Prologue

I woke up to Echo roaring furiously in my head. I could feel danger all around me. “Wynter! You have to get Milo and run!” My mother’s voice was anxious but also steadfast. I peered into her bright eyes and sat up straight.

There was smoke and fire, shouting, gun shots and screams. She picked me up from bed and I could feel her big stomach under my legs as she ran down the stairs just as Uncle Felix burst through the kitchen door.

“Megan, you need to get the kids to safety.” Felix’s voice was loud over the din as he yelled at her.

She ignored him and moved to the porch as she lowered me to the wooden flooring below and I stood in front of her. “I love you Wynter, but now you have to run.” Her voice was laced with urgency as she hugged me tightly and kissed the top of my head.

I nodded my head as Echo separated from me and Felix picked me up and placed me on Echo’s back. I felt Milo behind me as Felix hugged him once and pushed him right up against me and his arms came around my waist.

The tears in my eyes stung as we flew through the darkness and I wiped them away with one hand, the other one holding onto Echo tightly. I had to be brave now, because my father would come. He’ll be back any minute and then everything will be fine.

This nightmare would be over with soon. Echo landed silently further away from Uncle Elio’s house but he didn’t merge with me. It felt like hours as we watched the island go up in smoke and the screams died down. It became quieter and I looked over at Milo.

“We should go back.”

Milo turned towards the island again and sighed. “No, they’ll come find us.”

“Wynter!” My father’s voice rang out from the island.

“Come on, Milo, let’s go! Everything’s going to be okay now.” Relief flooded my system knowing that Ryder had come for us.

Echo took us back over to the island and he landed a few feet from my father. He had a small bundle in his arms and Echo merged with me again as I ran towards my father. Milo hadn’t moved and I could see the relief in Ryder’s eyes when he saw us.

His arms were coated in blood but he didn’t look hurt. The bundle in his arms moved slightly and the scent from it felt familiar. I realized then that the bundle was my sister. I looked around for my mother, Felix and Aunt Ava but Ryder stood alone there.

Milo moved from behind me to next to me. “They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

“I’m so sorry Milo.”

Fear clutched my heart at Ryder’s words and the sudden reality gripped me. If they were all dead then so was my mother. I both heard and felt Echo’s whimpering at that realization and I swallowed down my tears that we had survived and they hadn’t.

I woke up in a cold sweat and I blinked twice as my eyes focused and my heart rate calmed. I’ve been having this dream almost every night for the last month. I looked at my watch and saw that it was four am and I knew I wouldn’t be able to continue sleeping.

I always woke up feeling like there was a part of that dream that I wasn’t remembering, a vital part that eluded me. I wished I could remember it all. I hated feeling like if I could only remember then everything would fall into place.

The dream was too clean, I knew that I had seen people die, people that I knew and loved and people that I didn’t know. The faces of the enemy remained blank and I only ever talked about this dream to one person.

I lifted the arm from my waist as she sighed in her sleep and turned on her other side. I pulled my sweatpants on that had been left discarded on the carpet and grabbed a t-shirt from our cupboard. Milo only slept for an hour on Sunday afternoons, so we didn’t see the need for separate bedrooms.

I sauntered into the kitchen and smiled as I saw my cup in front of the coffee machine. Milo and I shared a moderate one bedroom apartment with an open plan kitchen and living room. We didn’t need more than that.

“Was it the dream again?” Milo had lowered the sound on the television but he hadn’t turned around.

“Yeah.”

“I was going to wake you in a bit in any way. Clark sent an email, coded.”

I opened the fridge and peered at the left overs. “What does he want? We just got back from an assignment two days ago.” I closed the fridge again and walked towards the sofa where Milo still sat.

“We need to report to base at seven am.” He had a look of irritation on his face. “Chloe’s still asleep.” Milo raised an eyebrow and smiled at me as he rubbed his hands together.

"Yeah." I grinned at him.

“You got to cuddle. I get to wake her up.”

Before I could even take another sip of my coffee I heard Milo telling her to open wide and her giggling and then the slapping of flesh on flesh. I finished my coffee and walked to the bedroom, pulling my clothes off as I neared the bed where Chloe was on her hands and knees, facing me.

I stood in front of her as she looked up at me while Milo gripped her hips tighter and slammed into her from behind. She smiled as she looked at my aroused state and gripped me in her hand, opening her mouth as Milo’s momentum pushed her forward, taking me in.

An hour later I closed the front door, saying goodbye to Chloe. Milo didn’t really do goodbye’s and he had already showered as I headed back to our room. I showered and got dressed and Milo was dishing up a plate when I walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the small table. “You look ridiculous Milo, take that shit off.”

Milo narrowed his eyes at me and slapped me behind my head as I sat down. “Eat your bacon like a good little soldier.”

“Asshole.”

“Don’t hate my apron.” Milo was pointing the spatula in my face.

The said apron was bright yellow with daisies on it and had been left behind in the apartment when we moved in. Milo had immediately claimed it and wore it every time he cooked, even when he just made sandwiches.

I decided to stop giving him shit about his daisy clad apron and we ate in silence and he refilled our coffee cups twice. I started on the dishes while Milo vacuumed and washed the floors. We had our daily routines and we preferred to keep our place clean.

Milo and I left the apartment, unit phones in the inner pockets of our jackets and our personal phones in our hands. Milo drove the five miles to the base office located in the industrial area of Chicago and parked in the empty lot across from the warehouse.

I was surprised to see that every single agent that was currently working for the Unit was assembled in the open training area of the warehouse. Something big was going on and I didn’t like the feel of it and Echo agreed as a light shudder went through us both.

“The Unit is being dissolved. This will be the last time any of you step foot into this warehouse. All current assignments have been cancelled and you are all to hand in your phones and any equipment you still have. In the coming weeks the Elders and leaders of each supernatural group will be in contact with all of you regarding future assignments and instructions. The Unit will be formed according to species and will operate only within those boundaries. Dismissed.”

I sensed Clark’s distaste at the whole situation and he nodded his head at us. Milo and I followed him without a word and I closed the door behind me. Clark sat down behind his desk and we remained standing in front of it.

“What’s going on?” Milo had never shied away from speaking first or to ask what needed to be asked.

“Too much is going on. Each Council will create their own Unit and life as we all know it will never be the same again. The other fun part is that the King of Dragons have made enquiries into the identity of Ghost.”

“How would anybody know about Ghost?” Milo had a stoic look on his face as he asked his question.

“Ghost doesn’t exist in this Unit, never has, not on paper at least. His name has been whispered although his existence has never been confirmed.”

“What does the King want with him?”

“That’s what you’re going to find out Wynter. You’ll be called up eventually, so keep your phones on. There’s only a handful of us left that’s still willing to defend what’s right.”

“Treason on paper but freedom in reality.” Clark nodded his head at my statement.