Dani shut down her computer, the screen going dark like the empty shop. It felt bare. Hollow. The last car had been collected, the lease ended, and the landlord paid off. The loose ends were knotted enough for her to cut herself free. But freedom didn’t feel like this. All day, her chest had ached as if her heart had been carved out and crushed. And she couldn’t even blame Marcus because this wound was self-inflicted. She’d told him to stop coming. She’d pushed him away. Because she had to. They were on different paths, from different worlds. And it was ridiculous that she was mourning after a handful of nights in his arms. Yet it felt real. She felt severed, like a limb had been torn off. But she would walk it off. She’d bite down, pull up her armour, and meet this head on. There was more at stake here, something much bigger than her lust for Marcus.Without Kira, she was vulnerable. Just a shell of who she really was. And her wolf wouldn’t return with Marcus around. Her fast me
Marcus walked into headquarters with his full gear on, every step radiating the anger he didn’t bother hiding. The League was already assembled, waiting, but the moment he reached the front of the room, the air changed. If they couldn’t see the fury simmering in him beneath his set jaw and heated glare, they could feel it. The room was packed with killers, vampires of all ages, with an arsenal of abilities that he’d sharpened into weapons. They were war machines. This was what he was born for; this was what he knew. To fight. To lead. Dani had made him weak, made him forget himself. His people came first, always. It was his duty. He was never going to forget that again.“You know your assignments?” His voice was cold.“Yes, sir,” they answered in unison.“No rest until we’ve searched the whole city. Tear it apart if you have to. We may not find this witch, but I know something or someone is here.” His instincts were rarely wrong. Someone would target the Elders or the whole Council.
Marcus watched his father sitting behind the desk in his newly claimed suite, papers spread like a battlefield across the polished wood. Alessandro’s witch hovered beside him, handing him more documents, while a group of his guards whispered and schemed something at the far end of the room. For once, they were all working, even if it was on one of Alessandro’s schemes. Normally, Marcus would have found the scene surreal, almost comical. But today there was only a hollow ache tearing through his chest. And he knew the cause of it. Dani. He felt her anxiety crawling under his skin, a constant pull he couldn’t ignore. Every instinct screamed at him to go, to protect her, but instead, he was chained babysitting a bunch of egomaniacs. “If you don’t need me here, I’ll go and meet Gray,” he lied, already moving towards the door. “Why don’t you take Bethany for dinner tonight?” Alessandro’s voice rang out. “Her father is nervous that you’ve changed your mind.”Marcus turned, trying to mask
Alister returned downstairs just before the doorbell rang. Dani let out the breath she’d been holding, but her relief was short-lived. One sharp warning glance from her father reminded her to keep her mouth shut.“Alpha,” Alister said, stepping aside with a deferential nod. Ethan strolled in as though the house belonged to him. The air shifted instantly, thick with his dominance. Dani’s stomach knotted, a shiver running down her spine despite her effort to mask it. From his glance and the quick flare of his nostrils, she knew he’d scented her fear.To outsiders, Ethan looked every bit the ideal Alpha. Tall and broad, more muscular than all his warriors. His features were sharp, and his grey eyes warm enough to deceive the uninitiated. His burgundy hair was slicked back, paired with a tailored suit that made him appear civilised. Charming, even. But Dani knew better. Beneath the polish, his heart was as dark as sin. Rotten. A wolf who had taken pleasure in the war’s bloodshed and n
Marcus let the voices of his warriors blur into background noise as they lingered in the conference room after the briefing. Dani’s accusations still echoed in his head. Did they know about the attacks on the wolf compound? He’d given no such orders, and his word was law in Scarlet City. They knew that. So had someone broken rank? Were there rogue citizen vampires being assholes? Or worse, one of his own? If the League knew and hadn’t reported it, how deep did the betrayal run? “So tonight, I’ll send them out to the northern sectors,” Gray said, spreading the map wide across the table. “Keep the regular patrols tight everywhere else in case anyone tries to slip through.” Marcus studied the areas of the map that Gray had marked and nodded. It was a fool’s errand, but it would keep them busy and soothe Alessandro. And knowing for certain that no one in the city was preparing to attack the Elders or the Council at the hotel would also ease his mind. “Yes,” he murmured. “That will do.
When Dani woke up the next morning, Marcus was gone. She sighed, pulling the pillow he had slept on to her face, only to feel disappointment when she didn’t catch even a trace of his scent. Maybe it was part of Aidan’s magic.She pushed herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom, surprised to feel a little stronger than she had the day before. “It’s been zero days since our last incident...” she muttered, mocking herself for her own pathetic attempts at resisting his blood. But she didn’t understand. Vampire blood was known to have some mild effects on humans, some heightened senses, quicker healing, but addiction was not one of them. So what was it about Marcus’s blood that left her constantly craving him, fighting the need to sink her teeth into him? Especially since she knew what that was doing to Kira.The shower cleared her head, and she began to plan and mentally prepare her day. She’d have to make an appearance at the compound that morning, then, hopefully, get back to her