“Ah, well.” She interlaced her fingers, her pose somewhat regal. “It is not every day that one gets to meet a blueblood witch.”
I didn’t make the denial, even though it sprung to my lips. All I said was, “I’m not what you think.”
“No one ever is.” She cocked her head slightly to one side, her strange gaze narrowing slightly. “You know what I am.”
“Yes.”
“And you fear it?”
“That would depend on two things.”
“Those being?”
“On what outcome you wish of this meeting, and whether you are, in any way, involved with the vampire who has killed a sixteen-year-old girl within this reservation, and may have shared his blood with her.”
Even though she didn’t move, her pupils contracted and there was a definite sharpening in her attention. “When did this happen? I’ve heard no whisper of it through my contacts.”
“The teenager was found in the forest two nights ago. The rangers had confirmation via an autopsy yesterday that the bite marks on her neck were indeed a vampire’s.”
“Ah, the Banks girl?”
“Yes. Apparently she’d been meeting with her killer for weeks.” I hesitated. “She met him here.”
“Impossible. I would have sensed the presence of another on my own soil.” Her voice was flat—chilling. “And I certainly would not have allowed it.”
“I believe he’s capable of the dark arts, and is using it to conceal his presence.”
She frowned, momentarily marring the perfection of her face. “This is unpleasant news indeed.”
“Then I’m gathering he’s not one of yours?”
Cool amusement touched her lips. “My vampires have better sense and—dare I say it—better taste than to share blood with a sixteen-year-old. I can imagine no worse a fate than tying yourself to someone who will not grow beyond the self-important ‘the world owes me’ attitude of those years.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “Teenagers do eventually grow up and gain some sense—surely that would also apply to those who have imbibed vampire’s blood?”
She waved a hand, the motion dismissive. “It still takes far too much time for it to be, in any way, a pleasant experience.”
“If he is not one of yours, will you pass on any news you might hear of him?”
“I certainly will pass on anything I might find to you, Ms. Grace, but I have no desire to mix with the werewolves any more than necessary.”
“And yet, here you are, running a nightclub that is both staffed by werewolves and enjoyed by them, just as much as the humans.”
“This club is a business venture. I meant privately.”
There was something in the way she was studying me that had my heart racing. She might mean me no immediate harm, but that look suggested there was something more behind this meeting than just a simple introduction.
I took a drink that failed to ease the stirring unease or the unwise racing of my pulse. “Are the wolves even aware of your presence here?”
“Indeed they are. I would never step within the boundaries of a reservation without giving the council fair warning of my presence.”
So why had Aiden been so adamant that there were no vampires here? “Then the council hasn’t passed this information on to their rangers, which I find rather surprising.”
“No, because I guaranteed I would shed no blood and feed on only the willing while I am within this reservation. In return, they will not expose my presence to the wider population.”
“I hardly think the rangers could be called the wider population.”
“Perhaps not, but those were our agreed terms.”