Night Fever (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 3) by Audrey Claire Read Free Book Online

good time to practice cloaking myself. I had no real idea how it worked, but I figured it started as a state of mind. I willed myself to be hidden and watched for reactions on the human’s faces as I walked by. Various men as usual gave me second glances, which meant I wasn’t hidden. Darn it.
    Violet held her shoulders stiff as she walked beside her date. He reached for her hand, and when she pulled away, he chased after her and held on anyway. Good man. From what Violet had shared with me previously, she wasn’t alpha, but she was werewolf, and they were an aggressive breed. He would need a bit more gumption to win her.
    The awkward couple arrived at the theatre, and I looked up at the marquee to see what was playing. I hadn’t been to a movie in a long time, and now I had lost interest in Violet and her boyfriend. A flick could be a diversion. I made my selection at random because I hadn’t been watching TV to know what the features were about. In the dark theatre, I discovered I had still ended up choosing the same movie as Violet. The narrow selection had made the odds good.
    The opening credits faded into view. An older man who appeared to be in his sixties plunked down beside me with a huge tub of buttered popcorn, and three teenagers joined two others a couple rows ahead. I scanned the auditorium for better seating and recalled I should probably turn off my cell ringer. In the middle of clicking the button is when it happened.
    My first clue was the scent. Decay permeated the air as if someone had opened the door on old rotting food and let it seep into the theatre. The man next to me raised his bucket of popcorn and sniffed it.
    That’s not it, buddy.
    The second clue came with multiple grunts from various voices. Someone or some thing stirred near the exit hall beyond the screen. I stood and peered toward Violet. She was already on her feet, and her date looked at her curiously.
    “Do you have your gun?” Violet asked him.
    “What? Violet, what are you talking about? Sit down.” He reached for her, but now he heard it, too. Someone called out behind me to stop blocking the movie. None of the humans were aware of what was about to happen. At least, not until the humans on the first row started screaming.
     

Chapter Six
     
    Pandemonium hit the theatre. Humans screamed and ran for the exit as a small horde of ghouls grabbed the closest living person next to them and started chewing. No one had to tell me these things were ghouls. I recalled Nathan mentioning the word in a text and the crazed man who had run into the paranormal library talking about them. Now I got to see a dozen of these beings in action.
    From the looks of them, they were once human. Now they were dead. Similar to zombies but with more brainpower. I zipped down the aisle to the front to stop the nearest ghoul from feasting on a panicked teenage girl. When the ghoul bit into her arm, she fainted. He was okay with trying to consume her whether she was responsive or not. I grabbed the man, who looked about my age with a similar build, around the neck and thrust him backward. Imagine my surprise when all he did was stagger.
    “Let her go,” I demanded and shoved him again. This time, he dropped the girl and launched himself at me. I dodged his attack and punched with a lot more force than a woman my size should have. His head snapped back on his shoulders, but he straightened and bared his teeth. “This is a ghoul?”
    Their strength was unbelievable. I had my hands full with the one ghoul, punching and kicking him to take him down. Each time I managed to get him off his feet, he staggered back up, laughing at me. While I saw intelligence in his eyes, he was distracted often by the girl still in a dead faint on the floor. The way his nostrils flared, I realized her scent enticed him. Ghouls seemed to love the scent of humans for food, and their hunger drove them.
    While I marveled at the creatures, shots fired somewhere nearby, and I spun