*Four months later*

A raucous cheer went up in the bar as someone on one of the teams scored at whatever sport they were playing. Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes as she popped the caps off a couple bottles of beer and poured whisky over ice. The lycanthrope were always going on and on about how women were so emotional, and that was why their society didn't allow them to rank any higher than delta. Yet, here they were losing their shit over a glorified game of fetch.

Maybe it was the dog in them.

Smirking at the joke she would never dare utter aloud, she picked up the tray and worked her way through the crowd towards the table. They were more interested in the game, ignoring her as she replaced empty glasses and bottles for new ones.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the one male still sitting watching her. Beta Harper. He wasn't just any beta, though. He was the beta. The second most important werewolf in the La Chapelle Pack.

Excitement lurched in her stomach, and a pleasant chill had the hair on her arms rising. She raced back behind the bar to dump the tray and grab the most expensive bottle of gin and a glass. She felt his eyes on her the whole time.

The shouting nearest the bar suddenly turned angry, and one lycan tackled another. The cheering rose to an entirely new volume as everyone turned to watch the brawling pair. "Hey!" Kate shouted over the noise. She grabbed a bottle from under the counter and sprayed the window cleaner at them. "How many times have I told you idiots to stop fighting in my bar?!"

"Your bar?" a beta directly across from her snorted.

"I don't see Darius doing the books every night," she shot back.

He answered with a laugh before sliding out of the stool and dragging the fighters apart with the assistance of a nearby delta. Ignoring the jeering and boos being pelted at her, she grabbed the gin and glass and finally walked to stand at Harper's table. "How are you, beta?" she asked in a low voice so only he could hear her.

"I'm doing well," he returned her greeting with a charming smile. "You look lovely today."

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and fidgeted with the bottle. "You haven't been answering my calls. I was getting worried."

His chuckle sent shivers down her spine. "Katie, Katie, Katie," he purred. "You didn't think I would leave you high and dry, did you?"

"Of course not, beta."

She met his eyes and bit her lip. The ordinarily deep brown flickered red at the motion. From his bag, he pulled out a small box. In slow, teasing movements, he placed it down on the table and opened it. Three vials filled with a thin, shimmering liquid rested in a bed of packing foam. Tingles of excitement started to roll through her body as Harper slowly turned one of the bottles so she could read the hand-written label on the side.

30-35

Her eyes snapped back to his to find him watching her. "Seriously?" she gasped. "Last time you said you couldn't get any higher than fifteen-twenty."

"Times are changing," there was excitement in his own voice now. "We can sell up to sixty-sixty-five."

Her knees went weak, and she clutched the table to keep her upright. The fire in her core burned hotter, and she squeezed her thighs together. She could only imagine how potent that would be. How incredible the high. A part of her wanted to ask how much they were selling it for. Another part of her knew it would be too far out of her price range.

A hand slammed against the table, making her jump, and a wall of muscle pressed against her back while the other hand went to her hip. "Now, why did you have to go and stop us, sweet cheeks?" The new lycan whined. His breath stunk of their cheapest vodka and like he hadn't brushed his teeth in a while. "I finally had a chance to beat that bugger at his own game."

Harper's eyes suddenly went completely red, and his lip curled into a silent snarl. Kate tried to shrug off the male, not wanting to get caught between the two. "Beat him on your own turf," she snapped. "Every time you guys' fight, I'm the one who has to pay for the repairs."

"What's this?" He grunted, ignoring her complaint and reaching for the box. "Damn, you're a venom junky? What's the matter? Can't find a real male to hit your g-spot?"

Kate managed to turn and shove him back a step. "What does a gamma like you know about the g-spot?" she snarled, her face going hot.

A feral snarl tore from his throat, and he launched at Kate. Two deltas caught him and dragged him back as Harper stood up straight behind her. In a second, he had his arm curled around her waist and pulled her into him. His other hand wrapped around her slender throat and tilted her head back to rest on his chest. He dipped his head down so his lips grazed the top of her ear.

"She has a point, Axel," he growled possessively, dominating her to show his rank over the males before them. "You wouldn't know what to do with a little treasure like this even if she would submit to you. But you wouldn't do that, would you, treasure?"

He grazed his tongue along the top of her ear. Her magic flared in response to his touch, and a slight moan escaped her lips despite herself. The bracelets around her wrists grew hot and stung her skin, trying to tamp down the sudden activation of power. The bar went dead silent as every male turned their eyes on her.

