Chapter 3

The compound at 3 AM was eerily quiet, like a predator pretending to sleep.

I slipped through the hallways barefoot, carrying my shoes to avoid making noise. Every shadow could be security. Every corner could hide cameras. But I'd spent two hours memorizing the route to the garage, and Luna's enhanced senses helped me avoid the obvious patrols.

"This is stupid," she kept reminding me.

"I know."

"Brian will be furious."

"I know."

"We could die."

"I know!"

The garage was massive, filled with cars worth more than most people's houses. I stuck to the shadows, searching for whoever had sent the message.

"Miss Wiggs."

I spun toward the voice. A man stepped out from behind a Lamborghini—tall, thin, wearing an expensive suit that didn't quite fit. Something about him made my skin crawl.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who knew your father. Someone who knows why he really ran." He pulled out a tablet, showing me a photo that made my blood freeze.

It was my mother. But that was impossible—she'd died when I was three.

Except in this photo, she was clearly alive, standing next to my father. The timestamp was from two weeks ago.

"That's not possible," I whispered.

"Your parents have been lying to you your entire life, Miss Wiggs. Your mother isn't dead. She's a hunter. And your father? He's been feeding her information about pack locations for twenty years."

The world tilted. "No. He wouldn't—"

"He would, and he did. The Abbot Pack was supposed to be next. But Brian found out. Your father ran before he could be executed for treason." The man stepped closer. "You're not just collateral for a debt, girl. You're bait. Brian knows your father will come for you eventually."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" He pulled out a phone, hit play on a recording. My father's voice filled the garage.

"—told you, she doesn't know anything. Aggie's innocent in all this. Just give me two more weeks and I'll have the full layout of the Abbot compound—"

I grabbed the phone, smashing it against the concrete. "Shut up. Shut up!"

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" The man smiled, and I noticed his canines were too long. Vampire. "Here's another truth—Brian Abbot plans to use you to draw out your parents, then execute all three of you as an example. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you help us get to him first." He produced a small device, no bigger than a penny. "Plant this in his office. It'll d******d his files, including the location of your parents. You can warn them, save them. Or you can let the big bad wolf eat you all alive."

I stared at the device. Everything in me screamed this was wrong. But if my parents were alive, if they were in danger...

"Tick tock, Miss Wiggs. Security does a sweep in ten minutes."

I reached for the device.

The garage lights exploded on at once, blindingly bright. The vampire hissed, backing away, and I heard the sound of running feet.

Brian appeared like an avenging angel, if angels wore pajama pants and looked ready to commit murder. He didn't even slow down, just grabbed the vampire by the throat and slammed him into a concrete pillar hard enough to crack it.

"Aleksei," Brian's voice was deadly calm. "I told you what would happen if you came near my territory again."

"She deserves to know the truth," the vampire gasped.

"The truth?" Brian's laugh was cold. "You mean your version of it?" His hand tightened, and I heard bones crack. "Here's the truth—you're about to die."

"Brian, wait—"

He looked at me then, and the fury in his eyes made me step back. "You came here. Alone. To meet with a vampire who wants me dead."

"I didn't know he was—"

"What? Dangerous? An enemy? Or did you just not care?" He dropped the vampire, who crumpled to the ground gasping. "Dmitri, take out the trash. Make it public. I want everyone to know what happens to those who try to poach what's mine."

Dmitri appeared from the shadows, dragging the vampire away. His screams echoed through the garage until a door slammed, cutting them off.

Brian turned back to me, and I realized I was shaking.

"I just wanted answers," I whispered.

"So you decided to trust a vampire over me?" He stalked toward me, and I backed up until I hit a car. "Do you have any idea what he would have done to you if I hadn't been watching?"

"You were watching?"

"I'm always watching." He caged me against the car, hands on either side of me. "The moment you left your room, I knew. The question is, why didn't you come to me?"

"Because you're using me as bait!" The words exploded out of me. "My parents are alive and you're using me to draw them out!"

