Page 6 of Sassy Embrace

“Yes. You’re an invaluable employee and member of this pack. You’ve proven that with how hard you’ve been working to keep the clubs going. Which is why I’m asking you to handle this very delicate task that needs to go exactly right.”

Leigh rolled her eyes, wondering what he could possibly be buttering her up for.

“All right, what’s the job?”

“I need you to go down to Embraced and help them reopen.”

Leigh blinked and the corner of her mouth twitched. She was certain she had misheard. Maybe he was driving through a tunnel?

“Sorry, did you say Embraced? Thevampireclub?” she asked with a nervous laugh.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I said.”

“You want me, someone who manages several establishments with a ‘No Vampires Allowed’ policy, to go to one of their clubs and help them reopen? Tristan, what the hell are you talking about?”

Sweat formed on her brow. How could her pack alpha ask something like that of her? Helping vampires do anything went completely counter to her values. The way they treated humans, those trafficking rings made her sick.

“That’s exactly why I need you to help them,” Tristan said. His voice grew darker, more commanding. Leigh knew when to be careful not to cross a line with him, and she knew she was very quickly approaching one. “Aria asked for our help because she wants to improve relations between wolves and vampires. Ithink she has a point, so I’m enlisting you as our representative to help.”

Leigh’s stomach turned into knots. This whole thing sounded like an obvious setup, like they were planning to spring a trap on them. Why would vampires ever care about having a good relationship with her pack?

Something was missing here. And Leigh didn’t like it one bit.

But she also knew she couldn’t turn down a direct request from the pack alpha. No matter how much her gut was telling her to say no.

“All right. I’ll do it. Do I need to be there at night?” she asked.

“No. The vampire you’ll be working with is Aria’s cousin. And like her, he’s a blood-born. He can walk around in daylight without getting hurt.”

Ugh, she thought.The worst kind. You never knew when one was walking around on the street.

“All right, thanks for trusting me, Tristan.” As much as she didn’t want to do this, she had to admit she was flattered he chose her for the job regardless. “I’ll head there now.”

She hung up and sighed deeply, letting her throat make a frustrated howling-like sound that was hopefully choked by the four walls around her.

She’d do it. Of course, she would. But she wouldn’t be happy about it.

Leigh arrivedat Embraced shortly after. She stepped into the dimly lit, empty facility space and looked around. She knew the previous iteration of the club had burned to the ground, so, of course, they’d need to start over with a fresh rebuild. But this was incredibly new. Nothing had been done to it yet.

“Hello?” she called out, her voice echoing around the empty space.

“Back here,” a male voice replied. She followed the source behind the bar area, through an open door, and into an office space.

Sitting at a small folding table covered in paperwork was a man who made Leigh quietly gasp.

He was handsome, ridiculously so. Leigh had never met a man who took her breath away, but this man was certainly challenging that record.

He had clean-cut black hair hanging above the most intense eyes she’d ever seen. He was pale, as most vampires were, and incredibly muscular. His short-sleeved shirt left nothing to her imagination, as muscles bulged under the thin fabric.

The man looked up at her as if he was surprised to see anyone at all. That expression quickly changed to one of interest. Leigh quietly gulped, feeling like she was being studied under the vampire’s searching gaze. Deep down, she hoped he liked what he saw.

“You must be the wolf they decided to send me,” he said.

Leigh felt a shiver run up her spine. He said it so casually as if Leigh were a sacrificial lamb the pack sent him as tribute.

She swallowed. “Yep, that’s me. And you must be Aria’s cousin.”

He nodded. “Claude. Nice to meet you. Let’s try to make this as painless and easy as possible. Agreed?” He extended his hand to her.