Tempting Raven (Curse of the Vampire Queen 1)

And wait.

And wait.

“Does anyone feel anything yet?” I set the empty vial down on the backseat.

Effie shrugs. “No … But I heard it takes a minute to kick in.”

We wait a minute. Still nothing.

Effie begins to frown while Anders mutters something about getting duds.

“Maybe we should go inside while we’re waiting for it to kick in,” I suggest.

We all agree and hop out of the car, surpassing the long line and walking straight up to the entrance. I nearly do a double-take at the presence of ten bouncers lined up in front of the entrance. Normally, only two are stationed at the front doors.

Hawk, the main bouncer who’s in his early twenties and is all muscles and intricate tattoos, greets me with a welcoming, fangy smile as I approach the velvet rope. “Well, well, look who decided to finally come check out her mom’s club.”

“I’ve been down here before,” I remind him. “Just not at night. I’m not really much of a night person.”

“Raven, you’re a vampire, which by definition means you’re a creature of the night,” he teases, wrapping his fingers around the rope. “Or, did you forget?”

I smack the heel of my hand against my forehead. “Man, I completely forgot. Thanks for reminding me. I was really starting to get worried about these fangs that keep slipping out of my gums and my uncontrollable desire for blood.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “For the record, I didn’t mean night person, as in, simply a night person. I mean the night crowd.” He gestures at the people in line. “The party time crowd.”

“Party time crowd?” I arch a brow at him, smiling. “You’re making my mom’s club sound like a place where vampires go to throw their offspring birthday parties.”

His lips quirk. “Fine. Keep teasing me. At least I got you to smile.” He lifts the rope up to let me through.

“These guys are with me.” I gesture at Effie and Anders, who are both giving me goofy grins.

Great, did their blood boost kick in? Because mine still feels dormant.

“What?” I mouth. They both just giggle in response.

I shake my head and turn back toward Hawk just in time to see his gaze jerk upward. I glance down at the ground, wondering what he was looking at, but I can’t see anything except pavement.

Hawk clears his throat and motions for us to come through. “Does your mom know you’re here?” he asks as I start to step by him.

I stop beside him and shake my head while Effie and Anders bounce past me. “I’ll tell her. I need to talk to her, anyway.” My gaze strays to the extra bouncers. “So, what’s up with all the extra security?”

“Too many rebellions going on these days.” He heaves a sigh. “Last week, we had three fights break out within one night. They tore up the club and injured at least ten vampires. Your mom hired extra security, hoping it’ll scare all the vampires’ fangs back into their mouths. But I don’t know … I worry things are only going to get worse until we can find a way to get some more orders and laws in motion.” He pauses, considering something with uncertainty. “I heard a rumor that supposedly, maybe, possibly, Fate proclaimed a king the other day.”

My jaw nearly smacks the ground. “Seriously?”

He wavers. “Well, that’s what I heard. But I heard the story from a friend of a friend who heard it from their friend who wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, so I’m not sure how much truth there is to it.”

I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Still, it’d be good if it were true, right?”

“I agree. I don’t think we’ve ever needed a king more than we do right now.”

As if to prove a point, a fight breaks out across the street. Growls fill the air and blood splatters across the pavement as bites and punches are thrown.

Hawk sighs heavily. “We need a queen, too. Maybe even more so than a king. That’s kind of why I’m not sure if the story I heard is accurate. Normally, a queen is chosen first.”

“Maybe she’s already been chosen. Maybe your friend of a friend of friend or whatever,” I say and he smiles, shaking his head, “didn’t hear that part of the story.”

“Well, that, or the council is keeping it secret.” He eyeballs the fight across the street, his fingers drifting toward the gun in his shoulder holster.

The gun doesn’t carry normal bullets, but wooden ones sealed with demon venom powerful enough to knock a vampire out for days.

“Why would they keep it a secret?” I inch forward as one of the other bouncers storms by me and strides toward the brawl.

Hawk tenses as the fight moves across the street toward us. “A lot of reasons, but mainly because her powers won’t manifest for a couple of weeks after she’s been announced queen, which puts her in a vulnerable position to be assassinated. So, to protect her, they might keep it a secret until she gains her powers and can protect herself.”

My eyes widen. “Why would anyone want to kill her?”

“Because she has enough power to put a stop to everything—the madness, the chaos, the murders.” He gives an insinuating look at the fight going on, which has gained momentum with at least ten people joining in. Blood is beginning to pool the night-kissed streets and the metallic scent strangles the chilly air. “And not everyone wants that to happen.”

I watch the fight grow more violent, bones snapping and blood spilling everywhere. The sad part is, at least one of them will probably die. And for what? Because some vampires want to throw their fists around and prove they’re tough?

Right as I’m about to turn away, a male vampire amid the fighting mob snaps his head up. He sniffs the air, and then his red eyes lock on me. I’ve seen him before. It’s the emperor who was with Rhyland the day the demon attacked the school. He looks different, though. His red eyes are filled with untamed hunger, as if he hasn’t eaten in ages or has drank too much powerful blood and now lives in a blood frenzy all the time.

