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The scent of perfume and cologne rode the cold drafts blowing down from the air conditioning ducts. Music blared. No escaping it. Within the darkness, bodies writhed, many of them wearing scanty outfits that would have gotten them arrested on the street. Or at least propositioned. Then again, we were in Thailand. While technically illegal, the authorities largely overlooked prostitution. And with the heat, wearing less clothing wasn't just accepted, it was necessary. There were jiggling breasts everywhere I looked, and even the men had their shirts unbuttoned to their waists, their jeans tight enough to betray their religion.

Just another night in a Thai vampire club.

“Hold back, Twilight,” Killian, my husband and fellow ambassador, spoke into my ear as he took my hand. “We don't want to get too close.”

He was right, so I switched direction and took us into the undulating, hormone-drenched flesh pit known as the dance floor. I had more clothing on than most of the women there, but I blended into the Goth theme with my black mini skirt and glittering tank top. I had my hair up in a ponytail but left the strip of ombré purple at my left temple to dangle down my bodice. My breasts had finally gone back to their normal size—something Killian lamented. I was glad to be done with breastfeeding and lugging those things around. To celebrate, I'd left my bra at home—a minor consolation for Kill.

Killian had on jeans and a T-shirt, looking more out of place than me. But he also wore his “I don't give a fuck” attitude that helped him fit in anywhere. Grinning, my husband slid up against me, his hands and stare going to my hips. The dim lights turned his bright auburn hair into dark brown and hid the slit pupils in his snake eyes. Not that those eyes would have lifted many brows in a club like Bloodsuckers. Contacts abounded there. I'd seen everything from fully black sclera to red demon eyes. Every night was Halloween at Bloodsuckers. Frankly, I found such a place in Thailand surprising. But a lot of things had changed since Angels came out of the supernatural closet. Or were pushed out, rather.

What might have garnered attention were the twin swords Killian had strapped on his back. But those swords, along with the midnight-black Demon blade on my hip, were hidden under a glamour. It's good to be a fairy. And more.

Kill, my only husband with human blood (and yes, I had more than one husband—take that, Mormons!), ground against me in time with the primal beat. Bodies closed in around us, all of them pumping and pulsing like us, and I felt cocooned in flesh. Kinda sexy. Most times, when I was wrapped in bodies, it wasn't by strangers.

I lifted my head to brush my lips over Kill's. He was over six feet tall, almost as big as my Unseelie husband, Raza, and that was saying a lot. Especially since Kill was born a Caster Witch, not a Dragon-Djinn. So Killian had to bend to reach me. But that never bothered him.

Just as we deepened our kiss, another member of our team joined us. I flinched when I felt the Devil's hands on my hips, his breath hot on the nape of my neck. And then came the light touch of his lips, brushing over my shoulder. A trim but muscular body pressed against my back, the heat of it reminding me of damnation. I'd never be damned. My soul, and Star's for that matter, was pure—impossible to stain. And yet, I couldn't help feeling damned anyway.

Astaroth moved with Killian and me to the music, his body far more graceful than Kill's. I felt those sexy movements even if I couldn't see them. In my mind, I saw what others might—a woman flush with desire, writhing between two men who were so opposite from each other, they looked as if they wouldn't share a drink, much less a woman. But magic had drawn us together. Magic and the Gods.

Star drew his hands up my back, sliding them beneath the hem of my top so that we were flesh-to-flesh. I gasped into Killian's mouth as Star's light touch drifted forward, edging along the undersides of my breasts. My body tensed, waiting and hoping for more.

“I know you're not about to fondle my wife's breasts,” Killian drawled against my lips. “Right, Star?”

Kill had taken to using my nickname for the King of Hell after he and Astaroth had bonded. But that didn't mean he'd allow Star more than the agreed-upon touching. Not even knowing what Astaroth was going through. And no, he wasn't actually the Devil. That moniker had belonged to the last King of Hell. But it was so fun to use it with Star that I couldn't stop.

Star released a puff of breath on my neck. “My apologies. This place. It made me forget myself.” His hands dropped to wrap around my waist. “Is this allowed?”

“Yeah, that's okay, I guess.” Kill glanced down, then refocused on me.

I should have said something. At the very least, I should have protested the way they bargained over me like property. But I couldn't catch my breath. I'd like to say it was Kill's presence that constricted my lungs, but that would be a lie. Oh, Killian would always make my heart race, but Star had a slight advantage. An advantage called Anu.

I glanced back at the striking King of Hell. If Killian was underdressed for the club, Star was overdressed. But he wasn't the kind of man who dressed down. He wore what he wanted to, no matter the occasion, and expected the world to adjust to suit him. To suit his suits. That was his preferred mode of dress—elegant, classic, and tailored. A gentleman of Hell. It was a little badass and very sexy.

