Accidentally Wolf (31 page)

“
Yeah, they won
’
t want me dead,
”
I grumbled, shaking my head.
“
They won
’
t care if I was in the right. They
’
re his family.
”

“
Actually, the
y are
old school Greeks and care very much for who was
in the right
, as you put it.
”
Vlad leaned forward again, resting his arms on his knees.
“
They just want a few answers only you can give them. I wouldn
’
t advise you meet with them if I thought they
’
d hurt you. I swear it on my honor.
”

I glanced at my boss, who nodded. I knew vampires making promises was a big deal and they never went back on their word. But growing up among so many
people
who did, I had trouble blindly accepting that.

“
You shouldn
’
t be this power
ful
this fast, Sera
,
”
Monroe
told me
softly
.
“
And if Vlad felt this type of power before from Bernard
,
th
e
n I think talking to his family would be worthwhile.
”

I thought about that for a few moments. It made sense and I
did
have questions as well.
“
When and where?
”

“
Come for dinner tonight. Bring Tristan and
,
if it will make you feel safer, make sure your gun is loaded with gold bullets.
”

“
Not silver?
”
I asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
I had another thought. “How did I kill Bernard if I had normal bullets?”

“
No, purely a myth we paranormals push
.
”
Vlad chuckled.
“
Gold will kill just about anything not human.
If the bullet is gold, then to us it
’
s as if we were human being shot with a regular bullet. You can kill a paranormal with regular bullets and weapons, but it
’
s more difficult.
”

“It took a clip of seventeen for me to bring him down.” Vlad nodded his understanding and I felt for him. Enemy or not, bad guy or not, Bernard had meant something to Vlad.
I glanced at Monroe.
“That
’
s not in the FBI reports.”

“
And it won
’
t ever be, Sera
.
”
His tone changed to
something
firm
er
so I understood the severity. Message received
.
“
It
’
s like a club secret. We might be out in society
,
but we
’
re not fully accepted. If people knew practically all of us can be killed by gold bullets or a gold blade
,
then all the fanatics would have them. One of the only things that
’
s kept us alive as long as we have is the myth about silver.
”

“
Okay,
”
I whispered, realizing I
’
d just crossed a line in the sand I never thought I
’
d had to. I liked my rule book and knowing what was right and wrong. I was all about my life being black or white. So much now was shades of gray that I had trouble keeping my head above water. I pushed the thoughts out of my head and settled on thinking about that tonight when this was over and I was alone in my bed.
“
What
’
s the dress code?
”

“
Do you own a dress?
”
Vlad asked, heat in his gaze. So obviously he was player on both sides of the fence with a look like that. And why did I think his idea of a dress was nothing like mine?

Chapter 11

I hated when I was right. I looked in the mirror again and wanted to laugh.
What Vlad had sent over
wasn
’
t a dress. It was a sparkly piece of
silver
fabric that barely covered anything
,
held up with two straps. I couldn
’
t even wear a thong or a bra that wouldn
’
t show. My gun strapped to my thigh would clearly be seen
,
but that didn
’
t mean I wasn
’
t taking it.

“
I
’
m not wearing this,
”
I yelled to Tristan for the third time
, turning away from the mirror
.

“
I can
’
t agree or disagree with you if you won
’
t show it to me,
”
he replied with obvious amusement in his voice. Yeah, I didn
’
t even want to show the damn thing to a man who
’
d seen me naked. It was
that
bad.

I grunted as a reply and stepped out into my bedroom. Tristan
’
s eyes glazed over with lust as he started at my head and gazed downwards until he reached my feet. They were in ridiculously high heels to complete my clown outfit. Then he worked his way up again
,
and I shivered. How could I not with that much lust directed my way?

“
You look mouthwatering,
”
he
said
in that deep voice that let me know I was about to get laid.

“
We
’
re running late already
,
”
I reminded him, not
trying to
hid
e
my smile. I wasn
’
t used to getting that kind of look from anyone. I liked it. Even if it meant wearing this stupid outfit.

