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I stalk to my bookcase and pull out the leather-bound edition of Beyond Good and Evil, relishing the snick of the hidden compartment sliding open at my waist.

This is my real prize.

This freezer holds everything. All the answers to a prophecy I spent years pursuing, armed with nothing more than hatred, a thirst for revenge, and my father’s dying words.

And there it is. Encased in the sterile cold of my cryo freezer is the culmination of decades of work.

Ten perfectly labeled vials of shimmering, deep red blood.

I count.

Count again.

“No.” I lean over, hands gripping the shelving. “No, no, no.”

I blink, but the image staring back at me doesn’t shift. The empty slot at the very back looks like a gaping wound. A black hole that might as well be a blinking neon sign advertising the crime committed.

I don’t count again. The black hole that held a vial just yesterday doesn’t lie. There were ten. Now there are nine. One is missing.

Someone came into my home, unlocked my useless daughter’s room, broke into my study, and stole my legacy.

My chest tightens. I close my eyes, struggling to get through the panic that threatens to choke me.

I run my hands through my perfectly styled hair and tug on the strands, like that will somehow wake me from this nightmare.

It doesn’t, but the pain helps to center me.

Think. Think.

The one saving grace is that whoever stole that blood has no idea what they have. Hell, they probably wouldn’t believe the truth if someone told them.

Sure, they can run tests, but it won’t matter. None of the results will make any sense. The thought calms me. I have time. Plenty of time. But I need to recover that vial before Alexander hears that it’s missing.

If he finds out…

My fists clench.

No. I am the one in charge here. Not him.

I turn back to the vault and stare at the remaining nine vials, taking comfort in the sight of them.

All my work. All my sacrifices.

The memories flood through me, unbidden and unwelcome.

Annalise.

I shudder. Fates, I can’t even think of her name without it leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

It should have been easy. After all, she was a beautiful woman. There had been no physical hardship to Bond her. She resented me, of course. Resented the life I “stole” from her. But that first year wasn’t terrible. Just knowing I had her—that I found the key to my power—was enough to keep a smile on my face despite her clear dislike.

And when she got pregnant, I was overjoyed. It happened so quickly, too. I could scarcely believe it was all going so well.

And it was going well. That is, until she gave birth and presented me with a useless girl instead of the Alpha son I desired.

I took one look at the squalling infant with her mother’s bright blue eyes and nearly cast them both aside.

For years after Idril was born, I was sure the prophecy I spent decades researching was bullshit. Nothing more than a dying man’s ravings. Worthless words that sent me on an equally worthless goose chase.