Seethe: First Draft

Seethe: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

TWO YEARS LATER

People are running back and forth all around me. Music is blaring from the speakers all over the bar. Hard to believe that two years ago this place was failing and on the verge of closing down. It took less than a month for it to become what it is today. The magic a siren can have.

Some jams a microphone into my hand and I grimace. This is simultaneously the greatest and worst part of my days. Working at the Melusine Bar has kept me fed and alive and in one place. I sing at night and rake in hundreds of dollars from the cover charges alone. If that was all it was, then maybe I wouldn't have a problem with it. The flipside of singing here and bringing in people from all over means that some fall to siren song and I've had more than my fair share of stalkers and gropers.

I scratch absently at my collarbone and grimace. My skin feels tight, like it's stretched too firmly over my bones and is just waiting to burst open. My wolf side must be closer to the surface than usual and I've got no werewolf on my side willing to help. There's always the nearby pack, but I've managed to steer clear of them since I got here.

I'd expected them to come bursting in the door but it seems like we've got some silent agreement that as long as I don't start killing people and drawing unneeded attention to myself, they'd leave me alone. That doesn't mean that I haven't seen a Werewolf or two come in to catch the show.

"Lorelai! Is that what you're wearing?"

I frown as I glance down at the dress I'm wearing. It's a simple little black dress with spaghetti straps and is already showing more leg than I'd like in a dress.

I look back up at Ryan with a raised eyebrow. "What else would I be wearing? I'm a singer, not a stripper."

Ryan had once upon a time tried to put me in skimpy lingerie to 'draw in a bigger crowd'. I'd nearly eaten him then.

He seemed to be remembering the same conversation I was because he swallowed and swiftly walked away.

He may own the place, but he knows that he's not the one keeping it from falling to the sharks.

The band starts to play the intro of the first song I'm performing and I feel my Hunger rise to surface. I push it back slightly, just enough to breathe without attacking every person in here. I learned a long time ago that I could feed long distance while singing, so I never had to touch a person or worry about bleeding them dry. Sometimes, if emotions were particularly strong, I could feed off of that. The only problem with a distance feed is that it doesn't last as long as a direct feed would, so it leaves me nearly starving by the next performance.

I slip into my stage persona and make my way onto the stage.

* * * *

I rush backstage, my body coated in sweat. I don't have long before I have to head back out on stage. A performance usually leaves me sweaty, but tonight is different. Tonight, there are Werewolves in my audience, and not the weak ones I'm used to. Tonight there's a table full of powerful Werewolves and they can only be here for one thing and I don't think it's the show.

Someone hands me a towel and I start dabbing at my face while trying to calm my breathing.

I haven't killed anyone, hell I've been practically starving myself to keep off their radar, so why the hell are they here?

Pull it together, Lorelai. You just have to get through this next set and then-

"Hey, Lor, there's a group of fans out here real adamant about meeting you. One of 'em says he's an old friend, said it was real important that you knew that."