feel to him.
I looked across the room to find T.J. Two more of them, impeccably dressed in silk shirts and tailored slacks and oozing cold, blocked him in the corner. T.J.'s fists were clenched. He caught my gaze and set his jaw in grim reassurance. I had to trust him to get me out of this, but he was too far away to help me.
'I thought you guys didn't like this place,' I said.
'We changed our minds. And you're trespassing.'
'No.' I whined a little under my breath. I had wanted to leave this behind for a few hours.
I glared, shaking. A predator had me in his sights, and I wanted to flee, a primal instinct. I didn't dare look away from the vampire, but another scent caught my attention. Something animal, a hint of fur and musk underneath normal human smells. Werewolf.
Carl didn't hesitate. He just stepped into the place the vampire had been occupying, neatly displacing him before the vampire knew what had happened.
Our slight commotion made the vampires blocking T.J. turn. T.J., who could hold his own in a straight fight, elbowed his way between them and strode toward us.
Carl grabbed my shoulder. 'Let's go outside.'
He was about six-four and had the build to match. He towered over my slim, five-six self. He had rough brown hair and a beard, and glared constantly. Even if I didn't know what he was, I'd have picked him out of a lineup as most likely to be a werewolf. He had this
I squeaked as he wrenched me toward the door. I scurried to stay on my feet, but I had trouble keeping up. It looked like he dragged me, but I hardly noticed, I was so numb with relief that the vampire was gone and we were leaving.
A bouncer blocked our way at the passage leading from the dance floor to the main entrance. He wasn't as tall as Carl, but he was just as wide. And he had no idea that Carl could rip his face off if he decided to.
'This guy bothering you?' the bouncer said to me.
Carl's hand tensed on my shoulder. 'It's none of your business.'
Frowning, the bouncer looked at me for confirmation. He was judging this based on human sensibilities. He saw a girl get dragged off the dance floor, it probably meant trouble. But this was different. Sort of.
I squared my shoulders and settled my breathing. 'Everything's fine. Thanks.'
The bouncer stepped aside.
Joining us, T.J. followed us down the passage and out the door.
Outside, we walked down a side street, around the corner and into an alley, out of sight of the people who were getting air outside the club.
There, Carl pinned me against the brick wall, hands planted on either side of my head.
'What the hell are you doing out where they could find you?'
I assumed he meant the vampires. My heart pounded, my voice was tight, and with Carl looming over me I couldn't calm down. My breaths came out as gasps. He was so close, the heat of him pressed against me, and I was on the verge of losing it. I wanted to hug him, cling to him until he wasn't angry at me anymore.
'It was just for a little while. I just wanted to go out. They weren't supposed to be here.' I looked away, brushing a tear off my cheek. 'T.J. was with me. And they weren't supposed to be here.'
'Don't argue with me.'
'I'm sorry, Carl. I'm sorry.' It was so hard groveling upright, without a tail to stick between my legs.
T.J. stood a couple of feet away, leaning back against the wall, his arms crossed and shoulders hunched.
'It's my fault,' he said. 'I told her it was okay.'
'When did you start handing out permission?'
T.J. looked away. Carl was the only person who could make him look sheepish. 'Sorry.'
'You should have called me.'
I was still trying to catch my breath. 'How—how did you know where to find us?'
He looked at T.J., who was scuffing his boot on the asphalt. T.J. said, 'I left him a note.'
I closed my eyes, defeated. 'Can't we do anything without telling Carl?'
Carl growled. Human vocal cords could growl. The guys in pro wrestling did it all the time. But they didn't mean it like Carl meant it. When he growled, it was like his wolf was trying to climb out of his throat to bite my face off.
'Nope,' T.J. said.
'T.J., go home. Kitty and I are going to have a little talk. I'll take care of you later.'
'Yes, sir.'
T.J. caught my gaze for a moment, gave me a 'buck-up' expression, nodded at Carl, and walked down the street Carl put his hand behind my neck and steered me in the opposite direction.
This was supposed to be my night.
Usually, I melted around Carl. His personality was such that it subsumed everyone around him—at least everyone in the pack. All I ever wanted to do was make him happy, so that he'd love me. But right now, I was angry.
I couldn't remember when I'd ever been more angry than scared. It was an odd feeling, a battle of emotions and animal instinct that expressed itself in action: fight or flight I'd always run, hid, groveled. The hair on my arms, the back of my neck, prickled, and a deep memory of thick fur awakened.
His track was parked around the corner. He guided me to the passenger seat. Then, he drove.
'I had a visit from Arturo.'
Arturo was Master of the local vampire Family. He kept the vampires in line like Carl kept the werewolves in line, and as long as the two groups stayed in their territories and didn't harass each other, they existed peacefully, mostly. If Arturo had approached Carl, it meant he had a complaint.
'What's wrong?'
'He wants you to quit your show.' He glared straight ahead.
I flushed. I should have known something like this would happen. Things were going so well.
'I can't quit the show. We're expanding. Syndication. It's a huge opportunity, I can't pass it up—'
'You can if I tell you to.'
I tiredly rubbed my face, unable to think of any solution that would let us both have our way. I willed my eyes to clear and made sure my voice sounded steady.
'Then you think I should quit, too.'
'He says that some of his people have been calling you for advice instead of going to him. It's a challenge to his authority. He has a point.'
Wow, Carl and Arturo agreed on something. It was a great day for supernatural diplomacy.
'Then he should tell off his people and not blame it on me—'
'Kitty—'
I slouched in the seat and pouted like a little kid.
'He's also worried about exposure. He thinks you're bringing too much attention to us. All it takes is one tele-vangelist or right-wing senator calling a witch hunt, and people will come looking for us.'
'Come on, 90 percent of the people out there think the show's a joke.'
He spared a moment out of his driving to glare at me. 'We've kept to ourselves and kept the secret for a long time. Arturo longer than most. You can't expect him to think your show is a good idea.'
'Why did he talk to you and not me?'
' 'Cause it's my job to keep you on your leash.'
'Leash or choke collar? Sorry.' I apologized before he even had a chance to glare at me.
'You need to quit the show,' he said. His hands clenched the steering wheel.
'You always do what Arturo tells you to?'
Sad, that this was the best argument I could think of. Carl wouldn't want to think he was making Arturo happy.
'It's too dangerous.'
'For whom? For Arturo? For you? For the pack?'
'Is it so unbelievable that I might have your best interests in mind? Arturo may be overreacting, but you are