The tiny shred of sense struggled to push through the overwhelming rush of lust and magic. "Harper..." she tried to say more, but she couldn't get the words out. What would she say? Stop? More? She didn't even know what she wanted him to do.

"No, no...You don't want a useless gamma stumbling around, looking for a hole to fuck. You want someone who knows what they're doing. I doubt even a delta would be able to please you," he chuckled. "I could fill your every desire. And you're such a good little girl. I bet alpha La Chapelle would love to meet you. Can you imagine, Katie? The alpha and his beta-"

The aura of a new presence suddenly filled the bar and cut through the tension. Her eyes fluttered open to see Darius, her boss, standing behind the bar. In her lust-filled haze, she couldn't help but marvel at the effect he had on the werewolves. He wasn't the tallest, nor the broadest, and his grey hair and beard spoke of his considerable age... and yet every lycan avoided his gaze and never dared challenge him.

Harper let out another low laugh before nipping her ear and letting go. Ice flooded her veins, instantly clearing her mind, and she was finally able to take a deep breath. He leaned back into his seat and pushed the box across the table to her. "This one's on me, Katie," he winked. "Remember my touch in your venom high tonight."

Her face burning, Kate shoved the box into her apron and walked back to the bar. "What do you want us to do with this one, beta?" one of the lycans holding Axel asked louder than he needed to, drawing the authority back to Harper.

"Remove him," Harper looked away from them and back up at the since-forgotten game. "The gamma stench is spoiling the gin."

"Are you alright?" Darius asked in a soft tone when the rest of the bar started jeering at Axel.

"Fine," she shrugged. "He was just showing he's top dog and screwing with a gamma."

"Was he?"

Kate dropped a load of glasses into the dishwasher and faced Darius's stern look with one of her own. "Harper is fully aware that sleeping with me is a death sentence," she hissed. "I'm not afraid of him. I can handle it."

Steel grey eyes bore into her, looking for any trace of a lie. As always, he found none. This was why he hired her, after all. She wasn't human, she wasn't a werewolf, and she wasn't afraid of the la Chapelle Pack. She knew how to handle the wolves at their best and could appease them at their worst. She was probably the only female any of them held in high regard.

As high as a breed drowning in toxic masculinity could, anyway.

"Remember to lock up tight today," he finally spoke again, his voice never shifting away from the stern tone he always had. "And stop buying drugs in my bar."

When he turned her back on her, she rolled her eyes. As if she needed to be reminded that tomorrow night was the start of the full moon. Three, sometimes four, glorious nights to herself. And for once, she actually had plans.

Rolling her shoulders, she went back to her work.

Over the next few hours, the bar slowly emptied. Even though a heavy storm had rolled over Paris, blocking out the sun and dumping buckets of icy rain, night-stalker breeds rarely let themselves get caught in the open in the day.

So, it was just after six in the morning when the last lycan stumbled out of the bar, and Kate could lock the door. As she always did, she escaped out the back to the alley to smoke a cigarette before cleaning up for the day and heading home.

The cool air of the storm soothed her. Her body had been on fire since Harper had touched her. Tingles washed over her at the memory. Pressing her legs tighter together, she tried to quell the aching need at her core. Gods above, how long had it been if she reacted like that so quickly?

That soured her already shitty mood. She didn't need to remind herself that it had been over five years since she had slept with someone. Five years since she had fed adequately. Her body screamed with hunger, and her magic raged out of control if she ever took the bracelets off. It was only getting worse. The vampire venom was a band-aid solution at best, even with the higher potency. One day she was going to crack.

She thought that moment had come with Harper. She knew he was toying with her. She knew he would never follow through. She knew he wouldn't let the others take her either, not even the gammas. And yet... she let herself react. It had just felt so good.

"Bastard," she spat and flicked the still-smoking butt into the rain.

She turned to go back inside when a snarling drew her attention to the end of the alley. Suddenly there was a hand at her throat, and she was slammed back against the wall, the force of it cracking the old brick and stole her breath away. Stars exploded in front of her eyes, and it took her a moment to realize her wrist was pinned against the brick wall. She could barely move under the colossal form of the newcomer.

A face nuzzled into the curve of her neck and inhaled deeply. "You smell like a bitch omega in heat," came a familiar snarl.

