I took a step closer so the tips of our boots were touching and held his gaze with mine. I sensed Sebastian and Kane moving closer, but Adryan shook his head as he held my stare, a nonverbal demand that he didn’t need his enforcers’ backup.
“Let's make one thing clear, Adryan. I'm here for one reason and one reason only… the most important fooking reason of my godforsaken existence.” I bared my teeth in a macabre grin. “I’ll follow the law in yer land, but my priority is tae find my mate. And nothing, no’ even some arrogant vampire prick, will stand in my way.” I let my Lycan rise up, my eyes flashing from the force of his presence, the glow from them washing over Adryan’s face. “I’ve got one hundred and thirty years on ye. I have seen more battles, have killed more men than ye could ever tally up, lad. So enough with the pissing contest, yeah?”
Adryan growled low, which had his dog doing the same. I smelled the fucking canine as he came to stand beside his master. Adryan and I held each other’s gaze, male to male, alpha to alpha. The tension was thick, heavy, but I wouldn’t back down. And he knew this, because he wouldn't either if the roles were reversed.
And then like a crack of lightning, he started laughing and reached out to clap me on the shoulder, his fingers tight as he muttered, “Fucking wolves and their stubborn strength. Gotta give credit where credit is due.”
Then he was walking past me and opening the door to step into the hallway. I wanted to tell him to fuck off with his tour. Odhran didn’t give a shit, and I cared even less. I was anxious to get the hell out of here and find my female, to start the hunt, the chase. It got me hard just thinking about tracking her down, and no one was as good as I was.
But I was already pushing the boundaries of respect in Adryan’s land, so I kept my mouth shut and followed him, even if it grated on my nerves and went against the very makeup of the alpha I was.
I knew the longer I was away from my female, the more ruthless I’d be once I had her.
She didn’t stand a fucking chance.
9
Cian
“It’s a damn bloodletting club, Cian. For fook’s sake, those vampires are sick bastards,” Odhran grumbled as we made our way up the stairs to my female’s apartment. He’d been going on about the secret club Adryan had shown us for the last hour, which was held in the bowels of the vampire’s newest establishment.
“Everyone knows Adryan is a deviant, sadistic motherfooker.”
“I know, but to see it firsthand?”
I looked over at Odhran and saw concentration on his face, as if he was picturing all the shit the bloodsuckers did down there. Although the decor had seemed elite, sophisticated even, with the same red-and-black color scheme, with patent leather and velvet accents, there was no denying the images that had also gone through my head.
Humans laid out on a slab of wood, dozens of cuts lining their bodies as they let themselves be used for blood consumption.
And although Adryan and his nightclub was the last thing I wanted to think or talk about, this was the first time—since Odhran had lost his mate—that he’d acted mildly interested in anything other than warfare.
He’d stopped talking about finding his mate ages ago, but I knew it was all he ever thought about, knew he was forever trying to figure out how to find her. I could see it on his face and watched all that darkness wash across his eyes. So just because he didn’t speak with us any longer about his journey to find his other half, it didn’t mean it wasn’t the only thing on his mind.
So I didn’t snap or growl and tell him to shut the fuck up about the nightclub. I let him talk about it, because it kept his mind off the most important thing in his life that he was missing. Odhran wasn’t just my soldier in the Guard; he was like a brother to me, and loyal down to his marrow. He’d always had my back, as I had his, and he was continuously giving me his strength, solidarity, and unwavering support, even now.
We said nothing else as we made our way up the last few flights of stairs. I was anxious, irritable, and the need to hunt my female down thrummed through my veins.
I stopped in front of Evelyn’s apartment door, my lip curling at the thought she lived in this piece-of-shit, unsafe building. I wanted her with me always, my protection fierce enough I’d kill anyone or anything that thought to come within touching distance. My protective side rose up so violently I smelled the scent of blood and glanced down to see my nails had turned into claws and were tearing at the flesh of my palms.