But it was her green almond-shaped eyes that were haunting. She reminded him of an untamed cat and swished across the floor with a seductive gait that would draw the notice of any straight man who saw her. That gait also caused unseen bells to chime with every move she made.

Damn, she was gorgeous.

“What can I do for you?” he asked, shutting the planner he’d been making notes in.

“We have a problem, cher.”

“And that is?”

“My demon is dead.”

Eli didn’t move for three heartbeats as those words sank in. “What do you mean?”

“My spirits have told me that a loup-garou slew him as he went for the whore I’d sent him to kill. It is hard for me to frame your enemies while my servants are slaughtered before they can carry out their assignment. I just thought you should know.”

Eli folded his hands with a calmness he certainly didn’t feel. The demon was supposed to have killed a student and then leave evidence to implicate Kyle Peltier for the murder. The alley of the attack had been carefully chosen since it was a block away from a club the young bear was renovating.

“I’m not happy, Cosette.”

“Do I look to be celebrating?” She pinned him with a glower that would make a lesser man fear for his soul.

“Can you not summon another demon?”

She made a sound of deep aggravation. “Summoning one of his strength is not an easy thing to do. I was in bed for three days afterward.”

“The details don’t really concern me.”

“Well, they should.”

“And why is that?”

One corner of her mouth lifted into a mocking smile. “The universe is one of careful balance. What you send out always finds a way to return. This loup-garou is a hunter, a chaser for another. My spirits have told me to leave him be.”

He scoffed at her superstitious bullshit. “You should be careful, ma petite. There are things far scarier in this universe than your hunter.”

“I know this to be true. But… there is something evil brewing here in this city. A convergence of spirits. It concerns me.”

“You should be more concerned with failing me. I don’t like disappointments.” He drummed his hand idly over the black leather as he contemplated her news. “Tell me… did your spirits happen to give you the name of this loup-garou?”

“They called him Fang.”

His hand froze midstroke. Fang…

That bastard who was supposed to die. The one who’d laid his filthy paws on his son.

Eli pulled his hand back as raw, unmitigated rage poured through him. “You have no idea how unhappy this makes me.”

“There you would be wrong. I do know. But listen to me. My spirits are never wrong. An evil power will emerge here and it will threaten us all. We should beware.”

Eli intended to do more than be wary of the trouble. He was going to rely on it and use it. And that is what gave him a brilliant plan.

Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner?

Sanctuary laws didn’t apply to all species. There was one in particular that they neither protected nor monitored. A species who wasn’t bound to follow Omegrion rule.

Forget Varyk and what he was working on. This was so much better. It would be something that the Peltiers would never see coming.

Something that would destroy them forever.

“Cosette, my wily child, I have a new idea for you and your spirits.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

True to his words, Fang stayed on at Sanctuary to work as a bouncer. Papa Bear had tried to make him a waiter, but one evening of that had proven disastrous since Fang lacked the proper temperament.

Whenever someone complained about their food, it didn’t go well for them.

But for Aimee’s intervention, there would still be a tourist in traction. And there was now a hole in the wall being patched by Quinn that was coming out of Fang’s next paycheck.

So he worked as muscle when they needed it while Dev stayed at the door and monitored who came and went.

It wasn’t the worst job in the world and it left him free to watch Aimee without her brothers tearing his eyes out of their sockets. Better yet, they paid him to keep an eye on her and make sure no one came on to her while she worked. It was definitely a job with perks.

And how he loved to watch her. The way she’d laugh with their regulars or tease the younger humans who’d come in to eat with their parents in the daytime. She always brought them special treats and would even sit down and draw with them if they weren’t busy. She loved children of all species.

He couldn’t help but wonder how much better she’d be with her own cubs…

There was an unrivaled grace in everything she did and it made him ache just to watch her.

If only he were a bear…

That thought tortured him constantly as they brushed past each other while trying to stay indifferent. It was so unfair, but then he knew that was how life went. And he seemed to be its whipping boy most days.

“Hey, Fang?” Remi barked in his usual distemper. “Give us a hand.”

He turned his head to see Wren, Colt, and Remi trying to move the heavy speakers onstage to a new position so Angel, the lead singer of the Howlers, wouldn’t bitch again about feedback.

Hernia here I come.

Aimee paused on her way to the bar to watch as Fang leapt up onstage without touching it. Shoving her notepad into her pocket, she bit the pencil in her mouth at the gorgeous sight of his backside.

The pencil snapped in two.

Spitting out pieces of lead and wood into her hand towel, she scoffed at herself. Yuck! Could anything be more gross?

And it was all Fang’s fault.

What am I doing?

Ogling the finest piece of ass in New Orleans.

Well, there was that. She watched as his muscles bulged while he lifted one side of the speaker tower while the group of them slid it across the stage.

“Damn… have you ever seen a better sight?” Tara, their human college student/waitress, asked as she stopped by her side. “I love working here. Days like this, I think I should be paying you guys for the privilege.”

Aimee laughed. “You know, I very seldom think about it.”

“That’s because you’re related to most of the fine hot meat here. Pity for you. ’Cause to the rest of us…” She made a growling noise that belied her human birth.

Aimee shook her head. Good thing Justin hadn’t heard that. He’d be on the prowl to make her repeat that sound while naked. Or better yet, make her purr.

Tara sucked her breath in sharply. “That’s it, baby. Bend over and pick that up. Take your time with it, honey. No hurry at all. Ooo, mama!”

Aimee laughed until she turned to see who Tara was talking about. Anger snapped as she saw Fang’s rear cupped way too tightly by his jeans. Worse, his shirt had ridden up to show a tantalizing glimpse of his lower back and the tight, tawny skin she was dying to taste.

She had a sudden urge to rip the human’s hair out for daring to even glance at him. More to the point, she wanted to hang a sign around his neck that read: Mine. Look at the risk of losing your eyeballs… and hair.

“We need to get back to work.”

Tara pouted. “Spoilsport.” She trotted off to check on a table while Aimee took another look at Fang. At least he was standing again. But with his weight on one leg and his hands on his hips, he was even sexier than before.

An image of walking up to him and laying her body against his went through her. In her mind, she could already feel him there as he leaned his head back while she trailed one hand over his hard chest, down those perfect abs until she could dip her hand into his jeans and cup him in her hand.

Her body throbbed as she felt herself getting wet at the very idea. Maman had been right. The quickening was almost impossible to resist. It left her hungry and irritable.