Cage

The assembly was in a state of frenetic turmoil. Alcohol, poor choices, and a vow of regret in the future were almost certain outcomes.

That was just what I needed to let off some steam.

Kieran, the ever-calm voice behind me, said, "Armand is going to be pissed if you fuck up the Treaty," as we pushed through the crowd. For the last six months, our agreement with the hunters had remained intact. They maintained a safe distance from our region and we avoided entering it.

We had a common ground tonight.

I doubted they would antagonize me, even if we stumbled upon hunters. They were aware of my situation with Armand, the Vampire King. I was made by him millennia ago. I was the Prince, the heir apparent. The term seemed redundant and arrogant to me, but the tradition was a hard habit to break.

When I got to the bar, I gave an order and looked up at Kieran. With the knowledge that he would call me out on my answer, I said, "Really Kieran, it's just a drink. How much trouble could I get into?"

He did not let us down. His eyebrows shot up in shock. "Do you really want me to itemize all of your past indiscretions? Because I am not certain eternity is enough time to sufficiently do them justice."

With a naughty dance of her gaze, Natalia's chocolate brown eyes glowed with laughter. She was just as excited to let go of herself and follow the night wherever it led. Kieran cast a scowl. "Talia, don't encourage him."

She playfully pursed her lips and spread her sable irises wide. "I'm hurt you would think such a thing of me."

His countenance softened, but he still rolled his eyes at her blatant pretense of innocence. I grinned. He was encircled around her pinky finger. I easily grabbed a glass that the bartender dropped in my way. At last, maybe I could unwind.

But as soon as I raised the drink to my lips, I smelled it, and my intentions for a typical evening of drinking, quenching my thirst, and maybe a little frolicking with one or maybe two willing partners went completely awry.

A hiss leaked out between my teeth. I felt every muscle in my body tensing and locking, pushing against the limits of my clothes.

It was not achievable.

Finding a human with the smell of an old vampire lineage was very uncommon, but it did occur.

However, this was different-incorrect.

Whoever it was, there was definitely a bloodline fragrance about them. That was simply not the only known five lineages. And that's what prevented it from happening. Beside me, Kieran's body became similarly tight and he growled, "What is that?"

And so did he smell it.

I shrugged off his query and gently scanned the throng as I tilted my head toward the aroma. Kieran stopped talking, realizing that I was faking it. The individual was easily recognized, even in a room full of inebriated partygoers.

She was giving me a really serious look.

My veins were filled with adrenaline, which sharpened my already keen senses. The devil did I know her? What was her desire and what did she know?

I took in her beauty. Even though she seemed very youthful, the firmness in her shoulders suggested that she had more experience and resolve than her years. Her broad face was framed by strawberry blonde hair, plump lips, and big crystal blue eyes. Her ivory complexion glinted in the illumination. She seemed perfectly normal. There was no physical hint that I could identify her. All OK, except for her awful smell-sweet, tangerine, and spicy. stimulating. I gave it a big inhale. Fuck, I knew she was dangerous, no question about it. This had to end.

but, not before I had responses.

She seemed astonished to be gazing at me while having a strong, confused stare. That was nonsensical. I first spotted Hayden sitting next to her until she eventually diverted her attention.

Hell, hunter. Of course, she couldn't be cozying up to their commander; she couldn't simply be any hunter. My hands instinctively balled into fists, my knuckles cracking under the strain. I resisted the strong temptation to strike someone or anything.

This exceeded my expectations in severity.

I listened to their discussion, honing my extrasensory hearing until just the slightest tilt of my head revealed my intention. Asking Hayden, "How did you know I spoke English?" the little woman's lips curled down into the tiniest of frowns and her eyebrows puckered.

Interesting. She had never met him before.

Her blunt inquiry took him off guard, as he paused for a moment before immediately gaining his composure. "Your blonde hair and pale features. I had a hunch. And while I may have presumed your language correctly, I doubt very highly that I would be able to guess where you are from."

He had lied.

She was quite aware of who that son of a bitch was.

But given that we knew nothing about her, how could it be possible? How could he be aware that people have bloodlines? Should that be her true nature? I couldn't get over the feeling that this wasn't some kind of grandiose, although certainly complicated, plot. It all made no sense.

She gave Hayden a close examination. Her thoughts were practically visible to me. She had a feeling he wasn't being completely honest. She was observant, huh? However, she seemed to shed her skepticism a second later. "New York."

My vision was obstructed by the throng moving. Talia was brought out onto the dance floor by me as I took her hand. She surprised me by looking up, but as soon as she saw my look of rage, she glanced away and silently agreed. I pivoted our physiques and once again met her gaze.

And they were trained right on me again.

