It’s true that I prefer solitude to pack business, but I do miss my brothers when we spend too much time apart. Maybe I just miss how things used to be, before it became so complicated. Before we had to make sure Scions like vampires didn’t draw the attention of the Crimson Templars to Chicago.
We turn down the street that leads to the safehouse. It’s a cul-de-sac surrounded by other houses. Ours is to the right, not quite at the end of the cul-de-sac, but set apart from the close neighbors. It’s one of many safehouses we have spread across Chicago. Storm makes sure we have the money we need. Hayden makes sure we find things to spend it on.
Hayden pulls the SUV into the garage, and the door closes behind us. The butterflies in my stomach return. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. It’s just a woman. Just another Scion. Nothing to be nervous about.
“Ready to meet your mate, little brother?” Remy asks.
“Potentialmate,” I clarify. “Right now, I’m more interested in getting a sample of her blood.”
Music is playing when we step into the safehouse. Not something classical like I enjoy listening to sometimes. The guitars are loud, the bass is heavy, and the lyrics are vulgar. If these walls weren’t soundproof, the neighbors would be complaining, even if they aren’t that close to us.
“I guess they’re having a reunion party,” Remy growls.
“Ansley’s best friend is quitelively,” Hayden says with a smirk. “I’m not sure if that Morgan’s magic, our mate’s blood, or just how she is. Regardless, she is a Mitra.”
“Already?” Remy questions. “Our mother’s best friend didn’t become an honorary member of our pack until she was wed to our father.”
“Ansley cares deeply about Daisy. They had a powerful connection, even before Daisy was kidnapped,” Hayden says, leading us down the hallway.
Hayden and Remy get to the door first. Hayden shakes his head and sighs. Remy glares for a moment, then he cracks a smile.
I peer into the living room and see a blonde woman dancing, holding a pink drink in the air like she’s at a concert. She does nothing to me, and I’m ready to brush the entire thing off until a faint scent changes everything I thought I knew about the world.
It hits me like a physical blow. Sweet, intoxicating,devastating. My lungs seize. My heart stutters. Every nerve ending in my body ignites at once. The scent wraps around me, through me,tearing into parts of myself I didn’t know existed. This isn’t attraction. It isn’t desire. This is…recognition.
“What the hell?” I gasp feeling something detonating inside me. Instinct? I’ve never felt anything like this. “That’s…”
Then I see her. Ansley. It feels like time stops for a moment. She’s not dancing like her friend. She’s sitting at the bar, sipping white wine, and she’s the most incredible living being I’ve ever seen. Not because she’s beautiful, though she is, but because looking at her feels like coming home after centuries of wandering. Like finding something I didn’t know I’d lost. Dark brown hair. Delicate features. The curve of her neck when she tilts her head to sip her wine makes something feral claw at my insides.
I want to taste that skin. Mark it. Claim it. Make sure the entire world knows she’s mine. I’ve heard of humans falling in love at first sight. What I feel isn’t love, but it could be the foundation of it. Promise. Inevitability. It’s a pull, a maddening, world-changing pull. It’s so intense that my vision blurs and the wolf inside me tries to roar to the surface, demanding I go to her. Touch her.Claimher.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I stammer, turning away. Bones begin to crack. Muscles tighten as they try to expand. Claws push through my fingertips. “I can’t hold my Third Form!”
“Concentrate, brother,” Remy snarls, putting his hand on my shoulder. “It’s difficult around our mate.”
I’ve never had difficulty staying in my Third Form before. It’s as natural as breathing for me. Ansley’s scent makes it almost impossible. I squeeze my eyes shut, struggling to keep thecontrol I’ve taken for granted. Finally, it passes, but I gasp for my next few breaths.
“Oooo, you’re back, handsome!” a voice chimes. “And you brought friends! Now it reallyisa party!”
“Turn the fucking music off,” Hayden commands, walking into the living room.
Remy follows him. It takes me a moment to gain my composure, and my hands are still shaking. My heart is still racing. And her scent… it’s everywhere, even on my breath. I’ve spent centuries studying, researching, preserving history. I thought I understood the world, or at least my place in it, but I was wrong.
When I turn around, I already know the truth. Ansley’s my mate. Not a potential mate. Not a possible mate. My mate. Certain. Absolute. Undeniable. It’s like she was sculpted from the universe itself and put in front of me for the sole purpose of beingmine.
Every book I’ve read, every scroll I’ve preserved, every story I’ve studied about our kind, none of it prepared me for this. For her. I’d let her into my sanctuary. I’d share all my knowledge with her. I’ddiefor her.
This changes everything.
CHAPTER 25
Ansley
Wyatt.
I was nervous about meeting Hayden and Remy’s youngest brother. It’s been difficult enough coming to terms with the fact I have two mates. I didn’t know if I’d feel the same strange pull to the rest of them, but I feel it with Wyatt.
I don’t know what he looks like in his Natural or true Human Form. His Third Form is smaller than the forms Hayden and Remy use. Wyatt stands barely six feet with sandy hair, streaked with darker highlights. I can tell from the pained look on his face that he’s struggling to maintain his Third Form.
