Chapter Five
––––––––
Tessa
The clubhouse rises out of the dark like something dragged up from the frozen earth, rough timber and stone blending into the landscape as if it grew here on its own. Security lights slice through the night, carving harsh shadows that make the place look more fortress than home.
Blade’s bike rumbles to a stop in front of me, Hannah on the back of it. A second later, Vex pulls up beside them, and I climb off his bike, my legs unsteady from more than just the ride.
I don’t want to be here. Every cell in my body is screaming this is a mistake... but the moment my boots hit the ground, a memory slams into me.
There was a time I would’ve given anything to be on the back of Vex’s bike.
To be the one he reached for.
To be his, before I found out what he truly is.
That want is long dead... or it should be. Because standing here now, the truth presses against my ribs and the heat between my thighs reminds me I once longed for him.
And I hate that a part of me still feels it.
I don’t want to be here.
Every cell in my body screams at me to run, but Hannah’s hand finds mine, squeezing gently. “You’re not alone,” she murmurs, and I want to believe her, but the fear is a living thing in my chest, clawing its way up my throat.
The front door swings open before we reach it, spilling warm yellow light and the smell of leather, smoke, and cooking meat. Music thrums from inside, it’s classic rock, loud enough to feel in my bones. A wall of sound that should be comforting but isn’t.
Blade goes in first, Prophet close behind. Vex moves to my side, not touching but close enough I can feel the cold radiating off him, a reminder of what he is. What they all are.
I cross the threshold, and every conversation dies.
The main room is massive, all exposed beams and stone fireplace, pool tables and worn leather couches. But what makes my breath catch are the men. So many men, all turning to look at me with eyes that see too much. Some curious, some wary, some hungry in a way that makes my skin crawl.
“Everyone,” Blade’s voice cuts through the silence like a blade. “This is Tessa. She’s under Kings’ protection. Nobody touches her. Nobody even fucking looks at her wrong. We clear?”
A chorus of assent, some grudging, some eager. My fingers dig into the strap of my duffel bag hard enough to hurt.
Then one voice rises above the rest, rough and mocking.
“Blade bringing home strays now? What’s next, a petting zoo?
” The speaker is lean and wiry, with a face that’s seen too many fights and a grin that’s all teeth.
His eyes rake over me in a way that makes me want to take a shower.
“She looks like she could use some warming up. I’d be happy to volunteer for—”
The temperature in the room drops ten degrees in an instant.
Vex moves so fast I don’t see it, one second he’s beside me, the next he’s across the room with his hand wrapped around the other man’s throat, lifting him off his feet.
The man’s face goes from cocky to terrified in a heartbeat.
Vex’s eyes are white, glowing like ice under moonlight, and when he speaks, his voice is so cold it burns.
“Rooster.” Each syllable is precise, deadly.
“Tessa is off-limits. You don’t look at her.
You don’t talk to her. You don’t even fucking breathe in her direction unless she asks you to.
Because if you do, I will rip out your throat and feed it to you while you’re still alive enough to choke on it. Do we have an understanding?”
Rooster manages a strangled nod, eyes wide with fear. Vex holds him there for another heartbeat, long enough to make his point crystal clear then drops him. The man stumbles back, gasping, one hand to his throat.
The room is so silent I can hear my own pulse thundering in my ears.
Vex turns back to me, and his eyes are still white, still predatory, but when they lock on mine, something shifts. The cold fury banks, replaced by something hotter, more dangerous. Something that makes heat pool low in my belly even as fear tells me to run.
“You’re safe here,” he says, and somehow his voice is gentle despite the threat still coiled in every line of his body. “I promise you that.”
I want to believe him. God, I want to.
Blade clears his throat. “Prophet blessed the clubhouse years ago. The wards will slow the creature, but they won’t stop it completely.
The mark gives it a direct line to you.” He nods toward a stairway at the back.
“You’re bunking next to Vex’s room. He’s the only one fast enough and strong enough to reach you if something comes through. ”
Of course. Of course I am.
Hannah squeezes my hand again. “I’m staying tonight,” she says firmly. “I promised I wouldn’t leave you alone the first night, and I meant it.”
Small mercies.
The hallway at the top of the stairs is narrow, claustrophobic, lined with doors that all look the same. Blade stops at one near the end, pushes it open. The room inside is small but clean, a bed, a dresser, a window with heavy curtains drawn tight. Basic. Functional. A cage with a mattress.
