Page 64 of Bound By the Sleeper’s Harp

“Yep.”

Bastian took my hand and my chest fluttered. He laced our fingers together as we walked toward the line. My focus zeroed in on our hands as I led him to the front.

“Hey, Tony,” I said, approaching the bouncer. Tony was another shifter, tall and broad shouldered, his head shaved, with darker skin and a couple of tattoos scattered around his body.

“Rose, baby girl, you ain’t working tonight?”

Beside me, Bastian let out a low, warning growl. Almost as if he didn’t like anyone else calling me baby girl but him.

Tony glanced at him, did a double take. “Fuck,” he muttered, then turned his attention back to me.

“Not tonight,” I said in answer to his question. “We’re here to see Eaden.”

His eyes darted back to Bastian and he swallowed. “You got it. Head on in.”

Interesting. If I wasn’t mistaken, Tony seemed a little wary of Bastian, afraid even. It made me wonder if Bastian had that effect on the rest of the supernatural community. I was usually too busy being hyper aware of him that I forgot to look at how everyone else around him reacted.

We stepped into Vortex and I kept a firm hold of Bastian’s hand. His thumb stroked over mine, calm, reassuring. I couldn’t help my eyes, darting back and forth as I searched for a head of blond hair. Would Luke be here, looking for me?

“He won’t get close, if he shows,” Bastian said, as if reading my mind.

I led him toward the back of the club, then up the stairs and to Eaden’s office door, where I knocked. There was a long pause, and then Eaden’s voice sounded. A lock clicked, and the door opened.

Eaden’s eyes found me first, looking me up and down. “Nice shirt.”

“Thanks.” I grinned. He was the one who’d gotten me tickets to Maroon Rage as a bonus. He did a lot of little things like that for his employees. It made a huge difference to us.

Bastian’s hand tightened on mine and Eaden’s eyes snapped in his direction. My boss went rigid, glancing between us, then at our hands. “Enforcer,” Eaden bit out, “didn’t expect to see you in my club. Can’t say I’m happy about it.”

I frowned. Enforcer?

“Relax, Eaden. I’m not here on orders tonight.”

Eaden’s jaw flexed. A long silence stretched between them. Eaden was the first to break eye contact, looking down and away. “Well, come in then,” he muttered.

I glanced between them. I knew enough about shifter hierarchies, especially with wolves. If Eaden looked away first, it’s because he recognized Bastian as the dominant of the two. Interesting…

We entered and shut the door, taking seats at the sofa where Eaden indicated. “Still drinking that shit whiskey, Bas?” Eaden asked, his voice softening as he moved over to a heavily stocked cabinet. Despite the change in his voice, his shoulders were still tense, his posture guarded.

My eyes darted between them. Bas? Well, damn. People did call him by that nickname. I liked the sound of it.

Bastian let out a dismissive snort. “I stopped drinking that shit centuries ago, Eaden, and you know it.” Eaden’s eyes darted between us, curious. Bastian shrugged. “She knows what I am,” he added. His words were lazy, unconcerned.

“Huh. Guess that explains why you were asking about Micky and some of the shit that’s been going down?” Eaden clarified.

“Micky?” I perked up. “What happened to her? You said you weren’t sure if she was okay. Does it have something to do with the weird sleeping coma thing?”

Eaden scrubbed a hand over his face, then turned to the cabinet and poured three drinks. He brought them over.

I left mine on the table. “Probably a good idea,” Bastian said, noticing my intention to ignore it.

“I don’t want to barf if we have to teleport back,” I snapped.

“So… This is your personal business, then?“ Eaden lifted his brows. Though his eyes softened the longer they rested on me, releasing some of the wariness brought on by Bastian’s presence.

“Long story,” I said.

“Not very long,” Bastian amended, staring at Eaden. “She was attacked outside your club in the alley the other night.”