I inch toward him at the same time Jaxon snaps out of his daze and moves closer to me. He’s so close our shoulders touch. When I reach to take his hand, he moves it away from me and crosses his arms.
For the first time since the reapers waltzed into my life, I feel a sting of rejection. But my attention gets pulled elsewhere as we push into the heart of the crowd of faeries, demons, vampires, and all sorts of other creatures.
I feel hands touch my waist, and when I peer over my shoulder, Rhyland is behind me and Blaise is to the side of him, looking as grumpy as ever. Rhyland offers me a smile, and I try to return it, but I’m flowing with anxiety.
I’m not a fan of feeling out of my element, and right now, I feel like a goth girl trying out for the cheerleading squad. It’s unsettling, and I don’t like it. At all.
“Relax, we’re almost there, “ Alex says to me under his breath.
I note an anxious edge to his voice, and he stiffens as we get deeper into the crowd. Creatures are starting to glance at us, and like the faerie on the street, some of them wink at me.
What the shit is going on?
Panic claws at my throat, but thank God, seconds later, we reach the front of the crowd, which turns out wasn’t a crowd at all, but a line to get into the club.
A creature is standing in front of the windowless, thick iron door with his heavily inked arms crossed and green horns are sprouting out of his head. When he spots us, a smirk curls across his orange lips.
“Well, well, well, look what the brownie dragged in,” he greets the guys as we come to a stop in front of him.
“Bellford,” Alex greets him with a nod. “I didn’t know you were working here.”
“You’ve been banished for a long time,” the creature—Bellford—reminds him. “Things tend to change with time.” His gaze lands on me. “And clearly, things have changed for you.”
“This is Hadley,” Alex tells him. “We found her in the human realm and, once we saw her, we knew we had to keep her.”
That causes me to crinkle my nose. “You didn’t keep me.”
Alex grins as he looks at me. “Right, I forgot. It was the other way around.” With that, he dips in and steals a kiss, whispering against my lips, “Please, baby, play along, okay?”
I internally sigh. Clearly, he doesn’t want this dude knowing who I am. So, while it’s annoying as hell, I say, “Right, the moment I saw you, I just couldn’t let you guys go. It was like the stars aligned, and I just felt it in my soul that I needed to keep them.”
Blah. Gag. Blah.
I hear Blaise snort a laugh from behind me, and it almost causes me to lose it and start laughing, as well. Thankfully, I keep my composure, and the creature standing in front of us smiles almost wistfully.
“That’s nice that you guys found each other.” He looks at me then. “Did you get banished to the human realm, too?”
Unsure what else to do, I nod.
He nods, too, like he completely understands. “What did they get you for?”
I start to panic. “Um … for killing a man in Reno.”
The creature blinks at me, and Blaise is for sure now laughing, but Alex hurriedly steps in.
“Can you let us in?” he asks the creature. “We’re a little eager to start our fun, seeing as how it’s one of our first nights back here.”
He stares at me like I’m the one with horns sprouting out of my forehead. “Yeah … sure, go on in.” He steps aside and lets us through, causing some of the creatures in line to whine.
Ignoring them, Alex pulls me with him as he strides forward, yanks open the door, and enters the building.
“You killed a man in Reno?” he says to me while shaking his head. “Seriously, little daredevil?”
I shrug as I peer around the narrow hallway lined with a black ceiling, shiny marble floor, and lanterns dot the red and black Victorian wallpaper. “I panicked, okay?”
Music reverberates from somewhere, and the air feels heavy, like a light fog is lacing it.
“I thought it was funny,” Blaise remarks from close behind me. He brushes a few strands of his hair from out of his eyes. “In fact, it cheered me right up.”
I twist around to face him. He grins, and I replicate the look.
“Good, ’cause your emo mood was getting on my nerves,” I quip with a sassy smirk.
His smile broadens. “And there’s that sass I love so much.”
“You love, huh?” I cock my brow. “If that’s the case, I’ll keep throwing it your way all night.”
He moans, his head bobbing back. “Gods, please don’t tease me.”
Rhyland shakes his head. “Come on. You two can flirt more when we get inside.” With that, he whisks by us and down the hallway.
Alex, who still has a hold of my hand, pulls me with him as he follows Rhyland. Blaise is right behind me, and Jax trails behind us, looking as despondent as he did before.
I really need to find out what’s bothering him. In fact, it’s all I can think of. That is until we actually reach the club area.
I didn’t put much thought into what a club would look like in this world, but maybe I should have. Perhaps then I could’ve mentally prepared myself .
Or maybe not.
No … I don’t think anything could’ve prepared me for the scene before me.
The room is large and crammed with creatures that are dressed up in dresses, suits, and the occasional corset. A bar stretches across the back that is glowing with blue lights. But the rest of the place is dark with low lighting and fog, making it difficult to see everything. But what I can clearly see are the iron cages hanging from above and the creatures having sex in them.
Shock whips through me. “Holy shit.”
Look away, Hadley, look away,
But I’m like a deer caught in the headlights. Or a cursed fire reaper caught in the porn show currently happening just above her head. I feel hot and somehow cold at the same time. And, for some wild reason, it’s at this moment that the dumbass bitch named reality decides to make a grand appearance.
“Oh my God, how is this my life now?” The human-like words fall off my tongue. Fortunately, at least to avoid drawing my attention to myself, the sound is barely audible over the deep, throbbing pulse of music.
Alex must hear me since he turns around and glances at me with a quizzical expression. “Are you okay?” he mouths.
Rhyland has taken off into the mob of creatures; some are dancing, others who are drinking various shades of liquid drinks, and some are feeding off others, their fangs sunk deep into the necks or wrists of another creature.
Smashing my lips together, I just nod because, seriously, what the hell am I supposed to say? No, I’m not okay. There are creatures having sex above my head, and it’s making me feel all twitchy inside.
Alex’s mouth is set into a deep frown, but he doesn’t press. Instead he spins around and steps into the crowd, his hand slipping from mine. I move to follow, but Blaise stops me by slipping an arm around my waist. Tension waves off of him, and when I tip my head up to meet his gaze, not a trace of calmness is on his features.
He dips his head and whispers in my ear, “Stay close, trust no one except us, and whatever you do, don’t drink or eat anything unless we give it to you.”