A large hand grabbed a fistful of his hair, and he let out a scream as they forced him to his knees. He spat out blood that pooled in his mouth, hoping it would hit one of them.

  All it once, everything stopped and if it wasn’t for the blood that dripped down from the new gash about his eyebrow, he would have thought time itself had stood still. He was heaving air through his nose, his jaw was clenched tight enough to make the muscles on the sides of his face jaunt. His fingers turned sweaty as different shades of brown eyes watched him meticulously. Many of the sniffed the air and scrunched up their noses, just like Taiyo had when they first met. Maddy didn't know what else to do but stare back harshly.

  They wore relatively modern clothing, donning jeans, T-shirts, boots, and maybe a few too many black leather. All of them looked like the prime example of every form of athlete; from gymnast to bodybuilder and everything in between, each one more than fit for battle. He could see several weapons holstered on hips and remembered what Greyson had said about this place not being very friendly to .

  A pair of black combat boots, scuffed and covered in dry dirt, pressed against the floorboards, causing the wood to squeak with every other step as their owner approached him. Two holding his head and shoulders in place parted, and Maddy saw a woman with deep brown eyes laced with auburn slivers of magic.

  She was small, but he could see her toned muscles through her fitted cargo pants and red leather jacket that brought out the color in her eyes. A knife holster was strapped to the right side of her thigh, and a utility belt hung loosely around her hips as if she had to take it off a lot and she didn’t bother adjusting it properly.

  A white mock-neck shirt peaked through the jacket and a small silver watch necklace dangled off her neck as she leaned down, mere inches from his face. Her sandy blond hair was wrapped in a messy bun, and thick bangs framed her face.

  Maddy’s nose twitched.

  She smelled like Strawberry Matcha and reminded him of Tinker Bell. She was terrifying. She was beautiful.

  When she opened her mouth, Maddy wondered if he had hit his head harder than he thought because everything she said sounded like gibberish. He said, scrunching up his face trying to avoid the blood from dripping into his eye and said, “I’m sorry, do you speak English?”

  There was a pause as she gestured to the person holding his arms to release him, then looked back at him and said, her accent was light, but her tone was stern like the angry pixie he imagined her to be, “You’re a .”

  It wasn’t a question, but he still nodded. He’d say yes to anything if it meant getting the bastards holding him down off of him.

  Another gesture with her head, and Maddy found himself being lifted back on his feet. His chest heaved rapidly, and his jaw clenched so tightly he was surprised none of his teeth cracked. The noose around his heart yanked and yanked, and he wanted to yank it back, as if to say, “Yes! I know I’m in fucking trouble!”

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  By her command, the hands that held him in place released him, and he staggered, trying to remain standing. Anger still simmered under his veins, and his hands curled into tight fists, but as he tucked his head to look down at her, his anger dissipated. He had never hit a girl, and he wasn’t going to start now.

  “I’m terribly sorry about the misunderstanding.” She gestured for the other to disperse, but her stance remained stiff, one hand awfully close to the knife beside her hip. “You smell like a . So it’s only natural we assumed you were one.”

  She looked up at him expectantly, and this time, he didn’t even have to dance around the truth. He said, wiping the blood dripping down his face, “I was kidnapped by one.”

  Her polite smile slipped as rolling anger crossed her face. “Come have a seat.” She ushered him to the bar and when he didn’t move, she gently pulled on the sleeve of his sweater.

  Despite the circumstances, he nearly smirked. She was cute, and he was a simple boy, but the noose around his heart reminded him of the danger he was in.

  As she briefly argued with the bartender, he gazed around the room, watching the other pretend to drink and chatter at their tables, yet years of being secretly mocked by classmates made him hyper-aware that these were doing just that.

  He pressed his lips together. Despite their glares, He was part wolf folk, and that made some disturbing part of him want to fit in here, too.

  The aggressive back-and-forth forced his attention back onto the woman. The bartender growled and showed his sharp canines, but she held her ground, still wearing a smile. Maddy had limited knowledge of . Everything he knew about them came from TV shows or the limited conversations he heard Dr. Tarkirk talk about with his colleagues. They had Alphas, and the way the other patrons responded to her made him believe she had to be this pack’s Alpha.

  Maddy squirmed in his seat as they continued to bicker. This man also wore leather, but his jacket was sleeveless, like they’d been torn off, showing his thick muscles. He did his best to smile, and after a long, uncomfortable moment, the bartender took two pint glasses and filled them up with ale. He slammed them down in front of the woman, causing the drink to slosh out, and turned to talk with the other patrons.

  His nose twitched. Something about the drinks in front of her smelled sweet and familiar, like strawberries, like Greyson. He turned to face her when she approached him and handed him a glass. It felt weird to thank her, especially since his face was still leaking blood, and she seemed to be the one who caused it.

  As if she could read his thoughts, her brows furrowed and a deep-set frown etched on her face. “Please drink. No one is going to hurt you again. I’m Jubeli, by the way. And once again, very sorry for having my boys maul you.”

  Damn it. She was kind of funny.

  “Maddy. Maddy Hastings.” He took a sip, and it tasted exactly how it smelled, like strawberry cider, like Greyson…

  She gave him that expectant look again, as if waiting for him to spill how he got kidnapped by a vampire. He’d nearly finished half the glass when she finally gave in to her curiosity, “Can you tell me anything about the vampire who took you?”

  Maddy swallowed and let the corner of his mouth curl ever so slightly. Time to dance.