Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 1)

Irritation prickled over my skin. No one got the drop on me—not normally.

But she wasn’t just anyone.

I’d been distracted. Nearly overwhelmed by the animal instincts that I had worked so hard to repress.

She’d overwhelmed me.

I dragged a hand over my face. That hadn’t happened in years. Centuries. Ever?

Disgust bubbled up within me. What was it about her? She was quick and clever. I couldn’t control her. And it made me feel…things.

It was the most uncomfortable feeling.

I wanted to make it stop. To understand it, at least.

The woman—I needed to find her name. Find her.

I wanted to know more about her.

The potion bomb she’d thrown at me was familiar. I tasted the air, getting a hint of Eve’s magic. She paid for protection from the witches, who would otherwise try to crush her small business.

I turned and strode toward the door, the thrill of the hunt already seething in my veins. This, I was familiar with. This, I liked.

The mirror near the door caught my reflection. Humans believed we couldn’t be seen in mirrors, but my reflection proved otherwise.

For the briefest moment, I caught a glimpse of what the woman had seen. Cold eyes, pale skin, sharp fangs. I touched one briefly. For the shortest moment, I wondered what she’d thought of me. I lived a half life—one full of muted colors, tastes, and smells. Did she see the same monster that I did?

Or worse?

I shook the thought away and forced my fangs to retract, then turned toward the door. Finding her would be easy. I’d use all the contacts at my disposal, and they were vast. She was likely going to head to the human morgue to follow the clue I’d given her. But she might not have left Guild City yet.

As I marched down the hallway, I passed several of the cocktail waitresses. They skirted to the side to give me a wide berth, their movements twitchy and nervous. They were afraid of me. Almost everyone was afraid of me.

Once, I might have cared.

Now?

No.

It was unusual that I even noticed them unless I perceived a threat.

The club itself was quiet as I strode through. Midafternoon was one of the less busy times, which was fine. It was primarily a front for my main business, anyway.

I reached the hostess stand, and Miranda leaned toward me to tell me about the woman’s escape. She’d frozen some of my guards, apparently.

Well done.

Fresh guards nodded as I emerged from the club and out into the watery sun. The light prickled against my skin but didn’t burn like human movies suggested it would. Despite that, I stuck to the shadows as I made my way through Guild City. I was more comfortable there, even if the sun wouldn’t incinerate me.

I passed a few citizens as I cut down the narrow alleys, and each one crossed the street to give me passage. They were even more afraid of me than my staff, though I didn’t understand it. I didn’t make a habit of killing people, after all.

I did kill people, of course. But not often. And not publicly.

Reputation could work wonders, though. And even I knew that I seemed icy. My past had followed me here, and people didn’t forget easily.

Eve’s shop was open when I arrived, and I entered silently. The tiny space smelled of a hundred different magics, all colliding with each other. I liked it in there because the sheer number of smells seemed to compensate for the fact that scent was always so muted for me.

Her wares cluttered the shelves, tiny bottles of potions gleaming in the dimness. Fairy lights sparkled near the ceiling of the shop. The raven sat on the shelf behind Eve, silent as always.