Madi
After “rehearsing” to my great pleasure all week, the night of our performance arrives.
Club Twilight is in a boring gray brick building in Chelsea. Our driver, Tony, pulls up to the curb, but before he can exit to open our doors, Brick springs out. He glances up and down the sidewalk, looking huge and intimidating in his dark suit. I let him take the time to sniff for predators and admire the gorgeous figure he cuts.
The moon limns his hair, turning it silver. His eyes glitter, but then he blinks, and they’re back to normal, human blue.
A second car pulls up behind us and Billy and Sully exit. They slam their doors simultaneously and head over to us in lockstep. They even shoot their cuffs in sync. I stifle a smile. Now is not the time to point out how choreographed their movements look. They’re too on edge.
They confer on the sidewalk. I almost call out to them–aren’t you forgetting someone? Me?--but I bite my tongue.
They’re super tense about tonight, and of course they are. We’re technically in enemy territory. But after my conversation with Ruby and all this prep work, I’m more intrigued than anything.
Finally, Brick comes to help me out. He’s the perfect gentleman, but I can feel how stiff his arm is.
And it’s close to the full moon. Did Thaddeus choose this date on purpose, knowing Brick would be more likely to lose control?
From what I know about vampires, this sort of tricksy maneuvering is exactly what they’d do.
Now I’m tense, too.
As we walk up the stairs to the nondescript door, I rehearse what Brick and I agreed on.
“We'll keep it simple,” he decided. He’ll order me around, I'll act like the perfect submissive. He’ll bend me over a bench and spank me over my underwear.
Under my cashmere coat, I'm wearing a dress. Short, white with easy access. I look like a virgin sacrifice. Which is kind of the point.
Inside is a black and white tiled foyer with a chandelier overhead. It smells faintly of incense, and there’s faint classical music piped in from a hidden speaker. We could be attending a socialite’s house party, except that we’re greeted by a hostess in a black PVC catsuit and seven inch heels. She takes our coats and sends us down a long hallway lined with gilt-framed mirrors. The hall ends at a pair of red velvet curtains. Brick steps in front of me, as if to block me. He takes a deep breath and pulls the curtains apart. Behind it is a huge medieval looking door made of wood and iron. It looks thick, but it’s vibrating with the pulse of club music behind it.
Brick pauses then deliberately delivers three booming knocks.
“Here we go,” Billy mutters.
The door swings open, and the bass assaults us. It’s so loud it rattles my teeth. I can only imagine how overwhelming it’d be to a shifter with supersonic hearing.
I take Brick’s arm, and we sail through.
I feel like a wide-eyed innocent, walking through the club. At first glance, the place looks like a bar/restaurant type concert venue with tables and chairs, already full with people enjoying a cocktail or a bottle of wine. Servers in white pirate suits and black torsolettes weave through the tables carrying trays.
A sauve-looking man in a white tuxedo smiles at us as we pass. and the blue light flashes off his elongated canines.
Vampire.
I blink away and try not to think about what’s really in his glass of red.
Beyond the normal seating are bulky shapes of strange furniture. Spanking benches, a few St. Andrew crosses, and more elaborate frames made of gleaming wood and black or red leather. Curtained alcoves line the rooms–places where you can slip away with your partner for a private moment. Most of the curtains are open, revealing their playroom depths.
A few are occupied, and I want to crane my neck to see what the couples or throuples are doing, but don’t want to gawk. I already feel like Brick and I are the clueless couple in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Billy and Sully flank us. I argued against them coming but was told it was important to have some wolves there for a show of strength. I tried to get them to wear matching Clydesdale outfits, but they didn’t get the joke.
When the floor show starts, they’re under strict orders to leave. They hate this, but I didn't want to scene in front of them, and Brick agreed.
The dance floor in the center of the club is filled with revelers, thrashing in the neon lights. They dance around an elevated ten by ten stage that’s cordoned off with red rope. There are no hanging cages that I can see, and the stage is empty. For now.
Until our performance.
Above the stage, the ceiling opens to show a second floor that consists of a hall around an open square, lined with evenly spaced doors. There’s a railing for people to lean on and stare down at the stage. Or they can check into one of the rooms–like a hotel–and enjoy themselves in private.
At the end of the club is a giant gilt throne on a platform higher than the stage. There’s a throng of club goers around him, some of them mingling with the dancers. On the throne lounges a tall, well built man with lightly tanned skin. The spotlights fixed on him make his hair flare a brilliant white gold.
This had to be Thaddeus the vampire, self-styled king of Manhattan.
He straightens as we approach, looking past his leather-clad audience and raising a hand to snap his fingers. The pulsing music lowers. Most of the dancers move off the floor to take their seats, and the throngs part to let us approach the throne. It’s obvious Thaddeus and his posse were waiting for us.
