Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Warren
I strolled through the doors to Bon Vivant, bumping fists with the security guard we’d hired. He was a stocky vampire called Henrik, someone both Levette and I had met through Lena. He was reliable, didn’t stand for any nonsense, and followed instructions extremely well.
Levette had decided on strip lights across the ceiling, creating a dull overhead lighting as you walked down the corridor. Humans and vampires were milling about as I barged past them, determined to get my hands around Levette’s neck.
The club was already filled with people, the thud of music making the floor vibrate as they danced and gyrated against one another. The smell of sweat and blood permeated the air and made my mouth water, but I was on a mission.
I was going to kill Levette.
The vampires behind the bar waved at me, and I offered them a cordial nod, busting through the door and practically running upstairs to the office. I threw the door open and growled as Levette looked up from behind his too-large desk.
“Warren, I didn’t expect you to be here tonight. Liam was telling everyone it was date night or some other human nonsense.”
Slamming the door shut behind me, I went over to the desk and slammed my hands down, making the wood groan beneath the weight. “What the hell have you been telling Lena?”
Levette blinked slowly before putting on a sweet smile that I absolutely knew was not like him. “Me? Nothing.”
“Cut the bullshit, Levy! She banned Liam from the club. Apparently, there’s been too much unprofessionalism, and if I didn’t sort things out, she was going to pull me back.
” I thumped my hand down again, getting even more frustrated at his lack of care.
“Let me ask you again, what have you been saying to her?”
“Perhaps you should be asking Liam, hm? Why must I take responsibility?”
“Because I know you.”
Levette stood from his desk, and as much as I didn’t want to, part of me admired the way he was dressed.
He’d chosen a pair of wide-fit beige pants and paired them with a tight black shirt, adorning a vest that matched the pants with black pinstripes.
His long hair had been pulled back somewhat into a bun, leaving his handsome face on full display.
I wanted to punch him.
I wanted to kiss him.
Walking over to the window, he pressed his back against the glass and crossed his ankles as he watched me.
“Your beloved boyfriend has been in this club every night since it opened two weeks ago. Each night, he gets drunk and whispers to the bartenders about how easy it was to bag a vampire, how much you needed his blood.” He stuck his hands into his pockets and shrugged.
“According to him, you were going to turn him and let him have his fun in this very club.”
Anger pulsated through me, but now it was partly directed towards that fucking human. Sure, he was fun in bed, but there were no feelings involved—certainly not enough that I would be tempted to turn him.
“I have not, and never will, turn him. He’s a means to an end, fun at the end of a stressful day.”
Levette hummed, looking me up and down. “Yet you’re still angry with me. All I did was tell Lena the truth. Her decisions are her decisions.”
“I’m angry with you both!” I snapped, feeling my fangs descend.
I needed to feed.
Though I had come here to question Levette, it had less to do with Liam and everything to do with being tattled on to Lena.
Liam had begun to get on my nerves, and I had limited the amount of time spent at home, which meant I hadn’t fed in days.
Ordinarily, that would have been fine, but when emotions were heightened, so was hunger.
“You went to Lena behind my back like a petulant child! We are both more than old enough to handle this shit between us.”
Levette laughed, rubbing a hand over his chiseled face. God, I wished that the urge to lick him all over would disappear.
I had promised Lena that everything would be professional, that I could handle being around him after so long. But five months had passed, and with each growing day, the more I wanted him again. Without the effect of the curse driving me to the point of insanity, all I could focus on was him.
I wanted him. I needed him. I couldn’t have him.
To love Levette was all-consuming. My heart craved him more than ever, yet there was a huge part of me that no longer trusted myself.
We had to make the club a success, which meant our relationship drama could not intrude, and the thing with us was that we were chaos together, a blend of love and lunacy.
“I didn’t go gossiping, War. I’m not a fool, cher. Lena asked me for an update because your friend was talking to any vampire that would listen. They were the ones who reported it back to Lena. She simply asked me to confirm it.”
I sighed, perching on the edge of the desk as all the fight left me. “He’s becoming a problem.”
Levette looked too excited by my words, struggling to keep his smirk contained. “Honeymoon period is over?”
“Screw you.”
“Beg me first,” Levette quipped back.
I looked away before he could see me smile.
July, 2025 (New Orleans)
Bon Vivant was thriving, and as I sat at the corner of the bar, watching people dance and feed, I felt an immense sense of pride.
Lena had yet to come by and see the place—she claimed she had important coven business to attend to, which was disappointing and more than a little worrying, considering she always shared that information with me—but every update we gave her seemed to please her.
Apparently, the Authority had sent in their little spies more than once, leaving with only good stories to report back. It was a pleasant feeling.
“You hungry, Warren?” one of the barkeepers asked, shaking a bottle of blood in front of my face.
I shook my head and continued to watch the crowd.
The truth was, nothing had been satiating my hunger lately.
It was different from the curse. I could feed and know that my body was technically satisfied with the blood, but nothing quite hit the spot.
Immediately after, I found myself still craving more. Craving something else.
My eyes locked on Levette who had a man curled up beside him, his hands running across Levy’s chest like he belonged there. It maddened me, but I knew I had no right to intervene.
Levette and I had a long, complicated history.
Every time I looked at him, I felt my soul call to his.
We had fallen in love in such a deep, connected way that we had mated, and I struggled to ignore that part of us.
It was my decision to leave, and even if I begged him for one final shot, I knew that I didn’t deserve it.
I continued to watch them as Levette let his fangs come out and he licked the column of the human’s throat before he tore into his skin, lapping up the blood. Even when he looked up, staring directly at me as though he felt my eyes on his, I could not look away.
My body was aflame, ready to run to him. My heart felt as though it wanted to crawl its way to his, binding us further. Even my mind, that treacherous thing, contemplated ripping the human away from him and taking his place.
