift,” he said.

“I know,” I said. Connor was werewolf born, not bitten. “But we do have a shiny new werewolf in our midst, and I wanted to know if I could do anything.”

Vaughn gave me a quick kiss. “Thanks, babe.”

“A happy werewolf is a stable werewolf,” Beckett said with a grin.

“Don’t be rude,” Skyler said. “We have to share the suite with them. I’ve already heard plenty of happiness from my two best friends.”

“Like you and Connor are any better,” Vaughn said with a grin.

“We’re definitely quieter,” Connor replied, and Vaughn shoved him.

Rose and Lucas had ignored us and had left without another word, racing to catch up to Lissa. I couldn’t really blame them. Standing around talking about my love life was awkward, even though we were all good friends.

Vaughn and I retreated to our new room to await news from Lucas.

I changed into my favorite pair of lounge pants and a T-shirt, and Vaughn put on a pair of really loose sweats and an old tee.

“Those sweats look like they belong to someone twice your size,” I commented.

“In case I lose control and wolf out,” he said. “The transformation is hell on the wardrobe.”

I’d gotten vamp goo on enough tops to know he was being smart.

He was frowning, so I said, “Don’t worry. Connor’s right next door. If you give me any trouble, I’ll get him.”

My phone rang before he could answer. It was Lucas.

“Why’d you call instead of text?” I asked him.

“My fingers are too big,” he said. “You would not believe the accidental texts I’ve sent. It’s easier just to call.”

“Anything to report?”

“Not a thing,” he replied. “She’s just meandering around. We’re halfway across Vegas, and she’s acting like a tourist seeing the bright lights of the city for the first time.”

“I didn’t see you guys leave,” I said.

“She went out a side entrance,” he said.

“A side entrance?” I repeated. “And no alarms sounded?”

“Nothing,” he said.

“Which side entrance exactly?” He said something I didn’t catch, probably to Rose, and then came back. “Rose said it was the one the bellhops use for smoke breaks and that’s why the alarms and ward didn’t work. They’re always disabling them.”

“Yeah, but there aren’t many bellhops working today,” I said.

I could tell Lucas got my meaning when he started to swear.

“I have to go,” I said.

“Tansy, be careful,” he replied. I hung up and dialed Mason’s line, but it went to voice mail.

“Vaughn, find my dad and tell him that I think his security has been breached,” I said. “Then you and Mason need to meet me at the back door of Contessa.”

I snatched up my parasol and drumstick and took off. “Hurry!”

Downstairs, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but I couldn’t stop thinking that there was something wrong. The Bran was down to a skeleton staff, essential workers only. Then why had Lissa shown up in her restaurant uniform?

The Contessa wasn’t open, which meant there had been no reason for Lissa to come into work today. The restaurant was deserted, the lights off. The kitchen was empty, but I went down a corridor, past the tiny break room next to the timeclock (so old-school) and pushed at the door. The tension in my shoulders wound tighter and tighter.

As I’d anticipated, the back door was unlocked. I locked it and heaved a sigh of relief. Which turned out to be premature.

“You don’t want to do that,” a raspy voice said. I wheeled around.

Five male feral vampires, wild-eyed and hungry, stared at me.

“We’re expecting friends to join us,” said the tallest one, clearly the leader. He took a step toward me while his friends hung back.

“They’re not invited,” I said, easing my drumstick out of the back of my pocket. They weren’t wearing shirts, which in theory would make it easier for my drumstick to find its target. The five-against-one odds were not in my favor, though.

They circled; their eyes gleaming.

The tallest one grinned at me. “We have a reservation,” he said.

“It’s been cancelled,” I replied. Then I struck.

The feral vampires already thought they’d won. Two of them stayed in front of me with boss vamp while the other two moved behind me. They were probably expecting me to try to take out the leader, who was trying to distract me so the vamps behind me could take me out.

Instead, I whipped around and struck again, my drumstick hitting so hard the force made my hand hurt, then whirled back around to face the leader. The vampire who was still behind me proceeded more cautiously but was still inching closer.

I could hear the sound of running feet. Vaughn. But I couldn’t take my eyes away from the vampires.

The vampires in front of me were lunging at me, faster and faster. Taking turns, striking, trying to wear me out. The boss vampire was faster and stronger than the others. I had my parasol in one hand and my drumstick in the other. I got lucky and staked the smallest feral with my drumstick. Two down, three to go.

He’d been so close that black blood and a bit of bone landed on my shirt. It smelled nasty, like spoiled bologna and pickles. I tried not to gag as I continued to fight.

Now there were only two vampires in front of me, but one of them was still behind me in my blind spot. I kept my eyes on the leader, though. The next time he charged, he knocked my drumstick out of my hand, but I gripped the parasol even tighter.

“Tansy,” Vaughn said.

“I’m okay,” I said.

There was a growl and then a thud as Vaughn dealt with the other vampire, but I didn’t look away from the feral leader.

