Prologue

Four Months Ago

My entire body tingles as I step into the bar, nerves nipping at the pit of my belly. The smells hit me all at once. Stale beer, body odor, greasy food, and an overwhelming onslaught of emotions. There's some anxiety floating around mixed with some lust. The girl whose boyfriend is singing a drunk tune off key and the hints of embarrassment in the air are no doubt coming from her.

If I wasn't so fucking upset right now I would find that situation incredibly endearing. Instead, all I can think about is how much I don't want to be here and how much I don't want to do this.

My eyes dart around the place, taking everything in as I move over to the bar. I find an open seat, ordering myself something fruity. I hate the taste of alcohol but I need something to take the edge off, just a little bit.

The bartender gives me a soft smile as she passes it over and I slide over a ten, telling her to keep the change. I swivel, leaning my back against the bar with my drink in hand. There's a table of women together, laughing and drinking. The man who was singing has sat down at the table with his date. There's a group of men standing around the pool table.

I hum to myself. No, none of those will work. I need someone who's here alone.

I look down the bar, my eyes meeting someone else's. She gives me a smile and I'm inflicted with guilt. She looks at me and sees someone handsome, someone possibly worth talking to, but in reality I'm nothing more than a monster.

I nod her way before turning back, not wanting her to be the one I pick up tonight.

A conversation to my left tickles my ears and I glance over. I take a sip of my drink as I listen in. This man doesn't want to take no for an answer it would seem. The woman looks up, meeting my eyes and I can just see that she's silently screaming out for help. That's my ticket.

Instead of going over to the woman, I walk just past her, sitting down beside the man. I reach over and pat his shoulder.

When he turns to look at me, his eyes are dark and angry at being interrupted. "What?"

"Hello," I say softly, letting my voice take on a sultry tone. It's a tone that most people find fascinating in my experience. I flash him a smile and he pauses.

"Umm, hi," he says back, looking a little unsure. That's okay. I can work with this.

"I think maybe you should talk to me and leave that woman alone. I would find your company much more entertaining than her," I say, touching his wrist gently. I reach out towards him, using my siren call.

Some people think sirens can influence people's emotions, plant things into their mind, but it's nothing so sinister. An enticement can't happen unless the thoughts and feelings are already there. I'm only bringing them to the front of someone's mind.

The man's cheeks pinken slightly and he nods, turning to face me fully.

"You're right," he says back, "I'd very much like to talk with you. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Absolutely," I tell him, flagging the bartender and asking for another fruity drink like the first. "What's your name, handsome?"

"Peter," the man tells me, leaning back in his chair. He looks so relaxed, like he's talking with an old buddy. I have that effect on people. If he saw what my true face looked like he would be screaming and running straight out of this bar. Just another ugly reminder of what I truly am.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Peter. Thank you for the drink."

"You're welcome. And you're quite handsome yourself. Your hair is the prettiest shade of blue."

I smile and this time it comes out a tiny bit less forced. "Thank you." When the bartender brings our drinks, I quickly drink mine. It warms my belly and makes me feel a little lighter. Part of me wonders if I should be allowed to feel light when I'm in the middle of picking up this man. I let it slide. I think I would feel guiltier if I could handle this without any liquid courage.

I reach over, running my thumb against the inside of Peter's wrist. I can feel his pulse jump and his scent turns sweeter. I just barely keep myself from wrinkling my nose.

Putting a bit of enticement into my voice, I lean over and whisper, "what do you think about getting out of here, Peter?"

I make sure my eyes give the tiniest bit of an unnatural sparkle when he looks at me, giving him my best smile. "That sounds great. Come on."

Peter grabs my hand as we walk out of the bar. Heat prickles at the back of my neck and my heart sinks down to the floor. I hate this.

I hate this so much but I won't stop, not until I can find a way to get what I need from Stewart. That fucking bastard.

"I'm sorry," Peter murmurs, his voice sounding a bit drunk. I'm already letting waves of magic flow off of me in Peter's direction. Just because he's the unlucky person to get picked tonight means he needs to suffer. He might even enjoy it if I do my job right. "I just realized I didn't catch your name."

I pull Peter into my car, giving him a soft, sad smile. "That's okay. It doesn't really matter anyway."

"What do you mean?"

I reach out, putting my hands over his eyes. I slowly push my magic into his mind, putting him into a peaceful dream. He slumps against his seat, letting out a tiny snore.

I look around, making sure no one's seen me before getting into the driver's seat and setting off on my way. Next time I'll make sure to keep them awake until we're in the hotel room because carrying a sleeping human through a hotel is going to be a fucking nightmare.

This is one step closer, I remind myself. I'll only do this until I can think of some way to trick Stewart. I'll figure something out.

I hate myself for this, but for now, I don't know what else to do.