Levette finished drinking, swirling his tongue over the wounds in a way that made my pants feel far too tight. I adjusted myself, not missing the satisfied smirk on Levette’s face. The human reached for him, but Levy brushed his hand away, raising his brows at me.
Come here, mon cher.
I gasped at the sudden intrusion in my mind. I hadn’t realized that I’d dropped my guard; it wasn’t a conscious decision. I had planned to keep it together, stay professional until the first year was over, and then go home. When did I let it slip?
The realization that Levette had been trying to contact me through our bond did not go amiss, either. He had been waiting for those walls to drop, which meant he’d lowered his, too.
There was a part of me that thought it was inevitable that I would run back to him.
I loved him, that much I knew, and I desperately wanted him in the way I always had.
I wanted him to consume me, to love me, to seep into my every thought.
But I had to remind myself that there was more to our downfall than a curse; it was what we did to each other.
Instead, I found myself a vampire to have some fun with and hopefully, screw Levette all the way out of my system.
He took me back to his apartment, pressing his lips against mine. It felt wrong, with Levette still in my head, like he was invading my brain and I couldn’t get him out.
I tore the vampire’s clothes off and shoved him onto the bed, our naked limbs tangling.
He prepped himself and me, hurried touches and hungry kisses, before sliding into me.
The second he bottomed out, I grabbed the headboard and begged him for more.
But every time he hammered into me, Levette flashed in my mind.
I felt his hands on me, his mouth pressed against my shoulder, and it drove me insane.
“You feel—”
“Shut up,” I ground out, eager for the vampire to be quiet. “Don’t talk.”
The vampire grunted, and I was grateful, our sweat mingling as he fucked me.
The quieter he was, the more I let myself into the fantasy that it was Levette.
That’s what you want? You want me to fuck you like that?
I hissed at Levette’s voice. When had I allowed myself to be so weakened that I could barely keep my guards up? Clearly, they were slipping frequently, and as I felt him watching me, I struggled to care.
Does it matter? You’re not the one doing it, I snapped back.
The vampire slipped his hand around me, pumping until I spilled over his hand. He followed soon after, and the whole time I kept the bond open so Levette could watch.
August, 2025 (New Orleans)
We didn’t talk about what happened, but it changed things between us, anyway. I felt the charge pulsing between us whenever we were in the same room, and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to keep myself in check.
I was helping behind the bar when I noticed Levette’s absence from the club. Since opening night, he’d been on the premises to keep watch over everything that happened. It made me suspicious, but he was probably on an errand.
Lena:
How are things?
Me:
Going well. Why don’t you come visit?
Lena:
Busy.
Lena:
You and Levette aren’t fighting?
I deliberated for a moment on telling her the truth.
She was my best friend, and I wanted her to know I was struggling with it.
On the other hand, I knew how important it was to her and Ria for the club to succeed, and I didn’t want to risk her asking me to come home.
It was my one opportunity to make it up to her. I couldn’t fail.
Me:
Nope. All good.
The three dots showed her typing, but a reply never came, and soon after, the club began to get busy.
It was our live music night, and the band—some punk-metal type group—coated in sweat as they roared their lyrics into the mics.
The patrons seemed to enjoy it, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the vampires jostling alongside the mortals.
“You are Warren Hayes, correct?” a man asked, drawing my attention away from the crowd.
He was a vampire, I couldn’t hear a heartbeat, but he’d been older when he was changed.
At least in his sixties, the man looked like he was breaking out in hives just setting foot in our club.
Dressed in a designer suit and sunglasses, he looked like he was auditioning for a role in a spy movie.
“Depends who’s asking.” I laughed, grabbing an empty glass to get him a drink. “What can I do for you?”
The elder vampire tapped his hand against the marbled bartop, his signet ring glistening under the light. A. He was from the Authority.
My stomach churned, but I kept my face neutral as I looked at him.
“I just wanted to put a face to the name. Dear Magdalena speaks so highly of you and your business partner. I’m Vasile, a friend of your boss.”
Though my blood was already cold, I felt it turn to ice within me.
Vasile was the old, evil bastard who had cursed Lena to a lifetime of misery.
He also happened to be the head of the Authority.
And he was Lena’s uncle.
I forced a smile onto my face and nodded politely. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Vasile licked his lips, and nausea rolled through my gut. The guy looked like the creep I knew he was. “Tell me, Warren, has our dear Magdalena been here recently?”
I shook my head and tried to ignore the nervous energy floating in my body.
If he was here asking questions like that, it meant Lena was skipping out on coven duty.
In all my years knowing her, she had never skipped a single meeting or refused to follow any instructions from her bosses.
And it meant she was lying to me. All this time, saying she was busy with coven work, she was clearly up to something else instead.
But what was so important that she couldn’t tell me?
“Nope, sorry. I haven’t seen her in months.”
My tone was friendly, but I kept my answer dry. I would never give them anything that would hurt Lena, not that I even knew anything. Still, I refused to give too much away and risk catching their interest again. I was already a pawn to use against Lena.
The old vampire ran his fangs over his lower lip before humming his agreement.
“That’s disappointing. If she happens to come by, tell her I want to speak with her.
” I could hear the threat in his voice and the way disdain for Lena dripped off his tongue.
If I thought I could hurt him, I would jump over the bar and end him where he stood.
“It was nice to meet you, Warren. If you ever get tired of being Magdalena’s dog, you should call me.
There would be a nice bonus for you at the Authority. ”
“Noted. Thank you, sir.”
It wasn’t until Vasile had left the premises that I let my smile falter. Lena was in trouble, and I had no idea why.
Me:
Princess, call me back ASAP. Vasile was here.