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CHAPTER1
My eyes open like a creaky door that needs oiling—slowly, creakily, and with effort.
Everything around me is dim. Not quite total darkness, but close to it. I ache all over and not in the good way. Ugh. For a second, I think maybe I drank too much last night, except I can’t remember the last time I drank that much. I’m usually out too late at night on a job to indulge in a ton of drinking when I get home, and on my nights off, I usually have homework.
Oh, fuck, homework. Surely I have some due.
But I can’t remember if that’s true, or what assignments I’m supposed to be working on. I’ve been distracted the last few days by…
Oh, shit.
Everything comes flooding back to me, along with a headache, and I wince, sitting up. That makes the room spin. Damn it. Last thing I remember, we were fighting Donovan’s men, and I got hit with some kind of magic that disabled my ability to phase and become incorporeal. Then some fucker choked me out.
I rub at my temples to try to ease my headache. Getting hit with magic isn’t fun, and there are always some unpleasant after-effects.
Groaning under my breath, I look around. I’m in some kind of cell. It’s not a dungeon by any means, no old crumbling stone walls or anything. It’s sleek metal walls instead. Shit, probably steel or iron, maybe even silver? Something that keeps fae from being able to get out. We’re not especially fond of any of those three, but vampires also hate silver and that would be expensive to craft a cell out of, so it’s probably steel or iron.
There’s no bed or any other furniture, but the floor is padded down so that you can sleep on it. There aren’t any windows either. Just one light embedded in the ceiling, letting out a low, yellow-tinted glare. It’s just enough for me to see by.
I’m alone.
Panic seeps into me, and I have to swallow it down. Where are the men? My men? My… well, they say they’re my fated mates. I don’t know about that. But I do know that I care about them and that they’ve put their lives on the line for me.
Repeatedly.
They’ve only known me for a few days and they’re ready to do anything to protect me, including giving up their Immortal Key to a vampire like Donovan O’Shae if it’ll get that damn mob boss off my back.
How am I supposed to do anything other than care about them? I’ve tried to keep myself at a bit of a distance. I don’t trust easily and it’s hard to adjust to being a part of a team when you’ve been on your own for as long as I have. But these men have been there for me. I’m still not sure if I fully trust them, but I care about them. I really hope they’re okay. Who knows what Donovan or one of his men could’ve done to them while I was out cold?
I get over to the door and test it out. Yeah, I can’t phase through it. Definitely iron or steel. Just pressing myself up against it makes me feel itchy all over, and I might sneeze.
“North?” I call out. “Cain? Raven?”
There’s no answer. Fuck. Panic rises up in my throat again, and I have to work to keep it down. I’ve never let my emotions or my fear control me before and it’s imperative I don’t let that happen now. Fuck.
If they’re hurt or dead, it’s my fault. I’m the idiot who stole from a powerful vampire without realizing who he was. I should’ve done my research better. Classic rookie thief mistake, and I fell right into it like some kind of fucking amateur. No mob boss likes to be stolen from, even less so vampires, and a vampire mob boss? I’m lucky I had a concealer charm that kept me hidden as long as it did.
But if I’d been smart enough not to steal from Donovan in the first place, the guys wouldn’t have felt compelled to help me, and they wouldn’t be mixed up in all of this. They’d be safe.
Oddly, I wouldn’t trade being with the men. Except for the part where I would if it would mean they’re safe. My own happiness isn’t worth their lives. But I have liked having them in my life.
Is that what they make me? Happy? Do they bring me happiness?
Ugh, get your head on straight, girl! This is no time to be debating your emotions.
I bang on the door, even though it stings my skin a little from touching the metal. “North! Raven! Cain!”
Maybe they’re just asleep, like I was. I keep making noise. A guard’s probably going to come down here and give me a lecture at any moment.
After a minute, just when I’m about to give up, I hear a familiar voice. “Kiara?”
It’s North. He sounds groggy, just like I was when I first woke up. I have to wonder if we all got hit with the same magic or if we’ve been drugged. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the latter.
“North!” I call out. “Are you okay?”
“Think so.”
“The fuck is all this racket?”
