14. The City Watches #2
By the time Reign got to Smoke & Gold, the sun was still hours away but the weight of what was coming pressed down on him like a physical thing. He needed to feed. Needed to clear his head. Needed to be sharp for whatever Cairo was about to say.
Auren was waiting in the VIP bathroom when he walked in.
She was leaning against the sink, arms crossed, wearing a black bodycon dress and heels even though the club had been closed for hours. Her locs were pulled back, gold hoops catching the dim light. She looked at him with those knowing eyes and didn't say anything.
She didn't have to.
"You heard?" Reign asked, locking the door behind him.
"Everybody heard." Auren's voice was soft, steady. "Kove was good people."
"Yeah. He was."
Auren pushed off the sink and moved closer, her hand coming up to rest on his chest. "You need to feed before you go in there. Cairo gonna want you focused, and you ain't focused right now."
Reign closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. She was right. He could feel the hunger clawing at him, made worse by the rage and the exhaustion and the weight of everything pulling him in too many directions.
"You sure?" he asked, his voice rough.
"I'm sure." Auren's hand moved to the back of his neck, pulling him down slightly. "I got you."
She turned, lifting her hair, exposing the side of her neck. But that wasn't what Reign needed. Not tonight.
"You on your cycle?" he asked quietly.
Auren glanced back at him, a small smile playing at her lips. "Yeah. Started yesterday."
Reign's jaw tightened. "Then we doing this different."
She understood immediately. Turned back around, reaching under her dress to pull down her underwear. She stepped out of them, then hiked the dress up slightly, leaning forward against the sink.
This wasn't about sex. It was about the blood.
Reign moved behind her, his hands steady as he positioned himself. When he entered her, it was slow, deliberate, intimate in a way that had nothing to do with romance and everything to do with trust. Auren's breathing hitched, her hands gripping the edge of the sink.
"You good?" Reign asked, his voice low.
"I'm good. Do what you need to do."
Reign leaned forward, his mouth finding the curve of her shoulder first, then moving to her neck. His teeth extended, sharp and precise, and when he bit down, Auren gasped but didn't pull away.
The blood hit his system like lightning.
Menstrual blood was different. Richer. More potent. It carried hormones, emotions, life force in a way that regular blood didn't. It made him stronger, sharper, more in control. It was why he craved it, why he sought it out, why women like Auren understood the exchange.
She gave him what he needed. He made sure she was taken care of—money, protection, respect.
As he fed, his mind split three ways.
Kove's body in the alley. Gray skin. Missing heart.
Arissa Sterling in her lab, looking at him like she could see straight through to what he was.
Soreya waiting for him to come tell her the truth about everything.
He pulled back from Auren's neck, licking the wound closed so it would heal fast. His breathing was steadier now, his mind clearer. The hunger had receded, replaced by cold focus.
Auren straightened, pulling her dress back down, turning to face him. There was blood on her shoulder, but she didn't seem bothered. Just reached for a paper towel, wiping it away.
"You good now?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'm good." Reign's voice was quiet. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me. Just handle your business." Auren picked up her underwear, slipping them back on, then moved toward the door. She paused, looking back at him. "And Reign? Whatever Cairo about to say in there? Don't let your feelings get in the way. We need you sharp."
She left before he could respond.
Reign stared at himself in the mirror—gold chain, designer hoodie, fresh lineup. He looked the same as always.
But everything had changed.
The back room at Smoke & Gold smelled like expensive cigars and old leather. Cairo sat at the head of the table, a glass of dark liquor in front of him, his expression carved from stone. Soleil and Sevyn were already there, sitting on opposite sides.
Reign took the seat closest to Cairo.
"Kove was a good kid," Cairo said without preamble. "Loyal. Respectful. Did his job. And Noctis's crew killed him like he was nothing. Took his heart and left him in an alley for us to find."
"So we hit them back," Sevyn said immediately, his voice tight. "Tonight. We find they spots, we drain every last one of them, we send a message they can't ignore."
"That's exactly what they want," Soleil cut in, her tone sharp. "They trying to bait us into a war we ain't ready for. We move reckless, we lose."
"We already at war!" Sevyn's fist slammed on the table. "They killed one of ours!"
"And if we retaliate without a plan, they kill ten more." Soleil's eyes flashed. "This ain't about revenge, Sevyn. This about survival."
Cairo raised one hand, and the room went silent.
"Soleil's right," he said, his voice low and controlled. "Noctis want us emotional. Want us moving without thinking. But we smarter than that." He turned his gaze to Reign. "You went to see the chemist tonight. What happened?"
Reign hesitated. "She need time to think about working with us."
"Time." Cairo's jaw tightened. "We don't got time. You know what that serum mean, Reign? If Noctis get to her first, if they get that research, they can move during the day. They can hit our spots while we sleeping. They can take everything we built and we can't do nothing about it."
The weight of that reality settled over the room like a shroud.
"We got twenty-four hours," Cairo continued. "Maybe less. We secure Arissa Sterling and her research, or we lose this war before it even start."
"I'll go get her," Soleil said immediately. "Tonight. Bring her here, make her understand she don't got a choice."
"No." The word came out of Reign's mouth before he could stop it.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"No?" Soleil's eyebrow arched. "You got a better idea?"
Reign's mind raced. He thought about Arissa in her lab—confident, intelligent, dangerous. Thought about the way she'd looked at him, the way she'd said maybe I know exactly what you are. If Soleil went in there with force, Arissa would fight. Or run. Or worse, she'd go to Noctis out of spite.
"I can get her to come willingly," Reign said carefully. "Give me until tomorrow night. Let me talk to her, make her see we the better option."
"And if she say no?" Cairo asked.
Reign met his uncle's eyes. "Then Soleil can do it her way."
Soleil leaned back in her chair, studying him. "You catching feelings for this girl, Reign?"
"I'm thinking strategically. We want her cooperation, not her hostility. She smart. She got options. We come at her wrong, we lose her."
Cairo was silent for a long moment, his fingers drumming on the table. Finally, he nodded.
"You got twenty-four hours," he said. "But Reign? If you can't close this, if your feelings get in the way, Soleil taking over. We clear?"
"We clear."
"Good." Cairo stood, signaling the meeting was over. "Sevyn, double security on all our spots. Soleil, reach out to our people, make sure everybody know we at war. Reign, handle the chemist. And all of y'all—stay sharp. Noctis coming for us, and they ain't playing."
As they filed out, Reign felt the weight of everything pressing down on him.
Twenty-four hours to secure Arissa Sterling.
A war starting whether he was ready or not.
And Soreya still waiting for him to tell her the truth.
He pulled out his phone, staring at her last text.
Soreya (4:32 AM): Please just talk to me.
Reign closed his eyes.
He didn't know how to tell her that the man she loved was about to drag her into a war that could get her killed.
But he was running out of time to figure it out.
Soleil (10:24 PM): Bullshit. You feeling her. I can tell from here.
Reign (10:25 PM): Drop it.
Soleil (10:25 PM): This a problem, Reign. You know that, right? You already got Soreya. You can't be out here catching feelings for the chemist too.
Reign didn't respond. Just pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Soleil and Sevyn to follow.
But as he drove back toward Richmond, all he could think about was the way Arissa had looked at him. The way she'd smiled. The way she'd said, Maybe I know exactly what you are.
And the worst part?
He wanted to see her again.