So maybe not like that at all.
Chaos made sure he was standing slightly in front of Cooper, in case any of these men decided they wanted to start shooting early. The humans they were facing were all feeling very nervous, their anxiety wafting off them in bitter, sour tendrils, which Chaos enjoyed. Of course, Cooper had nerves enough to fill the whole room with, but Chaos felt a bit guilty about liking those particular tendrils. It meant his puppy was suffering while he was enjoying himself.
In the future, once they were bonded, Chaos would handle all these Mafia meetings. There was no reason for Cooper to distress himself with business nonsense when Chaos would be there to do it for him. Cooper could stay home, hacking or gaming or even napping, if he wanted. And then Chaos would return, triumphant and maybe even a little bloody, and they would mate ferociously and make pretend hatchlings together.
Marvelous.
Ivan started his speech, some boring number about business and family and betrayal andblah, blah, blah. It was annoying to listen to, but it was easy to ignore the meat of it and focus on the anticipation of bloodshed, and the ease with which all this tension could dissolve into pandemonium.
Chaos was going to leave this meeting stuffed full of delicious mayhem; that much was for sure.
He perked up when some of Ivan’s lieutenants brought out a bruised and battered man tied to a chair, the men muttering among themselves at his arrival. This was Sergei. The one who frightened Cooper so much. Chaos eyed him skeptically. Underneath his bravado, he looked…broken. And tired. Just any other human man who’d reached too far and come up short.
Who washeto frighten Chaos’s beloved puppy?
Well, no more. With Chaos at his side, Cooper wouldn’t have to fear judgment or violence or anything else from these silly mortals. Chaos would be his protector, his vengeance seeker, his hand-holder extraordinaire.
Chaos was so caught up in plotting his delectable future that he only barely heard Ivan say the words “—we’ve gathered new allies, ones I doubt any of you have the gall to cross.”
Oops! Chaos had almost missed the signal. Wouldn’t that have been hilarious?
The others were already transforming, so Chaos let his demon form erupt, tail and wings and horns sprouting from his body. He caught Jay’s gaze—oooh, the little vampire’s eyes had turned all black; that was cool—and winked at him, grinning when Jay flashed his little fangs at him.
Men started screaming, and ohhh yes, that was the beginnings of mayhem in the air, thick and smoky and twisted. Chaos drank it in, greedily inhaling the swirly, salty, sweet, bitter, sour mixture.
Several of the men in the crowd drew their guns, and one of them yelled out, “What the fuck is this, Ivan?”
“Why, Gregor,” Ivan purred, sounding almost as sultry as Nix for a moment, “what the fuck does it look like?”
“It looks like fucking—fucking Halloween tricks. A smoke screen. You think this is enough to scare us off?”
Maybe this Gregor fellow was trying to sound angry and intimidating, but he only sounded panicked. Chaos grinned.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Wolfe sighed, and then he was off the stage, tearing the man’s throat out with his teeth, doing the same to Sergei in the next moment.
Just like that, two men were dead.
Chaos took back his previous indecision—Wolfe wasgreat. He’d started the bloodshed early and taken out that jerk Sergei while he was at it. Good stuff, there.
Ivan and Alexei and Kai seemed less pleased, all three of them frowning like Wolfe had made some sort of social faux pas, possibly because the surprise fountain of blood had led to Sascha fainting on the stage.
Kai was picking up the blond human now, glaring at everything and everyone.
Wolfe—his fancy suit absolutely covered in blood—cocked a brow. “Wasn’t that the point of identifying the traitors?” he asked coolly. “So we could do away with them? Eric and I have places to be.”
Thathadbeen the gist of Ivan’s plan, Chaos was pretty sure. Maximal pizzazz and a little bit of blood spillage now, and less general warfare to keep his position later.
There was a flash of movement in the crowd. Another one of the traitors Chaos had seen Nix eyeing was trying to run.
No. Nope. Not allowed.
Chaos dove after him, talons extended, their sharp points slicing into the man’s chest as easy as breathing. Hot blood sprayed into the air, and Chaos heard Cooper yelp behind him. Was his puppy worried about him? He needn’t be. Chaos was fine. He waswonderful, actually. Had Cooper really wanted to miss this?
It was fun. Fun, fun, fun, fun.
And now those beginnings of mayhem turned into a proper frenzy, all the humans yelling and some of them shooting. The supernaturals of their party—except Kai, who had hold of Sascha, and Nix, who was guarding Ivan and Cooper—started corralling humans, flicking or kicking guns out of hands. Chaos cackled in delight as men screamed at the sight of him up close.
Maybe he wasn’t as cute as he’d thought. He’d definitely have to double-check with Cooper later.
