Chapter 9
Delaney
Ihave never seen so much spandex and neon colors in all of my twenty-six years.
Tonight, at Starlight Lounge, is eighties night.
The staff were told to dress up also, and it was super fun to shop and get what we needed.
If I am being honest, it was a good way to forget what the hell happened the other day with that creepy vampire.
It was not only that though; it was also the fact that Thorin has been MIA again, not that I am all that surprised.
After our brief encounter in the office, I thought that something had changed, but it seems that once again, I let hope bloom only for it to be crushed when he never came back to check on me.
Two new prospects are standing guard on me, keeping their distance.
It’s making my heart hurt knowing that I am the cause of the last two losing their lives.
A shiver wracks my body, and an uneasy feeling again seeps into my muscles. I push it down because surely no vampires would attack me this close to the last one and in a club that is linked to the Kings.
“Here, drink this.” Emerald offers me a neon pink shot and I take it, needing something to settle my nerves.
“Thanks, babe.” I give her back the shot glass.
“You okay?” I nod.
“Yeah, just got this odd feeling that I cannot shake or figure out.” I shake my body from my fingertips to my toes.
Flexing my neck from side to side, I’m hoping it will crack to ease some of the tension there. I was so looking forward to tonight, and I do not want anything or anyone to ruin that.
“If you need me, you know where to find me,” my friend tells me.
“I know; that’s why you are the best.” I kiss her cheek.
“Hey, why am I not in on this action?” Nolan calls, and some of the customers laugh and cheer.
Skipping down to him, I make a big scene of leaning in, placing my two hands on his large shoulders. I’m leaning in to kiss his cheek, but at the last second he turns his face, his lips connecting with mine.
My eyes widen; so do his, and we both freeze as shouts go up, and then we both blink, coming out of our shocked state.
“Fuck. I did not mean to do that, sweets,” he rushes out.
“I know, handsome; no harm, no foul, okay?” I assure him.
Something passes between us and it looks like he understands that I am not pissed at him in any way. He is like a brother to me, and I know that he does not feel that way about me. We are great friends, and neither of us would do anything to jeopardize that.
I slap his ass and walk past him to help serve the customers at the far end of the bar.
My skin ripples with unease, but this time I do not look for a possible threat.
I hand a beer to the prospect who is standing there, and he dips his chin in thanks, and I take orders from a group of young women who have been giggling over him all night.
To be fair, he is hot: all tall, dark skin, with dark hair and eyes to match.
“So, what is your name and superpower?” I ask, making conversation.
After the last two were killed protecting me, the guilt hit me hard that I never took the time to speak to them, to find out basic information about them, and if Thorin has an issue with that, he can kiss my ass.
His grin is one that will make panties drop in seconds.
“Gael, and I control fire.” He knows that he cannot show me, as powers are forbidden to be used here.
“Fucking cool. Do I take it that you joined the club in the last few weeks?” He frowns, then nods.
“Two weeks ago. How do you know that I am new?”
“So, they have you guarding me but have told you nothing about me?”
He nods. “I do what Pres tells me to; plus, Thorin threatened to cut my balls off if anything happens to you, so I can assume you are something to him. I will protect you with my life, Delaney.” His voice turns serious.
The girls giggle, clearly liking this sudden serious side to Gael.
“Something alright.”
When I look back to him a few minutes later, he is ignoring the woman talking to him, his gaze on me, watching to make sure I am okay. People around him have no idea the power he wields. He sits calm and collected, but there's a dangerous edge to his presence that makes me grateful he’s on my side.
I believe that Gael will be a full patched member if he keeps his head on straight and follows orders, because just by looking at him, I feel that he has the power to match those already in the club.
“I am getting laid tonight,” Nolan says when he comes to stand next to me to mix a drink order.
“Dude, you get laid most nights. Tonight is not special. And she is definitely not.”
He feigns hurt, placing his hand over his heart.
“How do you know that she is not my soulmate; she could be the one who tames me.” He winks.
“Who, her?” I look back at the chick he was flirting with.
She has big hair that is crimped, wild eighties style makeup, and a top that is barely keeping her tits in place, a strip of flimsy spandex material.
“Yes, fuck. The way she sucks on her straw, I know she will suck my cock like a pro.” He smiles, winking at the chick who is grinning at him, with said straw between her lips.
Oh, good lordy. Corny much?
“She does scream eighties porn star,” I comment, making him belt out a laugh.
“I fucking hope so, honey. I fucking hope so.”
“Fuck off and get back to work, before you go get your dick wet.” I nudge him with my shoulder, making him laugh.
The chick frowns at me, and I give her the widest, sweetest smile that I can before winking and slapping Nolan on the ass as I pass him. Her glare deepens, making me laugh harder.
Time flies, people drink and have fun. Me and my friends have a blast, joining in the dancing and singing, making the most of the theme for the night. Laughter echoes over the thumping bass as we throw ourselves into every cheesy move, not caring how silly we look.
The energy in the bar is infectious, and for a while, it feels like all the shit that has happened never did, and I get to forget and just dance and be fucking merry.
The song changes and for a split second, I look to my left and see two women walking toward me. I am unable to look away, like I am trapped in their gazes, that are filled with rage and pain.
Their mouths move like they are singing or chanting, but I cannot hear what they are saying.
