Scratching her head, Sam replied, “No, he didn’t.”
Disappointed grumbles and whines rang throughout the room, which made Sebastian smile as he adjusted the collar of his Armani shirt; the guy sure knew how to dress.
Damien slouched in his chair. “Everything’s been so quiet and peaceful,” the African-American complained in his deep, rumbly voice.
Luther raised a single brow. “You used to complain each time I had a vision that sent you on an assignment. Is it not a good thing that vampirekind is currently on its best behaviour?”
“Sure,” said Chico, “but we’re bored out of our minds here.”
Sam looked at the Advisor, her expression pained. “You’ve had no visions at all, Luther? Really?” Apparently she was just as bored. It wasn’t surprising. She was pretty bloodthirsty and seemed to enjoy an adrenalin rush. So much so that she and Jared came on all assignments, just as they had when they were commanders.
The Advisor shook his head. “Sorry, Sam.”
Jared’s lips twitched at her long suffering sigh. “Tell everyone the news.”
“Fine, but before we get to that…” Sinking into her chair, Sam turned to me with an amused smile. “We should probably discuss what happened at the bar last night.”
Alora was speaking before I even had the chance to respond. “Marla was mouthing off at Imani. When she didn’t react, Marla threw her purse. That broke Imani’s Kindle—”
“Ah,” said Sam.
“—and stamped on Paige’s Berserk Button.”
Paige huffed at Alora. “I do not have a Berserk Button.”
“You totally do,” chuckled Maya.
“When Marla wouldn’t go away, Paige spouted a pretty creative insult,” Alora went on. “So Marla then slung her drink all over Paige. That was when Imani knocked the bitch clean out.”
“And she took a chunk of hair from one of Marla’s groupies,” Ava added. “That was why the heifer compelled Imani to sleep.”
“Her gift isn’t to induce sleep,” said Sam. “It’s to cause temporary exhaustion. Initially, it causes a person to pass out. They wake up, but the fatigue doesn’t pass for a few nights.”
Temporary exhaustion? Great.
“So I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that Marla and her friends are leaving The Hollow as we speak.”
I blinked. “Seriously? I’m not getting in shit for this?” I’d started a catfight, after all.
Sam snorted. “Those plonkers confronted my squad. That shows a total lack of respect and I won’t tolerate it. They’re lucky none of you killed them. Why did you boys break it up?” she complained.
“We weren’t going to,” said the typically cocky Harvey. “I mean, catfights are always fun to watch. But then someone lifted a glass to smash over Imani’s head. Butch jumped in, and we all sort of followed suit.”
See, Butch always had my back.
“Tried to smash a glass over her head?” repeated Jude. “I didn’t see that part.”
Chico snorted. “Of course you didn’t. You were too busy slashing one of the vamp’s clothes.”
Head cocked to the side, Sam asked me, “Why did Marla smash your Kindle?”
Alora was once again speaking before I could respond. “She blamed Imani for Butch rejecting her and—”
I burst out, “Hey, Chatty Cathy.” She had no sense of discretion. The redhead just rolled her eyes.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Butch said only loud enough for me to hear.
“Because it didn’t matter,” I said just as quietly.
“It matters to me.”
“It was my business.”
“Which makes it mine.”
“Honest to God, Butch, you’re like a thong—always up my ass.”
“Now that that’s over and done with,” began Jared, “maybe we should share our news with them.”
“Fine.” Sam turned to us. “I actually can’t believe I’m going to say this…A vampire is feeding info about our kind to humans.”
“You’re shitting me,” breathed Damien.
“The internet is regularly monitored for activity that might concern vampires,” said Jared. “If a human reports something they weren’t supposed to see or knows too much, we work to cover it up. There are a lot of websites and blogs set up by humans who are convinced we exist and have their own theories about us. These sites and blogs are checked to be certain that nothing too factual is out there—some are even hosted by humans claiming to be vampires. I don’t know whether they’re delusional or just doing it for fun.
“A new blog has started that raised some red flags for two reasons. One, this person claims to be a vampire and, going by the articles he’s posted, he’s telling the truth. He talks about the different breeds of vampires, our strengths and weaknesses, and—though he hasn’t mentioned any names—he even posted information about the Grand High Pair.”
Ava gasped. “Oh, fuck, no!”
Sam’s smile was a little on the feral side. “The bloke even went as far as to reveal that I’m a hybrid.”
Well, hell. “Why would he do this?”
“He claims he was Turned without his consent and hates what he is,” said Sam.
As someone who had also been Turned against their will, I could understand why he might feel bitter or resentful. Still, in spite of my anger, I’d never once even considered exposing vampirekind.
“Tell me you’ve crashed the blog,” Reuben fairly growled.
“We’re working on it,” said Jared. “Personally, I don’t think we need to worry. The blog has had a lot of views, but the content isn’t being taken even the slightest bit seriously. Lots of disparaging comments were left by humans who think his claims are ‘too farfetched’ and ‘he’s living in a fantasy land.’”
“Once Mona and Cedric have the IP address, we’ll get him,” said Sam, referring to The Hollow’s very knowledgeable researchers. “At least it will give us something to do.” Many of the males inclined their head, seeming slightly cheered by the idea. “One last thing before we wrap up the meeting. Girls, I was going to wait until your squad was fully formed to do this, but it’s taking longer than I hoped it would.”
