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ChapterOne
A Few Months Before Present Day
Not far from Newark, New Jersey
River Vale leaned into the latest turn, loving the wind in his hair, the sunlight glinting off the lake at his side, and the hum of his ride under him. Before being apprenticed to the eccentric fae witch healer six years ago—the male no one had wanted to be near, for reasons River had never understood—he'd never ridden a motorcycle in his life. But Dr. Dave Morelli had found bikes easier to get around his patch of New Jersey than cars, and had even founded the only paranormal motorcycle club in the tri-state area. It hadn't taken River long to try riding himself, taking to it like a fish to water. He even helped Dave restore the 1969 Honda CB750 currently under him.
Nowadays, there were few things he loved more than riding.
Even if he enjoyed the group rides, today was one of his rare free days and he wanted to celebrate it alone because this day was special, marking the formal end of his doctor apprenticeship. And within the next few months, Dave would retire and hand his magical healing practice over to River.
While technically happy at his shiny, new future looming, it also made River fucking sad. At one time he'd thought he'd be able to go back to Boston and see his sisters again. They were the only family he knew and loved, and it'd been far too long since he'd seen either Yesenia or Meadow. The former still lived in Boston and he had no clue where Meadow lived these days—secrecy was supposed to be for his and her safety, or so his older sister, Yesenia, had said.
But the last he'd heard from her, he was to stay far away from Boston. Apparently their father had fucked up again, in a big way, and not even River and his other sister, Meadow, and selling their magical abilities for a fee would be enough to get him out of his current shitstorm of problems.
He still didn't know how Yesenia would take care of it. Not for the first time he wished he could repay the huge fucking debt he owed her. If not for his determined, magic-less sister scraping every penny she owned to sneak him and Meadow away from their father, River would probably be doing magic for hire for his father, not giving two shits about River's ethics.
Because before going into hiding with Dave Morelli, River's asshole father had wanted him to use his ability to manipulate the body for cash. Not in a good way either. No, his bastard father had wanted to offer River's magic to torture someone to the brink of death, if the price was right.
Hell, for enough money, his father probably would've turned River into an assassin for hire.
Fuck that.Just because his father lacked morals didn't mean River did. Healing magic was supposed to help, not hurt. The American Fae Witch Council had made that law, and River had no wish to be executed for violating it.
He leaned into another turn, forgetting about his shitty parent. He wished his sisters could see the beauty here, along the Fort Lee Loop. New Jersey got a lot of shit for being smelly and dirty, but there were beautiful spots like any other state. And with his sisters, it'd be nice to be himself instead of being River Forrest, the last name he'd been forced to take when fleeing Boston six years ago at age nineteen.
Sometimes he wondered if he'd ever be River Vale again. Not that he cared about his father's surname, but that version of himself hadn't needed to constantly hide, both literally or with words. And he fucking missed talking without giving too much away.
Realizing he was ruining what was supposed to be a great day, he pushed all his worries aside and took in his location. Since he'd been on this ride several times before, he easily spotted the pullover just ahead with some of the best views of the lake. As he eased back on the throttle and pulled into the small parking area, he heard some more riders not far behind him. Even if it was usually quieter during the week, not everyone worked Monday through Friday, and he wouldn't mind chatting with a few other bikers. After all, he might learn about a hidden side route, the type passed solely by word of mouth, to add to his trip today.
Once his motorcycle was parked, he dismounted and turned to see who was coming. Running a hand through his shoulder-length hair, River noticed two things straight away.
First, a group of ten or so bikers were turning into the pullover, followed closely by a large SUV.
And as they drew even closer, he noticed the protective sun gear and glint of fangs from their mouths.
Vampires.
River tried not to judge—he treated all three of the paranormal species of shifter, vampire, and fae witch—but something about this group of males made him uneasy.
And as a healer who relied on gut feelings, it fucking worried him about what these males would do.
Especially once they all headed straight toward him. He barely noticed more vampires wearing special gear disembarking from the car before a tall, pale vampire with a distinctly South Boston accent spoke up. "River Vale, you're a fucking hard bastard to find."
Shit.If they knew his real name, he was in a fuckton of trouble.
He did his best to look unaffected, but carefully and quietly gathered his magical power inside his chest, in case he needed it. River may not harm for cash, but if it came down to using his powers to cause someone a little pain or being killed, he'd damned well pick staying alive.
Even the Code of Fae Witches understood the need for self-defense.
Doing his best to keep a cool head and nonchalant voice, he said, "I'm Dr. Forrest. I don't know who this Vale person is."
The leader snorted. "You may have grown out your hair, gotten tatted up, and put on some muscle, but you're River Vale." He moved even closer. "And you're coming with us."
Fuck.As he eyed the now fourteen vampires closing in on him, River tried to think of what he could do. If it were only two or three fuckers, he could hold his own.
But not even using his magic would be able to take down this many people at once.
Reaching the lake and diving in was going to be his best bet. River was a fast swimmer, and if he was fucking lucky, some of the vampires wouldn't be able to swim. If he could divide them up, he might have a chance at taking them out in groups.