“
Fine
,
but that doesn
’
t mean I
’
m going to be able to keep my hands off you on the ride over,
”
he grumbled as he stood
and straightened his tux before walking over to me
. Then he muttered under his breath.
“
Or at all tonight.
”

“
Okay,
”
I agreed. I grabbed my fancy purse, deciding at the last minute to take
out my few cosmetics and fit my smaller side arm in there instead. No reason to wear a gun when I could have one in my purse. Vlad had given me his assurances that we
’
d be safe
,
and I didn
’
t want anything to make Tristan stop looking at me like that.

He looked dashing as well. The tux he was wearing was custom tailored and brought out all of his charming attributes. I looped my arm with his after we
’
d left the apartment, glad to have some support as I tried to
manage
walk
ing
in four inch heels
without falling on my face
. Why did they make shoes like these? I wore a size eleven
,
so obviously I was tall. Did I really need another four inches?

Stupid fashion designers.

We took Tristan
’
s new car, a BMW coupe
,
and I was glad because there
’
s no way I would feel safe driving with these shoes. Both of us were tense but not because of the other one or some unspoken fight. It was all about what we were going to walk in
to tonight.

When we got
to
Vlad
’
s main office that was attached to one of his clubs
,
I couldn
’
t help b
ut
glance around suspiciously. I wasn
’
t ready to trust strangers from Greece
whose
family member I
’
d killed just because Vlad said so. Tristan was there again, holding on
to my arm the moment we got out of his car.

“
I like your choice
.
”
I nodd
ed
to the BMW. He smiled brightly at me. A man always likes his new toys to be complimented.

“
Not anywhere near as stunning as the woman on my arm tonight.
”
Right response in my book. I laughed as we reached the door. A
n attractive
vampire I didn
’
t know nodded to Tristan and opened it right up for us. My date cleared his throat when the vamp stared just a little too long at my cleavage.

“
Never known you to be possessive,
”
he said to Tristan with a raised brow.

“
Seraphine is her own lady and will be treated as such.
”
Right answer again! The vampire did a double take at the name and looked at my eyes this time.

“
I apologize. I didn
’
t mean any disrespect, Chief Thomas. Any man would be a fool not to stare a little and appreciate such a wondrous sight.
”

“
Wow, you guys really know how to compliment someone
,
”
I
chuckled
nervous
ly, not a fan of being in the spotlight
.
“
No harm done. It
’
s not like you groped me.
”

“
The thought crossed my mind,
”
he purred, extending his hand. I placed mine in his and he raised it to his lips.
“
I am Noah
Drake
,
and if there is ever anything you need, please do not hesitate to let me know.
”

“
I think I can tend to her needs,
”
Tristan growled, taking my hand from Noah. I gave the man a wink
and he flashed me a smile
before I was led into the building.

“
He was nice,
”
I teased once we were out of ear shot.

“
Noah is very popular with the ladies,
”
he replied, clearing his throat. I realized he was uncomfortable with the way he showed some possessiveness of me. I decided to let it slide and ease his mind.

“
I
’
m sure he is
,
but it
’
s nice when a date acts as if I
’
m the only one he wants and isn
’
t willing to part company.
”
The relieved smile I got from Tristan made me glad I
’
d spoke
n
. See? I could be nice sometimes.

I focused ahead on Vlad
’
s office. Not that I would call
it
that. I
’
d never seen anything like it. It was then I realized office must have been code for his house. He didn
’
t want people realizing it though. From the outside, it looked like a basic two story office building attached to his club.

On the inside… Holy shit of lavish.
With all the overwhelming extravagance around me, I was reminded just how wealthy and powerful Vlad was.
We were in the great room
,
and the
part that could be called the
living room was larger than my whole apartment.
Judging from the décor, he seemed to have spared no
expense.

As I continued to look around, I became aware of the odd feeling I was getting from the room. It was one of simultaneous intimidation and seduction. I was almost afraid to go near any of the end tables for fear that I might knock over and ultimately shatter one of the delicate glass sculptural pieces placed there.

But then there were the
couches, which seemed to be beckoning me to curl up on them because they looked so beautiful and comfortable
at the same time.
Couches aside,
I noticed t
here was a small stage of sorts set up
at the back of the room
.
C
olorful satin
pillows
were strewn
all over it. That was odd. I glanced at it and then to Tristan.