“You’re the striga vie?” he asked. “Tansy Mariotti?”

I thought the knowledge might intimidate him.

“Queen Tansy to you,” I said.

“Well, our queen wants the ruby,” he said.

Then Vaughn shifted. There was a low terrifying growl, and then a gray wolf leaped into the air, soaring over my head and into the vampires. The vampire screamed as Vaughn’s wolf caught the vamp by the throat, shaking him and then throwing him against the wall. There was a wet slurping noise as Vaughn’s wolf tore into the feral.

“Give it to me and I’ll let you live,” the feral boss vamp told me.

“Sure you will.” I gripped my parasol as he came at me faster and faster. Terror held me momentarily motionless, but then I remembered to press the button.

He went for my throat, but the wickedly sharp blade at the end popped out and staked him.

Vampire goo splattered everywhere. It smelled like garbage that had been in the hot sun for days, and I gagged.

I bent at the knees and wheezed for a few seconds.

There was a series of popping sounds and then Vaughn said, “You okay?”

He wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand.

“At this rate, we’re going to have to buy you an entire new wardrobe,” I teased, relieved that we’d both made it through in one piece.

“I’ll be happy to replace any clothing,” Mason said from behind me. Great. My father was here, and my boyfriend was naked. Slightly embarrassing, even under the circumstances.

Mason had arrived at some point at the tail end of the battle, probably when I was gagging. He had a flock of security people with him. “Get this young man some clothes,” he ordered. “And clean this place up.”

We told him what had happened and how Lucas and Rose had followed Lissa LaStrange and that we’d realized that she’d left the door unlocked.

“Are they still following her?” Mason asked. “Tell the wolf to bring her to me.”

Someone handed Vaughn some pants, and he shrugged into them. “My phone’s here somewhere,” he muttered. He searched through a pile of shredded clothing until he found it, then dialed.

“Lucas, do you still have Lissa LaStrange in sight?” Vaughn asked. He listened for a few minutes and then said, “Head back to The Bran.”

After Vaughn hung up, Mason said, “Well?”

Vaughn shook his head. “She gave them the slip about twenty minutes ago.”

“We need to brief everyone,” I said. “How long before Rose and Lucas get back?”

“He said about half an hour.”

“Let us know when they’re back,” I said. “I need to clean up.”

Vaughn gathered the remains of his clothing and I retrieved my drumstick, and then we headed back to our room, leaving Mason, I assumed from his thunderous expression, to ream out his security team for the breach.

“Your control is much better,” I commented once Vaughn and I were alone in the elevator.

He grinned at me. “The pack’s been teaching me a few tricks.”

“I’m glad you have them,” I said softly.

His smile intensified. “I’m glad I have you.”

“Ditto,” I replied, moving closer to him. Our lips were nearly touching when the elevator dinged. This would have to wait.

And anyway, after the afternoon I’d had, I needed a long hot shower first. I called dibs on first to get clean.

I needed to get the vampire yuck off me stat.

In the bathroom, I turned up the hot water before I opened the cap of the fancy shampoo the hotel provided. It barely had any scent, which was optimal for a hotel with a clientele that included werewolves and vampires, both of whom had highly sensitive noses.

When I took my hand out of my hair, a huge hunk of my hair had fallen out.

My body was shutting down. It was time to face facts. I was slowly dying—or undying, as the case may be—as my vampire side took over.

The scar on my neck throbbed. It had healed long ago, but now it felt like fangs were ripping into my flesh all over again. I rubbed the scar gently, but the pain didn’t go away.

Just when I thought I’d have to scream for help, the agony ended. That was weird. I got dressed and went into the living room.

“You need anything?” Vaughn asked.

“Just some tonic,” I said. “I’m a little tired.”

He handed me a glass. “Skyler stocked the kitchen here with tonic.”

I took a grateful sip and immediately felt less shaky.

“I’m going to take a quick shower, and then we can head over,” Vaughn said. “And brush my teeth. Feral vampires taste nasty.”

After Vaughn was ready, we rejoined the others in our old suite. It was a tight fit, even in such a luxurious space. “Where’s Hecate?” I asked.

“I let her out to go hunting,” Granny said. “She’ll be back.”

“She won’t be able to get through the wards,” I said. “Unless you’re not using salt?” I asked Mason the last bit.

“We’re using it all,” he said grimly. “We’ll get Hecate back; don’t worry.”

Mason ordered takeout, saying he’d go pick it up himself when it was ready, surprising everyone. And then I took a deep breath and gave my friends and family the update.

“What I don’t understand,” Connor said slowly, “is why the feral vampire said his queen wanted the ruby. Feral vampires don’t acknowledge any ruler or any hierarchy at all.”

Before anyone had a chance to answer, Hecate strolled into the room and rubbed her face against my hand.

“Hecate, how did you get inside?” I asked.

She just purred, but the look on Mason’s face was terrifying.