As he stares at me, unmoving in the mayhem, his lips curl upward, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. I want to look away, but I can’t get my gaze to budge, as if my eyes are bound in some magical trance.

I only blink my gaze away when Hawk nudges me forward.

“Go inside before things get worse.” He has his gun out. “You should be safe in there.”

Nodding, I hurry for the doors as a blood-curdling scream shatters the air.

I start to look over my shoulder to see if the emperor is still there, even though I know I probably shouldn’t, but right then, the blood boost kicks in.

6

Turns out Effie and Anders blood boost kicked in, too, and by the time I find them in the club, we’re all too far gone to have a normal conversation. Instead of talking, we dance. We dance until our feet hurt. Until we can’t think. Until we’ve forgotten.

Hours later, I’m standing at the bar, my skin is damp with sweat, and my veins are silent of any buzzing. Anders is next to me, flirting with a curvy redhead and Effie is shamelessly flashing her cleavage as she attempts to convince the bartender to give her free drinks. So far, Austin has been a no-show, but the night is still young with the undead, a motto I’m trying to live by tonight.

I’m having fun. So much fun I can barely think about anything as I stare at the dance floor where magical stars float around in circles, casting a faint silvery glow across the couples and groups of vampires grinding against each other. A sultry song booms from the speakers and the stars seem to dance with the rhythm, twisting and turning and spinning like little dancing pixies.

So pretty.

Everything’s been so pretty tonight.

And fun.

At least on the inside of the club.

Outside, only madness exists. And strangers with red, hungry eyes. Sexy next-door neighbors who have greedy, grabby hands …

No, I’m not going to think about that yet. I want to keep having fun.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun.

Maybe never.

I sigh contently as I recline against the tinted glass countertop behind me, thoughts of red eyes and arm grabs fading away into the back coffin of my mind.

“You know who she is, right?” Effie asks the bartender while giving my shoulder a pat. I’d be startled, but my body feels too numb. Contently numb. “She’s your boss’s daughter, which means we get free drinks.”

I peer over my shoulder at the bartender. “It’s true, you know.”

He eyes me over with doubt. “How do I know that for sure? You could be lying.”

I shrug. “I’m not, though.”

The bartender shakes his head, muttering something about dumb teenagers, then walks away to serve another customer.

Effie sighs, turning around and leaning against the counter beside me. She takes one look at me and giggles. “You’re so out of it right now.”

I bob my head. “I feel like I really am.”

“Which is weird.” Her brows furrow. “You should feel jacked up. I know I do. But you look … well, dopey.”

Anders joins the conversation, bouncing on his toes, fangs out, eyes glazed over with the blood high. “I feel like I need to run across a forest right now just to burn off all this extra energy.”

“Me, too,” Effie agrees, restlessly thrumming her fingers against the sides of her legs.

“I feel like I want to go to sleep.” I let out a slow yawn.

Effie gapes at me. “You want to sleep right now? Seriously?”

I give a lazy shrug. “Kind of.”

She frowns, squinting at my eyes. “Did you feel anything at all tonight? Maybe you got a dud.”

“No, I definitely feel something,” I tell her. “But mine is more of a content high, like my body feels right for the first time, and my brain’s so … happy.”

“I hope …” She chews on her thumbnail. “I hope it wasn’t, like, laced with something.”

“Like what?” It seems like I should be worried, too, but I’m not.

“Like magic or a curse or something.” She keeps gnawing her fingernail.

I shrug. “Maybe my body just reacts differently to emperors’ blood.”

“Maybe.” She studies me until she grows too wiggly. Then her eyes wander to the dance floor. “I feel like I need to dance.”

“Me, too,” Anders agrees, raking his fingers through his short, blond hair “I have too much energy.”

“Then go dance.” I shoo them toward the dance floor. “Have fun. Be merry.”

“Are you sure?” she asks. “I don’t know if I should leave you alone when you look so out of it.”

“I’m fine,” I promise her then take a seat on the barstool behind me, as if that somehow proves a point. “Go have some forgetful fun. I’ll be right here, forgetting in this chair.”

She sighs then snatches Anders’ hand. “We’ll be back after one song.” She hauls him with her as she pushes her way across the dance floor.

I face the bar and stare at the mirror hanging on the wall behind the counter. While I feel sleepy and content, my reflection looks alive, my cheeks hued with pink, my eyes buzzing with energy, my pupils huge.

“Admiring your reflection? That seems more like a Nadine thing than a Raven thing, if you ask me.”

I tense as Kingsley plops down in the stool beside mine and his reflection appears in the mirror. I start to automatically stiffen, but the contentment that’s taken over my body for the last couple of hours quickly smothers out any rigidness.

“Why are you here?” I say the first sentence that pops into my mind, looking at his reflection, not him.

A deliberate smile curves across his face. “For the same reason you are.”

“How do you know why I’m here?”

“Because there’s only one reason anyone comes here—to drink, to dance, to let out their sexual tension.”

“It’s an awfully big assumption to think that everyone here has the same agenda. That everyone here is the same.”

His teeth sink into his bottom lip as he bites back his smile. “What can I say? My big, overly inflated head likes to make big assumptions,” he throws back the words I said to him and Rhyland earlier tonight.

