Chapter Eight

Summary

• Bryce Quinlan has a sexual encounter with a lion shifter at the White Raven, a club located in an ancient temple space.
• After their tryst, she refuses his invitation to dance, stating she has a business meeting. The lion man mistakes her for a prostitute.
• She meets a new client, Maximus Tertian, a wealthy vampyr, at the VIP section of the club and closes a deal for an onyx bust of a long-dead vampyr lord. Maximus also mistakes her for a prostitute and tries to assert his authority over her.
• Ruhn Danaan, Bryce's half-brother, appears at the club and saves her from Maximus's advances. In the chapter, we learn that Ruhn is technically Bryce's half-brother, not her cousin as most people think.
• Ruhn warns Bryce that their father, the "Autumn King", wants her to stay out of trouble in the lead-up to a major summit meeting. He emphasizes that their father is nervous about the event.
• Bryce's brother walks her home and makes sure she is safe. Bryce lives in a penthouse apartment, five levels above the building's lobby.

• Bryce is frustrated with someone named Ruhn, who is waiting and watching her from the street below.
• Ruhn is aggressive and possessive, always forcing his way through, and she is not in the mood for conflict with him that night.
• She turns on the panel of lights in her room, revealing her pristine white furniture and pale wood floors.
• Bryce's living situation, which is beyond her income range, was paid for by someone named Danika through a will, causing her further irritation.
• Bryce has a pet, Syrinx, whom she considers to be another possessive and aggressive individual.
• Sighing, she takes off her heels and unhooked her bra, before releasing Syrinx from his cage.