Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

He snorted softly. "Amazing. They have one rule for humans and another for everyone else."

"I'm figuring they don't want the world overrun with wolves."

"It's overrun with humans, and they cause more damn damage than the rest of us ever could."

"That's not a nice way to talk about your food source."

He shrugged and left it at that. Odd, to say the least. Midday eventually rolled around, and I climbed the stairs to the kitchen on sublevel two to check out the meals - which were mainly blood, and not the synth variety - for the guardians. Once it was all onboard, I escorted the trolley to the elevator then down to the fourth level

The doors swished open and darkness greeted me. I swore under my breath. The bastards were playing games again. And while darkness didn't worry me, the fact that there were over twenty vampires in that room, all of whom could become shadows in the night, made me wary. I couldn't watch them all, even with my vampire vision, and the security cams didn't work too well in darkness

"If you fuckers don't turn on the lights, you can go hungry."

The lights came back on and Gautier's feral form strolled toward me. "Afraid of the dark, are we?"

I snorted and pressed the button on the trolley. With an electronic groan, it rolled forward and made its way toward the dining room. "Why don't you go have a shower, Gautier? You smell like shit."

He smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth. He'd fed before coming in, and I wondered who on. Was it an official source, or had he started hunting up his own meals?

"It's only blood, and the aroma is one I find intoxicating."

"Believe me, I know blood when I smell it, and what I'm smelling ain't blood."

I followed the trolley toward the dining room. Gautier followed me, a forbidding presence I could feel but not hear

"Rhoan hasn't come back yet," he stated. "You heard from him?"

The small hairs on the back of my neck rose. He was so close I could feel the wind of his foul breath past my ear. But I didn't acknowledge him and didn't alter my pace, because that was what he was waiting for

"He's on an assignment."

"The moon heat stirs for you wolves, doesn't it?"

"What's it to you?"

"Well, how are you going to cope without your lover?"

I snorted. "I'll find another. Werewolves generally aren't monogamous, you know." Not until they'd found their soul mate and sworn their love to the moon, anyway

"Ever considered trying a vampire as a lover?"

His hand came down on my shoulder, his fingers pressing deep into my barely healed wound. Pain flashed white-hot through my body and I couldn't stop my knees buckling. Swallowing back bile, I kept going down until my knees hit the floor, then, before he could react, shot a hand to his crotch and grabbed a fistful of balls

He made a gargling sound, and froze. Dead or not, vampires were still men and still very attached to their dangly bits

"Touch me again, and you'll be finding these" - I squeezed his balls a little harder - "up in the vicinity of your throat."

His brown eyes were almost molten with fury and pain. I squeezed again and could swear I saw sweat break out across his brow. Impossible, surely, given Gautier's fierce reputation. Maybe it was just a trick of the lights

"Do you understand me?"

His nod was barely perceptible. From behind us came the sound of clapping

"Well done, Riley." Kelly's smooth and sultry voice came from close behind, and a little of my tension eased. If she was there, then my back was safe. "How about you give those sacks an extra squeeze for me? The great Gautier in pain is such a rare but welcome sight."

Gautier's gaze went past me. "Watch your step tonight, bitch. You might just hit trouble."

"Oh, I'm so scared." Kelly's voice was dry