Keeping Livia safe was Rhye’s number-one priority, and that included finding a way to convince his brother and Leon that the witch wasn’t a spy for the council or in any way working for Dimitri. Then, he needed to sway them to allow her to stay.The connection in Rhye’s chest pulsed, almost as if in solidarity with his plan. More and more, he was convinced she was his mate, though he reminded himself, uselessly, that he needed to proceed with caution. After all, this so-called covert mission meant that eventually, they needed to go back to the pack and resume their life. First, they needed more information about the demons and, above all, Francisco’s plan. His connection with the witches and faes.But Livia was more important to him, and it was simply one more reason to keep her close. He wanted time with her to figure it all out. Who she was, from what coven she came from.Speaking of..."Why are you here in our territory, Livia?" Rhye asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longe

It had been hours since Rhye dropped Livia off at her place, and now that the alpha had finally left her, she was able to retrace her hunting grounds and look for the Fae who wanted her dead. Now,She walked among them undetected, just another afternoon rush-hour commuter trudging through the fresh snowfall on her way to the train station. No one paid any mind at all to the petite female in the hooded oversized parka, her scarf concealing her face to just below her eyes, which watched the crowds of human pedestrians with keen interest. She knew it, but she couldn’t help it.She was anxious about being out among them and impatient to find her prey.The pound of rock music blaring in through the tiny earbuds of a portable MP3 player rang in her head.Livia crossed at a traffic light and moved up the road toward the station. She could see people talking as she passed them, their lips moving silently, their words—more important, their thoughts—disappearing by the aggressive lyrics, scream

With trembling fingers, Livia retrieved the cell phone from where it lay at her feet and slipped it into her pocket. The slaying had drained her, the combined physical and psychic exertion almost too much to bear. Each time seemed to weigh more heavily on her, taking longer for her to recover. She wondered if the day would come that she might slide so deep into the abyss that she’d not rebound at all. Probably, she guessed, but not today. And she would keep fighting so long as she had breath in her body and the pain of loss in her heart.‘For Francisco,’ she whispered, staring down at the dead Fae as she clicked on the MP3 player in preparation of her return home. Music blared from the tiny earbuds, muting the gift that gave her the power to hear the darkest secrets of a human’s soul.She’d heard enough for now.

Rhye wiped his bloodied blade on the dead Rogue's jacket and idly observed the swift disintegration of the last body in the alley. The postmortem cleanup was courtesy of Rhye's titanium weapons, a metal that acted as poisonous acid to the diseased cellular makeup of Rogue. The three bodies dissolved in the snow, reducing flesh, bone, and clothing to nothing but dark spots of ash against the pristine white.Rhye blew out a curse, his senses still quivering with the heat of combat. Battle-sharpened eyes lit on the sword Jessa had lost in her struggle with the rogue who’d attacked her. He walked over and retrieved the weapon. "Bloody hell," he muttered, picking the blade up from the snow. It wasn’t some dainty dagger a lady might carry for protection, but a serious-looking bit of hardware. Seven inches long, serrated near the upward jut of the tip, and, unless he missed his guess, the metal was not your basic carbide steel but Rogue-eating titanium.Which begged the question once more: w

Livia’s life wasn't all rainbows and sunshine; it was full of pain and betrayal. She once trusted Elfy, believed in Francisco, and trusted so many people, but what did it lead her to? She ended up alone. She had nothing but herself now, and with alpha Rhye in her trail, was there any future for her? Even her own coven ignored her and hated her for a reason even her young mind could comprehend. That, she couldn’t bear. "This is important to me, Rhye. I made a promise to myself to never run again, and yes I found you guys. Maybe it was fate, but I promise not to close my eyes and be blind to everything, and I mean to uphold it." He paused and slid a flat glance over his shoulder. "It’s your funeral. Why don't you leave it to us? My warrior could handle it. Trust me." he said, and pulled the door closed behind him. ***** Rhye threw the last of Livia’s hunting souvenirs into an isolated stretch of the river and watched as the dark water rippled out and the cell phone vanished into the d