A freak even amongst the paranormals.

She opened her mouth to demand answers when Taggert slammed into the room behind her. Raven whirled to face the new threat, angling her body to keep everyone in view. She lifted her hands, her powers amped and ready to blast anyone who dared follow him.

He pulled up short when he saw her.

When no one entered behind him, she reluctantly dropped her arms, but didn't release her hold on the building energy. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"I tried to call you." Taggert gestured toward her hip, but his eyes were on her hair, his fingers twitching as if barely resisting the urge to reach out and stroke the strands.

She groped for her phone, cursing to find she'd sucked the energy out of the blasted thing.

Energy resistant her ass.

"We were hired to remodel the bathroom." The voice was low and respectful. The kid stared over her right shoulder, valiantly trying to avoid peering at the gap in her shirt.

"On whose orders?" Fighting a blush, Raven quickly covered the hint of exposed cleavage without removing her attention from the three men, who had to be related if their near identical looks were anything to go by.

The oldest of the three carefully pulled a work order out of his back pocket and handed it to her. He could be no more than forty, but she was learning the shifter world was deceiving. "Mr. Jeffery Durant."

"That son of a bitch." Raven made no move to examine the paper. The anger she'd been holding at bay built to a simmer, electricity crackling around her.

She turned toward Taggert. His eyes widened, and he hurried toward her, ushering her away from the others. That's when she realized her own eyes must be glowing blue as it did when her powers rode her hard. "Why the hell would he demolish my bathroom?"

"I think Durant is taking you up on your offer to make himself at home." Taggert scratched near his eye but refused to look at her. "He's ordered a connecting door and an extra-large tub."

"What?" That damn sneaky cat. But the image of Durant in the tub, rising out of the water, boggled her mind and left her anger floundering. "But all his crap is down the hall. Tell him to tear apart his own room if he must."

"I believe he didn't care for the room you'd selected for him. He packed some stuff in there, but found other accommodations more to his liking."

Heat flushed her face when she realized he'd set himself up in the master suite without saying anything to her. Too bad she didn't know if she was more angered or flattered that a man like Durant would go to such lengths to lay claim to her.

If Taggert so much as snickered, she wouldn't be responsible for her actions.

Chapter Five.

EARLY EVENING.

Raven jerked open the doors to the club, not hesitating like she had the first time she'd entered just a few days ago. The industrial magnet snicked shut behind her with a finality of being sealed into a tomb. The stifling air only increased that impression.

The walls were stripped bare of decoration, all except the prominent word Talons clawed into the heavy wooden panels. It didn't surprise her to find Durant's scent all over the carving.

Heat and music crested over her first. While sorting and filing everything away, the many scents snuck up and swamped her. The spice of vampires, the stench of burnt magic and the more soothing, natural smell of shifters.

She expected vampires, shifters and magic users, the usual clientele.

What she didn't expect was to double over when a wall of lust slammed into her. Acting on instinct, she yanked a blanket of pure electricity around her. The air crackled and it took a minute longer to gain back her breath. Only when she was sure she had control did she turned down the wattage to a manageable level.

If she kept the shield too high, she'd have the attention of every shifter and vampire in the club. Too low, and she might be caught up in the need to explore the rampant desire flooding the room. She rubbed her skin, debating the wisdom of pinning down the bastard in his own lair. One thing convinced her to enter. If she reacted this drastically just being around others, the conclave itself would be pure torture.

She needed to acclimate herself to the sheer amount of shifters and hoped to hell she could adjust accordingly before more trouble found her. Taking a deep breath, she opened the second set of doors and entered the club.

Red and blue lights flashed over the bodies on the dance floor, their sensual movements captivating to watch. The bar to the left was packed three people deep. The booths in the back were all occupied, shadows giving the occupants an impression of privacy.

She scratched her arm then stopped when she realized what she was doing. The presence of so many shifters was like a plea to let her own come out and play. The rushed shower she'd taken had done little to cool the lick of fire under her skin.

When Raven made eye contact with Cassie, the girl blanched.

"OhshitOhshitOhshitOhshit." Durant's assistant hurried forward, chanting under her breath as she shoved her way through the sea of people.

At the commotion, people turned toward the door then stopped to gawk. Whispers spread around the club like fire.

That's when Raven noted the surprised expressions. Another survey around the room increased her unease. Out of the few women present, she was the only shifter.

But it was too late to retreat. She straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, daring them to approach. She refused to run and be seen as weak.

"What are you doing here?" Cassie reached for her arm, halting an inch from touching her skin, encountering the energy Raven used like a shield.

Her eyes immediately washed to black.

Fangs descended.

"Crap." Cassie's thirst beat at her like worms wiggling under her skin. Without being too obvious about it, Raven drew off a steady bead of electricity surrounding Cassie until the girl forgot to breathe.

Since she was a vampire, no problem. Cassie was new, the action more of a comforting habit than anything else.

"What the hell was that?" Cassie staggered, and Raven resisted the instinctive reflex to catch her.

No need to repeat what'd just happened.

The added power danced over her skin, threatening to escape. Shifters around them stopped, their eyes splintering to yellow or green as their animals surfaced, and she quickly swallowed down the extra energy.

She wouldn't be responsible for Durant's whole club going furry. An arm wrapped around her from behind, a large body cuddling up to hers, close enough his erection nudged against the small of her back.

"Taggert?"

The breath in her throat nearly strangled her.