Disappointed grumbles and whines rang throughout the room, which made Sebastian smile as he adjusted the collar of his Armani shirt; the guy sure knew how to dress.
Damien slouched in his chair. “Everything’s been so quiet and peaceful,” the African-American complained in his deep, rumbly voice.
Luther raised a single brow. “You used to complain each time I had a vision that sent you on an assignment. Is it not a good thing that vampirekind is currently on its best behaviour?”
“Sure,” said Chico, “but we’re bored out of our minds here.”
Sam looked at the Advisor, her expression pained. “You’ve had no visions at all, Luther? Really?” Apparently she was just as bored. It wasn’t surprising. She was pretty bloodthirsty and seemed to enjoy an adrenalin rush. So much so that she and Jared came on all assignments, just as they had when they were commanders.
The Advisor shook his head. “Sorry, Sam.”
Jared’s lips twitched at her long suffering sigh. “Tell everyone the news.”
“Fine, but before we get to that…” Sinking into her chair, Sam turned to me with an amused smile. “We should probably discuss what happened at the bar last night.”
Alora was speaking before I even had the chance to respond. “Marla was mouthing off at Imani. When she didn’t react, Marla threw her purse. That broke Imani’s Kindle—”
“Ah,” said Sam.
“—and stamped on Paige’s Berserk Button.”
Paige huffed at Alora. “I do not have a Berserk Button.”
“You totally do,” chuckled Maya.
“When Marla wouldn’t go away, Paige spouted a pretty creative insult,” Alora went on. “So Marla then slung her drink all over Paige. That was when Imani knocked the bitch clean out.”
“And she took a chunk of hair from one of Marla’s groupies,” Ava added. “That was why the heifer compelled Imani to sleep.”
“Her gift isn’t to induce sleep,” said Sam. “It’s to cause temporary exhaustion. Initially, it causes a person to pass out. They wake up, but the fatigue doesn’t pass for a few nights.”
Temporary exhaustion? Great.
“So I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that Marla and her friends are leaving The Hollow as we speak.”
I blinked. “Seriously? I’m not getting in shit for this?” I’d started a catfight, after all.
Sam snorted. “Those plonkers confronted my squad. That shows a total lack of respect and I won’t tolerate it. They’re lucky none of you killed them. Why did you boys break it up?” she complained.
“We weren’t going to,” said the typically cocky Harvey. “I mean, catfights are always fun to watch. But then someone lifted a glass to smash over Imani’s head. Butch jumped in, and we all sort of followed suit.”
See, Butch always had my back.
“Tried to smash a glass over her head?” repeated Jude. “I didn’t see that part.”
Chico snorted. “Of course you didn’t. You were too busy slashing one of the vamp’s clothes.”
Head cocked to the side, Sam asked me, “Why did Marla smash your Kindle?”
Alora was once again speaking before I could respond. “She blamed Imani for Butch rejecting her and—”
I burst out, “Hey, Chatty Cathy.” She had no sense of discretion. The redhead just rolled her eyes.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Butch said only loud enough for me to hear.
“Because it didn’t matter,” I said just as quietly.
“It matters to me.”
“It was my business.”
“Which makes it mine.”
“Honest to God, Butch, you’re like a thong—always up my ass.”
“Now that that’s over and done with,” began Jared, “maybe we should share our news with them.”
“Fine.” Sam turned to us. “I actually can’t believe I’m going to say this…A vampire is feeding info about our kind to humans.”
“You’re shitting me,” breathed Damien.
“The internet is regularly monitored for activity that might concern vampires,” said Jared. “If a human reports something they weren’t supposed to see or knows too much, we work to cover it up. There are a lot of websites and blogs set up by humans who are convinced we exist and have their own theories about us. These sites and blogs are checked to be certain that nothing too factual is out there—some are even hosted by humans claiming to be vampires. I don’t know whether they’re delusional or just doing it for fun.
“A new blog has started that raised some red flags for two reasons. One, this person claims to be a vampire and, going by the articles he’s posted, he’s telling the truth. He talks about the different breeds of vampires, our strengths and weaknesses, and—though he hasn’t mentioned any names—he even posted information about the Grand High Pair.”
Ava gasped. “Oh, fuck, no!”
Sam’s smile was a little on the feral side. “The bloke even went as far as to reveal that I’m a hybrid.”
Well, hell. “Why would he do this?”
“He claims he was Turned without his consent and hates what he is,” said Sam.
As someone who had also been Turned against their will, I could understand why he might feel bitter or resentful. Still, in spite of my anger, I’d never once even considered exposing vampirekind.
“Tell me you’ve crashed the blog,” Reuben fairly growled.
“We’re working on it,” said Jared. “Personally, I don’t think we need to worry. The blog has had a lot of views, but the content isn’t being taken even the slightest bit seriously. Lots of disparaging comments were left by humans who think his claims are ‘too farfetched’ and ‘he’s living in a fantasy land.’”
“Once Mona and Cedric have the IP address, we’ll get him,” said Sam, referring to The Hollow’s very knowledgeable researchers. “At least it will give us something to do.” Many of the males inclined their head, seeming slightly cheered by the idea. “One last thing before we wrap up the meeting. Girls, I was going to wait until your squad was fully formed to do this, but it’s taking longer than I hoped it would.”
