His Bloody Duchess: A Vampire/Human Romance

Nora didnt know how she got stuck in these situations but somehow she always managed to. This time was worse, however, because she was surrounded by vampires. Of course she had anticipated this, coming to a vampire club and all. That wasnt the problem. The problem was that she had somehow managed to sneak herself into the Restricted Section. As a journalist, that was exactly where she wanted to be. As a human, this was her nightmare. Vampire Duke Vincent Heath was talking in hushed tones to Miles Mayhem, Alpha of the Full Moon Pack. Given how thick these walls were, they shouldn't need to whisper, however, both the vamps and weres in the building had exceptional hearing. Nora could only pick up snippets, damn her human hearing. If she was going to risk her life, she may as well know what was so secret. So far, she knew that the local witch coven was causing problems, but to what extent, she couldn't tell. She only knew that both leaders looked tense and perhaps even murderous. Still, that curious part of her, the part that made her go into journalism to begin with, was standing at attention. She probably wouldn't leave even if she could. If only there was a way to make them speak up. Her recorder was useless in this situation. She could barely even take notes. Even if she could hear them, they would no doubt hear her pen scratching her paper. On just the other side of the door she was huddled against, a vampire party raged. That is, if you can say a string quartet to accompany the blood letting is a party. Her only solace is that the humans were allowing the vampires to drink on a volunteer basis. Once upon a time, the vampires in this area had glamoured the humans into giving them blood, allowing them to drink their fill, even until death of the human. After all, no one could say whether or not the humans had been glamoured except the vampires who drank from them and they weren't telling. The humans, of course, couldn't remember the interaction well enough to make a statement. Blood loss induced confusion, of course. Then the Duke came along and changed the rules. Nora wasn't sure if it was his own conscious or the King's persuasion at work, but for years now, there was no more glamour among humans and vampires in this establishment. Of course, no one except the vampires could really hold the others accountable. If the Duke weren't around, who knows what they would do. But tonight, he was here and that made Nora feel safer. Though that safety may not last if he found out she was eavesdropping on what was obviously a very private conversation between himself and Alpha Miles. Good thing she didn't plan on getting caught tonight. It looked as if they were wrapping up the conversation anyway. All she had to do was slip out this door and slide down the hall. She'd claim she got lost on her way to bathroom. Vampires didn't think much of human intelligence, so it wouldn't be a hard sell to whoever found her. The two men, males, she supposed, stood up and nodded to one another, as close to a sign of respect as either would allow to someone outside of the species, regardless of rank. "I'll call one of my assistance to draw up the plans", the Duke says. "She can research the spell as well." They were walking toward the door now and Nora shuffled a little further to the side, hoping the shadows covered her well enough. Both these males had great night vision, but she hoped that they were convinced no one would be stupid or brave enough to spy on them. As her pulse increased to a frantic rate, she couldn't decide which of those she was at the moment. "What is that smell?" The Were asked. He sniffed again right in front of her and she knew the shadow wouldn't hide her if they looked too closely. "Is that vanilla?" Damn her body spray. She should have known better. As they both stepped closer, she accepted her fate. Within a blink, both sets of eyes were on her face.