His expression didn't change. "Yes."

The simple admission hit harder than a denial would have. "So it's true. Everything he said—"

"No. Not everything." Brian's hand came up to cup my face, surprisingly gentle. "Your parents are alive. They are hunters. They have betrayed dozens of packs. But I don't plan to execute you, Aggie. You're innocent in this."

"Then what do you plan?"

"To keep you." His thumb stroked my cheek. "Your parents will come for you eventually. And when they do, I'll offer them a choice. Face justice for their crimes, or watch their daughter become the mate of the monster they've spent twenty years trying to destroy."

"Mate?" The word came out strangled.

His eyes flashed gold. "You felt it too, in the dining room. The pull. The need. My wolf has already chosen you, Aggie. Fighting it is pointless."

"I have a choice—"

"Do you?" He leaned closer, his scent overwhelming me. "Your body responds to mine. Your wolf calls to mine. You can deny it, fight it, but eventually, biology wins."

"You're insane."

"Probably." He smiled, sharp and dangerous. "But I'm also right. You want me, little wolf. Even knowing what I am, what I've done, you want me."

I wanted to deny it. But Luna was practically purring at his proximity, and my traitorous body was already leaning into him.

"This isn't fair," I whispered.

"No," he agreed. "But it's fate. And I stopped fighting fate a long time ago."

His lips brushed mine, barely a touch, but it sent electricity through every nerve. "You're mine, Aggie Wiggs. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be."

"And if I don't?"

He pulled back, his expression serious. "Then I'll wait. I've lived for four centuries. I can be patient." He stepped away, offering me his hand. "Come. You need sleep."

I stared at his hand. Taking it felt like surrender. But staying in the garage alone felt worse.

I placed my hand in his.

He led me through the compound, but not to my room. We stopped at a door I hadn't seen before.

"Your room is compromised," he explained. "Aleksei had vampires watching it. You'll stay here tonight."

Here was his bedroom. Of course it was.

The space was massive, dominated by a bed that could fit six people. Everything was black and silver, masculine and expensive. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city, and a fireplace crackled in the corner.

"I'm not sleeping with you."

"Sleep is all I'm offering." He moved to a dresser, pulling out a t-shirt and tossing it to me. "Bathroom's through there. I'll take the couch."

I clutched the shirt—soft, expensive, and carrying his scent. "Why are you being nice to me?"

He paused at the door. "Because despite what you think, I'm not a monster. I'm a predator, yes. A killer when necessary. But I protect what's mine. And you, little wolf, are mine."

The bathroom was ridiculous—marble everything, a shower with twelve heads, a tub that was basically a small pool. I changed quickly into his shirt, which fell to mid-thigh on me.

When I emerged, Brian was on the couch as promised, scrolling through a tablet. He looked up, and something flared in his eyes at the sight of me in his clothes.

"Bed," he ordered, his voice rough.

I climbed into the massive bed, sinking into sheets that probably cost more than my monthly rent. "Brian?"

"What really happened to the vampire? Aleksei?"

His jaw tightened. "He's dead. He touched what was mine. That's all that matters."

"You killed him for talking to me?"

"I killed him for trying to turn you against me. For putting you in danger. For thinking he could use you." His eyes found mine in the darkness. "I've killed for far less, Aggie. I'm not a good man."

"Then what are you?"

"Yours," he said simply. "Now sleep. Tomorrow will be complicated."

I wanted to ask what he meant, but exhaustion was pulling me under. The last thing I heard was his voice, soft in the darkness.

"Sweet dreams, little wolf."

I dreamed of blood and bullets, of parents who lied and monsters who didn't. But mostly, I dreamed of ice-blue eyes and the word "mine" whispered like a prayer.

When I woke, sunlight was streaming through the windows and the couch was empty. But his scent lingered, wrapping around me like a promise.

Or a threat.

With Brian Abbot, it was hard to tell the difference.