I tossed the plate in the trash and headed deeper into the park. Shifting to owl form, I flew into the tree nearest the office building. If my talons weren’t so strong, I would have fallen out of the damn tree.
I’d recognize those shoulders anywhere.
A huge stack of paperwork had Lucas working late into the night. I scratched my feathers. Why was he here? The Bravo wolves never missed a chance to run amok through the woods chasing rabbits and deer. Eventually exhausted, they would flop in a pile, curled up next to one another, and sleep.
Lucas ran his hand through his hair and rolled his head on his shoulders. He looked stressed, shoulders tight, fists clenched.
I could work those kinks out of his neck.
He stood and crossed the room toward a fax machine, giving me a firsthand look at him from behind. I was not disappointed. His black dress pants perfectly fitted what was without a doubt the shapeliest ass I had ever seen. He wasn’t overly tall, probably standing around six foot. He could have been a living stone statue. My beak chattered at the thought of those rock-hard abs and that chest, oh, that chest.
I’d like to rip the buttons off his shirt.
The light on the fax was blinking and he pulled open all the doors and drawers. He reached into the machine and bared his teeth. The thought of those perfect teeth nipping along my flesh made me overheat.
Owls don’t sweat, idiot. Calm down before you fog up the window.
Maybe I could show up at his office door and help fix the fax machine. If I was a better witch, I could have cast a spell through the window to help him. That was too risky. A wayward spell might hurt him.
Lucas had looked really good when I found him beside the road but now, in that dress shirt and those dress pants, oh my.
Drop-dead fall-off-the-limb gorgeous.
Even through the window, there was wildness about him. A shiver shook my feathers as he whirled away from the fax machine and stormed toward his desk. Flakes of silver sparkled in his eyes as he glanced out the window and looked straight at me. I closed my beak and stared back at him. Did he know?
With a heavy sigh and slumping shoulders, Lucas glanced at his watch, grabbed his jacket, and headed toward the door. After one last look over his shoulder, he flipped off the light and disappeared into the darkness.
I swooped closer to the bustling street. My bird heart was pounding.
I needed to calm down before I pooped on his head.
The vibration of a master vampire slid across my feathers. The power was strong, but it wasn’t Simon. My vampire commanding officer cloaked his power to make his strength unreadable. This vampire wanted others to know he was here.
Chapter 6
Lucas
If I didn’t get out of the office, the fax machine would end up out the window. Four hours on contracts, bids, purchase orders and capital expenditures made me hungry. My client meeting was in an hour and that gave me time to get real food before eating a “normal” dinner with the human.
The pack wolves were out tonight so I’d have the local restaurants to myself. A big juicy steak sounded good and the musings of the local human population would be a nice change from the ill-tempered werewolves I’d been dealing with for the last few days. I stepped onto the sidewalk and got a nose full of car exhaust, human and food scents.
An odd tingle was in the air tonight, a familiar yet foreign magical vibration. With the full moon, lots of supernaturals would be out. The wolves hunting, the vampires stalking and, by a fire somewhere, naked elves danced.
None of that interested me anymore. When I was an agent for the Divine Council, I loved to see the full moon nights because it meant we were going to be out patrolling for those who didn’t abide by the laws of the supernatural world. Now full moon nights were nothing special. Calculating the amount of drywall needed to finish a three-story office building dominated my days. Yeah, life was grand. Going to meet a client not pleased with the progress on his project. This should be a great dinner.
I checked my phone and saw three voicemails and two texts, all from my father, who insisted I be at the pack run tonight. I sent a text that I was stuck at work. He’d be angry, but by now he was in the forest leading the run. Oh well. He stayed angry with me. Why should tonight have been any different?
The unusual tingle increased as I walked the three blocks to Danton’s. With no scent in the air, the tingle meant a vampire in the area.
“Ciao, Lucas.” I knew that voice.
“Ciao, Istagio.” His eyes were black as midnight and as usual, he wore the most expensive Armani suit money could buy.
“May we speak for a moment?” Istagio asked, falling into step beside me.
“Sure, just on my way to grab a steak.”
He wrinkled his nose in obvious disdain for my meal choice. “One of our young ladies has gone missing. Giovanna disappeared three nights ago.”
I stopped. “Do you have any leads?”
Istagio looked into the darkness. “None. It is like your brother. She simply vanished into thin air.” He paused, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. “I have consulted a local oracle, who proclaimed Giovanna was taken to be used as a sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice for what?”
“The oracle could not see,” he answered as we continued walking. “I fear she is dead. A youngling, only four summers old, would not have known to stay away from the darkness of black magic.”
“You created her?”
He bowed his head. “Yes. I turned her. I stumbled upon her as she lay dying in the wreckage of a dreadful auto accident. She was so beautiful and her aura pure. I felt she would do well amongst my kind.”
“I’m sorry, Istagio.”
“Your father has no news of your brother?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Not that I’ve heard.”
Istagio’s forehead wrinkled. “There are rumors of dark magic.”
“I’ll put in a call to Tristyn and see if he’s heard anything.” My best buddy, an ambassador for the Divine Council, knew the happenings within the supernatural world.
Istagio nodded and bowed his head. “I appreciate your concern for my lost young one. I am afraid we are too late for her, but I do not wish to lose any others.”
To have people you care about disappear was, in some ways, worse than knowing they were dead. Lack of closure was hard on those left behind. I’d seen what it had done to my father and mother. No one deserved that type of torment.
I offered my hand and the cool skin of the vampire brushed against mine. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
He pumped my hand once. “Thank you, Lucas. If there is any way I can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to ask.”
“Thanks, Istagio. Call if anything comes up.”
The vampire dipped his head and disappeared into the darkness. We had strayed from the main thoroughfare as we talked and my stomach demanded food. I loosened my tie and broke into a jog to follow the aroma of steak.
The odd vibration in the air remained long after Istagio and I parted ways.
Chapter 7
Breanna
Lucas never came out the front door. In human form, I waited across from the office building, but