He must have followed her.

When she would've turned and put distance between them, knowing physical contact between them had to be painful, he held her still and nuzzled her neck.

"Let me help." Power leeched away slowly at the contact, his touch soothing the wild current enough for it to settle in her bones in a delicious ache. Lust and comfort was all wrapped up in his embrace.

Raven sighed of relief and faced him. "You shouldn't have come. It's too dangerous for you to be here."

His tense posture alerted her that something was horribly wrong. "What the hell did you do?" She reached for the collar of his shirt when he manacled her wrists with his fingers.

But too late.

Cold metal of the slave collar encased his throat, the beautiful threads of gold and silver doing nothing to disguise the terrible truth behind the twisted strands of metal.

"How could you?" Especially after they'd risked their lives to remove it.

He'd been free.

The back of her throat ached, and she couldn't bear to meet his gaze, see him forced back into the role of a slave.

All because she lacked knowledge of the shifter lifestyle and kept blundering into trouble.

Her stupidity had cost him everything.

If she wasn't careful, his relentless need to protect her would eventually get him killed.

"You needed me." Taggert shrugged as if his freedom meant so little when she knew it was everything. She tugged her hands away from him, unable to tolerate his touch after what she'd did to him, but he refused to release her. "It was the only way I could protect you without placing you in more danger."

"Bullshit. People already knew you had the collar off."

"There was no proof." Taggert stepped toward her, and she recoiled.

Hurt clouded his eyes, but the magnitude of his loss because of her stubbornness wouldn't let her unbend.

She was terrified she might shatter if he showed her any kindness.

"Uh, maybe we can discuss this in private?" Cassie nodded to the crowd, her eyes constantly scanning, braced for attack.

Raven glanced about the club. Way too many pairs of eyes were centered on them. It made her skin itch. "Lead the way."

Cassie cleared a path. The shifters gave the vampire wide berth, but they immediately crowded closer as Raven passed.

Damn touchy-feely shifters.

She picked up her pace, refusing to feel grateful for Taggert's presence at her back.

The door to the office closed behind them, cutting off nearly all sounds from the club. Cassie whirled toward the fridge, took out a bag and popped it into the microwave.

The smell of blood blossomed in the office.

The cool, natural tones of the room didn't lessen Raven's growing anxiety. The massive desk and matching set of chairs dominated the room.

They suited Durant.

A love seat rested against the wall, and she could all but envision Durant seducing a willing young woman on the overly plush cushions. The smell of leather only increased the rage building in her at thoughts of Durant with someone else.

Raven prowled the confines of the room. She'd come to confront Durant, both about his omission on hosting the conclave and his demolition of her bathroom. But once she stepped into the club, she felt blindsided by her wildly out of control emotions.

What worried her most was if she reacted so viscerally to them now, how would she be affected when the alphas entered the picture?

She'd be served up on a platter.

The microwave dinged twenty seconds later. Cassie popped in a straw, turned and leaned against the counter, settling in to watch the show.

Perturbed to watch her feed, Raven clenched her fists and stared at her hands. A sheen of blue rose from her skin. "Cassie, call Durant."

She mumbled behind her straw.

"What?" Raven slowly lifted her head and eyed Cassie. Barely twenty years old and a vampire of only a few days, she stood there like a seasoned vampire with at least ten years of experience, all thanks to Durant's uber potent shifter blood. The girl had taken a call at the club meant for Durant and had been attacked. If they hadn't turned her, she would've died from her injuries.

"He's meeting with clients to get the club ready for the conclave."

"Get him."

Cassie gulped then quickly hurried toward the phone without comment. Raven could hear Durant's brisk words across the club.

"Raven's waiting in your office. She's a little miffed, so you might want to come. Like now."

Miffed didn't even begin to describe the stunt Taggert had pulled.

First Durant and then him.

"Sit on her if you need to. I'll be there in five." The phone disconnected.

Raven saw the way Cassie eyed her. "I wouldn't try it." Her lips curled into a snarl, and Cassie lifted her hands in surrender, though she didn't back down completely. If Raven tried for the door, Cassie would do her best to follow through on Durant's order.

True to his word, Durant entered the door with a harried expression crouched in his eyes. He quickly scanned his office. When he spotted her, his shoulders eased.

"Leave." He barked the command at Cassie, and she skedaddled out the door like her panties were on fire.

Then he turned those golden eyes of his on Raven.

"I was two levels lower than the main room when I felt you enter the club. What the hell were you thinking." It wasn't a question. The dangerous, hypnotic tone in his voice was back. The one he used when he was either seriously pissed off or wanted something.

He stalked toward her, his gait all loose-limbed of a shifter on the hunt. Refusing to be intimidated by the bully, she lifted her chin. Nothing he could say would make her feel any worse. She was devastated at the steep cost Taggert had paid over her stupid little grievance with Durant.

And it was all her fault for being so damned stubborn.

She should've known he would've tried something. "Would you care to explain why you let three strange male shifters into my house without my permission?"

Durant halted on the spot, but his eyes lit up as his animal rose fully to the surface. It was incongruent to see him in his outfit, so pressed and perfect, with his beast staring out at her so boldly. "What happened?"

"Besides them seeing me half naked, you mean?" She took pleasure in the little growl of rage that rumbled from him. "How about a thing called invasion of privacy? I could've accidently killed them."

"Did they touch you?" He inched closer, his eyes roaming her body for injury as he prowled around her.