Page 61 of Inhuman Nature

“Who are these other vampires?” Rake asked. “Can you trust them?”

“Are half the population secretly supernatural creatures and we humans have been sleepwalking through a society being taken over by monsters?” DJ’s question had both Rake and Shaun turning towards him, matching expressions of confusion on their faces. “What?” DJ said. “It’s a legitimate concern.”

“If half the population was drinking blood every night, or wolfing out during the full moon, I’m pretty sure people might notice,” Shaun said gently. “There’s only a few dozen of us in each city. Some smaller places don’t have any of us at all.”

Rake ushered them back into the flat, a pensive expression on his face.

“Have you met any werewolves?” DJ asked as he bounded in beside Shaun. Apparently, he was over being terrified by Lawrence. Distracting him with talk of werewolves seemed enough to lighten his mood.

“I met one, but Lawrence only told me afterwards.” Which he’d been enraged about at the time, and unable to do anything other than sulk alone in his room. He’d noticed theguy’s scent was different to a human or a vampire, but he hadn’t figured out why.

“What did he look like? Was he big and muscly and growly? Did he come up and sniff you?”

“You’re getting werewolves confused with bears.”

DJ flopped down on the sofa. “Which kind?”

“Both the human and animal variety,” Shaun said, managing a smile as he settled himself down beside DJ.

“All this conversation has told me is that neither of you know anything about the animal kingdom,” Rake grumbled.

“Ignore him,” DJ said. “Tell me about the werewolf!”

“There’s not much to tell. He was a normal-looking guy that Lawrence met with when we visited Wales. I think Lawrence was seeing if we would be allowed to settle nearby. We don’t mix with werewolves much—they stick to more remote places.”

“He was going to force you to live in rural Wales, miles from anything?” DJ asked, horrified.

Shaun laughed, surprising himself that he could find any humour in their current situation. The DJ effect, for sure. “Let’s just say I’m glad we didn’t decide to stay.”

“Is that what you have to do when you move cities? Ask the others who are already there?” Rake asked.

“It’s what we had to do when we came to Brighton. Ask Lynette—who runs the territory—for her permission to stay. She drinks our blood, we make some vows.” He flapped a hand. “You know, stupid ceremonial shit.”

“Mistress Lynette?” Rake and DJ asked at the same time.

“Oh, yeah, kinda forgot about that,” Shaun said, annoyed with himself. He’d planned to avoid revealing moreinformation. Clearly, he wasn’t thinking straight.

“Wait, we’ve been going to a vamp BDSM club for months and didn’t notice?” DJ said. “Don’t tell me that’s what the VIP room has been hiding this whole time?”

“It’s the only public place in the club where fangs are allowed out.”

“Areallthe other members vampires?” Rake asked.

“No. Just a fair few. Mostly Lynette’s creations. Any human that’s allowed into the VIP area is compelled.”

“Paulo and Oliver—the couple who recommended us—are they vampires?” DJ asked, aghast.

“I don’t think so,” Shaun said. “They’re probably a favourite of one of Lynette’s creations if they’re around a lot, though. But I wouldn’t know for sure. I didn’t really get to socialise with the other vampires. Not like Lawrence ever let me out for long.” And there Shaun went, bringing the mood down again by reminding them how pathetic he was for never standing up to Lawrence. That was, until now. He’d paid for it dearly, but given he was currently snuggled on the sofa with DJ, the rebellion felt very much worth it.

“But you can go to her for help? She seemed fair enough the times I’ve met her,” Rake mused. “She could offer you protection from Lawrence?”

As DJ began to sing ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams in an octave that he struggled to reach, Shaun considered Rake’s questions. “I hope she’ll hear me out. But I don’t know for sure.”

“Why not?” Rake said. “Surely she would take your side, given he’s tried to break down our door to murder all of us?”

“The problem is that you both shouldn’t know what Iam,” Shaun said. “It’s not allowed. She’ll compel you to forget if she finds out you know about vampires. Plus, they’ll punish me for revealing it.” Unless Shaun recreated them both, they shouldn’t know anything about the supernatural world. Shaun didn’t add this to his explanation, lest the couple offer to become vampires to stop him from getting himself into more trouble.

It seemed like the sort of thing they would do.