Fanged Desire (Leyore Coven #3)

Chapter 3

Hunter

Wedding of the year. That’s what people were calling it, and looking around, I couldn’t argue with them. Jordan and Sky had spared no expense for their big day. The sprawling estate was decorated to perfection, ivory-draped tents, and an endless array of flowers grown right there in Sigred’s gardens. The ten thousand fairy lights were the cherry on top, illuminating the gathering as dusk ushered in another hot summer night.

Everyone was there – business associates, Leyore nobles, old friends, and a few new ones too. I spotted Ursula, the little witch and occasional babysitter of Jordan’s terrible twins. The toddlers were there too, puffed up and pompous with their title of ring bearers . They were cute, until they got a hold of you and covered your steam-pressed suit with whatever sticky substance they’d last laid their hands on. I made sure to stay well out of their field of view.

I was hiding out near the drinks table when Dylan appeared at my elbow, radiant in a deep blue dress. “Are you allergic to children or do you just despise those two?”

“Jesus Christ!” I started despite myself, nearly toppling the table when I jolted forward. “Don’t sneak up on me like that unless you want to spill blood at this wedding.”

Dylan shrugged, flashing a faint, fanged smile in insincere apology.

“Nah, it’s not just Hazel and Hilda.” River was at my back a moment later; the clairvoyant vamp could never pass up an opportunity to tease her so-called friends. “Hunter hates all children.”

“I like them just fine.” I spoke through gritted teeth, collecting my composure and brushing a hand through my hair. “So long as they stay far away from me.”

I adjusted my suit jacket, casting a casual glance over my companions. Amara had joined the congregation, sidling up alongside Dylan and shooting me a shy smile. Dylan unconsciously wove her arm around her wife’s waist, a casual show of affection that made something in my chest clench. But I brushed the sensation aside, shifting my focus to avoid cracking my relaxed expression.

They were all radiant, so much so that one might condemn them for outshining the brides. But if that was the case, you haven’t laid eyes on Jordan and Sky.

I’d already greeted both of them, alternating between them while they prepared for the ceremony. Jordan was a force to be reckoned with, a hurricane of red hair and unbridled excitement. River had to talk her down from marching across the gardens to marry her lover immediately.

Sky was a little more composed, but I’d never seen her smile so brightly. I had guarded her from an enthusiastic Maxine, who came at her with a hairbrush and curling iron, brandishing mascara like a lethal weapon.

They had both since disappeared into the mouth of the manor, waiting to be summoned for the opening ceremony. Already, guests were finding their seats, filling the chairs that flanked the string of lights stretching across the grass. I followed after the others, taking a seat near the back and settling in to watch one of my best friends marry the love of her life.

The music faded and then began anew, and the air buzzed with quiet anticipation. All around me, conversation reduced to soft murmurs and whispered chatter as the ceremony began, just in time to catch the golden glow of the setting sun. Tonight was about Jordan and Sky, two people who had defied the odds and made the strange world of supernatural alliances their own personal love story.

A hush fell over the crowd, and I glanced toward the manor. From opposite sides of the grand estate, Jordan and Sky appeared at the same time. Jordan, in a golden draped dress, looked more polished than I had ever seen her. But her unruly hair tumbled down her shoulders like always. And Sky, in an elegant, flowing number that shimmered in the evening light, drifted across the pathway like a falling star.

They walked toward each other as the music swelled, moving with a quiet, deliberate grace. It wasn’t the typical procession of one partner waiting at the altar for the other, it was two equals, coming together from separate paths to meet in the middle.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched them approach one another. The love between them was almost palpable, radiating with every step they took. Jordan’s face, usually so overtly expressive, was softened with what looked a lot like barely contained tears of joy. Sky looked equally enraptured, her expression full of warmth as she made her way toward her lover. When they met in the middle they took each other’s hands, and the world seemed to pause just for them.

Despite the beautiful procession, a sudden, uncomfortably familiar ache bloomed deep inside my chest. I swallowed it, fingers curling around the edge of my chair as I watched Jordan and Sky standing together, exchanging soft murmurs and tender smiles. The officiant began speaking, but I barely registered the words. All I could see was the way Jordan looked at Sky – as though nothing else in the world mattered but her.