The tray of glasses I am holding falls from my hands, crashing to the floor. Glass and multicolored liquid flies everywhere. Nolan and Monica jump, both looking at me with worry and concern, before rushing to me.
My body is suddenly not feeling like it is my own.
A shiver rushes through me and my head snaps up, and immediately I do not feel good. It is like all of my energy has been zapped from my body. I lean back into the back of the bar, looking around to see if anyone is focused on me, yet I see nothing through the mass of people.
“Fuck, what happened?” Nolan holds me up, his arms around my waist.
“Something is wrong,” I slur.
Looking over Nolan’s shoulder, I see the two women walking toward the bar, the crowds parting for them. Their mouths move in song or a chant, but I do not hear what they are saying.
They are dressed in black lace dresses, big hair, and neon beads, which make them fit in with the crowd.
The closer they get, the weaker I become.
“Delaney, honey, talk to me. What is happening?” Monica cries.
The music starts to fade, the chatter along with it. My vision is turning black, my body feeling like the life is being sucked out of me.
“Thor. Thorin,” I push out.
“Fuck,” I hear Gael mutter. “Call Pres and Thorin.” His voice is wooden but faint.
“Hold on for me, Delaney. Your man is coming.” I weakly nod. “Gibson, clear the place out, now.”
“Witches.” I lock eyes with him, his going wide as he spins to look up over the bar.
People are screaming, but I am too weak to care.
“The Kings are here,” Lance calls out.
“Stay back,” is growled, my body starting to feel lighter, not under whatever spell they were using anymore.
“Prospect, stand down. Her man has her.”
“Yes, Pres.”
“Baby. Delaney, look at me. Open your pretty violet eyes for me.” I blink, hearing Thorin’s voice.
I notice his tone is much gentler than usual, his typical gruff and grunting gone.
Opening my eyes, I see Thorin leaning over me. His hands are supporting my body, with one behind my head, the other on my hip.
“Fuck, what was that?”
“Witches,” Nolan answers from the other side of the bar.
“Not witches. Furies. It seems that my resident vampire here pissed them off by killing one of their sisters,” Camo fills us in.
I lean into him while I balance myself on my feet. He keeps his hands on me, no doubt scared that I will drop to the floor again, and if I am being honest with myself, that just might happen again.
“Furies? I thought they stayed away from Salem.” I let what Camo just said sink in, and my heart stutters in my chest. “This is happening because of you?”
My head hurts, my body feels like it has run a 10k marathon while being ill with the flu. Everything aches, and I still feel drowsy and weak.
“There is more to it than that, Delaney,” Thorin speaks up.
“Why? Who? Tell me then. Tell me why I am now suddenly the primary target for fucking vampires and fucking Furies that should not be here in Salem,” I snap half-heartedly.
Thorin glares at me; he hates that I am questioning him in front of his brother when he can fuck off. I am the one who keeps getting hurt. Not him.
“I am going home.” I look around and find who I am looking for. “Gael, can you take me home, please?”
He looks between Winger, Thorin, and me. I sigh, knowing what is coming.
“All the fucking same,” I mutter.
“Delaney,” Winger warns.
He knows that I love the brothers all the same, except Thorin, so I would never disrespect them but right now, I really fucking dislike the bullshit they are about to pull.
“I am putting you in lockdown at the clubhouse.”
“No,” I tell Pres.
“You do not have a choice in this, honey. That is two attacks in the span of a week. Until your man sorts this out, we keep you safe.”
“Not my man.” Even as I say those words, no one around me or myself believes them.
“I think some things say differently, babe.” This comes from Shift.
“Clearly, it does not matter what the forces have to say about it, now does it? I say he is not mine. He does not belong to me, and I do not belong to him. Now, I am going home to sleep off whatever this is.”
I step around Thorin, but I do not get far.
Big arms go around my waist and I am lifted off the ground, spun in a way that leaves me being cradled like a fucking bride in Thorin’s arms.
My hands go around his neck, and I ignore the grin on his face. I would slap it off, but I do not want to cause damage to his prettiness. That is what I tell myself, anyway.
“Fucking made for me,” he vows.
I scoff at his words, inching closer so that our faces are nose to nose.
Wrong fucking move, because the fucker grins wider as his scent lingers in my senses, making my body react to him. Even in my weakened state, he turns me on, and I know that he can scent me.
Thorin has always scented me.
“If I were yours, Thorin, I would already bear your mark, but I do not.”
The grin slips from his face as he grinds his teeth. Anguish and anger mist his eyes, the red seeping in, mixing with the gold.
It would scare most people being this close to a vampire as he starts to lose his temper, but I know that Thorin would not hurt me— none of the club would let him hurt me. Well, not physically anyway.
“You are going into lockdown until we solve the issues. I need you safe. The prospects can only do so much, and with your place so fucking crowded, they cannot do their job properly. So for now, you are locked to me,” he growls low, making my nipples tighten at his threat.
I know that I am not going to win this argument with him; plus, he is holding me so I cannot run, but I am sure he would catch me if I tried.
“Fine,” I huff, tightening my grip around his neck. “You keep your fucking and feeding out of my sight, or people will get hurt,” I warn him.
Now his eyes shine bright gold, pleasure and humor looking back at me.
Fuck.
“I like this side to you, baby. Needed that a long time ago.”
His words hit me in the chest, but I cannot speak. I just let him carry me out of the bar. The next few days are going to be a whirlwind, and I am not sure if I want to be caught up in it.