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sent a boy to do his job?” he sneered. “I thought he possessed an ounce of cunning.”
So Graham and Scott hadn’t met before today. Apparently, Scott had been recruited by either the hunters or the rogues for their vampire boss.
Scott’s face darkened and he held himself dangerously still. “Vampire, you’re the only boy present, and a stupid one at that. Never presume until you know exactly who you’re dealing with.”
The vampire’s confidence waned some and he shifted his stance. “Don’t suppose you’d care to clue me in, finally?”
Scott smiled, and right before their eyes began to transform. His incisors lengthened by inches, wicked sharp and deadly. His height grew to top seven feet, and his build went from slim and average to lean but muscular. Shaggy brown hair became wavy and dark, reaching his shoulders. The rest of the glamour lifted, and the stranger stood before them wearing leather pants and a sleeveless black shirt that showed off the dragon tattoos and other scrollwork adorning both arms.
Nick stared, pulse kicking as he recalled where he’d seen this man before.
“Haven’t seen you around,” a voice said idly.
Nick eyed the dark stranger standing in the shadows. Reaching out with his PreCog senses, he found the walls surrounding this man to be nearly impenetrable. That bothered him more than he cared to admit. “Can’t say I’ve seen you, either. You know Calla or her brother personally?”
“Not really. You could say I’m gate-crashing.” His smile was feral. “Friend of a friend. You know how it is.”
Something about the man put him on edge. “I’m Nick Westfall, com—”
“Commander of the Alpha Pack. Yeah, word gets around. Nice gig if you can get it.”
Rage fired Nick’s blood. He’d been played by this creature all along. They all had. The vile monster had been observing, feeding information to his master. And enjoying the game in the bargain. Toying with his prey.
Another snippet of their conversation replayed in his head.
“I didn’t catch your name,” Nick said.
“I didn’t say.” He polished off the cheese, eyeing Nick. “But it’s Jinn.”
“Jinn . . . ?” he prompted.
“Just Jinn. No last name.”
Inside him, Nick’s wolf shifted and rumbled in warning. Nick had recognized the name from his vision about Nix learning of Noah’s abduction. “And how is that?”
Moving closer, he got a whiff of Jinn’s scent and found he wasn’t a shifter, or a vampire. He wasn’t Fae, human, or anything from this world at all, it seemed.
The man—creature—laughed, showing off straight white teeth with very large incisors. “Did you know that in Arabian mythology, the Jinn are the third creation of God, after angels and humans? It’s said that we’re made of smoke and fire, can take human form, and travel between dimensions. And we can be either good or evil, as the mood strikes us.”
Shaking his head, Nick brought himself back to the present and watched the train wreck unfold. Graham had stumbled backward and was staring at the creature who definitely wasn’t a human named Scott Morgan.
“Wh-who are you?” Graham stammered.
“Don’t you mean what?” Jinn’s smile was terrifying, his eyes cold.
The vampire shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t care as long as I get my cut for doing my part.”
“Prince Tarron and Princess Calla dead, and control of his coven, correct?” His tone was cool.
“Yes, that was the deal.” Graham gained back a bit of nerve, standing straighter. “And I have done my part. I let you know that Calla was going for a walk to the waterfall so your men could move in and take her as bait. I let myself get stabbed, for fuck’s sake. All your hunters had to do was wait for Tarron and Westfall to come, and wipe them out, and your leader and his morons managed to fuck it up.”
That fucking traitor. Nick shot Tarron a glance, and the prince appeared ready to rip out Graham’s throat.
“You worthless piece of bloodsucking shit,” one of the hunters yelled, surging for him. He was stopped by a flick of Jinn’s wrist, frozen in place, blinking angrily.
“So far, your contribution has been abysmally small compared to your demand,” the creature observed. “What you do not understand is that Prince Ivan’s power and motivation is much greater than yours. What do you have that he can actually use?”
Ivan . . . Cardenas? Nick looked to Tarron again, who mouthed, “Cardenas is their mysterious leader?”