I wouldn’t admit it, not even to myself, but the sight of their love – pure, unguarded, and tender, made something in my heart churn. Love like that wasn’t meant for people like me. But that didn’t mean I didn’t want it. Just a little bit.

I watched with a small smile as the twins, dolled up in matching dresses, tottered forward to proudly deliver the rings. I watched Jordan and Sky exchange them, their hands trembling slightly as they slid the bands onto each other’s fingers. When they kissed, sealing the vows they had made back when they first fell in love, the crowd erupted into cheers, but I couldn’t move. My heart was too busy twisting into gnarled knots that proved increasingly difficult to unravel.

Later that night I ended up on the balcony, leaning over the balustrade with a cigarette between my teeth. Smoking didn’t do much for vampires, but there was small comfort in having something to do with my hands. Below me, the celebrations spilled out into the gardens, loud laughter and indecipherable chatter spirited away by the faint breeze.

And yet, despite the celebratory atmosphere, I couldn’t shake the itch under my skin, that restless energy that had nothing to do with the wedding or the crowds, or even the dwindling red liquid in my glass. My mind insisted on wandering back to Micere, the nightclub that had been occupying far too much of my thoughts as of late. Or rather, one specific dancer who had a way of commanding my attention without much effort on her part.

Kinsley. The brunette with a surprisingly bendy back and a mind I was eager to untangle.

I had been stopping by the club over the past few months more often than I was proud to admit. Never too close, always at the bar, a Bloody Mary in hand, shamelessly watching the same woman glide across the stage. I hadn’t returned to cash in another private session. Not yet, at least. As if watching from the bar might keep me at a safe distance. To Kinsley, it might have seemed like her fanciful new client was playing hard to get. But in truth, I hadn’t worked up the courage to speak with her again.

Maybe it was better that way – keeping my distance, appreciating from afar. The last thing I needed was to get too close, to blur the line I had so carefully laid out for myself. It was safer to hang back. Or at least that’s what I wanted to believe. Still, the pull was undeniable, and I found myself glancing at my watch, eager to slip out early enough to catch Kinsley’s next performance.

My traitorous thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, lilting voice. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

“What’s got you all distracted? You’re supposed to be congratulating the brides.”

I apprehensively dragged my eyes up to find Maxine grinning at me, before the petite, preening vamp shrugged. “Or giving your condolences, I guess. Sky is officially doomed to deal with Jordan for the rest of her life.”

From the flush in her cheeks, she was clearly riding the wave of wedding euphoria, sloshing what I suspected was her third or fourth crimson cocktail in her hand. There was a playful note to her words, but those amber eyes were inconspicuously watchful.

Maxine always noticed more than she let on. Her talent for perception was artfully hidden under layers of chiffon and designer shoes. Tonight she was dressed to the nines, sage silk and silver jewelry, like a dryad far from her forest. And she was also keenly aware that my mind was miles from here.

“Funny,” I murmured, sipping the last of my drink. “Let’s hear you say that to Jordan’s face. I’m sure she’d love to have you working overtime next week.”

“Tonight is probably the happiest she’s been in her entire life. I could call her a carrot-top and she’d still forgive me.” Maxine sidled up beside me with a smirk, “You’ve got that far-off look in your eyes again. Could the elusive Hunter be thinking about a special someone?”

A short, sharp laugh burst from my lips and I shook my head, flicking the cigarette butt into a nearby pot plant. No doubt Sigrid would have my head for that later, but for the time being she was caught up in what looked like a very intimate conversation with another Leyore vamp.

“I think the magnificent Maxine is deluding herself.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” She gave me a once-over, wrinkling her nose at the muted colors of my suit, before her smile broadened. “Whoever’s got you daydreaming must be a real catch.”

I sighed, leaning over the railing, and gave her a sidelong glance. “It’s nothing. Just on edge about this whole Elvish deal, it’s hard to relax until things are official. You know – the usual stuff.”

