Free Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

sneakin’ around here, too?”
    He glanced behind me, and I took advantage of the momentary distraction. My hand shot out faster than he could react. I snatched the shotgun from his grip and flipped it around. “How does it feel to have this pointed at your head?” I asked.
    Big Boy’s nostrils flared. “Ain’t feelin’ real good.”
    “Didn’t think so.” My finger itched on the trigger. “I’d like to keep my pretty face intact.”
    The bouncer chortled. “And you do have a pretty face.”
    Banjos started playing in my head.
    “Oh, look,” said a new voice. “A love connection is made.”
    “Not quite,” I said, wrapping my free hand around the barrel.
    “Did you think I didn’t know you were here?”
    Without taking my eyes off Big Boy, I smirked. “Does it matter?”
    “Yeah, if you were trying to sneak up on me, I guess it does.” Luc ambled out of the shadows and into my line of sight. He was dressed in black running pants and a T-shirt that read, Zombies Need Love, Too . Nice. “You can put the gun down, Daemon.”
    Smiling coldly, I let heat encompass my hand. Warmth flared, and the smell of burning metal wafted into the air. When the barrel was made useless, I handed it back to Big Boy.
    The bouncer looked down at the gun and sighed. “I hate when this happens.”
    I watched Luc hop up on the bar and swing his legs like a petulant child. Under the dim bar lighting, the ring around his oddly colored eyes seemed to be blurred. “You and I need to—”
    Whipping around, I let out a roar as my human form faded. I shot across the empty dance floor, heading straight for the mass of shadows forming under the cage.
    The Arum turned, and the second before we slammed into each other like two boulders rolling down a hill, I saw him in his true form—dark as midnight oil and shiny as glass. The impact shook the walls and rattled the cages hanging from the ceilings.
    “Oh, jeez,” Luc said. “Can’t we all just get along?”
    The Arum swept his arms around my waist as I threw him back into the wall. Plaster cracked and plumed into the air. He didn’t let go. The SOB was strong.
    Spinning around, he broke my hold and his smoky arm snaked out, aiming for my chest. I darted to the side, throwing up my arm to blast the annoying bastard into next year.
    “Boys. Boys! No fighting in my club,” Luc called, sounding irritated.
    We ignored him.
    Energy crackled over my palms, spitting white fire into the air.
    You don’t know who you’re messsing with , the Arum hissed, sending his words straight into my skull, which just pissed me off. I let go of the ball of energy.
    It smacked into his shoulder.
    He jerked away and then turned his head back to me, cocking it to the side. His form became more solid.
    Static crackled down my arms. Light pulsed throughout the room. This guy was really starting to get on my nerves.
    “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Luc said. “Hunter is very, very hungry.”
    I was about to show Luc just what I thought about his advice when a form stepped out of the hallway leading to his office. It was a woman—a pretty, blond-haired woman who was oh-so human. Her eyes were wide. “Hunter?”
    What. The. Hell.
    Distracted, the Arum glanced back at the woman around the same time the Source fizzled out of me. He must’ve communicated with her, because she frowned and said, “But he’s one of them .”
    Hunter’s head swung back to me, and his chest rose as he took a step back. A second later, a man stood before me, coming in at my height. Dark brown hair and those damn pale Arum eyes were fixed on me.
    “Serena,” he said. “Go back to Luc’s office.”
    The woman’s frown grew into a scowl, reminding me so much of Kat that my chest ached. “Excuse me?”
    His head snapped toward her, eyes narrowing. An instant later, Big Boy strode across the dance floor, wrapping an arm around the woman’s shoulders. “This really ain’t where ya need to be right