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“I don’t give a damn if it’s The Rolling Stones resurrected,” I snap. “You’re not going.”

She turns to me with a stubborn tilt of her chin. “I am.”

“This is insane. There was an infected shifter trying to bust through your bedroom windowtonight.You’re not going club-hopping while half the supernatural world is hunting you.”

She looks at me for a while and she turns back to the phone. “I’m in, Em.”

Chapter 8 - Axl

Idrum my fingers against the dressing room couch, watching my band members around me. Same shit, different city. Derek's flipping his drumsticks in the air while Marcus tunes his guitar for the fifth time. Our bassist, Luke, is already three shots deep.

"Fifteen minutes, boys!" Our manager, Rita, pokes her head in with her clipboard clutched to her chest like it contains state secrets. "And remember, there's a VIP meet-and-greet after the show party. No skipping out this time, Axl."

I give her a lazy salute. "I wouldn't dream of it."

As soon as she leaves, Derek snorts. "How many hot chicks will be in the VIP section tonight? I need to know if I should save my energy."

"Does it matter? They'll all be in your bed by morning anyway," I respond with my trademark smirk, though lately the endless parade of groupies has started to feel hollow.

Marcus catches my eye in the mirror. He's known me since we were fourteen and stealing cigarettes behind the school gym. "What's up with you lately, man? You haven't been yourself."

"I just need a new challenge," I run a hand through my hair. "Maybe I'll try singing upside down tonight. It will blow their minds."

He doesn't laugh. "I'm serious. You've been... I don't know. Different. Distracted."

"I'm fine," I mutter, and turn on my phone to check it. I have seventeen new messages. Three from women I barely remember meeting. I toss it aside without responding.

My stylist comes in to fuss with my hair, and applying the black eyeliner that's become my signature look. I stare at my reflection and see my wild blonde hair. My eyes are lined in kohl, and my wolf tattoo is peeking from beneath my collar. This is Axl Valentine, the rock God. The guy who sells out arenas and makes women scream his name.

So why do I feel so fucking empty?

"Two minutes!" Rita calls.

We huddle together and place our arms around our shoulders in a circle. It's a pre-show ritual and it makes whatever bullshit going on in my head disappear.

"Let's melt some faces," I growl.

The moment we step onto the stage, thousands of people start screaming, and reaching for us. I grab the microphone, and just like that, I'm home.

"Hello, beautiful people," I purr into the mic, and the crowd goes wild. "Are you ready to get fucking crazy tonight?"

We launch into our opener, and I lose myself in the music. This is what I was born to do. Every cell in my body knows it. I stalk across the stage, drop to my knees during the guitar solo, let the energy of the crowd feed something primal inside me.

Halfway through our biggest hit, my eyes land on a lady in the VIP section front row. While everyone around her is jumping, screaming, her eyes are closed, and her body is swaying to the music like she's in a trance. Her curly hair forms a wild halo around her face, and even from here, I can see she's gorgeous.

Something about her calls to me and it pulls at something deep in my chest.

I find myself moving to her side of the stage and singing directly to her. When she finally opens her eyes and looks at me, the jolt that goes through my body is so intense I nearly miss a line. Hergaze locks with mine, and for a moment, the rest of the arena disappears.

What the fuck was that?

I tear my eyes away, forcing myself to work the rest of the stage, but I keep coming back to her. By the end of the set, I'm not even trying to hide it. I'm performing for her, watching her reactions, and feeding off her energy in a way I've never experienced before.

When we finish the encore, I'm practically vibrating with an unfamiliar urgency.

"Dude, you were on fire tonight," Marcus says as we towel off backstage.

"Yeah," I mutter, already thinking about the meet-and-greet.Will she be there? What's her name? Why can't I get her face out of my head?