LOGINDorian set down his phone with deliberate care, the ice in his glass clinking softly. His grey eyes, which had looked soft and kind, now gave off dark, menacing vibes.“Well,” he said, turning to face me. “The negotiation with your Calder didn’t work out the way I’d hoped.”My body temperature dropped. “What do you mean?”“He doesn’t care if you live or die.” Dorian’s smile was almost apologetic. “Which means I have no use for you anymore.”The words hit me like a physical blow. Calder didn’t care.Of course he didn’t. Why would he? I was just the annoying neighbor, the woman who’d gotten herself mixed up in this mess.“It’s a shame, really,” Dorian continued, reaching behind his back. When his hand came forward, he was holding a gun. “You seem like a nice girl.”“Wait,” the word burst out of me.He paused, the gun hanging loosely at his side. “Yes?”My mind raced. That bastard, Calder. The one time I need his help the most and he treats me like this. Tears burned in my eyes, half fea
Duke stood in front of me, his back pressed against the wall of my office at pack headquarters. His throat was still bruised from where I’d grabbed him earlier, purple fingerprints stark against his pale skin."Spill," I ordered, crossing my arms.Duke swallowed hard. "I… I don’t know much. We only just got initiated. Kendall hasn’t taught us anything yet beyond,"My fist connected with his jaw before he could finish. His head snapped to the side, blood spraying from his split lip."If you’re not useful to me," I growled, grabbing the front of his shirt and hauling him upright, "you better consider yourself dead. I don’t have time for excuses. Give me something I can use or I’m painting these walls with your blood.""I’m telling the truth!" Duke’s voice cracked. "I swear!"I was about to hit him again when my phone rang.The ringtone was Sienna’s special one, I set this particular one so I’d always know when she was calling. I released Duke and grabbed the phone. "Sienna? What’s wrong
I stared at the phone number on the note, my thumb hovering over the call button. I hit dial.It rang once, then someone answered.“Calder Thorn. I was wondering when you’d find my note.”“Who the fuck is this?”“My name is Dorian. I’m grateful for the opportunity to talk to you.”“If you’ve hurt her—”“Relax, wolf. She’s perfectly safe. For now.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and it made me want to rip his throat out. “In fact, she’s sitting right here with me. Would you like to say hello?”There was a rustling sound, then Maren’s voice—shaky but alive. “Calder—”“Maren! Are you hurt? Did they—”“That’s enough.” Dorian’s voice cut through, and Maren went silent. “As you can hear, your girlfriend is alive and well. Whether she stays that way depends entirely on you.”“She’s not my girlfriend, only my neighbor. Don’t drag her into whatever beef you have with me.”“I assumed—well, never mind. It doesn’t matter what your relationship is. What matters is that I have her and you wan
The scent of jasmine and vanilla filled my senses as I buried my face in the curve of Sienna’s neck, my teeth grazing the sensitive skin there. She gasped, her fingers digging into my shoulders.“Derek,” she breathed, arching against me.We were tangled together on my bed, the sheets long since kicked to the floor. Her dark hair spread across the pillow like silk, her amber eyes half-lidded with desire. My mate. My everything.I kissed her deeply, savoring the taste of her, the feel of her body pressed against mine. This was what I fought for, the thing that made all the violence and bloodshed worth it.My phone buzzed on the nightstand.I ignored it.It buzzed again, and again.“You should get that,” Sienna murmured against my lips.“No.”She laughed softly, her hands sliding down my back. “What if it’s important?”“Nothing’s more important than this.”The phone rang now, the shrill sound cutting through the quiet of the bedroom. I growled low in my throat, my wolf irritated at the i
I couldn’t get Maren’s face out of my head.The way she’d looked at me when I’d denied what she told me, she looked desperate for someone to believe her. As much as I wanted to, to tell her she was right, I couldn’t, Kendall would kill me if I did.I sat on my couch now, staring at the wall, my hands clasped between my knees. The game controllers sat abandoned on the coffee table where my buddies had left them hours ago. They’d cleared out pretty quickly once they’d sensed the tension rolling off me.You swore an oath, I reminded myself. You can’t tell anyone. Not even Maren.After Maren had fled Kendall’s house, breaking down that solid wood door like it was made of cardboard, Kendall had gathered the rest of us in her living room. We’d all been shaken, some still glowing faintly from the ritual, the marks on our foreheads barely visible in the dim light.“Listen carefully,” Kendall had said, her voice sharp and commanding. “What happened here tonight stays between us. All of you wil
I cut the call with Derek and stood there in Maren’s driveway, my chest heaving like I’d just run a marathon. The rage inside me wasn’t subsiding. I needed to hit something, to let out the excess rage in my body, before I do something stupid.The bike roared to life beneath me, and I tore out of the neighborhood. My hands gripped the handlebars so tight my knuckles went white. The speedometer climbed—eighty, hundred, one-hundred-twenty.Forty minutes later, I pulled up outside The Apex Pavilion, a sleek, black-glass monolith that looked more like a corporate headquarters than a gym. Inside, the air was climate-controlled and smelled of expensive leather and ozone. Polished octagons with high-definition replay screens lined the main floor, and the hum of high-tech training equipment filled the space. I could hear the sounds coming from inside. The thud of flesh on flesh. The roar of a crowd.This was the Underground.I’d been here multiple times. It was a supernatural fight club—no rul