“Bathroom’s at the end of the hall,” Prophet says quietly. “You need anything, just knock on Vex’s door. He’ll hear you.”
I bet he will. Vampire hearing and all that.
Hannah follows me in, and the door closes behind us with a soft click that sounds far too final.
I drop my duffel bag on the bed and sink down beside it, suddenly exhausted.
The adrenaline that’s been keeping me upright since Blade showed up at my house is finally draining away, leaving me hollow and shaking.
“Hey.” Hannah sits beside me, her shoulder pressing against mine. “You’re going to be okay. I know this is scary, but the Kings don’t make promises they can’t keep.”
“I’m sleeping next to a vampire,” I say, my voice flat. “A vampire who just threatened to rip out another man’s throat for making a crude comment about me.”
“A vampire who’s clearly obsessed with you,” Hannah corrects, and there’s something almost amused in her tone. “Trust me, Tessa. Vex will die before he lets anything happen to you.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.
We sit there for a while, not talking, just existing in the quiet.
Hannah eventually pulls out her phone, scrolling through something mindless, while I try to wrap my head around the fact that this is my life now.
Something ancient and hungry has marked me, I’m hiding in a motorcycle club full of supernatural creatures, and the man I’ve been attracted to for two years is a vampire who can’t seem to decide if he wants to protect me or devour me.
Maybe both.
The knock on the door makes us both jump.
“Yeah?” I call out, hating how shaky my voice sounds.
The door opens, and Vex fills the frame. He’s changed out of his leather cut into a simple black t-shirt and jeans, and the casual clothing somehow makes him look more dangerous, not less. More human. More real.
“Just checking in,” he says, his dark eyes finding mine. “Everything you need?”
“I’m fine.”
“Liar.”
The word hangs in the air between us, sharp and true. I am lying. I’m terrified. I’m exhausted. I’m so far out of my depth I can barely breathe.
But I’ll be damned if I admit it to him.
“I’m as fine as I can be, given the circumstances,” I amend, lifting my chin.
Something that might be approval flickers across his face. “Good.” He glances at Hannah. “You staying the night?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He looks back at me, and there’s something in his gaze that makes my stomach flip. “My room’s right next door. The walls are thin. If you need me, I’ll hear you.”
The promise in those words sends a shiver down my spine. Not fear. Something else. Something I absolutely should not be feeling for a man, a vampire, who just demonstrated exactly how lethal he can be.
“Thank you,” I manage.
He nods once and pulls the door closed behind him. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“See?” Hannah says, grinning. “Totally obsessed.”
I don’t dignify that with a response.
Hannah falls asleep easily, curled up on the bed beside me, her breathing deep and even. But sleep won’t come for me. Every time I close my eyes, I see the mark crawling across my skin like living ice. Feel the burn of it, the wrongness. Remember the voice in the darkness calling my name.
The clock on the dresser reads 2:47 AM when I finally give up and slip out of bed. I need air. Space. Something other than the four walls of this tiny room pressing in on me.
The hallway is dark and quiet, lit only by a dim emergency light near the bathroom. I move carefully, not wanting to wake anyone, and make my way toward the common room downstairs. Maybe there’s a back door, somewhere I can step outside and breathe without feeling like I’m suffocating.
But when I reach the main room, I freeze.
Vex is there.
He’s standing by the window, staring out at the darkness beyond, and the moonlight coming through the glass turns his hair silver. He’s still in the t-shirt and jeans, barefoot, and there’s something almost vulnerable about him like this. Almost human.
Then he turns, and his eyes find me in the darkness, and I remember, he’s anything but.
“Can’t sleep?” His voice is low, careful not to carry.
“No.” I step into the room, wrapping my arms around myself. “What about you?”
“Vampires don’t sleep much.” He moves closer, each step measured, predatory. “What are you doing out here?”
“Needed air.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the whole truth either.
He stops a few feet away, close enough I can see the way the muscles in his jaw tense, the way his hands flex at his sides as though he’s fighting the urge to reach for me. “You should go back to your room.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not safe out here.”
“You just said the clubhouse has wards.”
“I wasn’t talking about the creature.” His voice drops lower, rougher. “I was talking about me.”