"Axel?" she gasped, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. "What are you doing? Get off!"

She tried to twist out from under him, using her free hand to claw at his hand around her throat. His grip only tightened, and he shifted so she was looking into his bloodshot eyes. "I'm going to show them all," he growled, more to himself than to her. "I'm going to do what even the alpha wouldn't dare. I'm going to fuck the sigma's bitch."

She didn't have time to contemplate what the hell a sigma was. Axel's teeth lengthened into serrated points, and he bit the soft flesh between her neck and shoulder. Pain exploded through her, and she would have screamed had he not crushed her throat to silence her.

In her distress, her magic flared but not in the way she wanted. Kate was an entirely different breed of monster than the werewolves. She didn't feed on creatures weaker than her. Instead, she was an ambush hunter that preyed on creatures exactly like Axel. Fortunately for her, werewolves were always too caught up in the chase to realize she wanted them to chase her.

She was starving, and her magic was tired of waiting. It forced her body to go still and stop fighting. The fire in her veins grew hotter. A chemical similar to shifter heat pheromones wafted into the air from her blood. It invaded Axel's senses, driving him into a blind lust and encouraging him to continue. The bracelets burned hot, fighting desperately to regain control.

Dropping her wrist, Axel's hand moved down to dig out the box of venom from her apron. "You won't be needing this anymore," he snarled, finally pulling his fangs from her neck.

She could only watch as he let it fall to the ground before crushing it with a foot, shattering the fragile contents. His hand came back to her, this time hitching her skirt up around her hips and tearing away her underwear.

A small piece of sanity broke through the haze of magic. She pressed her total weight against the wall, trying to shove him off her. She would have had more luck moving the wall itself.

A finger pressed into the bundle of nerves between her legs. Unbidden pleasure washed through her. She gasped and bucked her hips forward without meaning to. Axel barked out a laugh. "You really are a whore, aren't you?!"

Kate squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want this, no matter how hard her magic was trying to convince her. She didn't want this vile creature in her, on her, or anywhere near her. The pleasure of finally getting the sustenance she needed would be overshadowed by the memory of this disgusting male panting and grunting over her. All for the sake of feeding. The one time she made love, real love, was long since forgotten.

Axel started to lap at the wound on her neck, urging her to submit. Her mind screamed at her body to move, but her magic was in complete control. So what was the point in fighting anymore? She had wounded his pride with her comment, and then Harper had used her to completely humiliate him. If her magic was in control and willing to cooperate, she might have had a chance to fight.

But she couldn't fight both.

If she just relaxed, it would all be over soon. The moment he thrust into her, her magic would take hold of his soul and drain it for all it was worth. He would die a slow pleasurable death.

As her body went limp, Axel purred in approval. He pulled her off the wall and bent her over a small metal table. He released her and reached for the button of his jeans.

Just like with Harper, the moment Axel no longer had contact with her skin, the hold of her magic snapped. Self-preservation taking over, she rolled, landing hard on her back on the ground. Ignoring the pain, she raised her leg and kicked him as hard as she could between the legs.

He went down, howling in pain, clutching his crotch. She kicked him where he lay, and her heel made contact with the bridge of his nose with a sickening crunch. Rolling to her hands and knees, she tried to get up and run for the door. His hand closed around her ankle and dragged her back. This time she was able to scream. His hands closed around her hip and throat, pulling her under him so he could have mounted her if he weren't still clothed. "Fucking cunt," he spat. "I'm going to make you wish-"

His words were cut off by the sound of a shotgun being fired. Kate threw her hands over her head, her ears ringing. Axel's weight was ripped off her, and there was another bang. Then there was nothing but the pounding rain filling the silence around her.

Slowly, she pushed herself back on her knees and looked up. Darius stood over Axel's lifeless body, the gun in his hands still aimed at the werewolf. A minute ticked by before either one of them moved. Darius let the weapon drop to one hand, and he turned his gaze on Kate. It was the first time she had ever seen red in his eyes.

He shrugged out of his coat and draped it around her shoulders. "Come on," he said gently, helping her to her feet. "I'll drive you home."

"What about him?" she nodded to Axel's lifeless body.

"I'll call La Chapelle when I get back. You don't need to be here for that."

She just nodded and let him guide her to his car.

~

And that's Chapter 1!

What did you guys think? Looking forward to more?