But it was all good. I could control the urge to reach up behind me and stroke Star's short, glossy black hair. No problem. His golden-brown skin did not tempt me in the least, and his trim physique wasn't the perfect complement to Killian's bulk. Nope. I found Star too refined for my tastes. Too elegant. He was almost graceful in his movements and lean like a jungle cat. That might be some woman's ideal—all right, a lot of them—but it wasn't mine. I didn't care how fine Star looked in his tailored suits or how he never appeared casual. I'd once seen him dressed in combat clothes and he still carried himself in a way that made the cammies classy. Even Tiernan couldn't pull off camouflage like Star.

Tiernan! Yes, focus on your lean, lithe Seelie husband, Seren! His body was better than Star's. By far.

Astaroth's acid-green eyes met mine over my shoulder. Beautiful, especially with those inner rings of gold, but they had no power over me. They paled when compared to Tiernan's silver eyes—metallic silver with a ring of black to define them. So beautiful. No, Star couldn't temp me with those eyes. Not even when he looked at me as he did now, with the gold in those green irises glowing, full of lust and tempered with longing that made his desire seem holy. It sort of was when you considered its origin.

But we would not give in to that desire.

That was the whole point of Star being there. The King of Hell didn't normally accompany the Ambassadors of the Councils, the Coven, and the Casters on their missions. But it had finally come out that Anu was messing with Astaroth and me, ramping up the desire between us to annoying levels—more than annoying for Star. He'd been trying to handle it alone, and he'd been failing. Miserably. Suppressing god-given lust can lead to anxiety, outbursts, abdominal pain, and constipation. All right, I tacked on the last one because it sounded like a drug commercial. Kinda appropriate because I'd become a sorta drug to Star. Sure. Just to Star. The addiction was one-way. That's the story I'm sticking to.

I caught my breath at last and pulled on a mask of professionalism. “Focus.”

“Oh, I am,” Star whispered, but even with the music pounding around us, I heard him.

“Just enough to take the edge off,” Killian said. “My brothers are trusting me to keep things between you two in check.”

“Just one kiss,” Star murmured as he angled around toward my front. “Then I can focus.”

“No kissing!” Killian yanked me away from Star.

“And no causing a scene!” I hissed at both men. Then I grabbed Star and pulled him against me. “Just dance. We're supposed to be a thruple.”

Why had we gone with that cover? Because it gave Star a reason to touch me. And he needed to touch me. If he didn't, he'd lose his damn mind. The last thing Hell needed was another crazy king.

Ignoring the way Star moved against me, his erection evident in those tailored trousers, I searched the dark club for the real vampires. No, not really real, but the closest thing there was to real. And that's Bite Witches. Witches are what you get when fairies have babies with humans. Sometimes. Not all unions created Witches. Although, it was hard to tell since Witches didn't become their own race until several generations had passed.

Their first babies would have been born half-Fey. Only the firstborn who had babies with humans, then so on and so forth, would have potentially and eventually bred Witches by diluting the Fey magic until it became something new. All magic wasn't equal. The type of magic passed down depended on who the Fey ancestors were. Through the years, the different types of magic created sub-races of Witches that became known as clans. Collectively, the clans are called the Coven. There are also the Casters—Witches who mixed clans and had babies with blended magic—but they're all Witches. Humans descended from Fairies.

The particular Witches I was looking for were of the Bite Clan. Their ancestors had been Baobhan-Sith, also called the White Women.

The Bite Clan was unusual even among Witches. Or at least noteworthy. Baobhan-Sith were called White Women because they were always women. They mate with other fairies, but the children are always born Baobhan-Sith and female. That changed when they had babies with human men. The first offspring weren't born entirely Baobhan-Sith. I don't know if their mothers knew this immediately or if their human blood revealed itself later, but when those half-human babies had babies with humans, it became obvious. Not only was the Fey blood diluted, but they also bore males. I heard the White Women weren’t pleased with their bouncing baby boys.

Moving on, those babies were the ancestors of the Bite Clan and they passed on a need for blood. As in, a basic need that, if denied, resulted in death. Unfortunately, drinking blood only gives Bite Witches enhanced strength and speed. It doesn't make them immortal like the vampires of human myths or even like their ancestors. But they did inherit a couple of bonus mórs from the Baobhan-Sith—Allure and Beauty. And if you don't think Beauty is a type of magic, you've never met a Baobhan-Sith.

“Damn,” I muttered to myself as I located the two Bite Witches we were looking for.

They held court at a tiny table in the back of the nightclub, surrounded by a crowd of humans who jostled each other for a chance to give the Witches anything from cocktails to their bared throats.

One of the Witches looked up and caught my eye. She didn't give any other indication that she knew me. Good girl. Vanessa and Leo were our bait. We weren't there to hunt Bite Witches. No, we were after the humans who hunted them.

Vampire hunters.

Yup. I would have laughed if there hadn't been three dead Bite Witches in the Coven morgue. And those were only the bodies they had found. Many more Biters were missing, and I had little hope of them being found alive.

“Incoming,” one of the vexes on our team said through my earpiece. “Two men. One woman. Not locals. Caucasian.”

