Read Online Chasing Daybreak (Dark of Night Book 1) by Ranae Glass - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ranae Glass
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look.
Before I could say anything, a saleslady appeared from nowhere.
“Can I help y’all find something?” She smiled.
I turned to look at her. She was tall for a woman, dressed in a flowing purple skirt and matching peasant top. Her pale blonde hair was in a loose bun at the top of her head. Several wild tendrils hung down.
Before I could say anything, Shane rushed past me in a blur of vampire speed. When I blinked, he had the woman pinned against the back wall of the store, his fingers white around her tan throat.
“Where?” Shane demanded.
I tried to reach for him, but he slapped me away with his free hand while the woman struggled to wrench his other hand off her throat.
“Where’s what? Shane, she can’t breathe!” I shouted.
“Where?” Shane repeated.
It wasn’t a question. I watched as the woman’s panicked eyes flashed to cat yellow.
He wasn’t asking where. He was identifying the woman as a were .
I’d never seen a were in person before. While the vamps had made themselves public, the weres had remained safely in the darkness. My father had a whole file on the local were community that I’d stumbled upon when I took over the office.
A small pack roamed in Charleston, only five or six members. Besides things like breaking down the pack structure and notes on their strengths and weaknesses, my father’s file had only one other note in it. A warning that weres and vamps were natural enemies. Two apex predators sharing the same territory was a dangerous thing. Seeing Shane’s reaction to her, I realized my dad was right.
“Shane… Shane!”
He blinked twice, seeming to come back to himself at the sound of my voice. She slid down the wall as he released her. In a blink, she was behind us, crouched low with her hands extended, human fingers curled like claws.
I stepped between them. “Enough. What is going on?”
Shane sniffed the air. “I smell vampire and were . That way.” He pointed to a door in the back marked ‘Employees Only’.
The woman stood upright, dusting herself off. “You must be the new blood. This area is restricted by order of the Council.”
I knew she meant the Vampire Council, the governing body of the Undead. Shane stopped mid-step. I didn’t have to read his mind to know what he was thinking. If he defied the Council’s orders, the repercussions would be severe. As of now, he stood alone, rogue, but he was hoping to change that. Getting in trouble would put his status change in serious jeopardy.
Luckily, I didn’t have that issue. Pushing past him, I opened the door. Beyond it was a staircase leading down to a lower floor. I flicked on the overhead florescent light, took hold of the rusty, steel rail, and headed down. The footsteps behind me were Shane’s. Behind him, the were woman followed, sounding more irritated than frightened as she told us again that the area was off limits. But she didn’t move to stop us. I wondered if she could—take on a vampire, I mean. Me, she could have carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey, even in her human form.
The staircase led down into the underbelly of the building. Brick walls stretched into a room that held a rusty water heater, furnace, and ceiling-to-floor file cabinets. Behind the bottom of the stairs was another closed door. I put my hand on the knob, but Shane grabbed my arm, preventing me from pushing it open. He mouthed the word “vampire” and pulled me behind him. Before he could open the door himself, it swung open, and Xavier Ambrose stepped out.
Xavier was the head of the vampire food chain in South Carolina. His official title was Chancellor to the Council, but his job description was more like that of a feudal lord. He ruled over the Conclave here and all the little vampires in it.
Xavier’s was the voice on the phone that had called me to Shane’s side after his change. Xavier was the one who had sat me down and explained what had happened to Shane and his sire Irena. And Xavier was the one
Before I could say anything, a saleslady appeared from nowhere.
“Can I help y’all find something?” She smiled.
I turned to look at her. She was tall for a woman, dressed in a flowing purple skirt and matching peasant top. Her pale blonde hair was in a loose bun at the top of her head. Several wild tendrils hung down.
Before I could say anything, Shane rushed past me in a blur of vampire speed. When I blinked, he had the woman pinned against the back wall of the store, his fingers white around her tan throat.
“Where?” Shane demanded.
I tried to reach for him, but he slapped me away with his free hand while the woman struggled to wrench his other hand off her throat.
“Where’s what? Shane, she can’t breathe!” I shouted.
“Where?” Shane repeated.
It wasn’t a question. I watched as the woman’s panicked eyes flashed to cat yellow.
He wasn’t asking where. He was identifying the woman as a were .
I’d never seen a were in person before. While the vamps had made themselves public, the weres had remained safely in the darkness. My father had a whole file on the local were community that I’d stumbled upon when I took over the office.
A small pack roamed in Charleston, only five or six members. Besides things like breaking down the pack structure and notes on their strengths and weaknesses, my father’s file had only one other note in it. A warning that weres and vamps were natural enemies. Two apex predators sharing the same territory was a dangerous thing. Seeing Shane’s reaction to her, I realized my dad was right.
“Shane… Shane!”
He blinked twice, seeming to come back to himself at the sound of my voice. She slid down the wall as he released her. In a blink, she was behind us, crouched low with her hands extended, human fingers curled like claws.
I stepped between them. “Enough. What is going on?”
Shane sniffed the air. “I smell vampire and were . That way.” He pointed to a door in the back marked ‘Employees Only’.
The woman stood upright, dusting herself off. “You must be the new blood. This area is restricted by order of the Council.”
I knew she meant the Vampire Council, the governing body of the Undead. Shane stopped mid-step. I didn’t have to read his mind to know what he was thinking. If he defied the Council’s orders, the repercussions would be severe. As of now, he stood alone, rogue, but he was hoping to change that. Getting in trouble would put his status change in serious jeopardy.
Luckily, I didn’t have that issue. Pushing past him, I opened the door. Beyond it was a staircase leading down to a lower floor. I flicked on the overhead florescent light, took hold of the rusty, steel rail, and headed down. The footsteps behind me were Shane’s. Behind him, the were woman followed, sounding more irritated than frightened as she told us again that the area was off limits. But she didn’t move to stop us. I wondered if she could—take on a vampire, I mean. Me, she could have carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey, even in her human form.
The staircase led down into the underbelly of the building. Brick walls stretched into a room that held a rusty water heater, furnace, and ceiling-to-floor file cabinets. Behind the bottom of the stairs was another closed door. I put my hand on the knob, but Shane grabbed my arm, preventing me from pushing it open. He mouthed the word “vampire” and pulled me behind him. Before he could open the door himself, it swung open, and Xavier Ambrose stepped out.
Xavier was the head of the vampire food chain in South Carolina. His official title was Chancellor to the Council, but his job description was more like that of a feudal lord. He ruled over the Conclave here and all the little vampires in it.
Xavier’s was the voice on the phone that had called me to Shane’s side after his change. Xavier was the one who had sat me down and explained what had happened to Shane and his sire Irena. And Xavier was the one
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