“Yeah, it does.” I rotate around in the stool with every intention of getting up and going to the dance floor. But he places a hand on my leg, stopping me.

“Don’t go running off just yet. I need to talk to you.”

I stare down at his hand, my lip twitching with annoyance. “You know, this is the third time tonight someone has touched me without my permission, and honestly, I’m getting really tired of it.” I fling his hand off my leg and glare at him.

He starts to smile, seeming a bit confused, but then his lips sink downward. “Wait? Third time? Who’s been touching you?” He sounds pissed, which is completely annoying.

I roll my eyes. “Your brother, you, and this creepy dude who tried to grind up against me on the dance floor.”

Wait? Why am I telling him this?

Why am I even still here at all?

I start to get up, and again, he puts a hand on my leg.

I move to fling it off, but he captures my hand. Something explodes inside me, a cloud of angry, ready to storm, lightning bolts of rage.

“Let go of me.” I try to wiggle my hand from his grip.

Surprisingly, he lets me go, but keeps his hand on my leg.

“Look, I’m not trying to do whatever it is you think I’m going to do.” He slants toward me and lowers his voice. “I came down here to tell you that you need to come upstairs. And it’s probably a good thing since creepy dudes are touching you. They shouldn’t be doing that. At all. No one should be touching you, except …” A strange seriousness look masks his face as he trails off.

“Except what?” I press. I don’t even know why. Why I’m curious about anything he’s doing. But I am

He shrugs. “Nothing.”

“Fine. Don’t tell me.” Again, I try to stand up, but he won’t let me go. I huff a frustrated breath. “I thought you came here to drink, to dance, to let out your sexual tension, not keep me trapped at the bar.”

He wrestles back a smile. “You’re a feisty little thing when you’re drunk, aren’t you? That’s new.”

“I’m not drunk.”

He squints at my eyes. “You sure look like it.”

I give an indifferent shrug. “Well, I’m not.”

He assesses me. “No, you’re on something,” he accuses. “And that’s definitely new.”

“So what?” I say with my chin held high, portraying more confidence than I’ve had sober. “At least half the people in this place are on something.”

“Yeah, but …” He pauses, his mouth sinking into a frown. “What did you take?”

“Why would I ever tell you?” I jump to my feet, moving faster than I ever have before. So fast, in fact, I nearly trip over my feet and face plant it on the floor. Thankfully, I manage to catch my balance at the very last second and square my shoulders. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, you’re ruining my buzz.” I stride toward the dance floor.

“Raven, you really need to …Goddammit, this is a frustrating new detail to the…” Music swallows up his voice as I slip into the throng.

Music surrounds me, pulsating through me, as I weave between sweat-soaked bodies and lustful hands. I put my hands up and sway my body to the rhythm, that wonderful contentment settling over me again.

I feel like I could do anything. I feel more free than I ever have. Normally, I don’t like being alone in a crowd, but right now, I feel confident. Powerful. Powerful enough to dance by myself. Dance like I own the room.

So, I do. I dance song after song, standing in the center of the crowd, rocking my hips and twirling in circles. Eventually, two guys start dancing with me, wedging me between their bodies. They’re attractive, blond with blue eyes, one more muscular, the other lean. I feel like I should be freaking out—or at least questioning why these gorgeous

beings would even want to dance with me—but I can’t find that emotion in me. All I can find is that contentment purring inside me, whispering that I’m powerful, that I’m strong, that I’m wanted.

I dance with the guys for at least five songs, feeling more confident by the second. Eventually, I become confident enough to put my hands on them and run my fingers up and down their chests. One of them groans while the other nips his fangs at my neck, about to bite into my vein. I open my mouth to tell him he’s going to be severely disappointed with the lack of power in my blood, but a voice whispers inside my mind, telling me I’m wrong. That I am powerful. So, instead I wind my arm around the back of his neck and pull him closer.

He groans, his fangs grazing my skin, teasing my flesh. A moan works up my throat, but the noise gets caught on my tongue as the buzzing briefly flickers through my veins. I jolt, startled from the sensation I thought had gone away.

“Don’t worry, gorgeous; I’ll go easy on you,” the guy whispers against my neck as he slips his arms around my waist.

I nod as the buzzing continues to flicker on and off like a light switch. My mind begins to spin with haziness like the magical stars above my head. I’m dizzy. Confused. Lost.

What’s happening to me?

I debate whether to walk away and or lean back and let the sexy vamp give me my first bite ever. Clearly something’s wrong with me. I should try to find out, right?

“Relax,” the guy purrs, his fangs roaming along the arch of my neck, not rough enough to break the skin, but close. So, so close.

I start to lean into him, ready to experience getting bitten for the first time in my entire life, but at the last second a foul, icky feeling stirs inside the pit of my stomach.

Don’t do it.

Vomit burns at the back of my throat and I start to move away when suddenly his fangs are no longer touching my neck. Neither is his body pressed against mine. Then the guy in front of me staggers back, his eyes huge as he stares at something over my shoulder.

I start to twist around to see what’s spooked him, when someone grabs me by the waist and throws me over their shoulder. My lips part, a scream working up my throat—