Compelled (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 5)

“Simone,” he purred, blue eyes a hypnotic swirl as he ran his gaze over my face and then down the lines of my semi-revealing dress. “The female I’ve been waiting to see.”

I coughed before shaking my head to cover up my unease and annoyance. “Can’t say the same, Carter, old buddy.” I worked really had to appear unconcerned and uninterested in him. “I’m here against my will. Or have you forgotten your little demand?”

His eyes flashed, the color growing brighter, but he didn’t snap back. Instead, he smiled. “Ah, your fire is exactly what I want in a mate. You’d never survive with me if you were a demure wallflower.”

Letting out a long sigh, I realized this was going to be tougher than I’d expected. Closing the remaining distance between us, I channeled Mera when I stabbed my finger into his hard chest. “Listen here, you chauvinistic vampire. I am not fire, I’m a wallflower. I prefer reading to fighting. I own a fucking bookstore. I do not”—I jabbed him again—“I repeat, I do not want to be your damn mate.”

Carter didn’t move or react, and it seemed that he was immune to my personality flaws. Clearly, I needed a stronger plan to put him off because if the Stone of Katu decided I was a good match for him, the only being who could veto it was the vampire himself.

Masters still held the power to veto a match, which was the only thing keeping me from feeling too guilty about Lucien. He might be miserable, but in the end, he still had all of the power and control. Unlike me.

Carter, who hadn’t moved, despite my finger pressing against his chest, smiled again. His fangs appeared, and I wasn’t imagining the way his gaze landed on my neck. “Your blood smells like energy and life,” he closed his eyes briefly. “When you’re angry, the fire fills your scent. I can’t wait to taste you—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish that disturbing as fuck sentence before there was another round of gasps, and I felt a new powerful presence. As I stepped to the side to see who was here, Carter reached out and grasped my arms, holding me in place. “We were just getting to know each other,” he rumbled, leaning down as if to kiss me.

In a panic, I jerked my knee up in the hopes of smashing his balls into his throat, only for him to fly off me before I could make contact. I watched with a slack jaw and wide eyes as Carter flew across the room before Lucien stepped into the spot the other master had just occupied.

Our gazes locked, and I didn’t miss his black eyes or the way his chest heaved. A rumble escaped him as his fangs appeared. He stepped closer to me, keeping me locked in his animalistic stare. “Crimson,” I said softly. “Are you okay?”

No reply except another rumbling growl. I wasn’t sure if I should touch him or not; I didn’t know how to diffuse this situation. “Lucien,” I tried again. “I’m okay. Perfectly fine. You can’t just go throwing vampires across the room.”

I caught sight of the crowd parting behind us, and I knew exactly why all the onlookers had moved. Carter was on his way back, and he looked pissed.

“Carter’s coming,” I said in a rush, but Lucien seemed completely unconcerned, his gaze remaining on my face, like he was memorizing the damn thing. It was only at the last second, as I braced to be collateral damage between two clashing vampires, that Lucien spun and shot one palm out, smashing Carter in the chest and sending the other vampire back across the room.

At this point, the tier one masters got involved. Len dragged me out of the way as Lucien snarled his annoyance to Donovan—Carter had broken the rules by grabbing a female without her permission.

“Looks like you’re going to need this,” Len said, handing me two glasses of wine. I took them both, gulping the first down in one go before moving a little slower with the second.

The fae remained at my side and kept everyone else away from me. “Sorry I didn’t step in when Carter first approached,” he finally said. “I figured you wanted a chance to update him of your annoyance at being here, and I didn’t expect he would try anything in a room of witnesses.”

I patted Len’s arm. “You did nothing wrong. My job here is to repel that bastard, and I was trying my best. Unfortunately, he took my annoyance for fire and seemed to like the insults.”

“I also saw Lucien coming,” Len added. “And I could tell he was on a warpath. Told you wearing the red dress was a bad idea.”

I snorted, a buzz building in my body from the potent wine. “It was a pissing contest and nothing else. I could be standing here in a sack.”

“Yes, you could have been,” he said, and his tone indicated that he was taking the sack theory in a different way than me.

The masters got their shit sorted eventually, and the music started up again, drifting around the room, even though I could see no speakers or live band.

“Would you like to dance?” I asked Len. I loved dancing, having taken lessons in Torma when I was younger. Shifters were into dances and pack mixers, and my parents had demanded I be well trained so as not to embarrass them or our alpha. The joke was on them because it didn’t end up being a chore or punishment. It was my escape.

“Uh, it’s probably not the best idea right now,” Len said softly. “We don’t want to push a certain master over the edge again.”

I had no idea if he was talking about Carter or Lucien, and since I was three glasses deep into blood wine, I snorted as I said, “What do you mean by that?”

His lips twitched so briefly I barely caught it. “Lucien is showing common traits of vampire possessiveness. I’ve never really seen it from him before, and while it could be a product of you being under his protection, there’s a fire there that indicates something else is going on. In that regard, it’s best not to antagonize him.”

I swallowed roughly, thinking about the fire that had almost consumed me in the shower earlier. If Lucien hadn’t… uh, come to the rescue, I would probably have combusted into a small pile of ash.

“It’s probably his blood still within me,” I choked out, pressing my thighs together. “Forming a connection between us.”

Len slanted a look at me, eyebrows raised, but he didn’t argue, at least. I had no idea what to do with the idea that there might be more between Lucien and me. I’d felt a pull toward him from the first moment I met him, but he’d done a very good job ensuring I never considered him mate material. Going back there again was dangerous for my heart.

Donovan’s voice rang out. “All of the invited females, please make your way to the front to officially meet the masters.”

It was a distraction, but not a great one. “I’m being paged,” I said, my mood dropping.

I threw back the rest of my drink and took a step forward, stumbling on the unfamiliar heels and buzz of wine. Len came to the rescue, taking my glass and setting it down before he linked our arms again.

“Ignore the mind games,” he murmured as we moved forward. “Ignore the other females and whatever the masters say or do. You’re here to make a bad impression, and then we can head back to your room to regroup.”

Right. Just ignore all the powerful vampires in the room.

Piece of cake.

Actually, cake would be really awesome right now, but first, I had a meet and greet to attend.