This was untrue. I was going to obtain answers....directly from the source. Hayden didn't matter to me at all. Her risk was too great to overlook. I whirled Talia into a man's arms without his knowledge. She smiled mischievously at him. The startled customer gave her a startled look in return as if he had just discovered that it was both his birthday and Christmas combined into one svelte, alluring package. I gave a snort and moved toward the mysterious beauty, pushing my way through the crowd of people.

She blushed hot as I drew nearer. Her heart pounded faster, making my clenched teeth hurt. I understood the feminine physique better than anybody, even though I had no clue who she was. She really wanted to be nearer to me.

I would give it right back to her.

I bent down and realized, just before I spoke, that I shouldn't have used English. I did not want to instill in her the same fear that Hayden felt. With ease, I said in Romanian, "(May I have the honor of a dance?)"

She fluttered. She had gorgeous pink cheeks. Her lips attempted to make a reply, but nothing came out. With a sly smile, I considered just throwing her over my shoulder and leaving with her. I was overcome with a strong desire to touch her smooth skin and be alone with her. The only thing I wanted was to take a bath in her delicious smell. However, I had a feeling she wouldn't like my prehistoric act. So I stood by.

Her self-imposed trance was broken when Hayden put a touch on her arm. He had a clipped tone. "I don't think that's your...safest idea." Softly. A growl crept up my throat, which I was forced to suppress. It would hurt, but he had to take his dirty paw off her before I did it for him.

She looked back at him, her blue eyes wide with uncertainty. And there's more: rage. She was fierce, then. It was obvious that she disliked being told what to do.

Excellent.

I was sure she would accept my clear challenge, so I murmured, "I am sure she is capable of reasoning and deciding for herself," and my lips twisted up into a nasty grin.

She smiled politely, just like she was supposed to, and took his arm. "I'll be fine, but thank you for the concern."

Perfect manners.

I adored that.

Hayden frowned, but her eyes had moved away from him. She was concentrating on me. As I led her onto the dance floor, my grin grew. I could finally touch her.

I was preoccupied with the lovely sensation of her body in my hands as I held her. Her perfume was strong and drew me in. I wanted to suffocate in it.

I was craving more from her.

I wanted all of her, hell.

I grabbed her close to my chest and swung her around in my arms so she was facing away from me. She let out a gasp, and my dick instantly responded to the sound. She lifted her arms over her head, and embraced me with her whole body, giving herself up to my touch.

She was hot as hell.

I firmly grasped her whole hip area as my hands moved down her sides, brushing against her breasts. She trembled and moved to the pulsing sexual beat exactly in time with me. Her body moved with seduction. I wanted to know what delighted her, but I had a million questions for her to answer first. Earlier, she'd gazed at me, unrepentant. I found it intriguing. With a low growl, I bent down and said, "Do you like to watch?"

She had a faster-than-expected heartbeat, which surprised me. "What?" she stuttered out.

I started again, "Watch..." and clarified, "Do you get off on watching? You seemed to enjoy it earlier."

Her cheeks blazed with anger as she shouted, "What I get off on is really none of your concern!" Her body jerked dramatically. She wheeled to face me.

I grinned more broadly, taking pleasure in her outward gesture and her effort to detach herself from me. I said, "That might be."

She whispered under her breath, "Of all the arrogant..." as her body temperature increased and a pink stain appeared on the crests of her cheeks.

Her response took me by surprise. She didn't come off as being sly or trying to seem all that interested. She seems to be rather uncomfortable talking about it. I was surprised when I felt the deep flush on her cheeks. I pushed her head up so I could see her eyes and said, "You're blushing?" with my fingers sliding under her chin. "Could you really be that innocent?"

She avoided looking into my eyes.

She was a virgin, sh*t. How in the heck was she tinkering with fire the way I did? She seemed naive, so I released my grip to allow her some room and said to myself, "You are that innocent."

Fuck, she was too cute to be true to herself.

"Could we talk about something other than my sex life?" she whispered, bristling.

My grin expanded as I gave in and said, "As you wish." She let out a long breath and her shoulders relaxed, clearly glad that the topic had changed.

I could almost smell her. I was curious whether she understood what it meant. I knew it wasn't perfume, but I was curious what she thought of it, so I bent down and purred, "Tell me, what is that lovely scent you are wearing?"

My breath caressed her neck, causing her to tremble. She cautiously said, "Um...soap,"

My chest ached with laughter. No, she was completely unaware of how special she was.

Her body tensed up.

Shit, I had to get her out of here and alone because if I wasn't cautious, she was going to run away. "I'm Micage, but please call me Cage. What's your name?" I said in a calming tone.

"Raine." She faltered once again, obviously unsure of whether she wanted to tell me.

All right, if I wanted to acquire the information I needed without resorting to violence, I was going to have to do better to loosen her up. The idea of harming her made me shudder, but I had to do it. I would hasten her demise. "Would you like a drink?" I asked her as I pulled on her hand and guided her over to the bar.

