STORY EXCERPT
Jayden Channing hooted and hollered his excitement as he ran out of the apartment above the pack club, Silver Bullet. He’d been waiting years to be old enough to be allowed access. His Alpha and older brother, Gideon owned the club and had kept him away, blocking every single one of his attempts to gain entry. He’d tried everything, but those days were now over. He had permission to dance, drink, and have fun. Gideon’s only rule, don’t do anything inappropriate. Whatever that meant. He just needed to steer clear of Gideon and whichever pack member was assigned to watch over him.
At twenty-two, Jayden was a full-time college student. Finals had just ended, his junior year over. It was now summer time, and he had two short months to meet new friends, dance, drink, and stay up all night long. He’d been waiting for Gideon to finally notice that he was old enough, and he couldn’t suppress the excited grin that lit his face even if he tried.
Making his way into the main part of the club, he wasn’t sure what to do first. Lights flashing, techno music pumping, he could feel the bass pounding through his system, driving him to dance. He decided to hit the bar and get a little buzzed first, knowing that Gideon would be down shortly, followed by Sean, the pack’s Beta. He pushed his way through the swarms of people and reached the bar. He waved his hands rapidly to get Sam McMillan’s attention.
“Uh-oh, how did you get inside?” Sam grinned, shaking his head. He was the head bartender at the Silver Bullet. The man was also a fierce tiger shifter that had joined their pack a while ago. Jayden liked him.
“Gideon finally agreed to let me in.” Jayden shook his hips, beyond excited to get on the dance floor.
“All right, I’ll believe you,” Sam’s tone said otherwise as he winked, “What do you want to drink?”
Jayden didn’t care if Sam believed him or not, the bartender was still willing to serve him a drink and that’s all that mattered at this moment. He was sure that the tiger shifter would report him to Gideon. This time though, he didn’t care. He had Gideon’s permission.
“Hmmm…Something fruity would be good.” Jayden said, eyeing the bottles behind the bar.
Sam nodded and grabbed a couple of liquor bottles. Whirling them in his hands, he threw them into the air, and caught them behind his back. Sam moved quickly and gracefully, putting on a little show for all the patrons. Men chanted his name as Sam flirted back, winking and blowing kisses. Jayden rolled his eyes and tried to wait patiently. As soon as Sam set the glass on the bar, he grabbed it, barely dodging Gideon and Sean as they came near the bar.
Jayden sipped his drink as he watched his brother closely. He’d been kicked out of the bar so many times that it still felt a little surreal and almost uncomfortable that he was even allowed to be here. He followed Gideon with his eyes and watched him speak with almost each and every person in the club. Gideon was extremely popular, good looking, and well-liked. He made it look all so easy. Life had never been that simple for him. Then again, he wasn’t a big, strong Alpha. How did my brother get all the good genes?
Gideon strode to a table across the dance floor and smiled, shaking hands with four of the biggest, baddest-looking men Jayden had ever seen. He moved closer, wanting to get a smell. It was obvious that they were paranormals and predators, but he could tell they weren’t wolves. He was small enough to sneak around the edge, sticking to the dark walls for cover. When he was close, he inhaled, cataloging all the various scents. Vampires.
He caught a whiff of something sweet and it tickled his nose. What is that? It was a mixture of vanilla and chocolate with a touch of something he couldn’t quite place – something…spicy. As his mouth watered, eager for a taste, his body reacted, muscles tensing and all the blood in his body traveled south, straight to his cock. Mate.
Jayden’s mouth opened slightly and his blue eyes widened. One of the vampires was his mate. Ignoring the reaction of his body, he moved closer to eavesdrop on the conversation taking place between his brother and the table of vampires.
“Gentlemen…how are you tonight?” Gideon asked, shaking hands with each vampire.
“Just finishing my drink before going to the dungeon, I’ve got a new whip to try out.” One of the vampires growled, downing the contents of his glass in one gulp.
That’s him. That’s my mate. Jayden watched with pure fascination and the man stood up and flung a large black duffle bag over his shoulder. He stood over six feet tall, similar to Gideon’s height. He had broad shoulders, and muscles that strained against his black shirt and tight leather pants.
