Inside the Open Leaf, Vail let his eyes rove over the patrons as he decided whom he was going to make his target that night. Though he considered most of the people in the room, his focus mostly lingered on the group of women he had spotted from outside. There were three of them in all, sitting near the back of the room beside a large, glowing fireplace. Each one had in drink in her hand, and there was a flush to their cheeks that told him they had to have been drinking at least long enough to feel the effects of the gin. Thanks to their inebriation, any one of them would have a perfect victim.

He edged closer to the group, mixing easily with the crowd as he elected to choose his prey by scent rather than by sight. Over the years, he had gotten quite skilled at hunting without alerting his target to his presence. Even now, he let his gaze wander aimlessly over the room, acting as if he was merely enjoying the atmosphere of the pub rather than hunting down his next meal. None of the women seemed to take any notice of him either. They were all distracted by whatever conversation they were having to notice the predator in their midst.

Once he was close enough to distinguish their individual smells, Vail’s eyes flicked toward the woman sitting on the right, a young brunette with golden-brown eyes and a pretty face. Among the three, her aroma was the most delicious, and he was sure her blood would taste sweet—just what he needed to satisfy his craving. He was just about to begin planning how he would separate her from the rest of her friends when another scent wafted to him that made him stop in his tracks.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” he muttered under his breath, glancing over the room until he spotted Victoria speaking with the bar keep over the counter. She didn’t seem to have noticed him yet, but he doubted it was a coincidence that she was here now. He clicked his tongue and turned away from her again. Having learned his lesson from his last mistake, he wasn’t going to approach her this time. Perhaps, if he was lucky, she wouldn’t see him, and he wouldn’t have to interact with her again.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it that easy on him.

The strength of her perfume grew just before Vail felt her whispery voice on his ear. Her warm breath made his skin tingle, but his annoyance with the scene she had caused in the Black Bull outweighed the pleasantness of the sensation. “Following me now, are you?” he asked dryly as he continued to watch the woman whom he had made his target. He didn’t want to risk letting his prey slip away for just a conversation with the Crest heiress. “I would have thought you’d be satisfied after giving me away once tonight. Or are you trying to do some noble deed by stopping me wherever I go?”