Thaddeus beckons us forward.
Brick’s chest rumbles–his wolf thinks he’s being summoned and doesn’t like it.
Thaddeus’ lips quirk, and he raises his hand in a neutral greeting instead.
We step into the white pool of spotlights, and the heat is searing. There are more lights fixed on us than on the stage, and I realize that in this club, Thaddeus is the biggest performer of all.
Brick steps up onto the throne’s dais, taking me with him. Standing, this puts me at eye level with the vampire on the throne.
“Alpha and Luna Blackthroat, welcome.” Thaddeus has a lovely voice, deep and melodic. There’s a touch of a plummy British accent, but it sounds affected. Up close, it’s clear he’s not wearing makeup. His skin is just that smooth, his eyelashes that dark. It makes me think his platinum blond hair is natural, not dyed.
“Thaddeus.” Brick makes it clear he’s not in the mood to play games. He towers over the man sprawled on the throne, but Thaddeus doesn’t seem to mind. “We got your invitation.”
“I’m honored you came.” He sounds so sincere, I know it’s an act. We’re already performing.
But isn’t that what life is, in business and politics? None of us are our real selves in the office or behind a podium. Any glimpse of authenticity is carefully crafted. I never thought all the posturing in the boardroom would prepare me to meet a vampire, but here we are.
“I was dying to meet your new Luna.” Thaddeus turns to me.
I’m careful not to meet his eyes, which is weird, but necessary, given the power vampires have. I think they can just use their voice to enthrall people, but just in case, I fix my gaze on his unwrinkled forehead and white blond widow’s peak.
“Hello,” I say. I feel Thaddeus’ attention on me. It’s flattering, how intensely he’s fixated on me. I get a rush of adrenaline and fight the feeling. I can’t succumb to his allure.
Besides, I’ve been around powerful men before. I don’t scare easily, but I’m also not going to underestimate anyone.
“Ah, Blackthroat…” Thaddeus purrs. “She’s exquisite.”
Brick goes still in a way that means his wolf is gearing up for violence.
“I’m right here,” I roll my eyes. “If you’re going to compliment me, you can speak to me directly. Unless you’re just trying to rile up my fiance.”
A few of the leather clad people behind the throne gasp, and then there’s a taut silence. At my side, Sully shifts slightly, and I know he’s gearing up to leap in front of me if the vampire king lunges for my throat.
Thaddeus lets out a booming laugh. It’s loud enough to be heard over the bass to the back of the club, but somehow it’s hollow. “I heard you had a backbone. I should’ve known a sheep couldn’t run with the wolves.” A few of his posse chuckle along with him, and I feel a flash of pity and contempt. A thousand years of life, and all you have is a fetish club and a few hangers on? No pack. No friends. No mate.
This poor guy. No wonder he pulled power strings to see if we’d dance like puppets. He’s bored, like Ruby said. All he has to look forward to is night after night sitting on a fake throne.
I lean into Brick, letting his warmth strengthen me. The way the vampire follows my every movement reminds me he’s an apex predator. “Brick knew I needed a night out. I was fascinated when he told me about this place.”
“Really?” Thaddeus knows I’m flattering him and can’t help but soak it up.
“Oh yes.” I lower my voice to a whisper. “I shouldn’t say this, but you have a certain reputation…among the lady wolves.”
This time Thaddeus’ laugh is truly delighted. He’s probably more amused by Sully and Billy’s outraged reactions than my comment, but I’ve surprised him.
He straightens up on his throne. “I’d love to show you more of my humble club’s charms if you’d let me.” And he holds out his hand for me to take it.
Brick hauls me closer. “No one touches my fiance but me.”
Another snort. “Wolves,” Thaddeus murmurs to me. “So territorial.”
“The possessiveness goes both ways,” I inform him and put a hand on Brick’s chest. Thaddeus inclines his head. We’ve made our position clear.
No one will be fucking with me or my fiance tonight. If they do, a wolf will rip their head off.
“My fiance wants to experience this club to its fullest,” Brick announces. “We’re going to scene on stage tonight.”
“Lovely.” Thaddeus says, like this is news to him and not something he orchestrated. A mutter runs around the room. I can feel everyone’s eyes on us.
“My attendants will show you the way backstage, so you can prepare.” Thaddeus snaps his finger, and two club employees in matching sparkly purple bodysuits step up to the dais. “Let them know your every request, and it will be granted.”
Brick puts a hand on my back to guide me to follow the club attendants. We’re halfway to a discreet back door painted black to blend into the wall when Thaddeus calls to us.
“And Blackthroat?” The vampire king is standing. The lights have changed, cooled, and Thaddeus’ figure now casts a long shadow that ends at Brick’s feet. “Break a leg.”
It sounds like a threat.