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“That shifter’s temper is what’s going to get him killed one day,” I said and balled my fists.
Zen and Rune were both dragon shifters, just like me, and we tended to have a short fuse, and when we did blow up, we left a lot of chaos in our wake.
I was so pissed off that shit kept going wrong and I couldn’t stop it. I was the alpha, but no matter what I did—save from working with the fae—I couldn’t get a handle on these guys. What did that say about me as an alpha?
“I want you and Zen to comb the area. I want you to find that shifter, no matter what it takes.”
“We’re on it,” Rune said, nodding. “Zen will be happy to get out there and do something about it. He’s practically chomping at the bit to go out on a killing spree.”
“If you find him, you can’t kill him,” I warned. “I want him for questioning so we can get to the bottom of this.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell him,” Rune said, standing. “Let’s hope this time he listens.”
I grunted in response, and Rune left my office to do my bidding. I rubbed my eye sockets with the heels of my palms until I saw stars when I pulled my hands away.
Zen’s temper had killed one shifter we’d caught before. He’d been one of them—the Rogues, we’d dubbed them—and we would have gotten our answers if Zen hadn’t lost it and ripped his head clean off.
Zen was a damn good fighter, and he and Rune were both my betas for a reason, but sometimes, I just wanted to knock his block off.
Zen was the idiot out of the two. Rune was the brain, and Zen was the muscle.
I tried to focus on the books again after Rune left, but between my stress about the shifter on the loose, the Rogues trying to make me look weak, and Danna with a child that was apparently mine, thinking about numbers wasn’t working.
I closed my laptop and stood. Tomorrow would be another day. A bit of sleep would do me good… if I could fall asleep without flashing on Danna’s face again and again.
7
WESLEY
The last three nights had all been the same.
My club was packed, we had made a shit ton of money in alcohol sales, and there’d been no sign of the damn shifter.
Zen was in a crap mood because of it. He hated that the shifter had slipped through his fingers, and Rune had his hands full keeping his brother in check.
Tonight was a burlesque-themed night. We’d planned this event for weeks, with ads boasting half-prince drinks specials, free cocktails for women upon entry, and the promise of almost-naked girls shaking their asses all over the place, from a stage to cages to moving between the cocktail tables we’d set up.
The house was packed with people dressed in feathers and corsets and high heels. The women looked sexier than usual, and men eyed each other with the threats of getting into fights if they looked at each other’s women wrong.
Humans could be so primal, andwewere supposed to be the animals.
The atmosphere in the club was electric. The music was old-school, and the dancers, all dressed in risqué outfits, did what I was paying them to do.
I sat in the VIP section with Rune and Zen.
Cullen was behind the bar, so our small circle was shifters only, and one of my shifter bouncers stood not too far off, keeping the other VIP guests at bay so we could talk.
The loud music drowned out most of our conversation, so there was no reason to hide more than we already did.
“So, nothing yet?” I asked, glancing at Zen.
“Fucking piece of shit got away,” he said through gritted teeth. “I swear I would have had him if he didn’t have buddies with him, but he wasn’t alone.”
“Neither were you,” I pointed out and glanced at Rune, who’d been with his brother on the hunt.
“Yeah, well, something’s up with the Rogues,” Zen said with a scowl. “They’re playing dirty. I’m thinking some kind of dark magic, otherwise how could they keep giving us the slip?”
“I thought you said it was fae magic,” Rune said.