I glanced around and saw the trio making its way through the crowd. A lot of tourists came to Bloodsuckers, but these people looked as if they were trying too hard. They had the whole vampire get-up on—the woman in black lace and the men wearing poet shirts (Hello, the 80s called, they want their puffy shirts back). The outfits might have been fine if they'd been more casual about things. Like say, grabbing a drink before offering yourself as a drink to the vampires. But no, they were making a beeline to the Bite Witches.

“Got 'em,” I said. “Tighten the net.”

Although I couldn't see them, I knew our team was closing in around those three hunters. It was time for us to get involved.

I took Killian's and Star's hands and led them off the dance floor, toward the Bite Witches. A wink sent their way was enough of a warning. Leo leaned over to whisper in Vanessa's ear. She grinned as if he'd said something sexy, but as she did, she searched the crowd. She clocked the hunters, then refocused on one of her admirers. Professional, but they were vexes—the Coven equivalent of extinguishers—so they'd better be. We don't put civilians at risk unless it's absolutely necessary.

Kill, Star, and I sidled closer.

We converged with the vampire hunters just in front of the Witches' table as if it had been fate. But I only slid up against Kill and stroked his chest. I wanted to see how the hunters trapped their targets. The information we gathered now would help to prevent this from happening again.

The female hunter took the lead, the men trailing behind her. She went up to the Witches' table, shoved aside those who stood in her way, and leaned over, setting her palms among the detritus of drinks. Back there, the music was softer, but even if it hadn't been, my enhanced hearing would have picked up the conversation.

“You are too beautiful for these people,” the woman said in a French accent. “Why waste your time with them when you could have us?” She waved her hand at her companions.

It was a bold move, but she wasn't wrong. The three of them were an upgrade from the selection of humans currently on offer.

Vanessa leaned forward and grinned wide enough to show off her fangs. “We're the real thing, darling. So, unless you're serious about giving up your blood and your pussy, we're not interested.”

“Is that so?” the woman purred. “I don't believe you. Why don't you come back to our hotel with us and prove it?”

“Aren't you scared we might kill you?”

“Will you?” The woman straightened and drew the tips of her long, red nails over her cleavage. “Or will you give as much as you take?”

Leo took over. “I'll give you so much pleasure with my bite alone that you'll never be satisfied by another man. You still interested?”

“Oh, yes.” The vampire hunter turned and walked away, utterly sure that they'd follow.

They might not have if it had been an ordinary situation. I saw the annoyance on Leo's face. But this wasn't a normal night out.

The Bite vexes got up slowly, disentangling from pouting admirers who tried to hold them back. But the Witches were used to such attention and easily evaded the hands that reached for them. I felt a shiver in the air, and the crowd drew back. Allurement—they must have turned it down, or maybe off. Whatever the case, the Biters walked away from their groupies without further issue and followed the trio of hunters out of the club.

And my trio followed them.

As Kill, Star, and I slipped through the crowd, I caught glimpses of the rest of our team—two vexes and six extinguishers, all dressed for the club. There were three more extinguishers and a vex in a van outside, plus another vex in a getaway car for the Biters. Yeah, a lot of vexes were with us. But this was their mission. They were the ones in danger this time.

“On our way,” I said to our team through the comm device.

“Copy that, Ambassador,” Extinguisher Joss Teagan said. “Van's running.”

“Ready,” James, the Storm Vex, said.

I got up behind the Biters and brushed a hand over Vanessa's back. She showed no indication of feeling it—just kept walking and smiling wickedly at Leo. The vampire hunters glanced back at last, grinning as well when they saw that their prey was following them like lambs to the slaughter.

We neared the club entrance. Our team closed in. The vampire hunters went out first and paused on the sidewalk.

“Now,” I whispered.

With the help of a little magic, we had snagged a parking spot outside the club earlier that night. As the vampire hunters turned to talk to the Biters, the side door of the van behind them opened. The extinguishers inside jumped out as the rest of our team closed in, circling the vampire hunters and cutting off any chance of escape. The Bite Vexes backed away, then sauntered off to their car, parked in front of the van. James was in the driver's seat and the car was running, as he promised.

We had a nice mix of vexes on the team—Storm, Tide, Quake, Pack, and, of course, Bite. Or, as Kill liked to call them—Stormtroopers, Tiders, Quakers, Puppies, and Biters. An assortment like that gave us a winning hand of magic. But we still needed to be careful. Even though Biters could protect themselves, especially Vex Biters, we were treating them like politicians with a lot of death threats under their belts.

James sped off with the Bite Witches as soon as they were in the car, leaving a thick fog behind him to cover their trail. Meanwhile, the extinguishers grabbed the vampire hunters and shoved them into the van while the remaining vexes subdued them. Killian, Star, and I covered our tracks, using magic to make anyone who was watching turn away, utterly uninterested.

It took all of five seconds to catch the human vampire hunters.