1. My Goal

RECKLESS HEARTS 

HEIRS OF THE TRIQUETRA - BOOK 1

~ MILENA ~

The dog won’t stop barking. Slamming itself against the metal chain link fence outside in the alleyway, as if desperate to escape from what is to come. I could shut the window to block it out, but the heat is unbearable. It feels like the walls are closing in on this already suffocating place.

The dog’s owner is yelling at it again. Telling it to shut up, as if that is going to help. It won’t. It never does. He should know that by now.

I glance at the calendar on the wall opposite me. From here I can’t see the words, but the red cross that's slashed over today says enough.

It’s time.

I kick off the thin sheet and take the three steps to the adjoining shower room. The light buzzes when I flick the switch. The mirror hanging right above the toilet is cracked. A tiny sink hangs off the wall beside it. Stepping under the rusted metal shower head, I turn it on. Cold water trickles out weakly as I stand under it, letting it numb everything.

Seven years. It’s been seven years since my world was ripped apart. Since I saw him for what he really was. Since I learned the truth.

I tell myself he never had that power over me. That I was never his. That what we had meant nothing.

Lies…

Because he was my everything. I worshipped the very ground he walked upon. He was my first, first kiss, first love, first everything. Until I realised what he was. Until his betrayal was revealed. Until he became my target.

He is one of them. The very thing we hunt. The thing we kill.

Werewolves don’t belong in this world. They never did. They bring chaos, fear and death. Even science cannot explain the mutation that took place. All I know is, they are the cancer of this world, the very poison, the deadliest killer that we need to rid the world of.

There was a time when I didn’t want to follow the path of the Arkan, the path of my family, so that I could stay out of this war. But that was before him, before I learned the truth.

Now, all I know is the hunt.

He became my target. He is one of them. The thing we hunt. The thing we kill.

But he’s still breathing. Still walking through this world like he belongs in it. Like he didn’t leave it in ruins. Like he didn’t leave me for dead. Like he didn’t use me for his own benefit.

Zion Toussaint-King.

I was forced to leave, forced to turn around and run before he hunted me down and ended what he had begun.

The Arkan leaders told me to forget about him or I would die. No one goes up against the black death and lives. So I trained; I trained and I trained, pushing against every limit my body had for the one chance that I would be assigned to him.

Seven years passed but I wasn’t given the chance. Until now.

I tell myself it doesn’t matter. That it’s just another job. Another mark. But the truth is, he’s in everything. In the nightmares that never fade. In the silence between heartbeats. In the rage that won’t burn out, no matter how many of them I put in the ground. He’s there.

I should have killed him that night. Should have buried him with the others.

Instead, I let him live. And for seven years, I’ve been paying for it.

But that ends today.

The phone ringing makes me look up, I step out of the shower and walk through to the bedroom and pick up my phone.

“Ruin,” I say my codename.

“Havok. Change of plans. Meet me in three hours at designated location 23.”

Then the call ends.

I stare down at the screen, my heart racing. 

They better not change the plans because I swear I want him fucking dead.

~~~

Hours later I'm sitting in a small café on the opposite side of the city. My blond hair is tied up and I'm wearing black pants and a tan jacket - trying to simply blend in. But being a woman who is just an inch short of 6 feet makes it a bit harder at times. 

“Can I get you anything else, love?”

“No thanks,” I reply, not looking up from the book I'm supposedly reading.

Always act in a way that your face is never worth remembering.

“Alright, well give me a shout if you need anything.” The man walks by and I glance towards the door. Where is he?

I'm on edge, there’s no contact for weeks prior to locking in on a target. Why is he even in this city?

The door opens after a while, and a man who is nothing out of the ordinary enters. He’s wearing a cotton jacket over loose pants and a white shirt, a cap on his head and normal boots that any middle-aged man would wear.

Havok.

He comes over to me and pats my shoulder in a fatherly manner. Havok is only ten years older than me, but he has mentored me for a few years and although we stick to code names, we are tight. The Arkan is a family, and family comes before all.

He sits down and gives me the faintest of smiles. “No need to look at me like that.” He motions for the waiter to come over and orders himself a coffee, no milk, no sugar. It’s always the same.

“Why are you here?” I ask once the waiter walks away.

“There are some adjustments we need to make, a little sparrow told us Zero 13 has tightened his security.”

Zero 13 – Zion King

I clench my jaw. “Maybe it’s just a precaution, but it does not mean he is onto us.”

“He’s always been on our radar, but the intel made it clear he has hiked up security. We have one shot, if we don’t hit the target… he’ll be out of our grasp.”

“You don’t get it, Havok, you know I need this.” I try to keep the desperation out of my voice.

He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but there is no other way.”

“I’ve staked out and assessed the building opposite the Opal Palace. I’ll be 90 seconds. That’s all I need. You know I’m the best sniper the Arkan have. I won’t miss.”

“Ruin. Listen to me. You might be the best but he’s no longer going to be there tonight.”

I frown, slightly shocked - but I mask it. This doesn’t make sense. We agreed on that location because it’s his niece’s birthday. I glance up at Havok. That’s why the plan has changed. For him to change that…

“Raze has a new plan. You’re going in.”

In?

“He knows me,” I remind him harshly.

He nods slowly. “Yeah, so use it.”

My heart thuds but I refuse to let those emotions show. “He knows who I am, he killed Ghost.” 

“People change, I'm not saying you are going to go right up to him and try to get close to him. He isn’t careless.”

“Then what are you suggesting?” I ask as I finish off my juice.

He reaches into his pocket, taking out a hefty, large envelope and pats it before sliding it across the table.

“It’s all in there. He’s smart, dangerously smart, all we need from you is to outwit him. Once he’s taken care of, the path to his people is so much easier.”

I stare at him, his words sinking in.

“Do you understand the assignment, Ruin?”

Once again, my goal has been tugged out of my grasp.

I pick up the envelope and stand up.

“Always.”