Underneath a Dark Moon (Twisted Dark #3)

Chapter Twelve: In the Club: Part Two

I scowled up at him to try and hide my smile from the teasing. It wasn't fair for him to be teasing me while looking like that. "Shut up, werewolf." I looked away from him, glancing around the bar, wondering where the bartenders were before Abe gave a sharp whistle and gestured sharply with his hand.

A Fae materialized in front of us with a smile as the music lowered. He looked between us two, his eyes flicking up and down me and then to where Abe was pressed against me. I resisted the urge to move away from him to get that judging look off of my skin. His gaze finally landed on Abe. "What can I get you?" His tone was friendly enough but I could sense it was a little bit brittle with fear.

"Two waters, one with ice and an invigorating potion and the other with a potion of seeking." Abe didn't speak loudly but I realized that the music had lessened around us and I blinked, feeling the spell I hadn't noticed. Noise dampening. It was smart thing to do when working in such a loud atmosphere. I guessed it was attached to the bartender and only affected him and those he was interacting with. It was a moderate level spell and I was impressed.

"And for you, m'lady?" At the voice speaking to me I jumped, my eyes widening in surprise as I looked at the Fae. I hadn't expected to be asked anything.

"The first one was for her." Abe wrapped his arm around me, a signal that was clear that we were a unit and my cheeks flushed hotly. I looked at the Fae and his eyebrow rose slightly and his blue face went slightly purple round the edges.

"Oh." There was a large amount of censure in his voice and I could feel Abe stiffening and his chest rumbling with what I suspected was a growl.

"Got to hate late night jobs but work has to get done." The words slipped out before I could stop them and the Fae looked at me with surprise before he relaxed, giving me a friendly smile.

"I couldn't agree more. What is it you are working on?" He started to make the potion laced waters but he kept glancing at me.

"My sister is missing." I didn't know exactly what I could say that wouldn't give too much away and Abe shifted beside me.

"Her family hired me to help track her down. Gracie here was the closest with her sister so I was hoping that bringing her along would help calm the witch down when I found her." He said the lie so smoothly I was almost convinced myself but him calling me Gracie nearly had my eyebrows rising. Why did he need to change my name? Was it to throw people off? I didn't know. I wasn't into subterfuge. I figured I would let Abe handle it how he wished, he was the pro here, not me.

"Is that right? I always said that witches and weres would get so much more done if they worked together. I guess some grudges just run too deep." The Fae set a flaming cup down in front of Abe. "Your water laced with potion of seeking. Warning, this potion is for club use only, so finding a new bed partner or someone to talk to. It can only help you if you are in one hundred feet of the target you want and only lasts for thirty minutes. Anything outside of that and it does nothing." His voice was nearly monotonous as he said it before he set a frosty glass in front of me. "And for the lady. Your potion of invigorating, it will boost your mental state and remove exhaustion. The effects will last for several hours and you shouldn't experience a crash afterwards. If you do then please refrain from taking further invigorating potions as that is a symptom of an allergic reaction." With that he was gone and the music returned to the oppressive level it had before. The base thumped through my chest had enough it made my heart thump strangely.

Abe let my side go and grabbed his cup, blowing out the flames before downing it. He winced, holding the cup up as smoke trailed from the corners of his mouth. "That burns." The words came out on a puff of smoke that had me blinking and blushing at just how attractive he looked. He lazily set the glass down on the counter before grabbing my hand. He pressed a small gold piece into it. "For the drinks. I have someone to find. Stay here." He said the last sentence firmly and I nodded, holding the coin tightly in my hand. There was no way I was going to run around and get lost in the sea of bodies. There was just too much going on for me to feel comfortable walking around. The entire idea of a club was just so... foreign to me.

I picked up my glass as Abe walked away and took a sip. The taste of mint spread across my taste buds and I hummed a small sound of enjoyment. I could feel the tinge of magick moving down my throat as I could feel my body start to perk up. I took a larger drink before I shifted on my stool, crossing my legs and tugging down my dress slightly. It was a bit shorter than I was comfortable wearing. I took another drink of the minty potion, searching the crowd for something I wasn't sure of. It just seemed like something I was supposed to do.

The music toned down and I turned around. The Fae was once again standing in front of me. "You paying for the drinks, sweetling?" He gestured to Abe's empty cup and I nodded, holding out the gold for him. He took it with a faint grimace. "Werewolves lack manners. Making a woman pay for their drink." He tsked slightly and I blinked rapidly in shock. Was he seriously talking shit about Abe? "He should be paying for you. I know I would." He gestured to me and winked. I felt a little appalled by his attitude.

"He is. It's his gold. He gave it to me so I could pay for the drinks while he was gone." I couldn't help how I snapped out the words. Yes Abe was a bit rough around the edges but he had been nothing but a gentleman to me... well with his actions. He could get quite crass verbally when he wanted to but he had never actually done anything to me that lacked in manners.

"He's a werewolf. Aren't you bred to hate him?" He gestured to me as he grabbed Abe's cup and I narrowed my eyes. "I figured you would fry his ass before wanting to work with him. Then again I can sense you don't have much magick, so it might be that." I downed the rest of the drink and slammed the cup back onto the counter as my cheeks flushed with embarrassment at being called out as having no magick.

"He's helping me find my sister. Its more than anyone else has done for me, prick." I shoved away from the bar and away from the Fae, feeling anger boil my stomach. He had no rights to speak about Abe like that and he certainly didn't have any rights to talk about my magick level. I narrowed my eyes as I pushed through the crowd.

Fae and sporadic witches danced around to the music and I spotted several larger figures that I clocked at being werewolf as I pushed through the crowd. I didn't know where I was going but I didn't want to stay at the bar any longer. I stopped for a moment, my eyes widening. Abe had told me to stay put and I had definitely not done as he had asked. I looked over my shoulder, trying to see where the bar was. I turned and bumped into someone. I muttered out an apology but the person grabbed my arm.

"I don't fancy an apology, witch." At the growled words I let out an eep as I slowly turned to make eye contact with a werewolf that was definitely not Abe.