Stepping aside and unhooking the velvet rope, he lets us through. Once we step inside, the music instantly surrounds us, along with the scent of sweat, blood, and alcohol. Aislin instantly begins dancing, throwing her hands in the air, making her way towards the dance floor.

“We’re here to work,” I remind her. “To stop the thing from happening.”

By thing, I mean the inauguration of a very important Vampire, which means a lot of sacrifices are going to happen if we don’t stop it. There’s a rumor going around that it’s going to happen here and, if my mom’s correct, it’s going to happen tonight. Our job is to find him and slay him before it happens because, if it does… well, things could get pretty ugly. The great thing is that we’re good at kicking ass.

“Come on, Gemma.” Aislin grabs my hand and jerks on my arm. “Let’s go dance.”

I hesitate, eyeing the bar, and the Vampires sitting on the barstools. I take being a Keeper seriously, so I really want to get down to business and start figuring out where this little shindig is going to take place, but then again, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have a little fun.

Laughing, I start bouncing to the music as we head for the dance floor.

“Hey, what about me?” Laylen fakes a pout. “What am I supposed to do? Stand here and watch.”

“Like you wouldn’t enjoy it,” Aislin teases, shimmying her hips.

Laylen shrugs. “I’d enjoy it more if I was dancing with you.”

She blows him a kiss. “Go find my brother and then you can dance with me.”

Laylen smiles as he nods and then heads off towards the back, pushing through the crowd. Aislin and I are about to head for the dance floor when we hear the most annoying voice that’s ever existed.

“Yes, please, please go get the douche bag.” Nicholas steps out from the shadows, carrying a martini glass. His hair is combed to the side, a little fluffed in front, and he’s wearing these weird cropped skinny pants, which is his trade look.

“What are you doing here?” I sigh. “I thought you went on a backpack trip across Europe or something.”

He sets the glass down on the bar and measures me with his golden eyes. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t miss me.”

I glare at him. “Don’t be a creeper.”

He presses his hand to his heart. “Why is it that every time you’re around me, you get so feisty?”

Honestly, I have no idea. I met Nicholas when I was eight, when I went on a trip with my dad to the City of Crystal. Nicholas’s parents are really nice and everything, but since the day I’ve met him, he’s continuously worked his way under my skin.

I start to open my mouth when a tall, leggy blond wearing a backless dress comes strutting up to him. She’s Fey—I can see the indent of her wings on her back. Nicholas has a thing for Fey, which never made sense to me. He’s not Fey and no one really likes Fey, no one sane anyway. All of his attention centers on her as they wander off, and I’m glad for the easy escape.

“He’s so creepy,” Aislin says, shuddering.

“Yeah, I know,” I agree, knowing we don’t really have a reason for disliking him, but it feels like we should.

Aislin and I push our way through the sweaty bodies covered with various marks. There are so many breeds in here tonight; it’s insane, and it’s probably because my mom is right. The inauguration is happening tonight.

When we reach the center, the lights dim and start flashing to the raving beat of the song. Aislin and I both start swinging our heads, rocking to the rhythm while we move around, laughing. The longer it goes on, the more we get into it, spinning, our skin starting to coat with sweat, but we keep going, enjoying the freedom of life, the easiness to it.

I’m about to tell her I need a break when long arms wrap around my waist. I flinch, lifting my leg, ready to kick them in the shin when I catch the scent of cologne and earth and everything that’s wonderful in the world.

“Miss me?” Alex whispers in my ear, giving a quick suck on my earlobe, gently dragging his teeth along the skin.

I shudder uncontrollably—I always do when he’s near me. “No, I haven’t even thought about you once,” I tease.

His warm breath hits my skin as he laughs and spins me around to face him. I take a breath at the sight of him; his brown, disheveled hair, his deep green eyes, his soft lips, his firm jaw. He’s wearing all black, something he only does when we go to clubs; otherwise, he always wears something with a little color.

His eyes immediately take me in and darken when they arrive at my legs. He moves his gaze back up to my eyes and bites at his bottom lip. “You look nice.”

Unable to help myself, I run my hands up his lean arms and then tangle my fingers through his hair. “So do you.”

He lets out this low growl and then his lips crash against mine. My mouth opens willingly and I suck on his tongue as my arms loop around his neck. His hands glide up my back, pushing me closer, our bodies melting together as my heart hammers inside my chest. Way sooner than I want, he pulls away, panting, his lips swollen.

He takes a deep breath and then starts rocking us to the low beat of the base. “Are you okay?”

I nod, my eyebrows furrowed as I line my body with his. “Yeah… well, I’m a little tired.”

Smiling, he shakes his head. “No, I mean are you okay, okay?”

I start to blush, biting on my lip. “Yeah… I’m great.” I don’t mean to sound so breathless, but I can’t help it. I have such a hard time keeping my emotions under control when I’m around him.

He smiles, tracing a finger down my cheek. “I love it when you blush.” He leans in, pulling me closer as he whispers in my ear, “Last night was amazing.”

I blush again, glad he can’t see it. “Yeah, it was.” I shut my eyes, breathing him in.

He gives a soft suck on my neck, and then moves back to look me in the eyes. “So, no regrets?”

I shake my head. “I never regret anything with you.”

He smiles and raises his arm, showing me the outline of a black star on his wrist. “Even when we decided to get these?”

I glance down at the matching tattoo on my wrist, and then smile when I look back up at him. “I think you’d be more likely to regret it. It’s kind of a girly tattoo.”

He lowers his arm and starts dancing with me, spinning me until I laugh. When the song starts to slow, he pulls me into him, so my back is pressed up against his rock hard chest. “I’ll never ever regret anything I do with you,” he breathes into my ear. “Besides, I like that you’re branded to me.”

My shoulder moves upwards as I shudder from the feel of his breath. “Me, too.”

He twirls me around and pulls me in for a kiss. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips, and then slips his tongue deep inside my mouth.

“I love you, too,” I whisper back and I mean it more than anything in the world because I can feel it, through every single bone in my body, through the way my heart beats when he’s near me, through the way I long to always be with him. The realness, the rawness, the undying connection that comes from loving him so completely.

He traces his finger along my wrist again, touching the star. “You’re mine forever,” he says softly and then presses his lips to mine.

I kiss him back, smiling, because I know he’s right. And I know we’ll be together.

Forever.