“Uh-huh.” Maxine’s eyes gleamed with barely contained excitement. “And I suppose it was this unease about Elliot’s loyalty that had you skipping out on Dylan and Amara’s party last weekend?”

I winced inwardly. I’d given Dylan a pathetic, half-assed excuse for missing their celebration, and from the way Maxine was looking at me it was clear Dylan had shared that information. I’d gone to the club that night, choosing lonely moping over joining my friends. But Kinsley had been as dazzling as ever, so who was the real winner here?

“I had something come up.” I looked away, twirling the stem of the wineglass between my fingers.

Maxine chuckled, swaying at my shoulder with a smirk on her lips. “Right, ‘something.’ You sure it wasn’t someone?”

I didn’t dignify that with a response, but something in my eyes must have given me away. The tiny vamp studied me for a moment longer, waiting patiently for the facade to crack. When I only glared in response she scoffed down the rest of her cocktail, delicately wiping a stray drop with her pinkie. “All right then… liar.”

I groaned loud enough to earn a condemning stare from Jordan’s mother who glanced up from the patio below.

Eager to avoid Sigrid’s wrath, I hastily withdrew from the balustrade and backed towards the French doors, keeping my face firmly turned away from Maxine. “Believe what you want. But I have to go, I’ve got a stack of paperwork to sort and I’ve been putting it off for weeks.”

Maxine’s uncanny ability to see right through me was both endearing and infuriating.

“Hunter.”

It was the tone of her voice that made me falter and I risked a small glance in her direction. Her teasing smile had been replaced with a somber stare, revealing the Maxine beneath the cheerful mask.

Even though I had, technically, done nothing wrong, I stared back at her like a deer caught in headlights. Maxine was rarely serious, and it always caught me off guard when that side of her slipped out.

She opened her mouth to speak and then shut it again, sighing quietly as her gaze dropped to the floor, “Just – be careful, okay? What happened with Selene… You can’t let that happen again.”

The name hit like a punch to the gut and I balked, chest tightening as my drink threatened to crawl back up my throat.

Maxine met my eyes, all mirth drained from her expression. “I don’t want to see you broken like that.”

Selene. That name had not been spoken aloud in a very long time. Maxine had been there, though – she’d seen the aftermath, the way I crumbled in the weeks following the woman’s departure.

“I – It’s not like that,” I said eventually, committed to brushing it off, but my voice was more strained than I meant it to be.

Maxine gave me a small smile but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “All right then.”

I didn’t respond, not directly. Instead, I offered her a watery smile of my own, grateful for the concern, even if it made me feel more vulnerable than I would have liked.

I hightailed it out of the party quickly after that and ended up sitting in my car, keeping the engine running but unsure of where to steer it. I was restless, and the conversation with Maxine had sewn doubt into my swirling mind – doubts about getting too close to Kinsley, about chasing current pleasures at the cost of future tears. But despite those doubts, the pull was still there.

I checked my watch, mentally calculating the time it would take to get to the nightclub. I could still make it.

Maxine’s words echoed in my mind – Just… be careful – but a sensation I couldn’t place overrode all caution. I could justify it a hundred different ways, but deep down there was a simple explanation. I just couldn’t stay away.

By the time I reached Micere, the club was emptying and the last stragglers were ordering their final rounds. I stepped through the doors, already slipping into the persona I wore so well, the one that let me blend in anywhere without breaking a sweat.

I scanned the sparse dance floor and spotted her on stage, moving with the same grace and precision that had captivated me from the start. And, for a moment, I stood by, taking in the way the dancer commanded the room with long legs and a dimpled smile.

But that night, I wasn’t content to simply sit back and watch.

When the set was over Kinsley stepped off stage, and her wandering eyes found mine immediately. Her face lit up for a split second before she blushed and looked away. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, grappling with herself, before she started to move toward me, picking up the pace like she expected me to bolt any second.

I moved to meet her in the middle, approaching with the same confident stride I always relied on. But I barely breathed at all, not until I was right in front of her, practically bursting with an anticipation I could barely contain.

The words were out of my mouth before I could rethink them.

“Can I buy you a drink?”