With a nod. "Are you thirsty?"

I couldn't help but smile broadly at her inadvertent pun and respond in a provocative manner, "Always."

She gave me a confused blink, gave me a little shake of her head, and followed me. I looked up at the bartender and placed my order. He turned to face Raine, and a look of apparent gratitude lighted up his features. "Certainly... And for the lady?"

My pupils dilated.

With ease, she said, "Sirena Dunarii 2000 Dulce Riesling."

She knew good wines, and she had good taste, too, for such a young age. That was a surprise. I was driven by curiosity to find out all of her secrets.

Before I could stop the bartender from winking at her, a deep warning growl erupted from my chest. He glanced back at me. I knew him. I stared at him. With a nod, he hurried to get the beverages. With the intention of learning more, I went back to face Raine and said, "Tell me, Raine, where are you from?"

She stared at me, her eyes wide. She remained silent for a while, and I considered asking the same question again. Naturally, I knew the answer, but I still wanted her to tell me. She would have seen my mistake because she was too observant. At last, she seemed to emerge from her reverie and said, "New York."

It was a beginning. The thing I really wanted to know was, "And your family? Are you visiting relatives?" I said smoothly. What was her family tree?

Tears pinched her eyes as her demeanor wavered.

I became quite anxious. It seems that she was also really interested in it. I awaited her next move. Regretfully, the bartender used this as an excuse to come back with the drinks. I frowned at being interrupted. Later on, I may have to murder him. Raine avoided the subject, bringing it to her lips fast.

I was becoming impatient.

She glanced past me abruptly, her shocked eyes wide. I turned to follow her line of sight, only to run into Hayden once again. He stretched his hand out to her and murmured, softly, "Shall we?" with a look of anger radiating from his face as he remarked, "I believe the requested dance is now completed."

Screwer.

The Treaty didn't concern me in the slightest. I wouldn't think twice about killing him if he came in my way. Raine raised her glass to the sky. She obviously hadn't anticipated his reply. That would be advantageous to me.

"And yet, it seems she is still talking with me," I said with a melancholy sigh.

As the jackass hunter that he was, Hayden stepped forward to accept my challenge. Quickly raising the wine to her mouth, Raine tossed it back like a shot glass. I would have chuckled at her remark if I wasn't so angry. Hayden said, "Which undoubtedly will be cut short, once she gets to know you. So why don't we skip the waste of time and move on?"

Oh, screw it.

From behind me, Kieran muttered a warning.

Hayden was acting much more aggressively than someone who was only defending someone. If he pushed me, he knew I would not think twice about attacking him. And he was taking a huge risk and working very hard to keep her out of my hands. I turned to confront him, my savage grin glowing with anticipation for the battle. He held his ground and braced himself. Rather, he seemed equally enthusiastic.

Oh my, what knowledge did he have about her? It was imperative that I get him out of my way in order to get her alone since I would never be able to coerce him into giving me the information I needed.

Without waiting for a reaction from any of us, Raine abruptly stopped us and said, "Okay! That does it for me. Thank you, gentlemen, for the... um, interesting evening."

Kieran followed her as soon as I made eye contact with him. Her sudden departure satisfied me. Hayden was going to be "talking" a lot until I was certain he couldn't follow her. He also appeared to find success with it. As she vanished out the front door, his posture relaxed and his shoulders loosened.

How in the hell?

My pupils dilated. I pushed the emotion down and purred, "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't ignite a lover's quarrel. She was truly exquisite...a tasty morsel...just the thought of her lush curves makes my mouth water." The thought of the hunter's touch anywhere near Raine's porcelain flesh caused crimson to bleed into my eyes and an entirely foreign word to sit oddly like mine on my tongue.

His looks changed once again as he fell for the bait. His posture subtly lowered and a muscle in his jaw twitched, indicating that he was about to attack.

I grinned. I like the tightrope dance, which included power maneuvers and intimidation techniques. As the Vampire Prince and heir apparent to the kingdom, it was my purpose and my forte.

Just then, a low buzz cut through our testosterone-filled chat. Ignoring the phone ringing in his pocket, Hayden knew that no discussion he had could remain secret from my extrasensory perception. But as the buzz subsided and was replaced a second later by the telltale ping signal of a new text message, even I could sense how urgent the call was. With a scowl, Hayden extended the gadget and tilted it out of my peeping sight. His forehead furrows become more pronounced.

I blurted out, "Is there a problem with the pups?" Although I didn't anticipate a response, I relished the chance to provoke him. Though it seemed improbable, maybe one day he might make a mistake.

That day wasn't today. His blue eyes were furious and his mouth clenched. He murmured, "Nothing I can't handle," and turned to go.

Lastly.

I took my phone out of my pocket and stepped out into the pitch-black night. "Where is she?" I snarled at Kieran after pressing the one-speed button.